Reviews

Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne

blahlicia's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ooooh I LOVED this. Funny, thoughtful with some important touch points of how our egos and fear of judgement can get in our way. 

danilebron's review

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

i haven’t read sense and sensibility so i had no frame of reference for what to expect the story to be. that being said, i can’t tell if it was this?? there were a couple points in the story that stalled/dragged where everyone was kind of just annoying and i was waiting for things to move along. that’s not to say that i didn’t like the book, it was just hard at times to like the characters because of the choices they made and the lack of understanding/communication. also, even though payne tried to bring nuance to nora and bear it still felt a little black and white with them for me. their separate issues throughout the book also felt black and white in the sense that it felt like there were obvious solutions, but also we weren’t given enough to really care to think harder about or buy into their problems. like i found myself forgetting about the inn and the trail company because it was mentioned but not explained very well. 

overall, this was a quick read. maybe i’ll give sense and sensibility a read.

erinvillan's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

pea_che's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

3.25

jumbledjess's review

4.0

I know nothing of the original Sense and Sensibility but this was a fun retelling and you can tell the author took care to honor the indigenous aspects of the book. The story felt captivating and had tender moments intermixed with funny quips and a nice balance of tension. I listened to this on audio, even though I have a physical copy, and would highly recommend it because it was great to hear the characters come to life. There are two narrators to match the alternating POVs and they were phenomenal. If you’re hesitant to pick up a classic, don’t be scared of this retelling because it was a great time. 

jmmreads's review

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

cowboylikemahs's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Trying to do too much 

bookish_selkie's review

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kshertz's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was much more than a romance book. It was way too realistic. There was family duty. The characters were complex and multi-dimensional. They had real reasons to stay apart that’s for sure. In the end, the characters were made a little too unlikeable for me to root for them, but they got their happily ever after and I was excited to see how it wrapped up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Body shaming

tropesanddreams's review

funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

There is so much to love about Nikki Payne’s modern twist of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. I really enjoyed this book even though I know nothing about Austen’s work. 😬😬😬

My favorite part about Sex, Lies and Sensibility was the characters. Nora felt relatable living with the burden of her past following her while still taking it upon herself to keep things afloat for her and her sister. Speaking of Yanne, I just love her. She is funny and such a free spirit. I wish I was more like her. Bear was soon worthy, except for the fact he was too generous. 

There was one point in the plot that I didn’t like, but I am not going to go into detail because of spoilers. I don’t know if the choice was Payne’s and she deviated from the original source work or if she stayed true to Austen’s story. Either way I am mad at on of them because some of Bear’s choices drove me up a wall.

Overall, I really enjoyed the modern twist.