The Secrets of Love

21st Century Austen #1

by Rosie Rushton

What would happen if you transferred the traumas of teenage love from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility to the twenty-first century? How would Ellie, Abby and Georgie fare without the restraints of nineteenth-century England? Will Ellie's ever-sensible attitude towards life prevent her from ever snogging the gorgeous, but.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Retellings, Realistic Fiction

Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

Rosie Rushton began her career as a feature writer for a local paper. Staying Cool, Surviving School was her first book, published by Piccadilly Press in 1993. After writing another non-fiction title, You’re My Best Friend, I Hate You! (available from Puffin), Rosie turned to fiction.

The Leehampton series

Best Friends
Best Friends Together (1998)
Best Friends Getting Sorted (1999)
Best Friends in Love (1999)

What A Week series

21st century Austen
The Secrets of Love (2005)
Summer of Secrets (2007)
Secret Schemes and Daring Dreams (2008)
Love, Lies and Lizzie (2009)
Echoes of Love (2010)
Whatever Love Is (2012)

Other books
Staying Cool, Surviving School (1993)
You're My Best Friend - I Hate You! (1994)
Poppy (1996)
Olivia (1997)
Sophie (1998)
Melissa (1998)
Jessica (2000)
Life Line (1999)
PS He’s Mine (2000)
Break Point (2001)
Tell Me I’m OK, really (2001)
Last Seen Wearing Trainers (2002)
All Change! (2000)
Fall Out! (2002)
Waving Not Drowning (2003)
Friends, Enemies and Other Tiny Problems (2003)

Reviews

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not My Favorite YA Austenesque

Source: Purchased

The Dashwood sisters are having a bad year – first their dad divorces their mom (leaving her broken-hearted) and marries another woman, Pandora (a self-absorbed nightmare that spends their dad’s money and makes him change everything about himself). Then, their dad suddenly and tragically passes away from a stress-induced heart attack. But that isn’t all…Mr. Dashwood was stressed because of some heavy financial losses, and now all he left his family with are his debts. Due to the legalities of their father’s will and recent business transactions the Dashwood sisters are forced to leave their ancestral home, school, and friends to relocate to an available cottage far from all they knew and loved.

But the sisters have some distractions in the love department to help them cope with these new changes. Ellie, who is never really one to have crushes, finds herself drawn to her step-mom’s artsy and kind nephew, Blake (Edward). Abby seems to have caught the eye of two guys in her new village and finds herself in a bit of a double love triangle. And although Georgie would much rather go on thrilling adventures and ride her skateboard, she finds that having boys interested in her as a girl may not be so bad after all…

I’ve always been a fan of Young Adult Austenesque and am a firm believer that these books could lead young readers to the wonderful delight of discovering Jane Austen’s novels. Rosie Rushton is quite prolific in the Young Adult genre and has published six books in her 21st Century Jane Austen series, one for each major Jane Austen work. This is her first book in that series.

I enjoyed several of the clever twists and updates to this story, such as transforming Fanny Dashwood into the evil stepmom, Pandora! In addition, I thought the whole divorce/debt/moving-out-of-childhood-home parallel was believable and a fitting comparison to what took place in Jane Austen’s original novel. But my favorite modern alteration was the focus on Georgie (Margaret Dashwood). I loved that she was into extreme sports, had a strong will, and received a lot more page time.

However, one part of the story I thought a bit lacking was the characters; they all felt a little one dimensional and could have benefited from a little more fleshing out – especially the heroes. While at first I liked sensitive and artsy Blake, I later became frustrated and disappointed in him. He showed a lot of weakness, and his wanting to kiss Ellie before breaking up with his girlfriend was a bit of a turn-off. In addition, the Marianne/Brandon storyline felt a little bit muddied because of Abby’s friend Chloe who was crushing on/dating Nick (Brandon) while Nick was wanting Abby. Both Nick and Blake were a little too far removed from and not as likable as their Regency counterparts for my taste.

Overall, there didn’t seem to be much substance or depth to the story. I know this is a Young Adult novel, and I’m not expecting it to be über-serious or deeply complex. But at the same time, I’ve read better – Sass and Serendipity, Pride and Popularity, and Seeking Mansfield to name a few. I thought it was a missed opportunity by the author to explore some of the interesting themes that are prevalent in Jane Austen’s work – the dichotomy of two opposite natures, the relationships between sisters, sense vs. sensibility. Instead it was a light-hearted and frothy tale.

For young adult readers with no previous knowledge of Jane Austen and her works, I think this novel will delight and entertain, and hopefully induce them to read Jane Austen’s novels! But for this Jane Austen fan, who has had the pleasure of reading some superb, thoughtful, and sensitive Young Adult updates, I’m afraid I found it only tolerable by comparison.

Austenesque Reviews

[Ahnya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am of mixed feelings about this book. The plot was decent, and you could see elements of the original Sense and Sensibility. It followed fairly close, and you could tell what events were supposed to match up. I am not sure if I agree with some of the things that were changed to accommodate modern times. In my opinion Sense and Sensibility is the hardest book of Jane Austen's to set in modern times because of how much societal norms, and laws have changed. She does okay, but I think I would have done things differently.

The three girls Ellie(Elinor), Abby(Marianne), and Georgie(Margaret) were much like the originals. I loved how much she brought Georgie into the story, and gave her a little bit more depth. I ABSOLUTELY did not like what she did with ALL the male characters. Blake, who is the Edward character, the way he was written instead of being honorable he seemed weak and vacillating. The Colonel Brandon character, Nick, was pushy and annoying. It irritated me because Colonel Brandon is one of my favorite Jane Austen heroes. I love how he treated everyone, and patiently waited for Marianne, and how devoted he was. I really didn't like what she did with Abby(Marianne) and Hunter(Willoughby). I won't go into detail so as not to spoil, but it could have been done better.

Overall I liked it, and enjoyed reading it, but when I started to analyze it closely, and really pick it apart I found more and more that bugged me. If I don't think of it as a modern day Sense and Sensibility I would rate it higher. It deviates too much from Jane Austen's creation, especially the characters, which is what Jane was so good at.

[Kamila / Fishtalking · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF
Niestety ale nie byłam w stanie tej książki skończyć. Próbowałam, nieźle się zaczynało, ale później ani nie czułam, że to Rozważna i romantyczna, ani nie mogłam zżyć się z bohaterami. Zanim przeszliśmy do jakiejkolwiek akcji była już prawie połowa książki. Nie chciałam się męczyć...

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the book, this review is going to be a quick, easy read. The plot is almost exactly that of Sense and Sensibility, just a modernized version. My first reaction was disappointment that the author didn’t even try to copy Austen’s beautiful prose or understated humor. Once I got past that, I was better able to enjoy the book for what it was. Elinor and Marianne were both updated very nicely. Like the actions of Austen’s characters, the update wasn’t predictable but just felt right. Of course Elinor would be good at academics! Of course Marianne would act! I was also impressed by the way the update translated events with no modern equivalent. For instance, some of the social constraints on the original characters’ actions have no longer exist, but the author managed to come up with suitable substitutes.

Objectively, I think this probably deserves two starts. The characters were two-dimensional stereotypes and I occasionally found their actions unbelievable. The writing wasn’t anything special. But when I finished it, I would have said I liked it. I had fun reading it and enjoyed seeing the author’s creativity in making the update, so three stars it is.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

[Karen Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you know Sense and Sensibility, you'll know the general outline to this. There's nothing new, and the characters are rather tedious.
I imagine teens who don't know the original will find elements of this funny

[Sofija · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit, this book wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be! The characters of Abby, Ellie and Georgie are very shallow and cliche. It didn't really have much of a plot, and I found it quite slow. It just wasn't interesting, and so I don't recommend this one- i've read much better books, don't waste your time!

[Katelyn Fricke · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a Romance, I didn't necessarily feel like it was a page-turner but I did feel like I wanted to keep reading it once I was sitting down and reading.

This book wasn't really a romance until halfway (123) it mainly talked about their dad passing away, now that was what lead to Ellie meeting Blake, I felt the book took too long to get there. at the beginning of the book it was just a realistic fiction (28) I guess all realistic fiction books have a love so the genres are very similar but I just wish the book started after the dad passed away so that Abby could still be talking about "him", (1)(2) and Ellie could meet blake and the love could start earlier and there could be more progress with the love each of the girls works with.

I think its crazy what divorced wifes get after the ex-husbands passing, they all thought the ex-wife (the girls mom) would get a lot in the fathers passing ( ) because of how recant the marriage was. I learned about divorces and deaths. It brought a whole new understanding to the significance of love not just romanticly.

This book is a good its not nessesarily a page turner but I got through it. I wish that there was more about their love lives with this book being a romance after all. I did enjoy the plot about Blake and Ellie,

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look, there are books that are shallow and uneven in tone, and then there are books that wedge a scene about a tween going zorbing in between two hospital scenes depicting her father's sudden death by heart attack. In other words, just when you reach the conclusion that this book is just a hot mess of every worst trope, you reach new and uncharted territory.

The plot, characters, and writing were bad enough. But mostly I'm giving this one star because I've never read a book that excuses, praises, and rewards men's shitty behavior more often than this one--and all for a target audience of 12-year-old girls.

I can say from experience that the mid-2000s were a cursed time to be a teen girl and books like this are the reason we're all in therapy now.

More to the point, Jane Austen never would have put up with this shit.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Georgiana 1792 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le Dashwood del Ventunesimo Secolo


Non vi dico niente di nuovo se affermo che i romanzi di Jane Austen sono universali, che la sua conoscenza e rappresentazione della natura umana attraverso tutti i suoi personaggi si possono ritrovare con facilità in qualsiasi secolo e a qualsiasi latitudine. Probabilmente è questo che li ha resi immortali e che ce li fa amare ancora dopo duecento anni.
Che cosa cerco, dunque, in un retelling in chiave moderna? Da cosa è data la sua fedeltà alle storie di Jane Austen?

Sicuramente il requisito principale è l'adattamento di personaggi e circostanze a situazioni attuali che rendano i riferimenti a Jane Austen verosimili, credibili. Modernizzare le situazioni mantenendo invariato il carattere dei personaggi è dunque fondamentale, ma non sempre gli scrittori riescono a restare fedeli in tutto e per tutto a Jane Austen quando trasportano il tutto ai giorni nostri. Spesso, infatti, la natura dei personaggi risulta alterata dalla modernizzazione.
Sono rimasta piacevolmente sorpresa nel constatare che Rosie Rushton in Segreti d'amore è riuscita a mantenere lo spirito di Sense and Sensibility e di tutti i suoi personaggi dando loro credibilità e creando una storia che, sono certa, avrà tenuta avvinta più di una ragazzina tra le sue pagine.

Le tre sorelle Dashwood, Elly, Abby e Georgie sono perfette copie delle loro antenate. La Rushton ha lasciato invariata l'età della più piccola Margaret/Georgie (13), mentre ha abbassato a 17 i 19 anni di Elly/Elinor e a 16 i 17 di Abby/Marianne, anche per consentire alle tre ragazze di abitare sotto lo stesso tetto e di essere ancora sotto la protezione (a volte anche troppo ansiosa) della madre Julia, una Mrs. Dashwood da manuale.

La Rushton ha scelto di eliminare diritti di eredità e fratellastri, ma di puntare su una più moderna crisi di mezza età del padre, che ha abbandonato la famiglia per risposarsi con la giovane Pandora, una perfetta Fanny Dashwood.

Edmund Ferrars non è fratello di Pandora, bensì un nipote con velleità artistiche, Blake Goodman, che la famiglia vorrebbe intraprendesse più ambiziosi studi legali. Blake non è fidanzato segretamente con Lucy: lo sanno praticamente tutti, e tutti si auspicano nella buona riuscita del loro rapporto, dato che la ragazza, da brava Lucy Steele, è una traffichina onnipresente, piena di ambizioni (e di arie!) e pronta ad adulare quelli che contano. Al contrario dell'originale, questa Lucy è ricca ed è cresciuta in un ambiente che non vorrebbe certo abbandonare; quindi, proprio come Pandora/Fanny, fa di tutto per convincere Blake che l'arte può essere al limite un hobby – ma ci sono hobby più interessanti! – e che la sua strada ha un unico senso da percorrere.

Mr. Dashwood, Max, forse a causa di improvvise preoccupazioni finanziarie, forse proprio per via della sua riscoperta giovinezza, affatica il cuore, tanto da avere un infarto che gli sarà fatale. La ex-moglie e le figlie saranno costrette non solo ad abbandonare la loro casa, Holly House, a favore di Pandora, ma anche la vita di agi a cui erano abituate, l'ambiente più mondano di Brighton e la scuola esclusiva delle ragazze.
Per fortuna Davina Stretton, un'amica di Julia Dashwood, offre loro di andare a vivere gratuitamente nel North Norfolk, nel cottage di sua madre – che è ormai in un ospizio. Ecco trasformato Sir John Middleton in una donna, ma con tutte le sue caratteristiche: Davina è un po' pettegola e prezzemolina, ma piena di buone intenzioni: si fa in quattro per la sua amica e le sue figlie, in fondo disinteressatamente.

I personaggi di Ragione e sentimento si presentano sotto diverse forme (il Colonnello Brandon, per esempio, non è tanto più grande di Abby come lo era di Marianne e non è subito riconoscibile), ma è divertente ritrovarli e scoprire come la Rushton abbia scelto di riadattare le situazioni di cui sono protagonisti nel romanzo originale. In fondo questa è la cosa più divertente di questi retelling: fare i paralleli tra personaggi e situazioni. E, in questo caso, l'autrice è stata davvero brava, tanto che credo che Segreti d'amore sia uno dei migliori retelling in chiave moderna non solo di Ragione e sentimento ma, in generale, dei romanzi austeniani.

E per le ragazzine che non hanno letto l'originale, questo romanzo di Rosie Rushton è davvero un ottimo sprone per invogliarle alla lettura di Jane Austen, grazie allo stile originale, frizzante e moderno che parla alle ragazze da pari a pari, pur senza scadere nel piatto o nel vacuo: in fondo le eroine di Jane Austen meritano di essere raccontate da una penna ben affilata, che riesce a lavorare su due pollici d'avorio.*


*[il] pezzettino di Avorio (largo due Pollici) sul quale lavoro con un Pennello […] fine - Lettera di Jane Austen a James Edward Austen-Leigh (Chawton, 16-17 dicembre 1816). Trad- G. Ierolli

Potete leggere la recensione completa QUI:

http://ildiariodellelizzies.blogspot....

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellie, Abbie and Georgie Dashwood are three sisters who couldn’t be more different from each other. Ellie is the responsible goody-goody, Abbie is the boy-crazy drama queen and Georgie is the adventurous adrenaline junkie. A year ago, everything changed for the girls when their parents divorced and their dad married a younger woman named Pandora. The girls and their mother kept the house in Brighton, while their dad lives in London with his new wife. Pandora is self-involved and a nightmare of a stepmother, and the girls notice that their father seems more stressed than usual now that he’s with her. When the unthinkable happens and their father dies, the girls find themselves fatherless as well as homeless. The girls and their mother move to a small cottage in Norfolk, and try to adapt to their new lives while mourning their father. As the girls try to make the best of their situation, their romantic exploits help them learn the many secrets of love.

I first read this book in high school, and I found it again while doing shelving at my library and decided to re-read it. The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love is a modern take on Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. While there are a lot of modern versions of Pride and Prejudice, a retelling of Sense and Sensibility is rather rare, so I thought this would be a good choice for Jane Austen related reviews on my blog. The Dashwood Sisters follows Jane Austen’s version, with Ellie as Elinor, Abbie as Marianne and Georgie as Margaret. This book spends more time than the original building up to the main plot, and I liked that the time was taken to establish the characters before everything changed for them. One of the other big differences between this book and Sense and Sensibility is that the youngest Dashwood sister is a main character as well. The characters were slightly stereotypical and naturally didn’t live up to the originals. I did like them overall, although they felt a bit superficial. Some of the dialogue between the sisters was very witty and humorous. Partly due to the fact that the plot was based on a Jane Austen novel, it was well paced and interesting. As an adaptation, it was moderately good. It’s a retelling of Sense and Sensibility in a similar way that Clueless is to Emma. If you read The Dashwood Sisters looking for a great adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, then you probably won’t end up liking it. However, it is a fun and entertaining book about love, and I enjoyed it because I started reading it without any expectations. While I can see fans of Sense and Sensibility being disappointed with this book, I think it could be a good introduction to Jane Austen for teenagers. It’s light and quick chick-lit, and it could make readers curious enough about the original to read it. Overall, The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love is a cute new take on an old favourite.

3/5

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Modern day England, the privileged Dashwood Sisters' lives changed for the worse (in their opinion) when their parents divorced and their father married a health nut trophy wife. Their situation worsens after their father passes away and they are uprooted from his ancestral home in Suffolk to small, sea-side Norfolk, where they have to watch their budget (which is nearly zip) and deal with an overly zealous relative who is allowing them to stay in her cottage rent-free.

This book was better than expected! When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure how things would turn out. The book is set in the modern world so logistics had to be changed a bit in order for the main plot idea to work. For example, in modern days, women can inherit property. That alone changes how the situation could be handled.

The biggest challenge for me between The Dashwood Sisters' and Sense & Sensibility was having to let go of the comparison between the two stories. The Dashwood Sisters' might have the same basic storyline where these rich girls were uprooted from their current life to a poorer one, but that's where most of the comparisons stop. Maryanne is named George, there is no Colonel Brandon (how could there be? It's inappropriate now a days for a 30 year old man to be catching a 16 year old bride!) and the middle sister, Abby, vies for a boy against a friend (which is much more reminiscent of Emma's plot than Sense & Sensibility).

This book is a much lighter read than Sense & Sensibility would be (this is one of Jane Austen's novels I haven't read yet, but I'm familiar with the plotline due to the various film remakes, but if it's anything like Persuasion or Pride & Prejudice, much has been left out). For having their lives totally upended and switched around, and being teenage girls, much of their anger is focused on their dislike of their father's new wife and very little of the actual change in situation they have. They seem to accept their new lives fairly easily, especially considering the drama-queen the middle one could be in their "rich" life. It just wasn't as heavy of a read as it could have been which made it a quick, light read.

I still enjoyed the book, despite the seemingly mixed up plots of Sense & Sensilibility and Emma. I wish I had read it without having the Jane Austen comparison in my head because I think I would have enjoyed it more, but I only picked it up because it was based on Jane Austen's novel (based on is a much better explanation of the plot than expecting a retelling of the story). I am glad I read it, and I actually enjoyed the fact that it was a light read--sometimes you just need something easy to enjoy.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for modern adaptations of classics (can you tell from my list of books here on Goodreads?), and my favorite is when those adaptations are from Austen's books. The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love tells the story of Ellie, Abby and Georgie (yes, Margaret's character is finally included!) who must move with their mother to another town after their father remarries and dies. So far with the plot, so good.

However, I found, similarly to the book Jane by April Lindner, there was a lack of integrity to the real story. In the original, Eleanor is kind, intelligent and social, but not obnoxious. Ellie, however, is shy and bossy to her sisters. Marianne, in S and S, is impetuous but she is good-hearted. Abby, to contrast, is vain and selfish and doesn't learn her lesson until the end of the book. And Margaret is just thankful that she makes an appearance as Georgie with an actual plot line for herself (one of the things Ms. Rushton actually did right). All in all, it fell short of what I expected.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book, way, WAY, WAY, back in the day!
I was like 8?10?11? I sure as hell don't know, but I remember really loving this book.
I found it at our local library, and even at that young age I adored Jane Austen, especially Pride and Prejudice.

'The Secrets Of Love' is a quirky modern take on Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility but with added humor.
If you do,indeed, love Jane Austen as much as I do, you should give this book a go.
I was rather surprised when I saw this book was not on any Jane Austen related lists, ergo why not alot of people know about it.

[Anika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really can't recommend this book. None of the characters had any of the charm they do in Sense and Sensibility and I wasn't rooting for any of the couples to get together. It did not feel modern, in a way it felt more dated than Austen. If you're looking for a distraction, it's fine. But "fine" is as good as it gets.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about three sisters Ellie, Abby, and Georgie who live in England and have to deal with their parents being divorced, an annoying stepmother, a horrible tragedy, and everything boy drama.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm afraid I lost brain cells reading this.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kind of fizzled out in the end but I enjoyed it.

[Cecilia S · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading a few chapters of this book, I have to ask a simple question. How was this published?

Who thought this was interesting enough to print? Or that the writing was up to par? Any human aged 16+ could have churned out a more compelling story with better writing quality.

I would expect this quality of writing from a middle school student, and not even one who was top of the class. The writing is poor and very basic. The plot structure of the first two chapters was-

Introduce Sister A
Introduce Sister C
The characters get in the car...
then they drive the car...
then they get on the train...
then they exit the train...

Why wasn't any of this meaningless action cut? Additionally, characters speak very surface-level, even on meaningful topics like divorce. The three sisters are introduced as one-dimensional stereotypes, Abby is the "popular girl," Georgie is the "tomboy" and Ellie is... well, the author didn't think she was important enough to get her own introduction scene.

Skimming ahead the story turns out to be a run-of-the-mill 2000s chick lit story i.e. "Wow, Brad is so hot, so popular, even has his own cell phone O M G". Maybe an 10 year old would like this, if they can get past the outdated references. To anyone older than 10, it's pretty unbearable.

[Linkify · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, it's pretty good. I think I read this first at 10 and loved it, then reread it recently and still enjoyed it. I have a few issues, but none of them big enough to not finish the book.
I did have a slight issue with how they treated Pandora, since she really didn't see that bad, and I don't understand blaming her for anything that happened. It's obvious she tries to form a relationship with them several times but they shut her down (I can understand that, divorce is tough, but insulting her any time she comes up seems a bit excessive). It also could get a bit cheesy at times, and I'm sad that bad male characters didn't get the punishment they deserved, but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment when you look at the book at full.
Overall, I'd recommend this for someone in fifth grade or middle school, maybe early high school at the latest. Pretty good for how old it is.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo libro è un retelling in chiave contemporanea di "Ragione e sentimento", perché narra le vicende delle tre sorelle Dashwood costrette a lasciare la loro amata casa - Holly House - dopo la morte del padre. Rosie Rushton attualizza molti elementi della trama, ad esempio il padre delle ragazze è divorziato e, a causa di investimenti sbagliati, si trova a lasciare la magione di famiglia alla nuova moglie, Pandora, mentre l'interesse amoroso di Ellie/Elinor, l'assennata sorella maggiore, sarà Blake, il nipote di Pandora, in rotta con i propri genitori perché vuole fare l'artista invece di studiare legge. Di certo la storia è un omaggio - in alcuni punti anche ironico - a Jane Austen, bisogna solo essere consapevoli che non si può pretendere l'inconfondibile stile di zia Jane e godersi questo adattamento per quello che è, ovvero una scanzonata trasposizione ai giorni nostri, con diverse licenze poetiche rispetto alla trama originale. I pro: la scrittrice ha caratterizzato bene la terza sorella, Georgie, che corrisponde a Margaret, dandole più spazio e un'originale personalità da maschiaccio; risultano credibili le figure di Elinor, Blake, Piers, Lucy, Nick e della migliore amica della signora Dashwood, Davina; conosciamo in maniera approfondita la famiglia Dashwood prima della morte del padre, che arriva a un terzo del libro, e soffriamo con le ragazze. I contro: Abigail detta Abby, che corrisponde a Marianne, appare più un'oca giuliva nei confronti del genere maschile che una sognatrice; ho trovato insopportabile la mamma, Laura, anche se viene resa bene la sua incapacità di reagire ai problemi; Hunter, che dovrebbe essere Willoughby, è solo un deficiente che si pavoneggia in giro e non ha mantenuto neanche un briciolo di fascino o di cuore del villain creato da Jane Austen. In sintesi, consigliato soprattutto alle giovani lettrici e a chi cerca una lettura leggera, magari con l'intento di scovare analogie e differenze con il testo originale.

[Sophie Dickinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this book. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the best thing I've ever read but the storyline was pretty good, it reflected sense and sensibility pretty well - which is one of my favourites, so I'm glad I read this. It's got a good story, and I didn't feel like I didn't want to read it. Each of the girls was nicely developed as a character from the get go, you never felt like you were waiting to know more about them but they also weren't basic and this didn't make the story boring. Pretty decent book!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy these 21st century Jane Austen novels - I like to read them before I read the original so I have a good understanding of the story. I'm now looking forward to reading Sense and Sensibility even more so than before. These books fly by and at the moment, I'm trying to read as much as possible, as I go back to school next week and I won't have as much time to read. Overall, this was my favourite in the series so far!

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I can really say about this book is that it tried. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for well over 4 years collecting dust and I finally got around to it and it was just disappointing. I am well aware that Sense and Sensibility is a difficult book to update, and I was prepared for that, but I found the characters to be bland and one-dimensional. It also dragged for me. I wanted to like it, but since I'm in a book slump, I couldn't bring myself to like it.

[Emilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a decent retelling of Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, however some of the profoundness of the characters is lost - especially when it comes to the males. While this is YA, the female protagonists are a little too 'teenage-y', and none of the male protagonists are someone worth rooting for. Unfortunately Rushton dumbs it down a little too much.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy enough read that kept me turning pages. I'd classify it as beach reading, probably not one I'll re-visit, but enjoyable.

[Debbie Strick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young adult love story

[Sarah Landers · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the summary I honestly was expecting this book to be super cheesy. But I ended up really enjoying it. Just a light hearted sweet read about family, loss and love.

[Annie Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was... not great, but maybe not as bad as I thought it would be? The characters are flat and the plot is an afterthought.

[asleepybookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It was so boring. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did wish I would not have finished it.