About 30% too long and still didn’t resolve all of the many, many subplots. The Sense and Sensibility references and Easter eggs were fun, and also gave me clues to where the story was going. But there was just too much happening for me to get invested in the story. The inn renovation, sabotage, financial abuse, saving the river, changing careers, family dynamics on both sides, etc. It was A Lot.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

As a reader who loves Jane Austen, this retelling still surprised me in the best ways. It pulled me in from the first line, filled me with longing, broke my heart, and stitched it back together again. This is a delightfully faithful retelling with brilliant twists on well-known characters and I was rooting for Nora & Bear and Yanne & Brandon the whole time. I also love the representation of sickle cell anemia and how cyber bullying/revenge porn was addressed.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Dual POV, retellings, slow burn

I really enjoyed Pride and Protest. This book not so much. The main characters were pretty unlikable. The representation was good.

Nora and her sister Yanne find out at their father's funeral that they are in fact the side family and their mother was the mistress. In the midst of that embarrassment, they also find out that the piece of his estate they thought to receive as his children was reduced to a rundown inn on the coast of Maine--which they only have months to get operating and out of foreclosure, or they lose that as well. So off they go, only to run into Ennis and his family, who are using the inn to run their Native American nature tours. Can they work together to help them both?

Okay, so shoutout to Nikki Payne for this Austen retelling--I don't usually do retellings but I was all in for this. I love Nora's grit and her stubbornness. Her embarrassment over her past was warranted, and she let it stop her a bit too much for me, but it was understandable and when it was time to work, she did. Bear was stoic and quiet, shouldering the obligations of his life and land with full commitment. I was so sad for him, and afraid of his eventual collapse. But there is nothing wrong with wanting to retain a sense of honor and I rocked with him for most of the book. I wish he hadn't let it go quite so far, but those are the breaks, I guess. Nora tried too hard to keep herself together--I think I would have liked to see her fall apart more. Yanne was sometimes funny, but mostly unlikeable in my opinion, lol. I'm sorry--her flighty, younger sister act was a little too on the nose and I found myself impatient with her so much, that when she made sense I didn't even care, lol.

But the love? The way I knew the moment it was over for Nora and Bear. The way I knew the moment they fell in love. I loved that I could see that so clearly. They were both so very hopeless in the way they fell, so destined. And life was in the way. I loved that they ran together. I loved the wigwam. So good, and intense. The third act breakup almost broke me--you need to have the fortitude to stick with it because I was a mess, lol. And I hate the way Bear's problem got solved so easily AFTER it ruined his life. Ugh. But there was triumph. Good work.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed the representation in this book. It is great to see a 'retelling' that is so diverse. However, there were a lot of inconsistencies in this book and they did not make for an enjoyable read.

Sex, LIes and Sensibility was a novel that made me want to do more research after reading!

Nora and her sister have just discovered their own falling apart inn placed smack dab in the middle of an Indian reservation. They have about a year to remodel and bring in money or they lose it. Set to work, they quikcly learn the inn is also headquarters for Native American tour guide Ennis "Bear" Freeman. Bear is open to helping the sisters as they bring new life into the reservation. But, new life brings challenges to Bear as his past (and society's demands) quickly catch up with him. Will he be able to stick with his heart or give it all up to be with the woman he has just met?

Feelings fly and passion is found in Payne's sophmore novel. I immediately wanted to know and learn more about Indian reservations out there! While I found some of Nora's sheningans eye rolling, I also admired her grit and want to help out others. Sex, Lies and Sensibility is also one of the first novels I can recall that brings up sickle cell anemia- another topic I'd love to learn more about! Fans of contemporary fiction and strong characters will like Payne's latest.

Witty, with incredible banter and an intensely sweet slow burn. The first book I’ve read where I didn’t necessarily like the MMC, but it didn’t effect how I the the book itself.

I wanted to love this book but it was just not what I was feeling at the moment. I would like to point out that I am big mood reader and when I picked this one up I had a really hard time getting through it. I think it was just a slow start for me. Regardless, I did really like the topics discussed throughout the story. I thought they were really important and were well executed. Overall, I believe people will enjoy this book. It was just not for me at the time I picked it up. I will definitely have to do a re-read at a different time.

I take back what I ever said about the inheritance trope not working in contemporary romances. I was wrong, and this book proves it. I don't remember much about Sense and Sensibility, so I can't speak to it being a true adaptation, but this book was SO GOOD. I need Nikki Payne to please do an Emma retelling pleaseeee.

Nora is trying to make the best of her inheritance with her sister Yanne, as they renovate an old inn in Maine and try and make it profitable. They run into Ennis, who leads Abenaki history tours with his cousin, and he has been using the land the inn is on to run his tour business. Nora and Ennis agree to work together towards both of their goals and as they get to know each other, they find themselves growing closer. However, both Nora and Ennis deal with issues in their personal lives that threatens to impede their goals. Overall, a story of two people who are in difficult situations and are just trying to find a way out and towards a better future.

"Sex, Lies, and Sensibility" by Nikki Payne is a rollercoaster of a read that hooked me from start to finish! The family dynamics in this book are absolutely bonkers, with twists and turns that kept me guessing at every chapter. Ennis and Nora find themselves in one sticky situation after another, and watching them navigate through it all is both hilarious and heartwarming. As the story unfolds, you can't help but root for these characters as they grow and evolve, even if it means dealing with some uncomfortable truths. And let's remember Nora's sister, whose journey adds more complexity to an already captivating tale. Overall, "Sex, Lies, and Sensibility" is a must-read for anyone who loves drama and laughs!

Sex, Lies and Sensibility was my first Nikki Payne book. I was hesitant to read this because I hadn't read Sense and Sensibility but I don't believe that is necessary to enjoy Nora and Bear's love story. It's definitely what some may call a "slow burn" but it was worth it to see them get their HEA when the time was right. Now I want to go back and read her first book, Pride and Protest.

I will start by saying I have never read Sense and Sensibility, so I can't compare them. That being said, I enjoyed this. I could've done without the time jumps at the story's beginning. I loved Bear and Noar. I wish he did get that close to getting married cause WTF!!! But I ate up every second of this book

After much thought, this is definitely one of those books where you don’t like all the characters and you hate the choices some of your loved characters make, but you have to remember they are humans too. It also makes it that much more real.

I never read the book it’s based out of but I did enjoy the turn of events. There was drama, privilege, intrigue, spice and romance.

Overall solid good read! I love Nikki Payne’s writing so much! ✨

Sense & Sensibility is one of favorite books and my second favorite Austen (we love Persuasion around here) and this was a perfect adaption. So much of the story followed the beats that were changed gave the book a whole different spin. I honestly just felt so cozy with Bear & Nora and their constant thirst for understanding and honoring the other’s culture (also mega thirsty for each other but that’s not appropriate!).

I don’t want to say too much about the plot. I went into this blind and found that I enjoyed it more for that. Just know that if you love classic rom coms, smutty romance novels, and Sense & Sensibility you will LOOOOVE this.

Nikki Payne wrote a book that felt like a love letter to classic romance literature but also remembering our smutty reads. All the little hidden shout outs made my heart grow 3 sizes.

The writing was snappy and spot on. She jumps from millennial inside jokes to classic lit veiled comebacks to current romance reader easter eggs. I just enjoyed the ride and the feeling that I’m reading a book by someone that loves this genre as much as I do

Some of my favorite quotes:

“..can you just admit here and now that Backshots From Bear is a KU book you’d absolutely read?”

“She’ll probably let you do whatever you want and just lie back and think of England.”

What you’ll get:
Abenaki MMC
Black FMC
Insta chemistry
Emotional but light hearted
Reluctant-enemies to lovers
A Marianne Dashwood flibberty jibbit sidekick
Fun side ensemble of characters

This Austen retelling was so well done - I've never read the original Austen work, but I enjoyed this. I thought that there was funny banter, captivating stakes, and sexy scenes!! I also thought the way Nikki wrote Bear and his Indigenous identity was really well portrayed (I can't say I can't relate to it because I'm only 3% North American Indigenous) but I liked the story a lot. A well done job!

Sense and Sensibility is the Austen I know the least so I was sorta going into this as a clean slate. I really loved the sister relationship between Yanne and Nora.
Bear and Nora as a couple was HOT. Bear is definitely a new book boyfriend., flaws and all.
Now Nora, oh I love Nora. I relate to Nora in so many ways. I love her final idea for the property so much, its close to my heart.

Nikki Payne is just such a fun writer with such loveably sweet characters. I'll read anything from her at this point.

Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne

⭐️ 4.5
🌶 2.5

I was hooked by the first sentence! I like to read the author’s notes and the acknowledgments in a book. I don’t know if anyone else likes to but I prefer it since the author took the time to write them I like seeing into their thoughts about the book before diving in! The author’s notes had me interested since Nikki Payne took the time to do actual research for this book and respected the BIPOC areas that she touched with her story to be as authentic as she could.

I loved the beginning of this book because of how she immediately caught my attention with her first sentence.

Nora and Yanne are at a crossroads in life. They were led to believe their whole lives that their father and mother were married when it turns out she was his mistress!

They are immediately told that the only way they can get any viable type of inheritance from their father’s estate is to fix up a foreclosing Inn called Barton Cove in Maine!

What are these two sisters going to do? They’re going to pull up their big girl panties and figure out how to renovate the inn to turn a profit and prove their evil stepsister that they deserve to be recognized as their father’s children.

They quickly realize that there is no support to be found in Maine since they are outsiders in a small town community near an indigenous reservation. Nora meets Bear, a tall dark and secretive eco friendly tour guide who is going to use the girls inexperience to his communities advantage.

I absolutely loved the angsty tension from Bear and Nora! Their love was infectious and such a struggle to read! Mainly because it was heartbreaking what each one kept as secrets and didn’t let them out until it was too late.

Bear was his own person but had a savior complex that he was too scared to lose. He finally finds himself dealing with past and present traumatic emotions with Nora and has to decide how he can keep the love of his life while still being seen as a great person in his community.

Definitely recommend this book for someone who loved BIPOC love stories told with real life struggles and trauma that is worked through together rather than alone!

Only minor issue I had with the book was Nora’s sister Yanne she really didn’t take responsibility with Nora to fix the inn and help relieve stress but seemed to just add to it. The story did have a slow buildup but at the halfway point I was completely hooked and couldn’t put it down anymore!

Unlike Nikki Payne's first book I was sucked into this story right away. Honestly, Bear and Nora are still living rent free in my head right now.

This book truly impressed me. I loved how I could see themes from the original and yet it still felt like its own story in its own right! I got to the point I wish she would have strayed from the original story :)

This is the first time I read a story where it is understood the MMC did something messed up and it is not justified or twisted to be anything else than being wrong. I did however felt it was extreme for him to give up years of his life for this error in judgement.

I don't care her issues, I didn't like Luc from the moment her character was introduced and felt validated in my feelings as the story went on!

I loved to watch the relationship develop organically over time between the main characters and I loved her sister and Brandon's banter I want them to have a story of their own!

I still didn't like Liza B and could have gone without a cameo of her....

Overall great read and I can't wait to see what Nikki Payne writes next!

I loved the opportunity to read about characters whose lives are so different from my own, but I wish Bear and Nora had spent more time together! I felt a little shortchanged in that department.