Dashed
A Margaret Dashwood Novel
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this contemporary update of Sense and Sensibility, Margaret Dashwood is setting sail on an adventurous summer cruise—unless love sinks her first.
Margaret Dashwood lives her life according to plan, and it involves absolutely zero heartbreak, thank you very much. Five years ago, love tore her family apart, and since then, she’s kept her own heart as safe as possible. It hasn’t been easy, especially since her sister Marianne—the world’s biggest romantic—has conveniently forgotten that love burned her so badly she literally almost died. So when their oldest sister Elinor invites Margaret along for a Marianne-free summer cruise, she can’t wait to soak up every scheduled moment with sensible Elinor before heading off to college.
But just before they set sail, a newly-single Marianne announces that she’s crashing their vacation. Suddenly, Margaret’s itineraries are thrown overboard, and the ship’s cabin feels even tinier with her sister wailing about her breakup from the bottom bunk. The only solution? Find Marianne a dose of love to tide her over until they reach land.
With help from Elinor, her husband Edward, and Gabe—a distractingly handsome new friend on the crew—Margaret sets out to create a series of elaborate fake dates that will give Marianne the spontaneously curated summer romance of a lifetime. But between a chaotic sister, the growing storm of feelings between Margaret and Gabe, and an actual storm on the horizon, this summer is destined to go off course. Margaret will have to decide what’s more important—following the plan, or following her heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Quain (Ghosted) focuses on the youngest Dashwood sibling in this freewheeling Sense and Sensibility reimagining. Having watched her older sisters Elinor and Marianne live through contemporary versions of the trials and tribulations Austen's readers will be familiar with, 18-year-old Margaret has vowed to avoid love entirely, modeling herself after sensible Elinor rather than newly single Marianne. But when Marianne invites herself on the cruise that Margaret, Elinor, and Elinor's husband are vacationing on, that staunch avoidance starts to change. Wanting to boost impulsive Marianne's spirits, Margaret enlists charming crew member Gabe to help her find dates for her sister. As the duo set Marianne up for a romantic tropical experience, a series of antics results in Margaret and Gabe fake-dating each other. Disaster ensues amid their schemes, but in the process, Margaret begins questioning who she is when not comparing herself to her sisters and whether love is so bad after all. Lengthy character study surrounding Margaret's examinations of her sisters' lives sometimes slows down what is otherwise a smart remix of classic Austenian themes and values depicting one teen girl's endeavor to develop a more assured sense of self. The Dashwoods read as white; Gabe is Brazilian American. Ages 13–up.