Make a new future. Choose your true family. Know your own heart.
When Elliott Dashwood’s father dies, leaving his family virtually penniless, it’s up to Elliott to do what he’s always done: be the responsible one. Now isn’t the right time for any added complications. So what the hell is he doing hooking up with Ned Ferrars? It’s just a fling, right?
Elliott tries to put it behind him when the family makes a fresh start in California, and if he secretly hopes to hear from Ned again, nobody else needs to know. While his mom is slowly coming to terms with her grief, teenage Greta is more vulnerable than she’s letting on, and Marianne—romantic, reckless Marianne—seems determined to throw herself headfirst into a risky love affair. And when Elliott discovers the secret Ned’s been keeping, he realizes that Marianne isn’t the only one pinning her hopes on a fantasy.
All the Dashwoods can tell you that feelings are messy and heartbreak hurts. But Elliott has to figure out if he can stop being the sensible one for once, and if he’s willing to risk his heart on his own romance.
A modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.
Title: The California Dashwoods
Author: Lisa Henry
Publisher: self published
Release Date: May 1
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 62 000
Genre: Romance
Amazon
Another Jane Austen retelling. This one reimagines Sense & Sensibility into modern day California.
Elliot, Marianne and Greta have recently lost their father and are preparing to move out of the only house they’ve known to make room for their half brother and his nasty wife. The only good thing to come out of all of it is meeting Ned, Elliot’s half brother’s brother-in-law. The two have instant chemistry and after exchanging hand jobs, they’re discovered by pretty much everyone in the house and the impending move becomes immediate. The siblings and their mother head to California with little money but a fierce sense of family. Elliot will do whatever he needs to provide for his younger sisters, while trying to come to terms with his father’s death and figuring out what to do with his life.
I’m not going to lie. I didn’t read S&S, but I have seen the 1996 Alan Rickman version many times and I’m pretty much an expert on that, so. This is a pretty faithful rendering of the original. This means that not only do we have polar opposite siblings, a crash and burn romance, and a heartless extended family, but our main “heroes” have virtually zero page time together after their initial meeting. These two don’t even know each other, which may have worked in Austen’s day, but I think disqualifies this as a modern “romance”. The writing was fine, and I liked how closely it followed the original while changing the setting completely, but I like romance in my romance novels, amirite? The dynamic between Elliot and Ned therefore isn’t the fault of Lisa Henry, and this is still a nice read. Just don’t expect a modern twist on how they obtain their HEA.
3 pieces of eye candy
