Sex, Lies and Sensibility

By: Nikki Payne

Narrated by: Kacie Rogers, Phil Ava, Nikki Payne

“Nikki Payne skillfully spins the tale of a well-known Jane Austen classic and makes it entirely her own. Thoughtful, hilarious, and smolderingly steamy.”—Kristina Forest, author of The Partner Plot

Two sisters roll up their sleeves to run a dilapidated inn but must learn to work with the locals in this deliciously spicy novel inspired by Sense and Sensibility.

There’s never a good time to learn you are your father’s secret child—especially not at the reading of his will. With their father’s affairs laid bare and Nora’s sensible reputation in tatters due to a viral video scandal, she and her free-spirited sister have nothing left but a rustic inn in the middle of nowhere and each other. What’s more, they need to revamp the inn before Labor Day or they lose it all. Nora hasn’t even knocked the traveling dust off last season’s designer boots when she’s confronted with three problems:

1. She really should have watched more HGTV.
2. She hasn’t seen another Black person for miles.
3. A tall, dark stranger has already staked a claim on their property.

Native Abenaki eco-tour guide Ennis “Bear” Freeman has seen hapless tourists come and go. When he spots two pampered city girls at his unofficial headquarters, he expects them to catch a flight out of the inhospitable coastal Maine backwoods within a week’s time. But Nora, turns out, is made of sterner stuff. And as she rolls up her sleeves to breathe new life into the inn, she unwittingly reignites a flood of emotions inside of Bear that he had very intentionally suppressed.

Their connection is electric, their desire palpable. But Bear’s silence about his mysterious past might turn out to be the one thing that sends Nora packing.

Loved the narrators!

Loved both of their voices and their ability to act a wide range of characters. Also a 5⭐️ read for me. So much emotion!!

Proving people wrong

Nora and Bear both had to prove their ability to make their dreams become a reality and to not let people walk all over them. Nora and Bear kept secrets that soon would be revealed and the fact that they were soulmates of Nora Cancer and Bear a Capricorn showed that they would make a great partner not just friendship, but relationship wise. It was a good book and funny. Bye Felicia 😂

Great story that kept my attention.

Great story line with awesome characters. Nikki Payne did a great job with encapsulating each characters vibe. I felt like I knew them after the book was finished.

I was hooked!

I listened a few times and never noticed the actress referring to the younger sister as “Yani” before today. Thought I’d heard her pronounce it as “Yanne” before this - similar to how it is spelled in the book overview. Threw me off, but loved the story and Nora and Bears steamy chemistry!

Simple yet complex characters

The storyline pulls you in. Who hasn't made a regretful misstep? You find yourself rooting for the main characters. Funny, thought provoking dialogs. Love the family interactions, love & support.