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.

©2023 Nikki Payne (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"I do not have the words for how deeply I loved this book. It’s the smartest Austen update I’ve read in ages, and the relationship between the main characters is utter perfection. I love, love, love Bear and Nora, and so will everyone wise enough to buy this book."—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Deeply relatable characters and whip-smart dialogue...Nikki Payne delivers Jane Austen for the modern reader."—Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton novels

"Sex, Lies and Sensibilities is the second time that Nikki absolutely amazes me. Her ability to take in Jane Austen’s works, to adapt them for contemporary sensibilities, and—I know, bold statement—to improve on them by doing justice by characters that Jane did dirty is unparalleled. I will read whatever she writes, whenever she writes it, and I will not rest until the entire world is made aware of the absolute magic of a Nikki Payne book. No one writes like her, and I truly feel so blessed that we are contemporaries and I get to enjoy the products of her marvelous mind!"—Ali Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically

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!

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 😂

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!!

Loved it!!

Nikki Payne is writing Jane Austen retellings like no one else. Her writing is witty and so darn smart and swoony, emotionally raw one moment, lough out loud hilarious the next, and don't get me started on how well she writes romantic tension and longing (*fans face*). I loved this audiobook and thought both narrators did a phenomenal job, bringing Bear and Nora's perspectives (as well as all the secondary characters, especially Yan who had me in stitches she was so outlandish and perfect!) to life. Highly, highly recommend.

The characters

I like how the characters and the actions in the story are greatly detailed and how the story isn’t rushed. I would highly recommend if you like a romance, spicy and anything complex.

Beautifully Written and Narrated

There’s not a single thing I did not like about this book. I ate up every minute. From the authors note at the beginning to the male and female narrators inflection and tones and acting… it was such a wonderful and immersive journey. Not to mention the incredible attention to detail in regard to representation. This is the first book of this nature, in a very long time, to have strong, capable women where those traits don’t falter because of men. It’s just. ❤️. And I want more. I would LOVE to see this as a movie.

Love it!

Enjoyed everything about this book: plot mirroring Austen’s S&S but thoroughly modern; vivid characters; insight to other cultures; and beautiful setting. Wish there really were a Barton Cove I could visit and meet the wonderful people there!

Great characters

I loved Bear and Nora and the narrators did a fabulous job bringing them both to life!

Amazing!

This book is so hilarious, sex, and smart. The narration was also perfect. Looking forward to her next one!