Sense and Suitability

Title: Sense and Suitability

Author: Pepper Basham

Narrators: Fiona Hardingham and Christopher Ashman

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Audible Audio

Genre: Regency, Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, Classic Retelling,

Source: Net Galley

RELEASES: October 14, 2025

My Review:

I did not like Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. But when I saw Pepper Basham had a book coming out loosely based on it, I knew I had to read Sense and Suitability. Why? Because Pepper Basham wrote it. Also, this is Basham's first foray into the Regency genre.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have read several of Jane Austen's books and have not enjoyed them. However, after reading Sense and Suitability I want to go back and read Sense and Sensibility again, to see what I missed, and to see how closely Suitability is based upon Austen's version! Confused yet?! Me too. 

Seriously, when an author can take a book that you did not enjoy and make you want to read it again, you know it's a good book. On the other hand, Sense and Suitability has so much of Basham in it, it's truly its own book. It can be enjoyed whether you have read the original version or not.

I really liked Emmeline. She is compassionate and sweet. Her character shines through, and she is always looking for the good in everybody. I love her interactions with her Aunt and her cousin as well. 

Poor Simon has had a hard time of it, and you can't help but root for him as well. I love his tenderness with his siblings. I also love their mischievous natures. Thea with Blast is hysterical! You can't help but root for Simon and Emme together. Anyone with eyes in their head can see they belong together. However, two meddling Aunts may make that impossible.

I would be remiss if I didn't comment on the narrators: Fiona Hardingham and Christopher Ashman did a fantastic job with the dual narration of this novel.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Net Galley for the opportunity to listen to this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads):  

In this clean Regency rom-com, a woman with a scandalous past (and an even more scandalous secret) swears off love—until the man who broke her heart needs her help. What could possibly go wrong? Perfect for fans of Tessa Dare and Eloisa James looking for a low-spice, witty Regency romance.

After two failed social seasons, her family may think the third time will be a charm, but Emmeline Lockhart just wants to survive with her dignity (and singleness) intact. She thought she'd found her perfect match in Simon Reeves--charming, handsome, a veritable hero from a novel—until he vanished from her life without so much as a "farewell" or "my deepest regrets" (or even a vague apology scribbled on the back of a calling card). Lesson never fall for a man known for his charm.

Fortunately, and unlike many of the other eligible young ladies of the ton, Emmeline has no need for a husband--because she's already found success in her scandalous (and very anonymous) profession as an author. Why bother with matrimony when she can make her own fortune and write men exactly the way she wants them?

But fate—or the misfortune of Simon's reckless patriarchs—has other plans. Simon's once-proud estate is in shambles, his family fortune has been gambled away, and the younger impressionable siblings in his care are running wild across his estate (and possibly across all of England). Simon is in desperate need of a wealthy, prestigious bride . . . and a friend.

Emmeline may not fit the role of heiress, but she can certainly be a friend. Just a friend. She'll help him find a suitable match, ensure his reputation remains intact, and keep things strictly platonic—no matter how dangerously appealing his new-and-improved sincerity and regret may be.

There's just one small the undeniable chemistry that still smolders between them. Can Emme play matchmaker for the man she's still in love with without losing her heart all over again? And is it possible that some love stories--especially the messy, inconvenient, impossible ones--are worthy of a rewrite?

Filled with lively banter, adorable children, a frog named Blast, and swoony kisses, Sense and Suitability is the clean Regency romance you've been looking for. Basham brings her signature humor to the Regency era where social strictures keep the tension tight but the stakes low in this second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romance.