Book Review and Giveaway: Sense and Suitability by Pepper Basham (Rendezvous 2026)

Welcome to the Blog Tour that brings Rendezvous 2026 to you, hosted, sponsored, and organized by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Bringing Rendezvous ’26 to You!

Rendezvous: reader and writer gathering
November 7, 2026
Holiday Inn Nashville Airport

Readers and Writers will gather at the fourth annual Read Write Rendezvous, organized and sponsored by JustRead Publicity Tours, LLC, on November 7, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT at the Holiday Inn Nashville Airport. Rendezvous celebrates Christian fiction and sweet reads, featuring corporate worship, speaker sessions, author panels, small-group discussions, games, giveaways, a pop-up bookshop, and book signings. This event aims to sweeten reading and storytelling experiences with fellowship and encouragement. Over forty featured authors are participating, including The Christy Award Hall of Fame and bestselling author Tamera Alexander who will deliver the keynote address. USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author Lisa Phillips will lead worship. We will announce several more authors in the coming weeks! We prayerfully honor the legacy of the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat through each Rendezvous event, and this year we are especially celebrating the very first CFRR which was held 10 years ago in Nashville. Rendezvous is open only to registered attendees. Want to extend your reader getaway? The Christy Award Gala and Art of Writing conference will be held at a nearby venue on November 6.

Learn more about the 2026 Rendezvous

If you’re unable to attend Rendezvous this year, we don’t want you to miss out on getting to know our authors and their books. Our bloggers are bringing Rendezvous to you by spotlighting several of the participating authors this week. Follow along to grow your TBR list to astronomical proportions!

Check out recent releases by these participating authors in the JustRead Amazon Storefront.

Today I’m sharing about one of the Rendezvous authors, Pepper Basham! Sense and Suitability was the first of her books that I read, and I simply adored it.  See the book synopsis and my review below, and if you like a good, sweet, clean Regency romance, it may be your first Pepper Basham book, too!

And after the review, keep scrolling to enter the giveaway!

Synopsis:

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.

I’ve never read any of Jane Austen’s works, but if Pepper Basham’s story here is anything like Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, I clearly have been missing out.

Oh, Emme! Oh, Simon! They are so wonderfully frustrating and stubborn and adorable. Emme is not what society expects. She has a hidden career as an author in a time when independence in women was not encouraged. Simon, too, is not what is expected. He was a younger son, and now he’s suddenly thrust into the public eye as a viscount, head of his family. They both determine to avoid each other, but life keeps throwing them together in unexpected ways, and it is adorable.

None of the characters are afterthoughts here. Selena Hemston is just nasty as the predatory woman looking to take over Simon’s heart and real estate. Emme’s sister Aster is her own kind of unconventional, and I love the bond between the sisters. Their Aunt Bean is a riot, blowing into town determined to save her nieces’ marriage prospects (and the showdown between Bean and Simon’s Aunt Agatha is an absolute treat). Simon’s younger siblings are all wonderfully written, and headstrong Charlotte is my favorite!

And this may be a clean romance that goes no further than kissing, but Pepper Basham writes those kisses in such a way that you can feel them down to your toes. The chemistry between Emme and Simon is clear, and it’s no wonder the ton wants to keep gossiping about them.

The biblical faith woven gently into the story is a delight. It isn’t going to thump you over the head with a King James Bible, but it is clear that our hero and heroine trust in God for guidance in times of need. The wit and humor and romance and despair (momentary, I assure you!) had me alternately laughing, gasping, and reaching for a tissue. It’s the first of Pepper Basham’s works I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. And it might even inspire me to go read some Jane Austen.

Five stars for an engaging, heartwarming, clean romance that will have you feeling like you’re saying goodbye to friends at the end of the story!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from JustRead Publicity Tours. I was not required to leave a review. All opinions are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

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Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $30 gift card (winner’s choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook, or Baker Book House)!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 15, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 22, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!