Dass, Sarah

Sarah Dass was born in Trinidad but has lived in Tobago since she was 2 years old. She works as an office administrator by day and writes stories about the Caribbean by night. Her debut novel, Where the Rhythm Takes You (Balzer + Bray), was inspired by her childhood spent in a seaside hotel and tells the story of 17-year-old Reyna, who has spent most of her life at her family’s gorgeous seaside resort in Tobago. But what once seemed like paradise is starting to feel like purgatory. It’s been two years since her mother passed away and Aiden – Reyna’s childhood best friend, first kiss, first love, first everything – left the island to pursue his music dreams. Her friends are all planning their futures and heading abroad; even her father seems ready to move on. Then Aiden returns – as a VIP guest of the resort, no less – with his Grammy-nominated band and two gorgeous LA socialites, and he finds Reyna exactly where he left her. Publishers Weekly said “inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Dass interweaves the allure of the source material with the warm tropical winds and scents of Tobago. Readers, even those unfamiliar with Austen’s work, will appreciate this cast of characters with believable motivations and fleshed-out ideas as they realize what they want and embrace second chances for love and for new adventures.”