The Sweetest Thing

The Sweetest Thing By Lilian Darcy

Lillian Darcy has managed to weave a story of tragedy and intrigue and still make it feel endearing and hopeful.  Fans of The Copper Mountain Rodeo Series will recognize many names and places, so it feels very much like a homecoming, as well.

That being said, I have a huge and heart-felt recommendation right off the bat:  Read The Sweetest Thing BEFORE you read Late Last Night.  Both work great as stand-alone novels, but I honestly believe I would have felt less cheated in the first chapter of The Sweetest Thing if I would not have read Late Last Night first.  Despite Late Last Night being a prequel, it would be better to describe it as a “back-story sequel”.

 The hero, Ren Fletcher, is sensitive without coming across as a wimp.  He is a delightful bundle of contradictions that you don’t normally find in contemporary romance any longer.  He is cynical, yet hopeful; confident, yet completely clueless.  He finds himself at a point in his life that he really doesn’t have the answers, but he is comfortable not finding them, either.

The heroine, Tully Morgan, however, is precisely the type of heroine that is found in most contemporary romance today.  The fiercely independent, but extremely lonely career woman who is nearing middle age and deciding that if she is going to settle down and start a family she needs to do it sooner rather than later.

What’s great is that the story doesn’t dwell on either of these elements.  Instead it relies heavily on interpersonal relationships of both of the characters.  The intrigue of the back-story (one fateful night 18 years before) and the hope that starts to come out of the corresponding tragedy keeps the reader engaged and rooting for everyone, not just the hero and heroine.

There are a few things that turned out a bit disappointing.  Some of the most revealing moments came across as anti-climactic, revealed much too quickly (in my opinion).  All of this aside, these moments do not disrupt the storyline.

Overall, this story was a wonderful ride of emotions, hope, and romance.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 4

Sex – 4 

Language – 4

Storyline – 5

Overall – 4