Sugar Rush

Sugar Rush
by Rachel Astor
Published by Bliss
158 pages
Genre: romance; chick lit
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3 / 5 cupcakes


I realize I court disdain when I say that this book is very sweet, but it is. It's sweet. It's also cute and adorable. Yet it will frustrate you because you will want recipes for all of the chocolate you read about - or at least a place where you can buy it.

Dulcie (yep - that's her name) wants to be everything to everyone. She wants to be a good granddaughter to her grandmother, a good daughter to her deceased mother, a good boss to her employees, a good friend, a good citizen (she tries to help a homeless girl), a good student and a good business owner. In short, she wants to be what other people want her to be, as opposed to knowing what she wants to be for herself.

She is struggling, though. She's trying to complete her Masters degree while operating Candy Land Confections, a chocolatier business that also is struggling. Her competition is How Sweet It Is, which is owned by a man with whom her grandmother is locked in a long standing feud.

But then one day, Dulcie meets Nick Sugarman (yep - that's his name), the heir to How Sweet It Is. Nick isn't all that interested in chocolates; he'd rather create cupcakes, for what it's worth, but he feels some obligation to his father. Like Dulcie, he exists in a world in which no one asks him what he wants to do.

The two decide to compete in an annual chocolatier competition, one that How Sweet it Is would like to win but that Dulcie needs to win. She needs the financial boost that the winning check would bring, not to mention the new customers that would come.

Meanwhile, though, she and Nick like each other, even if her grandmother and his father disapprove.

This book ... I don't even know how to discuss it. It's sweet (there I go again) and adorable, but there isn't much substance to it. Dulcie is not a terrible person, but yet I didn't like her all that much. I mostly wanted to shake her and beg her to tell me what she thinks she needs to be happy. I don't think we ever really got a sense of that. Yes, she wants Candy Land Confections to be successful, but that's more out of duty to her mother than her own desires. She wants romance, but when Nick comes offering it, she initially rebuffs him.

Then there is Nick, who is more likable than Dulcie, but still not a hot hero or anything. He allows his father to push his buttons, and he's only in it because he doesn't want someone else to take over the business. Neither one of these people appear to want what they are working so hard to keep, professionally that is.

In terms of hotness, well, you won't get a whole lot. It's a book about chocolate, so if you're going for hot, the chocolate will melt. GET IT? Plus, it's too sweet to be hot.

This isn't to say that I did not enjoy the book; I did. Just not enough to fall in love with it. Now, I did fall in love with some of the candy described in there. Oh, that I liked quite a bit.

The Reluctant Bachelorette

 The Reluctant Bachelorette
by Rachael Anderson
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
316 pages
Genre: romance, chick lit
Thanks to I am a Reader, Not a Writer for the preview
4 / 5 cupcakes


Have you ever wondered just how much 'reality' is in reality television?

That is one of the subjects broached, albeit tamely, in this sweet love story.

Taycee (I admit ... that name gives me the shivers, and I kept wanting to call her Tracey) has lived in her small hometown forever, refusing to leave even after her parents' deaths. Most of her friends moved on, including Jessa, her best friend who became a television producer. The person she misses the most, though, is Luke Carney, a man she has secretly loved since childhood.

But Shelter Springs is struggling, and Jessa has a plan to revive the town: have an online dating contest, in which Taycee is the prize. Since Taycee's love for Shelter Springs knows no bounds, she agrees ... reluctantly. Well, guess who returns home, just in time to get himself on the show? That's right, Luke.

Yes, we all know where this is headed. And, yes, there is a strong chance that you will get sugar shock and need insulin relief.

But despite the sweetness of this book, there is an underlying melancholy, and that's what attracted me to it. Taycee is darling, but she also suffers. Her parents are dead, her brother moved to the big city, and she can't seem to get her bearings, even if she has remained in one place her whole life. She hates seeing Shelter Springs lose itself, so she allows herself to be a bachelorette in a contest, even if the idea fills her with self-loathing.

Then there is the lack of reality in this show. Taycee comes to especially despise the staging of her dates, frustrated with the voting public's failure to see the truth behind the facade. It makes you wonder how much of what is purported to be 'reality' on television is fake. (I think we all know the answer to this, though, don't we?)

Then there is Luke. Oh, how she has loved him and pined for him. Yet she believes he sees her as nothing more than his best friend's little sister. Can she help him see that she is a grown woman with the desires of one?

Much seems perfect in Shelter Springs, sort of a Stars Hollow, Gilmore Girls kind of schtick. Fortunately, though, Taycee revives the sugar coma. The fact that Rachael Anderson crafted a multidimensional character such as Taycee makes this an enjoyable and, yes, sweet book to read.

Sweet Laurel Falls

Sweet Laurel Falls
by RaeAnne Thayne
Published by Harlequin
384 pages
Genre: romance; chick list
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
3.5 / 5 cupcakes


One thing is for certain: this book is very sweet. So sweet, in fact, that it might induce a diabetic coma.

Maura McKnight's life at the moment is dark and sad. Her youngest daughter, Layla, passed away in a car accident, and her oldest daughter, Sage, is away at college. The girls have two different fathers; Layla's is Maura's ex-husband, and Sage's is Maura's first love, Jackson Lange. The two men have something in common other than Maura in that neither is around. Chris travels with his rock band, and Jackson bolted from their small Colorado hometown of Hope's Crossing shortly after he graduated from high school.

Jackson left more than Maura behind. She was pregnant, but did not know it when he went away. She tried to get in touch with him, but he didn't return her calls. Over the twenty ensuing years, Maura has gotten accustomed to life without Jackson, believing he will never return.

But he does show up ... as a visiting speaker to one of Sage's college classes. The two have a chat, and in the course of their conversation discover that they share some DNA. Neither is happy with Maura's refusal to disclose Jackson's parentage, but when Jackson returns to town, he manages to forget his ire when he comes face to face with Maura. Old attraction, it appears, does not die, it just lies in wait for a reunion.

The two must come to terms with their lingering love for each other, and Jackson has some fences to mend with his cranky old father. Sage is a soothing restorative, but she has secrets of her own and needs her parents to help her find solution and solace.

The romance between Maura and Jackson unfolds slowly, as they come to rediscover their feelings for each other. This is very much a G-rated romance, so no fear of any hot headboard rocking. Even the kissing scenes are chaste.

Fortunately, what saves this from complete sugar overload are Maura and Jackson. These are two flawed adults. She is too raw with hurt over Layla's death, fear over possibly losing Sage to Jackson, and heartbroken over Jackson leaving in the first place. He, on the other hand, is angry with her for not disclosing that he is a father, and he's also bitter over his father's past manipulation. They have to get past those barriers before they can come together.

The setting is as much a character as the humans, and just as charming. You will find yourself wanting to visit this tiny ski village in hopes of dining at the cafes and visiting Maura's bookstore. RaeAnne Thayne does an excellent job of showing us Hope's Crossing and its effect on its residents.

Thayne tells the story slowly (sometimes too slowly) and gently, if not occasionally repetitively. I felt like I read the same scene more than once, and the "shocking news" that Sage delivers is not all that shocking. As a means to bring Jackson's father closer to his family, it works, if not predictably so.

Sweet and gentle: that's the best summary of this book I can give.