REVIEW: Sweet as Sin by Inez Kelley

Title: Sweet as Sin
Author: Inez Kelley
Format: eBook
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: NetGalley
Published: January 2011 by Carina Press

She was made for sin. Sin was something he knew intimately.

John Murphy is tormented by nightmares. A bestselling young-adult author, he writes the ultimate fantasy: stories where good always triumphs. He knows better. His past has shown him the worst in people—and in himself. When he moves next door to the sexy, vibrant Livvy—a woman completely unlike his usual one-night stands—he’s driven to explore every curve of her delicious body.

Pastry chef Livvy knows that giving in to the temptation that is John Murphy won’t lead to anything permanent, but she deserves a passionate summer fling. John discovers she’s as sweet as the confections she bakes while Livvy slowly unravels his secrets. But what will happen when she uncovers them all?

Why I Read this Book: Sweet as Sin is a book I read specifically because it was recommended to me as a ‘great emotional read’. If I were to have come across this book on my own and read the blurb, truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up and I would have seriously missed out – big time. Huge! Like the ladies in that Rodeo shop that turned Julia Roberts down in Pretty Woman HUGE. I love me a good emotional read (it’s why I read Nicholas Sparks’ novels) so I jumped on this like it was the last train coming out of the station.

What I Liked: The characters in Sweet as Sin felt so real and raw. John is quite a complex character. He’s a broken soul that comes from a tormented past. He’s so far broken that the shattered pieces still need to be put back together. He’s seems simple at first but once Livvy gets to know him, he’s tough to crack. I found myself constantly wondering if Livvy was going to give up on him.

I love, love, LOVE how the author incorporated John’s YA novel into this novel. The connection was powerful, seamless and, for me, an important facet to the main storyline. It was brilliant!

Sweet as Sin is a deep and intense read. No light reading material here. You’ll be completely engaged the whole time through. I was reading this one during my daily treadmill workout and let me just tell you how hard and awkward it was to be crying while on the treadmill. And I’m not talking about stray tears here. Full blown on sobbing people.

What I Didn’t Like: I’m an epilogue fanatic. For most of the romance novels I read, I look forward to (and need) an epilogue. I need that final bit of closure for the main characters. It’s nice to know that they get their HEA but I need to know how they’re doing in the future. In Sweet as Sin, there’s an epilogue but I wasn’t satisfied with what I got. It was an interesting epilogue but I didn’t get the closure I needed. I would have liked to have seen what was actually in the epilogue put at the end of the last chapter (because it was good to know how that story arc ended as well as the main story did) and the epilogue give me what’s going on a few years from where the story left off.

Overall Impression: Sweet as Sin is the first book I’ve read by this author. Inez Kelley blew me away with this book. Have the tissues ready when you pick up Sweet as Sin. There are demons (of the metaphorical kind), broken characters and lots of emotional issues and baggage in this one. Like I mentioned, I love good emotional reads; it’s why I read Nicholas Sparks novels. But one thing this book had that Sparks’ books don’t is love scenes. Hot, sweltering love scenes.

 

The Book Vixen’s Rating: