Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I loved this book! I have been a fan of Kristen Calihan ever since I read her Game On series. Something about her writing just draws me in, and I just curl up and enjoy the show. So it is true with Make It Sweet, from page 1, I knew I was back in the beautiful world of Kristen Callihan's words.
Lucian, the artistic, deeply thoughtful, and wounded hero, is an incredible personality that you simultaneously want to hug and swoon over. Emma is sunshine to his dark, sweet to his bitter, smiles to his frowns, but as the novel progresses, she draws him to her like a bee to honey. Their banter is perfect, their nicknames for each other lovingly brilliant, and the steamy slow burn is as perfect as one of the pastries Julian creates.
Everything about this story was perfect to me, the pace, the side characters, the descriptions of all the locales; I truly resided in this book for the story and loved every single second of it. I hope Kristen has more for us soon.
Lucian, the artistic, deeply thoughtful, and wounded hero, is an incredible personality that you simultaneously want to hug and swoon over. Emma is sunshine to his dark, sweet to his bitter, smiles to his frowns, but as the novel progresses, she draws him to her like a bee to honey. Their banter is perfect, their nicknames for each other lovingly brilliant, and the steamy slow burn is as perfect as one of the pastries Julian creates.
Everything about this story was perfect to me, the pace, the side characters, the descriptions of all the locales; I truly resided in this book for the story and loved every single second of it. I hope Kristen has more for us soon.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Elsker at det er en historie om at finde andre glæder i livet - en ny lykke - når det man troede var sin for evigt glæde tages fra en.
Har det svært med Sals "en queer-dreng som mig" kommentar... Der er ikke rigtig andre tegn på, at han er queer og jeg kan ikke finde ud af, om det er dårlig repræsentation, svag rep. eller om det er så subtle, jeg er gået glip af repræsentationer 🙈
Har det svært med Sals "en queer-dreng som mig" kommentar... Der er ikke rigtig andre tegn på, at han er queer og jeg kan ikke finde ud af, om det er dårlig repræsentation, svag rep. eller om det er så subtle, jeg er gået glip af repræsentationer 🙈
Graphic: Sexual content
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ENG
This book was as sweet as the pastries in it. Also, it was very pleasant to listen to the audiobook as both of the narrators did fantastic work. (+ the voice of the male narrator left me speechless)
This book was as sweet as the pastries in it. Also, it was very pleasant to listen to the audiobook as both of the narrators did fantastic work. (+ the voice of the male narrator left me speechless)
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yeah I didn't like this one. It wasn't good in my opinion at all. It's so slow and not in a slow burn way where there's tension and little moments and stuff, just slow. It was also insta lusty? Idk if that's a word but they pretty much wanted to do it after their second interaction. They didn't though but still. I didn't get the friends to lovers thing between them at all. I didn't get the connection at all either. I was bored the whole time. I initially thought it had a slow start but I was bored and eventually sped through it so I could finish. I. also didn't like how Emma's only personality trait was being a a character on a tv show that was naked at times and I didn't like how Lucian was so whiny throughout this whole thing. The third act conflict was so stupid too. I'm just glad I'm done.
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.5* at most. Tried a new to me author with a very mixed result. I liked the writing style for the most part and some characterizations seemed realistic and even raw, but all those positives were brutally hampered by the fact that the whole book is based on ridiculous insta-lust. Which translated into way too many gratuitous sex scenes, some of which were contextually inappropriate. (The author seems to think that orgasms are a miracle cure for all migraines(!!!) - special miracle migraines, maybe.)
Therefore, even my usual technique of just skipping the sex scenes didn't work in this book - it was like walking in a mine field: the most unsexy, sex-irrelevant situations got interrupted by explicit sex thoughts or ended up being inappropriate setups for a sex scene. Eww.
The sex also got in the way of the relationship between the characters. Too much lust clouds both judgement and motivation, so it was difficult to gauge how reliable the first person narrators were when we got to see their thoughts about each other. But at least there were relationship building moments outside of sex - enough of them to be the saving grace of the book and the reason why I finished it despite its mine field qualities.
In conclusion:
Can this author write? Yes.
Can she write something I would really enjoy reading? Doubtful, but perhaps detailed reviews can help me figure it out in the future.
Therefore, even my usual technique of just skipping the sex scenes didn't work in this book - it was like walking in a mine field: the most unsexy, sex-irrelevant situations got interrupted by explicit sex thoughts or ended up being inappropriate setups for a sex scene. Eww.
The sex also got in the way of the relationship between the characters. Too much lust clouds both judgement and motivation, so it was difficult to gauge how reliable the first person narrators were when we got to see their thoughts about each other. But at least there were relationship building moments outside of sex - enough of them to be the saving grace of the book and the reason why I finished it despite its mine field qualities.
In conclusion:
Can this author write? Yes.
Can she write something I would really enjoy reading? Doubtful, but perhaps detailed reviews can help me figure it out in the future.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment
medium-paced
****4.5 stars ⭐****
"She had slid into my life at one of the worst possible times, and yet now that she was here, the thought of letting her go was unimaginable."
Hollywood meets Hockey in this brand new grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity standalone by Kristen Callihan (also comes with a one bed trope!). I love her writing and I could pick up literally everything she writes. Ngl, reading the book's blurb, I didn't feel like I would enjoy it but I'm glad that it wasn't the case at all! Lucian & Emma were totally a delightful treat to read. The tropes in this book SERVE. Sure, it was cheesy and sweet but I was smiling throughout the book.
"If you believe anything about me, believe I will always be the guy who stands with you, never against you.”
Lucian Osmond, a talented hockey player suddenly decided to retire because of a severe head injury that put his life at risk. And now he's hiding away at his grandmother's estate in Rosemund because of losing both his passion and his fiance. What he didn't know however that, he had a talent greater than his sport- baking. Emma Marone, a famous actress known for playing a princess in a well known tv show had been at the top of her career but one abrupt call to kill off her character in the show, ran her out of her job. On top of that, she found her boyfriend of one year cheating on her. So, to seek some solitude, she just decides to head at her grandmother's friend's estate which obviously happens to be the place where Lucien is staying at.
“Lucian Osmond, you wrecked me.” “Only fair. You’ve been wrecking me from the moment we met.”
Emma was such a loveable character. She was supportive, caring, sassy, passionate about her work and had such a sunshine personality. She balanced out Lucien and his grumpiness for sure. Lucien at times was such a hard, stubborn ass but I couldn't help but understand him and his frustrations, I loved him even more when he started to show how whipped he was for Emma. (Lucien noticed every single little thing about her and fed her some delicious treats) Both of the characters had went through something hard and their individual struggles were portrayed in a real and raw way. While the book was sweet and fluffy, it also dealt with real life struggles that some athletes and actors face.
“To live is to adapt. We’re constantly reinventing ourselves. Don’t be afraid of failure or change, loves; it means you’re alive.”
Overall, the tropes were wholesome and enjoyable. Some of the side characters especially Lucien's grandma were hilarious. The book started off real good with witty banters and a load of sexual tension. The conflicts weren't stretched out much but it was angsty, amusing and entertaining. I loved Lucien & Emma's chemistry with constant teasing, flirting and the fluffy nicknames they gave each other just made me melt like a hot puddle lol! I highly recommend reading it because I liked it more than Outmatched.
"She had slid into my life at one of the worst possible times, and yet now that she was here, the thought of letting her go was unimaginable."
Hollywood meets Hockey in this brand new grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity standalone by Kristen Callihan (also comes with a one bed trope!). I love her writing and I could pick up literally everything she writes. Ngl, reading the book's blurb, I didn't feel like I would enjoy it but I'm glad that it wasn't the case at all! Lucian & Emma were totally a delightful treat to read. The tropes in this book SERVE. Sure, it was cheesy and sweet but I was smiling throughout the book.
"If you believe anything about me, believe I will always be the guy who stands with you, never against you.”
Lucian Osmond, a talented hockey player suddenly decided to retire because of a severe head injury that put his life at risk. And now he's hiding away at his grandmother's estate in Rosemund because of losing both his passion and his fiance. What he didn't know however that, he had a talent greater than his sport- baking. Emma Marone, a famous actress known for playing a princess in a well known tv show had been at the top of her career but one abrupt call to kill off her character in the show, ran her out of her job. On top of that, she found her boyfriend of one year cheating on her. So, to seek some solitude, she just decides to head at her grandmother's friend's estate which obviously happens to be the place where Lucien is staying at.
“Lucian Osmond, you wrecked me.” “Only fair. You’ve been wrecking me from the moment we met.”
Emma was such a loveable character. She was supportive, caring, sassy, passionate about her work and had such a sunshine personality. She balanced out Lucien and his grumpiness for sure. Lucien at times was such a hard, stubborn ass but I couldn't help but understand him and his frustrations, I loved him even more when he started to show how whipped he was for Emma. (Lucien noticed every single little thing about her and fed her some delicious treats) Both of the characters had went through something hard and their individual struggles were portrayed in a real and raw way. While the book was sweet and fluffy, it also dealt with real life struggles that some athletes and actors face.
“To live is to adapt. We’re constantly reinventing ourselves. Don’t be afraid of failure or change, loves; it means you’re alive.”
Overall, the tropes were wholesome and enjoyable. Some of the side characters especially Lucien's grandma were hilarious. The book started off real good with witty banters and a load of sexual tension. The conflicts weren't stretched out much but it was angsty, amusing and entertaining. I loved Lucien & Emma's chemistry with constant teasing, flirting and the fluffy nicknames they gave each other just made me melt like a hot puddle lol! I highly recommend reading it because I liked it more than Outmatched.