Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton

2 reviews

meganpbennett's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

How Sweet It Is is a study in contradictions, with the Queen of Happy Endings and the Knight of Nightmares being forced to work together for a book launch. Kate Sweet is an event planner, and she's good. She's famous for her "Awww" moment and working with the groom to do something extra special for the bride. Drake Matthews is a horror writer, but he's really a nice guy and he's looking to get out of the horror genre and into the... historical romance genre? 

The book's mostly a sweet romance - complete with a massive misunderstanding just before the book launch party and a HEA - but there are elements of horror scattered throughout the book, starting with Kate thinking she's being chased by an attack dog and including Kate getting a bat in her hair while lying in a crypt. 
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spearly's review

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC for review!


Love is probably the only thing on this planet worth fighting for. Worth losing everything for. You’re a fool if you let pride stand in your way.


What do you get when The Queen of Happily Ever After meets the knight of Nightmares? Sparks.

Kate Sweet is an event planner who, as a favour to her best friend, agrees to plan a book launch for one of the most prolific horror writers in the world. But he's certainly not what the rumours make him out to be. Can Kate and Drake keep their relationship professional, even as their feelings grow?

This book oozes with cheese. I know, I know, it's chick-lit ~romance~, what do you expect? And How Sweet It Is definitely delivers!

The book really found its groove about halfway through.The romance build-up was believable (thanks to a few time jumps, rather than having our leads fall head over heels in, like, a week), and the drama made sense to the story. Sure, there were a few moments of doubt from Kate and Drake where they presumably couldn't tell for sure how the other felt about them - when it was pretty dang obvious - but other than that, I really believed the final conflict. Kate, who never wants to let anyone down, who has something to prove after not following in her parents footsteps, and Drake, who was screwed over by his ex and terrified of rejection. 

The first half of the book, however, dragged. I found it too expositional for my taste. There's a fine line between having characters that ramble and having long speeches of needless description, and both Kate and Drake crossed it a few too many times for it to be a passed off as a character trait. Honestly, this was nearly a DNF for me until things started to pick up, and I don't DNF things lightly.

All that said, and despite the obvious issues, I enjoyed both Drake's and Kate's character. Kate didn't step down when faced with challenges (or a slimy ex), and Drake was just so dang sweet. Maybe it's the reader in me, or maybe it's one of those quirks people don't like to admit, but I write/act out scenes in my head, too. 

I wish there had been a bit more character development. I think that's the trade-off when writing a dual-POV, 3rd person novel; everything was very plot-based, and readers don't really get the chance to see characters deal with their own faults, their own insecurities, their own feelings. It makes them seem a bit one-dimensional.

Overall, a fine romance, a quick fluff read that tickles your fancy.
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