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A review by litwithleigh
Sweeten the Deal by Katie Shepard
5.0
Thank you Berkley Romance (YES THAT'S RIGHT!!! I FINALLY GOT APPROVED!!!) for the ARC. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest (yes, even when it's Berkley).
Writing: loved | Plot: LOVED | Ending: I actually didn't want it to end
SYNOPSIS
Caroline is a sheltered 22-year-old who's determined to make her grandma proud by living a "big life." Armed with a light 2-million dollars from granny's will, Caroline decides to "invest" in Adrian, a struggling artist who she hopes can teach her how to be a sophisticated lady.
MY OPINION
OOOHHWEEEEE!!!!!!! I legit stayed up to 1am two nights in a row to finish this baddie. Not only is this my first Berkley approval (mama we made it), but the cover is EVERYTHING, the premise is JUICY, and I legitimately LOVED IT. Now, do I think this will be for everyone? Absolutely not. This is what I call a "niche banger." It's not your typical contemporary romance written at a high-school level with sitcom banter and boss babe moments. In comparison to other romances I've read, the writing is elevated, the storytelling more thoughtful, the humour is dry, and the actual romance is subtle and most certainly a slow burn. If you want to assign some popular tropes to this I would say fake dating and age gap (he's 33 and she's 22).
Before I go any further, I want to make something clear CAROLINE IS NOT NEURODIVERGENT . I've seen a trend where readers are trying to place every "quirky" or "unique" character on the spectrum regardless of what the author says. Can we stop? You can be socially awkward due to a sheltered upbringing, childhood bullying, or just a plain ole introverted personality.
I liked that Shepard poked fun at "armchair diagnosis" in regards to Caroline's lack of social skills and general naiveté in the book. She does a great job of making it clear that Caroline's behaviour is because: 1) she spent every free minute playing tennis (as someone who played at a high level—I've met a many Carolines in my life) 2) she grew up in a small town where no one leaves and everyone's in your business and 3) she was constantly put down by her family and told she's incompetent/doesn't know what she's doing/can't trust herself etc.
Ok, now moving on from my Ted Talk. I think this plot can be difficult to pull off, but pull it off she did. I absolutely loved Caroline. I loved how genuine she was. I loved how authentic her social anxieties were without totally overshadowing and consuming her humorous and playful personality. And I loved how Caroline didn't want to change her core personality, she just wanted to expand her interests and learn more about the world. Her open-mindedness to different interests was refreshing in a sea of FMC who make it their entire goal to be "not like those other girls."
And Adrian... *dreamy sigh* He gave me Fitzwilliam Darcy vibes in a good way. He just seemed... proper and thoughtful. A lot of the tension between Adrian and Caroline gave me the same vibes as the ICONIC "hand flex" scene from Pride & Prejudice (2005 version). It was very subtle and had me actually wanting to fling the door open and embrace the spice YEAH I SAID IT!!!! I WENT THERE!!! Anyways. I enjoyed the emphasis of romance in Adrian's POV and the exploration of self and friendship (and a lil romance) in Caroline's POV. They were well-balanced and skillfully executed despite being in third-person. This is the first male POV that didn't make me want to kick someone in the nuts at full velocity. Great job, Shepard!
This is one of the VERY few books I've read in the last two years that I legitimately didn't want to end. When I saw that % in the corner of my Kindle creep up, I actually felt sad. I would LOVE to see this as a movie and if the author is open to being paid in eternal thanks, I'd love a sequel. Just give me 10 pages idc. I NEED IT!!!!
Before I wrap this up, I want to reiterate that this book has a very specific audience. If Abigail Dean (Girl A, Day One) wrote a romance book, I imagine it would be something like this. Take that as you will. FYI if this premise speaks to you, may I suggest The Hook Up Plan on Netflix. It's a French series where the FMCs friends (unbeknownst to her) hire a male escort to help her get over a difficult breakup. Different premises but very similar subtle, slow burn vibes.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: solid plot execution (it could've gone sideways), wonderful characters, subtle slow burn romance that actually had me caught up, funny when it needed to be, thoughtful when it needed to be, I may have teared up a bit but no one will ever know the truth, for the first time in a long time I didn't want a book to end
Cons: this is very pretentious former college athlete wanker of me but it's Division II not Division Two (throw tomatoes at me)
Writing: loved | Plot: LOVED | Ending: I actually didn't want it to end
SYNOPSIS
Caroline is a sheltered 22-year-old who's determined to make her grandma proud by living a "big life." Armed with a light 2-million dollars from granny's will, Caroline decides to "invest" in Adrian, a struggling artist who she hopes can teach her how to be a sophisticated lady.
MY OPINION
OOOHHWEEEEE!!!!!!! I legit stayed up to 1am two nights in a row to finish this baddie. Not only is this my first Berkley approval (mama we made it), but the cover is EVERYTHING, the premise is JUICY, and I legitimately LOVED IT. Now, do I think this will be for everyone? Absolutely not. This is what I call a "niche banger." It's not your typical contemporary romance written at a high-school level with sitcom banter and boss babe moments. In comparison to other romances I've read, the writing is elevated, the storytelling more thoughtful, the humour is dry, and the actual romance is subtle and most certainly a slow burn. If you want to assign some popular tropes to this I would say fake dating and age gap (he's 33 and she's 22).
Before I go any further, I want to make something clear CAROLINE IS NOT NEURODIVERGENT . I've seen a trend where readers are trying to place every "quirky" or "unique" character on the spectrum regardless of what the author says. Can we stop? You can be socially awkward due to a sheltered upbringing, childhood bullying, or just a plain ole introverted personality.
I liked that Shepard poked fun at "armchair diagnosis" in regards to Caroline's lack of social skills and general naiveté in the book. She does a great job of making it clear that Caroline's behaviour is because: 1) she spent every free minute playing tennis (as someone who played at a high level—I've met a many Carolines in my life) 2) she grew up in a small town where no one leaves and everyone's in your business and 3) she was constantly put down by her family and told she's incompetent/doesn't know what she's doing/can't trust herself etc.
Ok, now moving on from my Ted Talk. I think this plot can be difficult to pull off, but pull it off she did. I absolutely loved Caroline. I loved how genuine she was. I loved how authentic her social anxieties were without totally overshadowing and consuming her humorous and playful personality. And I loved how Caroline didn't want to change her core personality, she just wanted to expand her interests and learn more about the world. Her open-mindedness to different interests was refreshing in a sea of FMC who make it their entire goal to be "not like those other girls."
And Adrian... *dreamy sigh* He gave me Fitzwilliam Darcy vibes in a good way. He just seemed... proper and thoughtful. A lot of the tension between Adrian and Caroline gave me the same vibes as the ICONIC "hand flex" scene from Pride & Prejudice (2005 version). It was very subtle and had me actually wanting to fling the door open and embrace the spice YEAH I SAID IT!!!! I WENT THERE!!! Anyways. I enjoyed the emphasis of romance in Adrian's POV and the exploration of self and friendship (and a lil romance) in Caroline's POV. They were well-balanced and skillfully executed despite being in third-person. This is the first male POV that didn't make me want to kick someone in the nuts at full velocity. Great job, Shepard!
This is one of the VERY few books I've read in the last two years that I legitimately didn't want to end. When I saw that % in the corner of my Kindle creep up, I actually felt sad. I would LOVE to see this as a movie and if the author is open to being paid in eternal thanks, I'd love a sequel. Just give me 10 pages idc. I NEED IT!!!!
Before I wrap this up, I want to reiterate that this book has a very specific audience. If Abigail Dean (Girl A, Day One) wrote a romance book, I imagine it would be something like this. Take that as you will. FYI if this premise speaks to you, may I suggest The Hook Up Plan on Netflix. It's a French series where the FMCs friends (unbeknownst to her) hire a male escort to help her get over a difficult breakup. Different premises but very similar subtle, slow burn vibes.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: solid plot execution (it could've gone sideways), wonderful characters, subtle slow burn romance that actually had me caught up, funny when it needed to be, thoughtful when it needed to be, I may have teared up a bit but no one will ever know the truth, for the first time in a long time I didn't want a book to end
Cons: this is very pretentious former college athlete wanker of me but it's Division II not Division Two (throw tomatoes at me)