Review: Sweet As Sin
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2011
There is a new resident bad boy in town and as luck would have it, he's moved into the house next door to Livvy. He's sexy and clearly interested in his new neighbor but Livvy isn't in the market for a bad boy fling. She owns her own home, owns a successful bakery and she's ready for a serious relationship that might lead to marriage, babies and the white picket fence.John Murphy doesn't just have the sexy bad boy thing going for him. He's an author of a popular Young Adult urban fantasy series. He seems fairly easy to figure out on the surface: sexy, smart, interesting, and did I mention sexy? The chemistry between Livvy and John is off the charts and when John turns up the charm Livvy finds it difficult to resist the thrill of a wild summer fling. Throwing caution to the wind they go for it promising to keep it fun, with no strings attached.I've read a few titles by Inez Kelley and really enjoyed her stories and so I was really looking forward to reading Sweet As Sin. I like this author's voice and when I have the chance to read one of her books I jump at it. As much as I've enjoyed Ms. Kelley's other works, I have to say Sweet As Sin caught me totally by surprise. I expected a fun, sexy romance and got so much more.The emotional depth of the characters in this book was extraordinary, taking me on an emotional roller coaster that had me clinging to my e-reader one minute and wanting to toss it across the room the next. John comes off as a cool, sexy bad boy but he is so tormented and complex it made my heart ache. He is not the perfect romance hero by any means. His actions were atrocious at times, making me cringe, but because of the raw pain and torment he suffers as a result of his past I found his actions to be so believable and painfully authentic. John battles his darkness on a daily basis and has learned to cope by creating the monsters in his books. His monsters are a reflection of him really added so much depth to John's character.Livvy has a few of her own demons from the past and at times I wondered if her devotion to John would or should waver. She so fell hard for him in a fairly short amount of time, but she went into the relationship knowing it was to be only a fling. When the heavy stuff started to surface she dug in her heels and was in for the long haul. She seemed to see the light in John where he could only see the dark.I know I'm making this story seem very dark and it is. But it's also fun, sexy and incredibly romantic. This is a fantastic love story that stayed with me for quite some time after The End. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to John and Livvy, and I need a follow up novella NOW.