Review: Sweet and Hot
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 1, 2012
I just finished Sweet Deal, a brand new erotic contemporary romance by Kelly Jamieson. This book is a sweet story; it's a complex story full of heart and emotion and relatable protagonists. Both characters have a lot of personal baggage, but it doesn't feel made up or contrived... They feel like real people with a past and pain and a future. Shelby and Jake have noticed each other in the coffee shop they frequent for a while.  Shelby thinks her boss is showing her favoritism  and she's stressed out at the position she's in, wishing she had a solution to her work drama. Jake comes over to her table and asks if he can sit with her. He'd noticed her for weeks and decided to make a move on the cute little blonde with the pretty shoes. <g> They chat and, well, sometimes it's easier to tell a stranger your problems. Shelby shares her problem with Jake, that her boss asked her to go to the company picnic with him. Jake offers to help her out of an uncomfortable situation and volunteers to be her "date". :p They go to the picnic and are having fun getting to know each other with no pressure and then he gets introduced to her boss and unfortunately, he has a history with Andrew and his wife Gianna. He was dating Gianna and planning on starting a business with his best friend Andrew when Gianna dumped him and married Andrew. Shelby has no idea of their history and feels like he is just acting the perfect boyfriend he promised. He turns up the heat a bit because he wants to show them that he's fine and has a hot girl friend. So, there's that little deception....There's a lot of chemistry between Shelby and Jake. The love scenes use descriptive language, but it's a sweet heat.... Very yummy *sigh* I liked the dialogue between them too, how they get to know each other and talk about more than favorite foods. They open up about their family, they both have baggage. Shelby's parents didn't pay much attention to her, her mother was very needy and her parents were either fighting or making up. She grew up looking for attention from men and then feeling empty when those relationships didn't last. Jake's mother left him when he was a child, taking his sisters with her. And then Gianna left him for his best friend, needless to say, he has abandonment issues and would rather love `em and leave `em then open up and get hurt. They are in this no strings "Sweet" deal arrangement of pretending to be in a relationship, it's faux, there's no pressure. They are in it for show and the benefit of hot sex. They continue to hang out and basically date, though they don't see it as that. They spend time together and of course, burn of the sheets *blush* those are delicious scenes.Shelby's girlfriends, Myra, Riley and Kiera feel like girls I would be friends with and I want more! Kiera is dealing with her husband's terminal illness. That's an intense, heavy situation and the girls are there for each other. Kelly Jamieson doesn't shy away from the pain of a loss. She doesn't make it a heavy burden on the story but it is a part of the story. Death is part of life and it was very emotional to see the friends support each other.. I loved watching Jake lend emotional strength to Shelby. There's a beautiful scene where Shelby calls him cause she just needs a hug and he volunteers to come over, and they sit on the couch and she falls asleep in his arms... I cried reading this story, I also laughed out loud. I liked the characters. I totally enjoyed this story and watching Shelby and Jake discover that their "sweet" deal could be even sweeter.If you like contemporary romance and enjoy some steam with your stories. Go Get This Book!(((hugs))) The Queen of TartsOrinally reviewed on [...]