Reviewer: Holly Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino
Series: Sweet Thing #1
Publication Date: August 20th 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 320
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Series Rating:
A USA TODAY bestselling contemporary romance about the complexities of love and self-discovery in the early post-college years.
Mia Kelly thinks she has it all figured out. She’s an Ivy League graduate, a classically trained pianist, and the beloved daughter of a sensible mother and offbeat father. Yet Mia has been stalling since graduation, torn between putting her business degree to use and exploring music, her true love.
When her father unexpectedly dies, she decides to pick up the threads of his life while she figures out her own. Uprooting herself from Ann Arbor to New York City, Mia takes over her father’s café, a treasured neighborhood institution that plays host to undiscovered musicians and artists. She’s denied herself the thrilling and unpredictable life of a musician, but a chance encounter with Will, a sweet, gorgeous, and charming guitarist, offers her a glimpse of what could be. When Will becomes her friend and then her roommate, she does everything in her power to suppress her passions—for him, for music—but her father’s legacy slowly opens her heart to the possibility of something more.
When Mia’s father unexpectedly passes away and leaves her the sole beneficiary of his estate, she decides to go to New York City to run the coffee shop he adored and live in his apartment. She didn’t see him a lot growing up, but she cared for him and he her. She needs some time to figure out what she wants to do with her life and to come to terms with his death.
On the flight to New York she meets Will Ryan. Will is a musician and they hit it off right away. They talk the entire flight. About music, life and a million other things. Mia mentions her father’s coffee shop to Will and he turns up a few weeks later. Without thinking, Mia asks him to be her roommate.
Though she’s attracted to him, Will is far from ideal man. He isn’t successful or driven. Though she loves music and plays many instruments, she craves stability and wants someone who can provide it. So she pushes Will away, and instead starts dating a young professional she convinces herself is everything she’s ever wanted in a man.
I’m not sure why Mia had such a skewed perspective on relationships. Her mother and father weren’t together long, but they maintained a good relationship. She was close with her step-father and impressed by her mother’s relationship with him. Her behavior was often destructive and came across as immature and exasperating.
Though the story is told in first person from Mia’s point-of-view, it’s obvious Will wants a relationship with Mia. He’s open and affectionate with her. He’s the type of man many women would love to have. He was considerate of her feelings, shared many things in common with her and wanted nothing more than her happiness. His only flaw, according to Mia, was that he wasn’t wealthy or driven enough to become so.
While I enjoyed the growth of the heroine, I admit she drove me batty for most of the book. I understand this book was about her changing and growing, and she did. She begins the novel as a shallow, vain, confused, silly girl. She ends it in a better place. I was glad to see the change in her, but it was extremely painful to watch the process.
If you’re looking for an angsty read, this is the book for you.
2.75 out of 5
This book is available from Atria Books. You can buy it here or here in e-format.