How Sweet It Is

Sophie Gunn

When she was 16, Lizzie thought she was in love. Then she got pregnant and he disappeared. Now, 14 years later she's a single mom. She and Paige still live in her small New York state town, Galvin. She's a waitress at the local diner. Then in early autumn a phone call comes from Paige's father. He will be at their house at noon on Christmas Day to see his daughter.

Tay Giovanni had accidentally killed a woman in an automobile accident a year earlier. Now he has come to Galvin to make reparations to the woman's daughter. The girl rejects his money and throws the duffle away. Now Tay is trying to find the money. In the mean time he has the compulsion to be a Boy Scout and help anyone. He overhears Lizzie wishing for a man to come to her house weekly and fix things up like wiring and broken fences. He fixes her porch light. Then he starts working on her sagging fence.

Lizzie doesn't accept charity. She is not about to take any from this broken man. OK, he's hot. He's a good handyman. She isn't in the business of making other people feel better. He is hot, though...

Tay can't get past his guilt over the car accident. His fiancee broke up with him. He sold his property in the Queens so he could give away the money. Nothing tastes good to him. He drives very slowly now and stops an extra long time at intersections. His dog travels with him. A cat joined him along the way and won't leave. Life is gray. But something about Lizzie pulls him. He started worked on her property because of her wish and his need to make things better. Perhaps she can do more for him as well.

Sophie Gunn's How Sweet It Is is a cute romance. The characters are believable. It's easy to get caught up in Tay's guilt and Lizzie's worries about Paige and the upcoming meeting with her father. Lizzie's best friends, The Enemy Club, is another layer to the story, adding some depth. They also are the subjects of future novels in a series.

Tay and Lizzie both have to fight their own demons. Gunn has deftly handled their problems in this novel. How Sweet It Is may be a romance and not deep, but it keeps the reader's attention. The characters just have to get together - and solve their problems. This book can be closed with a sigh of content.

Notice:  Strong sexual content

Publicist provided copy