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How Sweet It Is
Some things are better than chocolate...
Molly O’Brien is a sweetheart. Her friends and neighbors all think so. While she enjoys her quiet life running the town bakeshop in Applewood, Illinois, she wonders if there could be more. After losing the love of her life four years prior in a plane crash, Molly thinks she’s ready to navigate the dicey dating waters once again. However, you can’t always pick who your heart latches on to. When Jordan Tuscana, the beautiful younger sister of her lost love, returns to town, Molly finds her interest piqued in a manner she wasn’t prepared for.
As secrets are uncovered, Molly and Jordan must figure out how to navigate the difficult terrain of their multi-faceted relationship. Especially when something much deeper seems to be bubbling between them.
Molly O’Brien is a sweetheart. Her friends and neighbors all think so. While she enjoys her quiet life running the town bakeshop in Applewood, Illinois, she wonders if there could be more. After losing the love of her life four years prior in a plane crash, Molly thinks she’s ready to navigate the dicey dating waters once again. However, you can’t always pick who your heart latches on to. When Jordan Tuscana, the beautiful younger sister of her lost love, returns to town, Molly finds her interest piqued in a manner she wasn’t prepared for.
As secrets are uncovered, Molly and Jordan must figure out how to navigate the difficult terrain of their multi-faceted relationship. Especially when something much deeper seems to be bubbling between them.
264 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2013
About the author
Melissa Brayden
30 books2,597 followersMelissa Brayden is the multi-award winning author of more than twenty-five sapphic romance novels and is hard at work on more. She is a wine enthusiast, a fan of all donuts, and is probably staring off into space as you're reading this. You can find her at www.melissabrayden.com and on most social media sites.
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February 13, 2023
call me annabelle cause if my sister tried to get with my girlfriend after i died - i WILL be haunting the both of them
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January 9, 2016How Sweet It Is – Melissa Brayden
Confession: I read a lot of lesbian romance novels. My college thesis advisor introduced me to Radclyffe’s books (I think Love’s Tender Warriors) but it wasn’t until my dissertation picked up that I started reading lesbian romance novels all the goddamn time. And of the metric ton of lesbian romances I’ve read, Melissa Brayden’s How Sweet It Is was easily one of my favorites to read. (This is saying something, because while I love lesbian romance novels, I am often critical of them – please stop with the insta-marriage, baby-stealing, and sex scenes that involve touching each other’s souls!)
I’d read Brayden’s first novel, Waiting in the Wings (about a Broadway hopeful! Lesbian Love, The Musical!) when it came out, and thought it was solid at the time (the first half of the novel is especially good – Brayden takes a risk that doesn’t quite work for me in the second half of the book, but you should read it anyway). So I was looking forward to seeing how Brayden had changed as a writer, and spoiler alert – she was good two years ago, but she is much, much better now. The dialogue in How Sweet It Is is genuinely funny and sweet, the characters are well-written and mostly consistent, and, best of all, Brayden is far, far away from uber-Xena territory. (You know where this is, even if you haven’t been there yourself; you can recognize uber-Xena from a distance because her glacial-blue eyes are burning into your soul … blue like the bluest flame, setting your heart and pants on fire. Ahem.)
So Brayden is an even better writer than she used to be, and she starts How Sweet It Is with a real problem: can town sweetheart and baking whiz Molly O’Brien fall in love with her dead wife’s younger sister (and all-around badass) Jordan Tuscana? (Obviously, the answer is “yes;” the real problem is whether Brayden can make their relationship work for the reader.) It’s a question for romance novels in general – no character emerges from a vacuum, so how do you deal with your characters’ past relationships and specifically, the ways that your protagonists use their past relationships to make sense of their new ones. If you’re a sloppy writer, it usually goes something like this: my past girlfriends were the worst and I’d never known true happiness until that night we kissed in the moonlight and our souls and bodies touched for the very first time. It’s an easy fix, although an unsatisfying one.
Brayden can’t do this, though, because the first relationship in question is with Jordan’s older sister Cassie, who tragically dies in a plane crash four years before the book begins; throwing Cassie under the bus doesn’t make sense because both Molly (town sweetheart) and Jordan (badass who’s been MIA for years) are still very much mourning her loss. So Brayden, in a way, has to sell two romances: in order to sympathize with Molly’s grief over Cassie’s death, we have to know what she’s lost; we also have to root for Molly and Jordan without minimizing the impact of Cassie’s death on both their lives (and without being creeped out by their relationship). It’s a delicate balance to strike, but Brayden makes it work, I think.
This in part due to how well Brayden writes Molly and Jordan. (It’s also helped by the following: the fact that Jordan has been MIA since Cassie’s funeral, that Jordan is as different from Cassie as two sisters can be, and that Jordan and Molly have a pre-existing friendship outside their shared love for Cassie. If Brayden weren’t a good writer, though, these alone would not be enough to make the relationship work for me.) Molly is hugely sympathetic – she’s processing her wife’s death (I cried salty tears, for real), she’s trying to keep her failing bakeshop open (curse you, Starbucks!), she’s dealing with her father’s poor health, and she’s also dealing with the possibility that she might lose the support of her in-laws if they find out she’s in love with their other daughter, too.
Jordan is also engaging and dynamic, but she’s more of an enigma than Molly is – she seems to struggle less with the weirdness of dating Molly, and was way, way more accommodating of Molly’s hesitation than the situation demanded. This is to say, she always seems to get why Molly’s backing off, even when Molly doesn’t, and maybe it’s that she’s had more practice in loving Molly while Molly’s affection for Jordan is still very much in process, but. Her motivations were also at times less clear to me.
Anyway. The wonderful parts of this book are Molly and Jordan’s interactions, though. They’re fun. For example, after they first kiss and there are feels, Molly finds Jordan and says, “How are you this morning, Jordan? I trust you’re well,” and we are treated to the following: “I trust you’re well? Were they now characters in a Jane Austen novel and she’s failed to be notified? Since when did they speak so formally to each other? Oh, this didn’t bode well. ‘I’m fine. Just a little worried about the fact that you’re talking to me like we’re at high tea.’” So good.
And as readers, we get to watch the sort of casual affection Molly and Jordan have for each other develop into a playful and loving relationship. It’s really wonderful. There are scenes in the book that made me feel like I was actually watching a relationship develop. For example, there is this great moment when, in a post-coital conversation, Molly asks Jordan what she’d do if stranded on a desert island, and Jordan says, “Perfect the great American cartwheel. No question. You?” And then when Molly says, “Your cartwheel, while festive, won’t keep you alive,” Jordan goes into this delightful little nonsensical rant about how she’s going to be the mayor of cartwheels and get the key to Cartwheel City and how Molly can visit some day if she wants. And this a great moment because it’s the sort of silliness that real relationships have tons of but is tragically underrepresented in romance novels.
This, I think, was the real draw of How Sweet It Is for me – what I like about the book is that while it is a sweet love story, it also acknowledges and skillfully navigates the difficult emotional realities of its protagonists. While Jordan initially wants Molly to see her for herself (i.e., without thinking about Cassie), I think both Molly and Jordan learn to be comfortable with the fact that they can build a relationship in light of their shared loss, rather than despite it.
**Also! I received a copy of this through NetGalley in return for a review. Thanks, Bold Strokes Books!**
Confession: I read a lot of lesbian romance novels. My college thesis advisor introduced me to Radclyffe’s books (I think Love’s Tender Warriors) but it wasn’t until my dissertation picked up that I started reading lesbian romance novels all the goddamn time. And of the metric ton of lesbian romances I’ve read, Melissa Brayden’s How Sweet It Is was easily one of my favorites to read. (This is saying something, because while I love lesbian romance novels, I am often critical of them – please stop with the insta-marriage, baby-stealing, and sex scenes that involve touching each other’s souls!)
I’d read Brayden’s first novel, Waiting in the Wings (about a Broadway hopeful! Lesbian Love, The Musical!) when it came out, and thought it was solid at the time (the first half of the novel is especially good – Brayden takes a risk that doesn’t quite work for me in the second half of the book, but you should read it anyway). So I was looking forward to seeing how Brayden had changed as a writer, and spoiler alert – she was good two years ago, but she is much, much better now. The dialogue in How Sweet It Is is genuinely funny and sweet, the characters are well-written and mostly consistent, and, best of all, Brayden is far, far away from uber-Xena territory. (You know where this is, even if you haven’t been there yourself; you can recognize uber-Xena from a distance because her glacial-blue eyes are burning into your soul … blue like the bluest flame, setting your heart and pants on fire. Ahem.)
So Brayden is an even better writer than she used to be, and she starts How Sweet It Is with a real problem: can town sweetheart and baking whiz Molly O’Brien fall in love with her dead wife’s younger sister (and all-around badass) Jordan Tuscana? (Obviously, the answer is “yes;” the real problem is whether Brayden can make their relationship work for the reader.) It’s a question for romance novels in general – no character emerges from a vacuum, so how do you deal with your characters’ past relationships and specifically, the ways that your protagonists use their past relationships to make sense of their new ones. If you’re a sloppy writer, it usually goes something like this: my past girlfriends were the worst and I’d never known true happiness until that night we kissed in the moonlight and our souls and bodies touched for the very first time. It’s an easy fix, although an unsatisfying one.
Brayden can’t do this, though, because the first relationship in question is with Jordan’s older sister Cassie, who tragically dies in a plane crash four years before the book begins; throwing Cassie under the bus doesn’t make sense because both Molly (town sweetheart) and Jordan (badass who’s been MIA for years) are still very much mourning her loss. So Brayden, in a way, has to sell two romances: in order to sympathize with Molly’s grief over Cassie’s death, we have to know what she’s lost; we also have to root for Molly and Jordan without minimizing the impact of Cassie’s death on both their lives (and without being creeped out by their relationship). It’s a delicate balance to strike, but Brayden makes it work, I think.
This in part due to how well Brayden writes Molly and Jordan. (It’s also helped by the following: the fact that Jordan has been MIA since Cassie’s funeral, that Jordan is as different from Cassie as two sisters can be, and that Jordan and Molly have a pre-existing friendship outside their shared love for Cassie. If Brayden weren’t a good writer, though, these alone would not be enough to make the relationship work for me.) Molly is hugely sympathetic – she’s processing her wife’s death (I cried salty tears, for real), she’s trying to keep her failing bakeshop open (curse you, Starbucks!), she’s dealing with her father’s poor health, and she’s also dealing with the possibility that she might lose the support of her in-laws if they find out she’s in love with their other daughter, too.
Jordan is also engaging and dynamic, but she’s more of an enigma than Molly is – she seems to struggle less with the weirdness of dating Molly, and was way, way more accommodating of Molly’s hesitation than the situation demanded. This is to say, she always seems to get why Molly’s backing off, even when Molly doesn’t, and maybe it’s that she’s had more practice in loving Molly while Molly’s affection for Jordan is still very much in process, but. Her motivations were also at times less clear to me.
Anyway. The wonderful parts of this book are Molly and Jordan’s interactions, though. They’re fun. For example, after they first kiss and there are feels, Molly finds Jordan and says, “How are you this morning, Jordan? I trust you’re well,” and we are treated to the following: “I trust you’re well? Were they now characters in a Jane Austen novel and she’s failed to be notified? Since when did they speak so formally to each other? Oh, this didn’t bode well. ‘I’m fine. Just a little worried about the fact that you’re talking to me like we’re at high tea.’” So good.
And as readers, we get to watch the sort of casual affection Molly and Jordan have for each other develop into a playful and loving relationship. It’s really wonderful. There are scenes in the book that made me feel like I was actually watching a relationship develop. For example, there is this great moment when, in a post-coital conversation, Molly asks Jordan what she’d do if stranded on a desert island, and Jordan says, “Perfect the great American cartwheel. No question. You?” And then when Molly says, “Your cartwheel, while festive, won’t keep you alive,” Jordan goes into this delightful little nonsensical rant about how she’s going to be the mayor of cartwheels and get the key to Cartwheel City and how Molly can visit some day if she wants. And this a great moment because it’s the sort of silliness that real relationships have tons of but is tragically underrepresented in romance novels.
This, I think, was the real draw of How Sweet It Is for me – what I like about the book is that while it is a sweet love story, it also acknowledges and skillfully navigates the difficult emotional realities of its protagonists. While Jordan initially wants Molly to see her for herself (i.e., without thinking about Cassie), I think both Molly and Jordan learn to be comfortable with the fact that they can build a relationship in light of their shared loss, rather than despite it.
**Also! I received a copy of this through NetGalley in return for a review. Thanks, Bold Strokes Books!**
April 9, 2019
How sweet? VERY! Loved the banters, loved the MCs, loved the chemistry - but then again, I’m bias cos it’s written by Brayden and I adore all her writings!
4.75 🌟
4.75 🌟
October 11, 2016
Definites of a Melissa Brayden book: Witty banter, friendships, more-than-solid writing, unforgettable quotes, and a good time. All of which I experienced. However, I couldn't ignore the parts that fell flat for me. Imagine a sad soufflé, if we're maintaining a baking theme.
First, the awesome:
-The sweets! Take it from someone named 'Sprinkles' that the descriptions of Molly's decadent creations were delightful.
-Love scenes! Compared to the previous Brayden books I've read, I believe this one has the most sexiness and I'm not complaining .
-The subject matter. That's some heavy stuff and it was handled with a light, crisp finesse. It didn't bleed into melodrama at all. Actually, I could've done for more drama.
Now for the less-than-awesome:
-Jordan and Molly: Their characters were fun and distinct. Unfortunately, I hardly felt the spark from them--together or alone. I wanted them to work out, but I wasn't actively rooting.
-Predictability. I guessed most of the plot points and not in the fun "I can't wait!" way.
-The epilogue. I ride or die for fluff, but mannnn that was too saccharine for even me.
Thus, these conflicting feelings average to well, average. Brayden's certainly made my cupcake heart flutter in other publications. So, she'll surely do it again soon!
First, the awesome:
-The sweets! Take it from someone named 'Sprinkles' that the descriptions of Molly's decadent creations were delightful.
-Love scenes! Compared to the previous Brayden books I've read, I believe this one has the most sexiness and I'm not complaining .
-The subject matter. That's some heavy stuff and it was handled with a light, crisp finesse. It didn't bleed into melodrama at all. Actually, I could've done for more drama.
Now for the less-than-awesome:
-Jordan and Molly: Their characters were fun and distinct. Unfortunately, I hardly felt the spark from them--together or alone. I wanted them to work out, but I wasn't actively rooting.
-Predictability. I guessed most of the plot points and not in the fun "I can't wait!" way.
-The epilogue. I ride or die for fluff, but mannnn that was too saccharine for even me.
Thus, these conflicting feelings average to well, average. Brayden's certainly made my cupcake heart flutter in other publications. So, she'll surely do it again soon!
March 18, 2014
What a wonderful book. I almost start to think that all books by Melissa Brayden are doomed to show up on my favorite list.
She has a way of writing that makes it feel like watching a movie. Since movies are my first love and reading books is a new passion I found over the last few years. Referring a book to watching movies is a complement coming from me (just so there is no misunderstanding about the fact that I only have praise for this book).
It all felt very true to real life. There were no mysterious substories or aimless chatter. Just two people made for each other, but life is never easy, so even when it comes to true love. It is going to be hard work.
The structure of the story, the characters and the pace of the building romance, were perfect for me. I felt it and it touched me deep inside.
The advantage is that with books it doesn't have to be Crammed into a 1,5 hour film. Sometimes I had to re-read a paragraph to enjoy once more the magic of the developing love story.
Books like this or Give Me A Reason show me why reading is now my first love, instead of being drawn into a movie (this would be my second favorite thing for spending my free time).
She has a way of writing that makes it feel like watching a movie. Since movies are my first love and reading books is a new passion I found over the last few years. Referring a book to watching movies is a complement coming from me (just so there is no misunderstanding about the fact that I only have praise for this book).
It all felt very true to real life. There were no mysterious substories or aimless chatter. Just two people made for each other, but life is never easy, so even when it comes to true love. It is going to be hard work.
The structure of the story, the characters and the pace of the building romance, were perfect for me. I felt it and it touched me deep inside.
The advantage is that with books it doesn't have to be Crammed into a 1,5 hour film. Sometimes I had to re-read a paragraph to enjoy once more the magic of the developing love story.
Books like this or Give Me A Reason show me why reading is now my first love, instead of being drawn into a movie (this would be my second favorite thing for spending my free time).
December 30, 2014
Jordan, a mercurial but highly driven ex-black sheep, returns home after striking out at her job. All her life, she has been languishing in the shadow of her high-achieving older sister, Cassie, including losing her first crush, Molly, to her. Ironically, sis-in-law Molly seems to be the only person who truly 'sees' the real Jordan.
Fighting parental disapproval, self-doubt and a 'ghost', Jordan dares to fall in love with the formerly unattainable Molly. And the feelings are mutual. But in a small town where everyone is within shouting distance and parents manage their children's lives like they're little kids, it's just not possible to carry on a relationship in the dark.
This is a sweet and engaging character study of two very different people who are drawn together by circumstances and mutual empathy. A little light on plot but lots of emotional depth and characterization. I was going to give this 4 stars but the 'messy' little plot twist near the end made me dole out another half star.
p.s. how did Jordan's 'sewing wild oats' get past the eagle-eyed bsb editors? it was one of the funnier lol lines in the book, even if it was unintended. :)
Fighting parental disapproval, self-doubt and a 'ghost', Jordan dares to fall in love with the formerly unattainable Molly. And the feelings are mutual. But in a small town where everyone is within shouting distance and parents manage their children's lives like they're little kids, it's just not possible to carry on a relationship in the dark.
This is a sweet and engaging character study of two very different people who are drawn together by circumstances and mutual empathy. A little light on plot but lots of emotional depth and characterization. I was going to give this 4 stars but the 'messy' little plot twist near the end made me dole out another half star.
p.s. how did Jordan's 'sewing wild oats' get past the eagle-eyed bsb editors? it was one of the funnier lol lines in the book, even if it was unintended. :)
March 23, 2014
Very sweet indeed.
Brayden has a nice light touch with her characters. Molly might be too sweet for some readers but her ability to voice her insecurities and try to overcome her weaknesses makes even a cynic like me like how she is portrayed. Jordana is the perfect love interest, a contrast to Molly's careful life and a counterpoint to her sister, Molly's late wife.
The usual small town events happen but the girl meets girl, make out, breakup, makeup trope gets tilted on its ear a bit and it is a refreshing twist.
The book lost a star from me for the ending. The author tried too hard to tie up every loose end. It wasn't necessary. We readers could have projected the lives of the characters we had grown to love.
Still a fun read.
Brayden has a nice light touch with her characters. Molly might be too sweet for some readers but her ability to voice her insecurities and try to overcome her weaknesses makes even a cynic like me like how she is portrayed. Jordana is the perfect love interest, a contrast to Molly's careful life and a counterpoint to her sister, Molly's late wife.
The usual small town events happen but the girl meets girl, make out, breakup, makeup trope gets tilted on its ear a bit and it is a refreshing twist.
The book lost a star from me for the ending. The author tried too hard to tie up every loose end. It wasn't necessary. We readers could have projected the lives of the characters we had grown to love.
Still a fun read.
March 31, 2017
5 STARS
I loved the print version and I also love this audiobook with Felicity Monroe's narration, who also narrated Brayden's SoHo Loft series which I recently listened to. While I love Monroe's narration, it took me a few minutes to get used to this book because Molly's voice is very similar to Sam's and/or Mallory's voice. I assume the non-voiced parts in both this book and SoHo is Monroe's own voice? No matter. Molly's personality (and Monroe's 'acting') is different than any of the SoHo's crew that it really didn't take me long to adapt.
Interesting, but probably not surprising, listening to the book, I felt the anguish as Molly and Jordan navigate their relationship, more than when I read it myself.
Highly recommend listening to this book and the SoHo series.
I loved the print version and I also love this audiobook with Felicity Monroe's narration, who also narrated Brayden's SoHo Loft series which I recently listened to. While I love Monroe's narration, it took me a few minutes to get used to this book because Molly's voice is very similar to Sam's and/or Mallory's voice. I assume the non-voiced parts in both this book and SoHo is Monroe's own voice? No matter. Molly's personality (and Monroe's 'acting') is different than any of the SoHo's crew that it really didn't take me long to adapt.
Interesting, but probably not surprising, listening to the book, I felt the anguish as Molly and Jordan navigate their relationship, more than when I read it myself.
Highly recommend listening to this book and the SoHo series.
August 23, 2017
I would say this was a perfect romance novel. It had all the right ingredients to make it a very enjoyable read. It was very sweet and fluffy and perhaps predictable as romance novels go but there is nothing wrong with that. Melissa Brayden understands her craft, so 4.6 stars for that.
May 3, 2023
Welllllllll
I spent abt 90% of this listening experience annoyed. If I hadn’t owned this audiobook/used a credit on it, then I would have DNF’d it. But, bc I own it, I powered through.
Here’s the thing, I loved!! The soho loft series, I didn’t love the other more recent Brayden book I read (the forever factor) and I read first position yeaaaars ago and this do not remember anything abt it. So, I’ve enjoyed more of them so far than I disliked, but I RLLY disliked this one.
Not so much bc of the writing, or (kind of?) the characters, but largely bc of the situation. Like, going in, just reading the summary I was kinda giving side-eye from the get go, so perhaps I should have trusted that instinct and decided this wouldn’t be for me, instead, I enjoyed this narrator during the soho loft series, and it was on sale… so I grabbed it.
This book reminded me a lot of how I felt while listening to Mistakes We Made by Meryl Wilsner. Pretty much everyone loved that, and I HATED it. I spent the whole book irritated at the situation, not rooting for the characters to be together, super frustrated by everyone’s reactions to them being together, and generally, yelling out loud and responding to the book while listening, which made me def look bonkers as I walked to and from work to anyone who saw me.
All that happened with this book, too. It’s just.. IM SORRY, but if I died, and my little sister tried to date my wife, I would simply turn into a ghost and haunt her ass for the rest of my goddamn unlife. I hated this scenario and I rlly didn’t like Jordan very much. And frankly, I don’t see a scenario where they both get past their baggage abt this relationship where it would end up healthy for either of them. Jordan CONSTANTLY brought up how much she felt jealous of Cassie, she was irritated that Molly had pictures of her up on her home!!! Pictures!! Of your dead wife, is perfectly normal to be displayed. Going to visit someone’s grave is a normal part of a grieving process! Feeling guilty abt moving on is NORMAL and Jordan couldn’t seem to handle a single emotion Molly had abt Cassie… bc she was the sister that she was jealous of her whole damn life. Like, what the fuck!!!?? All of Jordan’s pushing Molly made me so angry, so many times. I’m not going to sit here and list them all (I had a lot of live reactions in my reading updates) but I spent a solid 80% amount of this book pissed at Jordan.
The other part, I felt irritated with Molly and all the side characters around them. It WAS weird to me that Molly suddenly found herself attracted to Jordan. Jordan has had a crush on Molly since she was a kid, sure, I get that. But Molly has known Jordan since she was nine and Molly was sixteen! fifteen? And she’s been dating Cassie that whole time. Jordan was like her own kid sister, we sort of assume from the way they talk abt each other in the beginning of the novel. It’s WEIRD to suddenly develop feelings for her (to me). Like, i GUESS I can see that it’s been enough time since Cassie died that she’s even considering dating anyone, and then you kind of realize she’s hot/consider her in a way you never have before, but I still think it’s weird!!! esp since she’s so conditioned to think of the Tuscana family as her own. Idk. It didn’t work for me. It pissed me off. It DOES seem like Molly would need a real fresh start with out all this baggage, and Jordan DOES always still seem jealous and irritated abt Cassie’s presence everywhere. It’s weird!!! And I spent the whole time frustrated abt it.
Also, tbh, I had some issues with the way the ending was wrapped up. It felt too much like trying to wrap it all up with a neat bow. And I HATE public declarations of love.
I’m glad to be done. And I hate that feeling at the end of a book. I’ve had a lot of duds lately, esp with audiobooks and I’m bummed abt it.
I spent abt 90% of this listening experience annoyed. If I hadn’t owned this audiobook/used a credit on it, then I would have DNF’d it. But, bc I own it, I powered through.
Here’s the thing, I loved!! The soho loft series, I didn’t love the other more recent Brayden book I read (the forever factor) and I read first position yeaaaars ago and this do not remember anything abt it. So, I’ve enjoyed more of them so far than I disliked, but I RLLY disliked this one.
Not so much bc of the writing, or (kind of?) the characters, but largely bc of the situation. Like, going in, just reading the summary I was kinda giving side-eye from the get go, so perhaps I should have trusted that instinct and decided this wouldn’t be for me, instead, I enjoyed this narrator during the soho loft series, and it was on sale… so I grabbed it.
This book reminded me a lot of how I felt while listening to Mistakes We Made by Meryl Wilsner. Pretty much everyone loved that, and I HATED it. I spent the whole book irritated at the situation, not rooting for the characters to be together, super frustrated by everyone’s reactions to them being together, and generally, yelling out loud and responding to the book while listening, which made me def look bonkers as I walked to and from work to anyone who saw me.
All that happened with this book, too. It’s just.. IM SORRY, but if I died, and my little sister tried to date my wife, I would simply turn into a ghost and haunt her ass for the rest of my goddamn unlife. I hated this scenario and I rlly didn’t like Jordan very much. And frankly, I don’t see a scenario where they both get past their baggage abt this relationship where it would end up healthy for either of them. Jordan CONSTANTLY brought up how much she felt jealous of Cassie, she was irritated that Molly had pictures of her up on her home!!! Pictures!! Of your dead wife, is perfectly normal to be displayed. Going to visit someone’s grave is a normal part of a grieving process! Feeling guilty abt moving on is NORMAL and Jordan couldn’t seem to handle a single emotion Molly had abt Cassie… bc she was the sister that she was jealous of her whole damn life. Like, what the fuck!!!?? All of Jordan’s pushing Molly made me so angry, so many times. I’m not going to sit here and list them all (I had a lot of live reactions in my reading updates) but I spent a solid 80% amount of this book pissed at Jordan.
The other part, I felt irritated with Molly and all the side characters around them. It WAS weird to me that Molly suddenly found herself attracted to Jordan. Jordan has had a crush on Molly since she was a kid, sure, I get that. But Molly has known Jordan since she was nine and Molly was sixteen! fifteen? And she’s been dating Cassie that whole time. Jordan was like her own kid sister, we sort of assume from the way they talk abt each other in the beginning of the novel. It’s WEIRD to suddenly develop feelings for her (to me). Like, i GUESS I can see that it’s been enough time since Cassie died that she’s even considering dating anyone, and then you kind of realize she’s hot/consider her in a way you never have before, but I still think it’s weird!!! esp since she’s so conditioned to think of the Tuscana family as her own. Idk. It didn’t work for me. It pissed me off. It DOES seem like Molly would need a real fresh start with out all this baggage, and Jordan DOES always still seem jealous and irritated abt Cassie’s presence everywhere. It’s weird!!! And I spent the whole time frustrated abt it.
Also, tbh, I had some issues with the way the ending was wrapped up. It felt too much like trying to wrap it all up with a neat bow. And I HATE public declarations of love.
I’m glad to be done. And I hate that feeling at the end of a book. I’ve had a lot of duds lately, esp with audiobooks and I’m bummed abt it.
September 11, 2017
I've got to admit when I first started this book I thought could this be the one Melissa Brayden book that doesn't quite match up to the others I've read? Boy was I wrong. Ok so the story is a little sad and heartbreaking at times for both of the lead characters but the chemistry was off the charts. It was amazing. I don't know if I could read this one again, at least not for a long time due to the heavy heart of losing a loved one and trying to move on, we never meet Cassie but you feel Molly's love for her and how hard it has been for her. Jordan is the most amazing person in the world ever, selfless but full of self doubt, who can blame her. I highly recommend this book along with all of Melissa Brayden's books.
February 26, 2018
This is my favorite book by Melissa Brayden (so far... haven't read them all yet ;). Both Molly and Jordan are very appealing characters, and the conflicts they have are interesting. I really cared about both of them.
September 23, 2015
I don't know how to start this review, because it is always very hard to step back from the story and give an objective opinion when the story reads like a page from your life... It just hits too close and there is no hope of objectivity left...
The issue of saying goodbye to someone who was the center of your life and the guilt that lingers once you tangle your life with someone new, has been and still is a pervasive problem for those left behind... I know it destroyed my ability to handle loving someone new for the longest time and to be honest, still does...
It is such a heavy, heartbreaking, soul shattering, devastatingly inhibiting issue for the ones that greave and the people who love them, that to tackle this issue as a building block for a book is absolutely brave and fearless!!! And Melissa B. not only succeeded, but did a beautiful job of it! I am so proud of her for conveying the complicated and confusing feelings and making them accessible, breaking them down to molecular level, and allowing the reader to relate, no matter their personal experiences. This book is sweet, realistic, and the author's natural storytelling, pacing, and obvious ability to infuse every situation with gentle humor and humanity, make this a perfect fit for the romantic soul! I recommend it for those who find a true and realistic, with some sugar, or peanut butter, on top love story to soothe the bleakness of daily life... It is good!
The issue of saying goodbye to someone who was the center of your life and the guilt that lingers once you tangle your life with someone new, has been and still is a pervasive problem for those left behind... I know it destroyed my ability to handle loving someone new for the longest time and to be honest, still does...
It is such a heavy, heartbreaking, soul shattering, devastatingly inhibiting issue for the ones that greave and the people who love them, that to tackle this issue as a building block for a book is absolutely brave and fearless!!! And Melissa B. not only succeeded, but did a beautiful job of it! I am so proud of her for conveying the complicated and confusing feelings and making them accessible, breaking them down to molecular level, and allowing the reader to relate, no matter their personal experiences. This book is sweet, realistic, and the author's natural storytelling, pacing, and obvious ability to infuse every situation with gentle humor and humanity, make this a perfect fit for the romantic soul! I recommend it for those who find a true and realistic, with some sugar, or peanut butter, on top love story to soothe the bleakness of daily life... It is good!
January 29, 2014
Have just finished reading this book for the second time, my favourite of the authors work. I love the relationship between Molly and Jordan, their interactions with each other constantly left me smiling. The book is filled with a number of secondary characters and the way they and their lives are portrayed make you feel like you live in the town amongst them.
Well worth a few hours of your time and I will definitely be reading this again.
Well worth a few hours of your time and I will definitely be reading this again.
June 8, 2019
What a sweet and funny (I truly did laugh out loud multiple times) small town romance. Jordan and Molly have a great friendship, rapport, and chemistry that only builds as the book progresses. There is support and laughs from their friends, family, and townsfolk (though I did want to slap Jordan's parents upside their heads a few times though luckily they came around). Only my second book by Melissa Brayden but it definitely won't be my last.
December 28, 2014
A sweet romance with some doses of drama and humor where the lead characters find themselves attracted and falling for each other in spite of their struggles against those feelings.
The development of their relationship was a bit slow-paced for my liking. However, considering the difficult situation that prevented them from being together, I guess it was normal it took so long to evolve.
Both characters go thru a journey of overcoming the loss of a loved one, letting go of the past and trying their best to start a new life. The person they both lost was basically the reason why they fought their increasing attraction and unstoppable feelings.
The chemistry between them was palpable and sweet. And in regard to the secondary characters, I think they contributed nice and interesting moments to the story.
Something I really liked was the author's dedication to describe the lead characters which I personally consider imperative in a story. This definitely allows you to visualize them, hence, drawing you much more into the it.
Anyway, I guess that’s the only thing I found quite unnerving about their story, the rest was really nice.
All in all this was a very nice read and I enjoyed it a lot. Recommend it.
The development of their relationship was a bit slow-paced for my liking. However, considering the difficult situation that prevented them from being together, I guess it was normal it took so long to evolve.
Both characters go thru a journey of overcoming the loss of a loved one, letting go of the past and trying their best to start a new life. The person they both lost was basically the reason why they fought their increasing attraction and unstoppable feelings.
The chemistry between them was palpable and sweet. And in regard to the secondary characters, I think they contributed nice and interesting moments to the story.
Something I really liked was the author's dedication to describe the lead characters which I personally consider imperative in a story. This definitely allows you to visualize them, hence, drawing you much more into the it.
Anyway, I guess that’s the only thing I found quite unnerving about their story, the rest was really nice.
All in all this was a very nice read and I enjoyed it a lot. Recommend it.
November 13, 2013
Wow, what a wonderful little story! This book is one of the best books I have ever read in this genre. It’s a story about chocolate, about a charming small town and its adorably quirky people and about finding yourself.
It’s beautifully written. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the main characters Molly and Jordan. Both have to deal with the loss of Cassie in their own way. I really enjoyed how their relationship develops and how well written the slow realization and acceptance of the situation settles upon the characters. The intensity between the two main characters was captivating and suspenseful.
This story makes me want to have more. I really hope for a sequel, there is so much more to tell about the enchanting little town of Applewood.
It’s beautifully written. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the main characters Molly and Jordan. Both have to deal with the loss of Cassie in their own way. I really enjoyed how their relationship develops and how well written the slow realization and acceptance of the situation settles upon the characters. The intensity between the two main characters was captivating and suspenseful.
This story makes me want to have more. I really hope for a sequel, there is so much more to tell about the enchanting little town of Applewood.
December 31, 2023
Melissa Brayden has such a beautiful way with words and is clearly a natural storyteller. I absolutely adore her work!
I adored Jordan and Molly, they are both great characters. And I was rooting for them right from the start, hurdles and all!
The plot is lovely, light but touches the heavy topic of grief nicely. And the writing is awesome.
There's a bit of controversy in that Jordan is technically Molly's sister in-law, but I think Melissa Brayden touched and handled this particular topic beautifully. My heart broke for Cassie and Molly but I was totally on board with Jordan and Molly!
All in all a lovely story. Would totally recommend it to anyone! And I'll definitely be rereading it!
I adored Jordan and Molly, they are both great characters. And I was rooting for them right from the start, hurdles and all!
The plot is lovely, light but touches the heavy topic of grief nicely. And the writing is awesome.
There's a bit of controversy in that Jordan is technically Molly's sister in-law, but I think Melissa Brayden touched and handled this particular topic beautifully. My heart broke for Cassie and Molly but I was totally on board with Jordan and Molly!
All in all a lovely story. Would totally recommend it to anyone! And I'll definitely be rereading it!
December 8, 2015
The publisher’s summary of this book definitely gave me pause. Just to wrap my head around the storyline of girl falls in love with deceased lover’s little sister…. it seemed too heavy of a read for me.
This might sound a little ridiculous, but what nudged me over the edge was that the woman on the cover of this novel looks a lot like Jillian Michaels. I have a minor crush (okay fine, I own 7 of her DVDs) on her. And How Sweet It Is was the only Melissa Brayden novel that I hadn’t finished. It really turned out that I saved the best for last.
Just a forewarning, if you have a sweet tooth, you may want to read this book on a full stomach. Or just imagine that the Jillian Michaels look-alike is yelling at you to abstain from eating cinnamon rolls and to drop and give her 20 for even thinking about it. I don’t think that it’s a stretch to assume that the author enjoys chocolate and sweets. Actually, I think she’s really borderline obsessed with chocolate. (Midnight Chocolate, anyone?) Maybe I can bribe her into writing one more book for her Soho Loft series. Melissa Brayden, I will give you 500 chocolate Santas if you make my Christmas wish come true. Please?! Pretty please?!
Aside from the description of the decadent desserts that make my thighs feel like they’re ever expanding, the writing in this novel is a real treat for its readers. The author has a mighty set of ovaries for writing this story. She treats each of her characters with dignity. There isn’t a sense of real betrayal, and thankfully, no one in the story is demonized or dehumanized. It’s written sensitively and respectfully, without undermining the love in the past between Molly and Cassie, and the love in the future between Molly and Jordan. Brayden doesn’t gloss over the tough conversations on the complexities of the different relationships, and navigates the readers through those waters with ease.
You really experience the small-town America feel with this novel. The author is adept at changing settings without compromising the writing, or the readers feel for the story. Although, Brayden’s writing has a familiarity and comfort between the stories, that’s not to say that she’s a typecast author. Her stories are as varied as her characters, who are always interesting and unique. What I also enjoy about Brayden’s writing is how she subtly ties the characters in her novels together. Just to give you an example (and this hopefully isn’t too much of a spoiler), in How Sweet It Is, Jordan has a meeting with a potential investor Emory Owen, one of the main characters in Heart Block. The reader gets a sense that none of the stories really end. Perhaps, this is a clever way for the author to have her readers revisit her novels? If it is, I’m a sucker every time. I’ve reread her books so often, that I’ve practically memorized the words. No joke.
http://lesreadoutloud.com/2015/11/29/...
This might sound a little ridiculous, but what nudged me over the edge was that the woman on the cover of this novel looks a lot like Jillian Michaels. I have a minor crush (okay fine, I own 7 of her DVDs) on her. And How Sweet It Is was the only Melissa Brayden novel that I hadn’t finished. It really turned out that I saved the best for last.
Just a forewarning, if you have a sweet tooth, you may want to read this book on a full stomach. Or just imagine that the Jillian Michaels look-alike is yelling at you to abstain from eating cinnamon rolls and to drop and give her 20 for even thinking about it. I don’t think that it’s a stretch to assume that the author enjoys chocolate and sweets. Actually, I think she’s really borderline obsessed with chocolate. (Midnight Chocolate, anyone?) Maybe I can bribe her into writing one more book for her Soho Loft series. Melissa Brayden, I will give you 500 chocolate Santas if you make my Christmas wish come true. Please?! Pretty please?!
Aside from the description of the decadent desserts that make my thighs feel like they’re ever expanding, the writing in this novel is a real treat for its readers. The author has a mighty set of ovaries for writing this story. She treats each of her characters with dignity. There isn’t a sense of real betrayal, and thankfully, no one in the story is demonized or dehumanized. It’s written sensitively and respectfully, without undermining the love in the past between Molly and Cassie, and the love in the future between Molly and Jordan. Brayden doesn’t gloss over the tough conversations on the complexities of the different relationships, and navigates the readers through those waters with ease.
You really experience the small-town America feel with this novel. The author is adept at changing settings without compromising the writing, or the readers feel for the story. Although, Brayden’s writing has a familiarity and comfort between the stories, that’s not to say that she’s a typecast author. Her stories are as varied as her characters, who are always interesting and unique. What I also enjoy about Brayden’s writing is how she subtly ties the characters in her novels together. Just to give you an example (and this hopefully isn’t too much of a spoiler), in How Sweet It Is, Jordan has a meeting with a potential investor Emory Owen, one of the main characters in Heart Block. The reader gets a sense that none of the stories really end. Perhaps, this is a clever way for the author to have her readers revisit her novels? If it is, I’m a sucker every time. I’ve reread her books so often, that I’ve practically memorized the words. No joke.
http://lesreadoutloud.com/2015/11/29/...
February 7, 2021
Sweet indeed
This story had conflict with amazing chemistry. Melissa Braden has a true talent.
Molly had a lot of loss in her life, from her mom at a young age and her wife Cassie, dying four years ago. She may lose the one thing in her life that means everything to her, her family's bakery.
Jordan has avoided her hometown for the past 4 years after losing her sister. She has always been compared to Cassie her entire life and has not met the expectations set forth by her parents. Even Molly she dreams that she would see her as herself, not as the younger sister.
As they start spending time together, feelings and emotions become turbulent. They have to make their way through and come out stronger in the end.
I love the references to previous books.
This story had conflict with amazing chemistry. Melissa Braden has a true talent.
Molly had a lot of loss in her life, from her mom at a young age and her wife Cassie, dying four years ago. She may lose the one thing in her life that means everything to her, her family's bakery.
Jordan has avoided her hometown for the past 4 years after losing her sister. She has always been compared to Cassie her entire life and has not met the expectations set forth by her parents. Even Molly she dreams that she would see her as herself, not as the younger sister.
As they start spending time together, feelings and emotions become turbulent. They have to make their way through and come out stronger in the end.
I love the references to previous books.
December 4, 2013
So, I bought a Kindle Fire HD. It was an awesome deal. Half off. Free shipping. I'd been wanting one for a while. It's not like I needed it. But, I'm a sucker for new toys. I snatched it up. It was a good thing, too...they sold out pretty quickly. I was in it for the tablet aspect of it more than the ereader aspect of it. I have a regular Kindle. And a Sony ereader. So, I didn't need another. I have to say, though, I really do like having those books at my finger tips. And since the Fire works on WiFi rather than 3G, it actually works better in my house than the regular Kindle. Once I was able to get it connected to the WiFi in my house, that is. It was not an issue with the Fire, it was with my wireless network.
But I digress.
I made a deal with myself a while back: I would not buy more books until I'd made a pretty good dent in the pile I already have. I'd been doing pretty well, too. But you see, this new Kindle Fire, it very easily - and blatantly - shows me books "recommended for me." And, of course, the most prominent book cover I see there is How Sweet It Is (Bold Strokes Books) by Melissa Brayden. "No," I tell myself. "I know you want to read it. You've been wanting to read it since Melissa mentioned she was writing it. But you can't." I continue to stare at the cover on my 7" screen. It taunts me. It seduces me. "No," I repeat - though much less convincingly. I kept saying "No" right up until I tapped the "buy" button.
But I digress.
I made a deal with myself a while back: I would not buy more books until I'd made a pretty good dent in the pile I already have. I'd been doing pretty well, too. But you see, this new Kindle Fire, it very easily - and blatantly - shows me books "recommended for me." And, of course, the most prominent book cover I see there is How Sweet It Is (Bold Strokes Books) by Melissa Brayden. "No," I tell myself. "I know you want to read it. You've been wanting to read it since Melissa mentioned she was writing it. But you can't." I continue to stare at the cover on my 7" screen. It taunts me. It seduces me. "No," I repeat - though much less convincingly. I kept saying "No" right up until I tapped the "buy" button.
This is Brayden's third published novel. I've read all three. (You can see my review of her first novel here. I still owe a review for the second.) Each of Brayden's offerings is better than the last.
Some things are better than chocolate...
Molly O’Brien is a sweetheart. Her friends and neighbors all think so. While she enjoys her quiet life running the town bakeshop in Applewood, Illinois, she wonders if there could be more. After losing the love of her life four years prior in a plane crash, Molly thinks she’s ready to navigate the dicey dating waters once again. However, you can’t always pick who your heart latches on to. When Jordan Tuscana, the beautiful younger sister of her lost love, returns to town, Molly finds her interest piqued in a manner she wasn’t prepared for.
As secrets are uncovered, Molly and Jordan must figure out how to navigate the difficult terrain of their multi-faceted relationship. Especially when something much deeper seems to be bubbling between them.
The opening paragraphs of How Sweet It Is is just that - sweet. How can it not be when those opening paragraphs are about chocolate? Brayden knows how to pull readers into a story! But I was pulled in by more than confectionery goodness. With those opening paragraphs, I was drawn immediately into the story and the characters. By the end of the first chapter, the stage was set and, without even realizing it, the conflict and tension of the story was laid out. Delicious!
As I've mentioned in previous reviews, I like angst. Conflict and tension really make a story for me. However, that angst needs to be appropriate. If a story becomes so angst-ridden that everything is "gloom and doom," well, that's a little depressing isn't it? Considering the circumstances in How Sweet It Is, it would have been very easy for Brayden to take the dark path. Good bye, Romance. Hello, Misery. But that wasn't the case here. Instead, Brayden walked that fine line with grace and agility. Angst and guilt showed up at the right times and in the right proportion. Thus, the focus was on how the angst influenced the romance, not the other way around. Brayden always seemed to keep the romance at the forefront. Delectable!
Molly and Jordan, the main characters in How Sweet It Is, bear the brunt of the angst. However, each woman handles it in very different ways. For Molly, the guilt she feels throughout most of the novel stems from her sense of what is right. Molly follows the rules. Molly lives up to others' expectations. Jordan's guilt, however, comes from (what appears to be) a sense of inadequacy. Jordan questions the rules. Jordan can't seem to meet others' expectations. Molly has never left her hometown. Jordan is the prodigal daughter. Molly is loved unconditionally by her father and her in-laws. Jordan is a disappointment to her parents. These differences could have easily pushed Molly and Jordan further and further apart. Instead, they became obstacles to overcome, rather than roadblocks to stop all progress. You see, the attraction between these two - intellectual, social, emotional, sexual - is so off-the-charts amazing! Honestly, I can't think of another book in recent memory that pulled me into the middle of that attraction. Really. It felt as if I were right there, in the mix of things with Molly and Jordan. Feeling everything that they felt - on every level. THAT is something, let me tell you. Brayden writing doesn't make the words leap off the page. Her writing makes the emotions leap off the page. It makes the sights leap off the page. It is both visual and visceral. What an combination! Scrumptious!
The supporting characters in How Sweet It Is are delightful and really help to give a fully developed view of Applewood, IL and its inhabitants. Eden, Louise, Damon, Mr. Jeffries, the Tuscana family, Little Bobby, Summer Siller are all such rich, diverse characters. They each lend a new layer to the story and to the main characters. (Very brief mentions of Jenna from Waiting in the Wings and Emory from Heart Block are also quite delightful.) A prevalent misconception about small towns is that all of the people who live there are the same - same values, same interests, same viewpoints. This is absolutely not true and Brayden seems to realize this. In many ways, this story could be taking place in Anytown, USA. And yet...and yet. What is particularly fascinating to me is that these people have a very Midwestern sensibility. It's not something that can be easily described - you sort of know it when you see/feel it. But Brayden found a way to describe it...this sensibility just happens throughout the novel. It's in the way people speak. It's in the way they interact. It's in the work ethic. It's just...there. It's in the word choice. It's in the dialogue. It's subtle. And yet...and yet. Take a moment to think about it, and it's so obvious. Mouthwatering!
Since How Sweet It Is is, without a doubt, a romance, it follows a particular formula for romance novels. If you've read my reviews in the past, you know how I feel about this. But, you know what? I'll tell you again anyway. Of COURSE it follows a formula! It needs to follow a formula! If it didn't, we'd be disappointed. It wouldn't meet our expectations for what a romance novel is supposed to be. The trick is what is done with the formula. The formula is a framework, not an outline. If all an author is doing is changing character names, changing the name of the city or town, changing characters' professions, etc. - but leaving everything else "as is" - then we have a problem. Fortunately, we don't have that problem here. There are certain things we know are going to happen. That goes without saying. The beauty is in not knowing when or how it's going to happen. It's that "edge-of-your-seat" tension. It's that waiting for the other shoe to drop. And when it does drop in a way that is completely not telegraphed, it's so fantastic. Succulent!
Overall, I was very pleased with this novel. It has the right balance of savory and sweet. I love the growth that Brayden has shown in her writing - she writes dialogue so well! The dialogue is fast-paced and witty, and it serves to clearly define and develop each character in the novel. Just as it should be.
This book is definitely a keeper and is on my "to re-read" list.
October 12, 2017
I had to stop. Not only was the story slow to develop, but when Molly freaked out so very strongly at finding herself attracted to Jordan only because Jordan is her dead spouse's sister I just couldn't. I'm sorry, but "the sister rule" is just not a thing. And the first people she talks to know it's not a thing. Yeah, it can be tricky with the rest of the family adjusting, but I don't know any that'd freak or think it immoral or disgusting (at least, absent any fooling around during the active, functioning marriage). Though in Jordan's case you can see that her family doesn't value her very much so there's even more stupid waiting in the wings on that one, I can see.
I just couldn't help feeling that Molly's extreme emotional reaction was manufactured by the author for the story to have conflict. And it made me dislike Molly intensely. Not least because I could see how hurt Jordan was even as she absorbed the blow.
I just couldn't help feeling that Molly's extreme emotional reaction was manufactured by the author for the story to have conflict. And it made me dislike Molly intensely. Not least because I could see how hurt Jordan was even as she absorbed the blow.
October 2, 2014
A sweet romance with some doses of drama and humor where the lead characters find themselves attracted and falling for someone that they’re not supposed to.
The development of their relationship was a bit slow-paced for my liking. However, considering the difficult situation for it to be real I guess it was normal it took so long for the romance to really be developed.
Both characters (lovable, especially Jordan btw) go thru a journey of overcoming the loss of a loved one, letting go of the past and start living again, especially for one of them. That loved one was basically the reason of the angst that accompanied them throughout their increasing attraction and unstoppable feelings.
The attraction and chemistry between them was palpable, sweet and hot (good mixture). And in regard to the secondary characters, I think they contributed nice and interesting moments to the story.
Also, something I really liked was the author's dedication to describe the lead characters, allowing you to easily visualizing them, hence, drawing you much more into the story.
All in all this was a very nice read and I must say I really enjoyed it. Recommend it.
February 27, 2023
Well, what can I say? all of Melissa's novels are exactly what I look for in a love story. Organic relationships that feel real, good characterization, angst, sex, romance, hope. This story is so sweet, I can't even find the words. I love the idea of a "forbidden" but uncontrollable love. The relationship grows at a good pace. I like the fact that both women have known each other for years and are only now re-discovering the other, and, well.. falling in love. Beautiful story
*I read this again years later and realised something was a bit missing this time around, probably because I've read so many other books with a similar premise since then: I'm missing flashbacks - to understand better what their relationship was when they were younger. I would have loved to be able to feel a sort of life-long chemistry, a subconscious soulmate type of feel. It would have brought a lot to the story
*I read this again years later and realised something was a bit missing this time around, probably because I've read so many other books with a similar premise since then: I'm missing flashbacks - to understand better what their relationship was when they were younger. I would have loved to be able to feel a sort of life-long chemistry, a subconscious soulmate type of feel. It would have brought a lot to the story
January 1, 2015
lovely story. sweet romance.
June 20, 2016
How sweet is it is a very good book it contain everything I love: love, some angst, hot scenes, friendship, family......
My only problem with the book is that most of the book revolve around Molly and though Jordan is a very interesting character that as some issues, and I would say more important issues than the one of Molly, we only see these problems but no talk about it or resolutions.
I kind of disliked how we, as readers, know how Jordan was in love with Molly since they first meet and Jordan did tell it to Molly yet the author never made Molly ask her about it or them have a talk about it. It's like it was very normally for Molly, that her ex-wife's sister crushed on her all of her life and compared the women she was with with Molly.
Another issue would be the fact her family doesn't care about her and make her feel like the black duck of the family. It was addressed in the book numerous times, her parents when all nuts when they discovered they were a couple because they think Jordan was jealous of her sister and that she was nothing as good as her sister. Then a few pages later Jordan was all ok with her parents. Like come on, if my parent would say to me I am nothing compared to my sibling all of my life then say I cannot be with the woman I love because I am more than nothing compared to her dead wife, I would be pissed off at them. But no, Jordan is not and once again the author let this hang out, problem is never resolved.
I would also address the big problem of their relationship, and no, it's not Cassie, it's the fact Molly take Jordan for granted and never even once is scared that Jordan will found someone else. In the end when they 'break it off' again, and Molly get, for once, Jordan back it was all so so easy.
I would have appreciated it if Summer or another woman was more a threat.
I though Jordan character was way more likeable and awesome that Molly character and I feel sad it was a very Molly book.
Don't take me wrong, I like Molly, she is sweet suffer a lot but also give a lot of love to Cassie, Cassie's family and to Jordan. But she take thing for granted and is way to used to get what she wants without working when it comes to love.
Overall it was a very good book and I would not hesitate to recommend it.
My only problem with the book is that most of the book revolve around Molly and though Jordan is a very interesting character that as some issues, and I would say more important issues than the one of Molly, we only see these problems but no talk about it or resolutions.
I kind of disliked how we, as readers, know how Jordan was in love with Molly since they first meet and Jordan did tell it to Molly yet the author never made Molly ask her about it or them have a talk about it. It's like it was very normally for Molly, that her ex-wife's sister crushed on her all of her life and compared the women she was with with Molly.
Another issue would be the fact her family doesn't care about her and make her feel like the black duck of the family. It was addressed in the book numerous times, her parents when all nuts when they discovered they were a couple because they think Jordan was jealous of her sister and that she was nothing as good as her sister. Then a few pages later Jordan was all ok with her parents. Like come on, if my parent would say to me I am nothing compared to my sibling all of my life then say I cannot be with the woman I love because I am more than nothing compared to her dead wife, I would be pissed off at them. But no, Jordan is not and once again the author let this hang out, problem is never resolved.
I would also address the big problem of their relationship, and no, it's not Cassie, it's the fact Molly take Jordan for granted and never even once is scared that Jordan will found someone else. In the end when they 'break it off' again, and Molly get, for once, Jordan back it was all so so easy.
I would have appreciated it if Summer or another woman was more a threat.
I though Jordan character was way more likeable and awesome that Molly character and I feel sad it was a very Molly book.
Don't take me wrong, I like Molly, she is sweet suffer a lot but also give a lot of love to Cassie, Cassie's family and to Jordan. But she take thing for granted and is way to used to get what she wants without working when it comes to love.
Overall it was a very good book and I would not hesitate to recommend it.
September 11, 2016
Set in the fictional Applewood, Illinois, main character, Molly, knows everybody, and typical of small towns, everybody knows her. Molly spends her days trying to create the perfect truffle; the key to saving Flour Child Bakery, a legacy from her aging father, and engrossed in unconscious ritualized communion with her partner, Cassie, who died unexpectedly four years ago, when her commuter plane crashed. What Molly doesn’t expect is the return of Cassie’s wayward younger sister, Jordan, or the complex feelings that arise from their growing mutual attraction.
The storyline veers from typical as unexpected taboos are broken. Molly and Jordan muddle through the complexities of coming to peace with creating a relationship in the midst of the memory of Jordan’s deceased sister. When their fledgling relationship is discovered Jordan and Cassie’s parents, familial roles and expectations are challenged, and habits established to soothe the wounds of the untimely loss of Cassie become agitated, and cease to bring comfort.
The town of Applewood’s unblinking acceptance of the main characters’ identification as lesbians appears to be widespread to the point of being unrealistic; however, it was refreshing to enjoy the moving book without the predictable political themes involving sexuality. Equally refreshing was the entrepreneurial capabilities of the women showcased in this fresh, tenderhearted work of fiction.
A digital copy of this book was provided by the publisher for purposes of review.
The storyline veers from typical as unexpected taboos are broken. Molly and Jordan muddle through the complexities of coming to peace with creating a relationship in the midst of the memory of Jordan’s deceased sister. When their fledgling relationship is discovered Jordan and Cassie’s parents, familial roles and expectations are challenged, and habits established to soothe the wounds of the untimely loss of Cassie become agitated, and cease to bring comfort.
The town of Applewood’s unblinking acceptance of the main characters’ identification as lesbians appears to be widespread to the point of being unrealistic; however, it was refreshing to enjoy the moving book without the predictable political themes involving sexuality. Equally refreshing was the entrepreneurial capabilities of the women showcased in this fresh, tenderhearted work of fiction.
A digital copy of this book was provided by the publisher for purposes of review.
November 13, 2017
Jordan has always been in love with Molly. Unfortunately Jordan’s older sister, Cassie got there first and Jordan spent the rest of her life comparing every woman to Molly. When Cassie dies, Molly thinks she’s done with love but what happens when Jordan strolls back to town four years after Cassie’s death? Had Molly overlooked the spark with the younger Tuscana sister? And can she really betray her love for Cassie?
I really loved Jordan’s character, she portrays this ‘devil may care’ attitude to the rest of the world but with Molly she’s incredibly sweet, caring and genuinely believes Molly is the only girl for her. Jordan begins to woo Molly but in Molly’s determination to withstand the minefield that is her feelings for Jordan, we learn how loosing the love of your life changes a person. It makes them think about life differently and about people differently.
These two women paint a hot scene when they finally make it to the bedroom but as much as it’s hot, it’s also endearing and loving but with a facet of excitement.
All round great novel from Melissa Brayden but I’ve come to expect nothing less.
5 Stars
I really loved Jordan’s character, she portrays this ‘devil may care’ attitude to the rest of the world but with Molly she’s incredibly sweet, caring and genuinely believes Molly is the only girl for her. Jordan begins to woo Molly but in Molly’s determination to withstand the minefield that is her feelings for Jordan, we learn how loosing the love of your life changes a person. It makes them think about life differently and about people differently.
These two women paint a hot scene when they finally make it to the bedroom but as much as it’s hot, it’s also endearing and loving but with a facet of excitement.
All round great novel from Melissa Brayden but I’ve come to expect nothing less.
5 Stars
August 27, 2016
This is my fifth book by Brayden. By this point I’ve become very familiar with the fact that Brayden seems to follow something like a template. I’m not actually going to say what the template is, for ‘reasons’ (mostly because I don’t actually recall every part of it). Simplistically: two people circle, there are reasons why hooking up ‘wouldn’t work’. They hook. Problems that have been heavily foreshadowed occur. More than likely the couple will split apart for a time or two.
Keeping them apart: Kiss the Girls – business rivals, own team (on Brooklyn’s side) see the other woman to be a huge bitch, age difference; Just Three Words - business partners – potentially disrupt the team (even if things ‘worked’ between the two, the team could get disrupted), player reputation; Ready or Not - class differences, Mallory can’t imagine getting involved with ‘just a bartender’ (though Hope isn’t just a bartender); Waiting in the Wings - age differences, different points of career (one is successfully established, other is just starting out in the business); How Sweet It Is - age difference (though that one came up differently than norm – Molly first met Jordan when Molly was ~17 and Jordan was 10 – Molly, at times, makes comments about how she, at times, still sees the 10 year old), family (both in that two of the people Molly sees in a parent-like role are believed, by Molly, to be anti-relationship between Molly and Jordan; and in that Jordan is the sister of Molly’s dead lover).
Characters
Molly O’Brien is something around 33 years of age and has spent her whole life (baring vacation and like) living in Applewood Illinois. Her mother died when Molly was young, and she doesn’t really recall her. Her father is still alive but in poor-ish health. The mother and father had started a bakery called Flour Child, and somewhere along the way, Molly took over the business. When Molly was around the age of 17, the love of her life moved in nearby when the Tuscana’s moved to town. Cassandra and Molly became instant friends, and eventually lovers. The parents were initially disappointed, but they came around. Then four years before the start of this book Cassandra’s plane went down. Molly hasn’t dated since. The bakery is in financial trouble. And her father appears to be on death’s door.
Of Importance to Molly: The Tuscana’s (each of them separately and together); father O’Brien; her three employees at Flour Child. Rover the fish. Jordan. Her ‘loyal’ customers.
Jordan Tuscana is around the age of 26 or 27 and has always had something of a bad relationship with her parents. More on their side than hers. In that they wanted her to be a doctor and work in their clinic, or, at the very least, meet the standards set by her older sister Cass (who, apparently, was super good in school, and on the soccer field). Jordan tried for a while, but nothing she ever did was ever good enough, nor anywhere close to Cass’s abilities, and it didn’t help matters that her parents didn’t think she was trying her best, but she had been. Eventually, though, she stopped trying to be Cass 2.0, and tried to be herself. This included not going to med school, in not becoming a doctor, and in moving away and joining the movie industry. Well, she’s a high paid producer now, but she got tired of a high priced actor constantly hitting on her, so she snapped at him. The film studio is not happy with Jordan at the moment, and have put her on leave (so to speak). So, the book starts with her wondering what to do next in her life.
Of Importance to Jordan: her parents, her brother Mikey, her brother’s kids (if Mikey has a wife/husband, I somehow missed her/him), George her almost flaming homosexual friend. Little Bobby, a bartender in Applewood. Molly. Francis Ford Coppola (Frankie, the cat).
Plot/Romance
As I sometimes accidentally do, I kind of put a good bit of the detail about the plot up above *points*. So, Jordan’s on the outs with her film studio, and is on forced vacation. She takes the opportunity to return home to Applewood. For the first time in four years. Four years is also how long ago that she lost her best friend, her sister Cass.
While in Applewood, Jordan doesn’t have any specific plans except to try to rebuild her relationship with her parents, which includes volunteering at their clinic. Though while there she also reconnects with her friends there, including Little Bobby the huge bartender, her friend Molly, and . . . um . . . her favorite spots in town.
Molly, meanwhile, is busy working on finding ‘things’ to add to her bakery rotation/menu. While also attempting to find some means to ‘save’ her bakery. Business took a nosedive when Starbucks moved in. At least during the work-week.
Molly and Jordan were, apparently, good friends. I’m not exactly sure how the dynamic worked; though just know that they were on a good relationship level – the kind where they would seek out the other for help with issues. Something of a newish dynamic occurs, though, when Jordan returns to town. Molly seems drawn to Jordan. Jordan isn’t exactly newly drawn to Molly; she’s always had a ‘connection’ to her. But she had to take a backseat to her sister Cass.
So. Molly and Jordan circle. Molly thinks its super super wrong to have anything to do with Jordan, since she’s Cass’s sister. Jordan wants Molly. They take things one day at a time.
Overall
As I noted early on – there’s something of a template that Brayden follows. Everything was a lot more smoothly handled, this time around, or, in other words, I was able to ‘absorb’ the stuff that occurred without wishing to toss my book reader across the room. I’d say that it helped that I generally rather liked both Jordan and Molly, but that would imply that I hadn’t liked the other characters I’ve run across put forth by Brayden. This would be wrong.
So, yes, very enjoyable book. Of the five books I’ve read by Brayden, this one is my favorite. Three of the previous books I’d given 5 stars to, though there was a certain vague reluctance. This one here I’d probably put on the 5.5 shelf to show how much more I liked this book.
April 8 2016
Keeping them apart: Kiss the Girls – business rivals, own team (on Brooklyn’s side) see the other woman to be a huge bitch, age difference; Just Three Words - business partners – potentially disrupt the team (even if things ‘worked’ between the two, the team could get disrupted), player reputation; Ready or Not - class differences, Mallory can’t imagine getting involved with ‘just a bartender’ (though Hope isn’t just a bartender); Waiting in the Wings - age differences, different points of career (one is successfully established, other is just starting out in the business); How Sweet It Is - age difference (though that one came up differently than norm – Molly first met Jordan when Molly was ~17 and Jordan was 10 – Molly, at times, makes comments about how she, at times, still sees the 10 year old), family (both in that two of the people Molly sees in a parent-like role are believed, by Molly, to be anti-relationship between Molly and Jordan; and in that Jordan is the sister of Molly’s dead lover).
Characters
Molly O’Brien is something around 33 years of age and has spent her whole life (baring vacation and like) living in Applewood Illinois. Her mother died when Molly was young, and she doesn’t really recall her. Her father is still alive but in poor-ish health. The mother and father had started a bakery called Flour Child, and somewhere along the way, Molly took over the business. When Molly was around the age of 17, the love of her life moved in nearby when the Tuscana’s moved to town. Cassandra and Molly became instant friends, and eventually lovers. The parents were initially disappointed, but they came around. Then four years before the start of this book Cassandra’s plane went down. Molly hasn’t dated since. The bakery is in financial trouble. And her father appears to be on death’s door.
Of Importance to Molly: The Tuscana’s (each of them separately and together); father O’Brien; her three employees at Flour Child. Rover the fish. Jordan. Her ‘loyal’ customers.
Jordan Tuscana is around the age of 26 or 27 and has always had something of a bad relationship with her parents. More on their side than hers. In that they wanted her to be a doctor and work in their clinic, or, at the very least, meet the standards set by her older sister Cass (who, apparently, was super good in school, and on the soccer field). Jordan tried for a while, but nothing she ever did was ever good enough, nor anywhere close to Cass’s abilities, and it didn’t help matters that her parents didn’t think she was trying her best, but she had been. Eventually, though, she stopped trying to be Cass 2.0, and tried to be herself. This included not going to med school, in not becoming a doctor, and in moving away and joining the movie industry. Well, she’s a high paid producer now, but she got tired of a high priced actor constantly hitting on her, so she snapped at him. The film studio is not happy with Jordan at the moment, and have put her on leave (so to speak). So, the book starts with her wondering what to do next in her life.
Of Importance to Jordan: her parents, her brother Mikey, her brother’s kids (if Mikey has a wife/husband, I somehow missed her/him), George her almost flaming homosexual friend. Little Bobby, a bartender in Applewood. Molly. Francis Ford Coppola (Frankie, the cat).
Plot/Romance
As I sometimes accidentally do, I kind of put a good bit of the detail about the plot up above *points*. So, Jordan’s on the outs with her film studio, and is on forced vacation. She takes the opportunity to return home to Applewood. For the first time in four years. Four years is also how long ago that she lost her best friend, her sister Cass.
While in Applewood, Jordan doesn’t have any specific plans except to try to rebuild her relationship with her parents, which includes volunteering at their clinic. Though while there she also reconnects with her friends there, including Little Bobby the huge bartender, her friend Molly, and . . . um . . . her favorite spots in town.
Molly, meanwhile, is busy working on finding ‘things’ to add to her bakery rotation/menu. While also attempting to find some means to ‘save’ her bakery. Business took a nosedive when Starbucks moved in. At least during the work-week.
Molly and Jordan were, apparently, good friends. I’m not exactly sure how the dynamic worked; though just know that they were on a good relationship level – the kind where they would seek out the other for help with issues. Something of a newish dynamic occurs, though, when Jordan returns to town. Molly seems drawn to Jordan. Jordan isn’t exactly newly drawn to Molly; she’s always had a ‘connection’ to her. But she had to take a backseat to her sister Cass.
So. Molly and Jordan circle. Molly thinks its super super wrong to have anything to do with Jordan, since she’s Cass’s sister. Jordan wants Molly. They take things one day at a time.
Overall
As I noted early on – there’s something of a template that Brayden follows. Everything was a lot more smoothly handled, this time around, or, in other words, I was able to ‘absorb’ the stuff that occurred without wishing to toss my book reader across the room. I’d say that it helped that I generally rather liked both Jordan and Molly, but that would imply that I hadn’t liked the other characters I’ve run across put forth by Brayden. This would be wrong.
So, yes, very enjoyable book. Of the five books I’ve read by Brayden, this one is my favorite. Three of the previous books I’d given 5 stars to, though there was a certain vague reluctance. This one here I’d probably put on the 5.5 shelf to show how much more I liked this book.
April 8 2016
March 7, 2018
Positives: A compelling story about two lesbians (I'm getting tired of the lesbian + straight girl in her 30's schtick)
Well developed lead characters that I felt I knew and liked plenty
Unique storyline involving good people in a morally complex situation
Lots of angst, emotion, plus very believable and uh…'descriptive in a good way' love scenes.
Dialogue was clever, plentiful, and communicated the depth of the connection between Mollie and Jordan
Negatives: Too short--> I felt the story could have used more depth and development
Storybook ending…but this IS a romance novel and I secretly seem to like this
Overall I loved what this was… a great read I couldn't put down and thought about long after. My hope is that Ms.Brayden takes a few more chances with her future novels because she truly is up for the challenge. Well done!
Well developed lead characters that I felt I knew and liked plenty
Unique storyline involving good people in a morally complex situation
Lots of angst, emotion, plus very believable and uh…'descriptive in a good way' love scenes.
Dialogue was clever, plentiful, and communicated the depth of the connection between Mollie and Jordan
Negatives: Too short--> I felt the story could have used more depth and development
Storybook ending…but this IS a romance novel and I secretly seem to like this
Overall I loved what this was… a great read I couldn't put down and thought about long after. My hope is that Ms.Brayden takes a few more chances with her future novels because she truly is up for the challenge. Well done!
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