Sweet: Erin McCarthy

by - Tuesday, October 15, 2013


SWEET (True Believers #2)
Erin McCarthy
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Expected October 15, 2013

Jessica Sweet thought going away to college would finally make her free of her parents’ constant judgments and insistence she play chastity club role model for their church events, but if anything, the freedom has made her realize she can’t go home and be a hypocrite anymore. Tired of dodging their questions, she stays at school over the summer and lands in an unexpected crash pad: Riley Mann’s house. 


Sarcastic, cocky, and full of opinions, Riley is also sexy personified with tattoos and biceps earned from working as a roofer all day. Not the right guy for her even if Jessica was looking for a relationship, which she is definitely not. But Jessica knows that Riley hides the burden of having to raise his younger brothers behind that grin and as she helps him get his house in order for a custody hearing, they begin to fall hard for each other, and she is forced to question what she’s hiding herself.


Jessica has never had a problem getting naked with a guy, but when it comes to showing Riley how she truly feels inside, her fear of rejection may just ruin the best thing—the best guy—to ever happen to her…



TRUE (True Believers #1)
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When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.


Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t… 

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost… 


We are back with the gang from True. Jessica needs to find a place to crash for a week before her new apartment is ready. She is refusing to go home to visit her strict Religious family for the Summer. So she is staying in Cincinnati but telling her family she is off doing missionary work. Her room mate Rory, her boyfriend Tyler and his younger brothers are off to visit with her family so Tyler offers for Jessica to stay at his place. The only problem is that his older brother Riley is also living there. And Jessica and Riley have kind of a love/hate relationship. They are two very sarcastic people that love getting a rise out of the other. 

"Your sarcasm is annoying..."
"Why? Because it remind you of yourself?"
"That's entirely possible..."

But strangely enough they begin to enjoy each other's company. It first develops into a grudging friendship, then some secret feelings, and lust. She is there for him when he needs it. And he anchors her. But they are both somewhat awkward when it comes to relationships. It is easy to get hurt and hurt the other.

"So what do you think? The princess and the prick...It could work. Or at least we could give it a shot."

I adored Riley! He seemed so cocky and self absorbed at first, but he is actually caring, sweet, and a one woman man. He respected her and refused to let them be about casual sex. He is not smooth like his brother, but is genuine and sweet once you got to see his real personality. He is a little rough around the edges, protective, jealous, and could be quick tempered. He's from the wrong side of town and struggling financially, but he did his best to take care of those he cared about. 

"I want to be important to you. Special...Do you know how stupid I feel saying that? I think my balls just dropped to the floor."

Jessica is the wealthy, bratty, spoiled, Minister's daughter. But she is not the prim and proper Minister's daughter she thinks she is supposed to be be. She does not fit the mold at all. She is used to having sex and not worrying about emotions or consequences. We already know this from her exploits in the first book.  It is easier not to care than to risk being rejected. But Riley drives her nuts by holding back. She is a bit lost and not sure what direction her life will take her. But she knows she does not want to follow the path that her family is trying to force on her. 

My last name shouldn't be Sweet, it should be Sour. Jessica Sour. That was me. A big tart, mouth puckering, acidic mess.
I loved seeing the other sides of Jessica and Riley. They had always been snarky, sarcastic, and confrontational. But we get to see their deeper sides. Riley always seemed egotistical, but he is not really a player. He is more settled than that and believes in building feelings and relationships even though initially he did not even realize that was what he wanted. And Jessica was always afraid to be out of control and show emotions. But Riley and his brothers brought out the best in her. He did not allow her to hide behind casual hook ups and a public facade. Their chemistry was there but was kept in check by Riley. He made it build slowly and allowed their feelings to catch up. He would not settle for a quick random act. Together they are funny, sarcastic, flirty, and have a lot of sexual tension. Their jealousy was cute. Their playful banter was fun. They really were a lot alike deep down and strangely good for one another despite conflicting outward appearances and family backgrounds. 

"I guess we're both f***ed, huh?"
"Looks that way."
"Then I guess it's a damn good thing we found each other."

I admired Riley and is love and care for his brothers. His emotions ran deep and those times that they spilled over and he could not contain them were heart warming. He was a man dealt a bad hand in life and was just getting by, but Jessica filled a void and was a bright spot for him. And Jessica found purpose and direction with Riley. She found herself, her strength, and her capacity for love and feelings. 

We got to visit Tyler and Rory, Kylie and Nathan, and Bill  from True. And Riley and Tyler's younger brothers Easton and Jayden were also a big part of this story.  Just like in True, I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I understand why she might have chosen not to do an epilogue since the next book will be her friend Robin's story in Believe. I am already intrigued by her story and the new character we got to see a peek of at the end of this book. But I would have still liked to see a bit more in the ending since I was not quite ready to let this couple go. But I enjoyed their story. It lived up to it's name(or her last name) and was sweet and it was funny, heartfelt, inspiring, emotional, and romantic. I really liked Jessica and Riley and being able to check in with the rest of the characters. 

Thanks to Erin McCarthy, Penguin Group USA | Berkley | NAL, and Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are from Arc copy and are subject to change in final draft. 





Erin McCarthy Website/Facebook/Twitter


USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written almost fifty novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult, and adult romance. Erin has a special weakness for New Orleans, tattoos, high-heeled boots, beaches and martinis. She lives in Ohio with her family, two grumpy cats and a socially awkward dog.

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