Be Sweet

by Diann Hunt

Same mom. Same dad. Completely different lives. Who's to say which sister has it sweeter? Viney Haverford always told her daughters to "be sweet." But the only thing sweet about Charlene Haverford these days is her sweet tooth. Little sister Janni is the nice one. The one with the intact marriage, the great kids, the stable life on the family homestead in Tappery, Michigan. Charlene's the sister who left town heartbroken and humiliated but built a sweet life for herself half a continent High-octane job. Red BMW. Seaside cottage. And an uncomplicated relationship with a great-looking man. Charlene might not be the sweet sister, but she still craves sweets, like the incomparable maple syrup from her family's own maples. Which is why she's finally come home. And to make sure her tightfisted sister doesn't botch plans for their parents' 50th anniversary bash. And to show the local gossips that she's not the loser they think she is. But Charlene's time in Tappery proves stickier than anticipated. Sweet Janni has turned moody, Mom's acting paranoid, Dad may be sneaking around with a local widow, the local police seem to be stalking them all, and the little twinge in Charlene's mouth has morphed into a full-blown, sugar-induced toothache. A hunky local dentist offers delicious diversion. But just when things get cozy, a series of revelations open both sisters' hearts to sweet possibilities they never even imagined.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Chick Lit, Adult Fiction, Romance

318 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2007

About the author

Diann Hunt wrote romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction targeted to Christian women of the Baby Boomer generation. She'd lived in Indiana forever, had been happily married forever, loved her family, chocolate, her friends, her dog, and, well, chocolate. Her book "For Better or For Worse" is being made into a Hallmark movie, with production beginning in November, 2013.

After a four-year battle with ovarian cancer, Diann went home to be with her Lord and Saviour just after Thanksgiving, 2013. She leaves behind a legacy of words of blessing, love for her Lord, her family, her close friends, and fans the world over who have come to know and love her and call her their friend.

Reviews

[Leonore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a light and funny book to read. I laughed and enjoyed so much that I gave to a friend to enjoy. It was a pleasant book about family and love.

[Ane Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diann Hunt proves life begins at forty-five, and you don't begin to hit your stride till fifty. Her characters are zany, witty, eclectic, deep, gritty ... in other words: real, warts and all. But the book isn't a piece of fluff. There's a message of healing in its pages, a throwing off of old baggage, and trust. All wrapped up in one delicious, hilarious read.

Heavily character driven, the story unfolds at an unhurried pace, allowing the reader to get inside Charlene's head and know her. By the time you've finished half a chocolate chip cookie and a cup of coffee, you're sitting beside Char at the kitchen table, walking with her through the maples, tapping trees and getting sticky hands.

What I found so interesting is how Hunt wrote Be Sweet in first person from Charlene's point of view, yet you know each character intimately. Though each is seen from Char's perspective, each is fully developed and has their own unique voice.

The antics will keep you chuckling all the way through, from Viney's paranoia to Janni's strange behavior. Toss in a Harley, that hunky dentist, a couple of hormonal college kids, and you've got one of the best reads of the year. Grab something maple, preferably covered in chocolate, and enjoy. I give Be Sweet my highest recommendation. It's a 5 star book.

[CarolynB · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book was a little slow; but somewhere along the way things got more interesting and I ended up really enjoying the lol moments and the numerous characters.

[Erika Kreher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant, easy read about family and love. Learning to deal with the past and moving on. Humorous in some parts as well.

[Rasa Valiauga · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wholesome book about a wholesome family. Not many plot twists or situations that left one wanting more, but a good read nonetheless.

[Barbara Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diann Hunt's book are always fun to read, but they aren't just light and fun .. they delve into deeper issues like family dynamics, where we find our worth, holding on to past hurts and letting them control our lives. Be Sweet touched on all of those while also bringing laughs and giggles as these 2 sisters navigate the changes that come with life.

My one "dislike" was a situation with their Mother. I believe if this situation were real, it wouldn't have been treated as lightly. Most would take an elderly parent to a doctor to make sure there wasn't something going on with them mentally. And the resolution was a bit off to me. The severity of her thoughts didn't line up, for me, with the ease of the resolution.

All that said I still enjoyed this book greatly!

[Tamelia Aday · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, the cover is ridiculous once you start reading and realize that the heroine is 47. The girls on the front don't look much past 25. I don't have any problem reading a romance about a 47 year old woman, but apparently the publishers thought I would.

Then I met Charlene. Her character is really immature and meant to be funny, but the humor often fell flat to me. She really got on my nerves. I swear, if I had to read one more time about her complaining about the coffee at her sister's house, I thought I'd go mad-and I'm a coffee snob myself.

Then there was Russ-her love interest. I could never understand how 1 year after his wife's death, he seemed to instantly fall in love with a girl he had a crush on 30 years ago but hadn't seen at all since then. They hardly seemed to have enough interaction to warrant the level of connection described.

The family relationship stuff was marginally better, but predictable in places and completely random in others.

It was ok for a quick, light read but overall, pretty disappointing.

[Margaret Metz]

I am trying but finding it hard to connect with the characters - especially the main. I just plain don't like her. So far she has bragged about her wealth and how far she's come since her small town upbringing, put down everyone she's come into contact with (including her sister -- though she waffles between envy and disdain), plans to sell out the property of the unsuspecting folks around her in order to secure her partnership and even more wealth . . .

I can see her more as a villain than anything else. It's hard to relate to her at this point. I don't like her enough to want to know more about her and why she's doing all this.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this book up at a book sale. It was OK. I wish the author would have went more into the love story of Char and her old flame from high school. Or I should say he had a thing for her in high school. If you want something not that exciting..well I guess this is for you. I just felt that Diann Hunt talked too much about Char's fetish with expensive cookies. I get it...Char liked cookies. But I felt like this book could have been cut in half (page wise) and the story would have been much sweeter.

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have really liked to have given this book 3.5 stars. It is better than 3 but not quite 4. The storyline over all is good but it didn't grab me like other books have in the past. Of course I did finish a book that had me laughing so hard I cried so any book after that probably wouldn't have measured up.

Still though, a good book and not a hard read at all.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read with a good message. It had just enough sarcasm to keep me chuckling through the pages, and I appreciate any book that can appropriately use the word "bazillion" (which is one of my favorite words). :)

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, light hearted look at what we think we know, how we think we feel and the revelations in life that make us aware that reality can be very different if we open our hearts to it!

I loved the settings the tangible sense of famliy ties.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The internal struggles of the main character were great and true to reality. We all hope to go back home better off than we left with the trophy spouse, that doesn't always pan out. It's a good read with a nice ending. Worth the time.

[Meagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Easy read, but very predictable ending and plot. Also, the characters talk about how devoted they are to God but they don't really live it. I wasn't too impressed with this book. I'd say, don't even bother.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a little more heartwarming than I usually read but still kind of enjoyable.

[Idawati Wiguno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I thought. I like the cover very much though!

[Tressa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Be Sweet was okay. I didn't feel that there was much depth to the characters; it seemed to be all surface.

[Elaine]

not the author's best

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was ok. I do like myself a happy ending, so I was glad to see that. But I had trouble getting into it enough to want to keep reading.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining. It had a few unexpected twists that made it more fun. I enjoyed reading about how they made maple sugar because I didn't know how that was done.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite. I did not love the characters. The story line was not the greatest.

[Mamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to get into and fun until the end. Who wouldn't love a book that actually says "woodsy cologne" to describe a man?

[Private · Rating 1 out of 5]

What was I thinking? I could have read this book post lobotomy.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was the best book I have read by this author. I thought the interaction between the mother and the two daughters was very funny. I enjoyed reading this book

[Sherry Tischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fun book to read. Like the author.

[Bettie Rushlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did seem to start a bit slow but you soon get caught up in what is going on with all the characters.

[Sarah M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty entertaining read, with a suprising twist towards the end, but a predicatably "happy" ending, which kind of disappointed me.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book took a while for me to get into, but I enjoyed the sarcasm used and thought it was a cute read. Will pick up another one of her books!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book though pretty unbelievable. There are a variety of story lines interwoven and some are pretty hard to buy into.