Sweet Love

by Sarah Strohmeyer

An irresistibly delicious novel about the power of love …and dessert. Like other well-meaning mothers, Julie Mueller believed she did the right thing when she secretly ended her teenage daughter's crush on Michael Slayton, a wild older neighborhood heartthrob with a penchant for Shakespeare and the pedigree of trailer trash.

Twenty years later, Betty Mueller has come to realize that was a big mistake. Her daughter Julie - divorced and raising a teenage daughter alone - is a workaholic obsessed with her career. And Michael, the one man who could make her happy, is the one man to whom she won't speak.

Now dying and determined to make amends, Betty stages her last great feat of motherhood by reuniting the couple in a dessert class where she hopes the sweetness of a chocolate almond Torta Caprese will erase the bitterness of a wretched misunderstanding.

Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said thy edge should blunter be than appetite, Shakespeare once pleaded though it will require more than poetry and passion fruit for Julie and Michael to renew their love.

It will, in fact, require the sweetest sacrifice of all.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Adult, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Foodie

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Sarah Strohmeyer is the award-winning, nationally bestselling author of 18 novels for young adults and adults, including the Bubbles Yablonsky mystery series, SMART GIRLS GET WHAT THEY WANT and THE CINDERELLA PACT, which became the Lifetime Movie, LYING TO BE PERFECT.
Her first mystery, BUBBLES UNBOUND, won the Agatha Award and Romantic TImes Award for Best First Mystery. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY PROPOSAL was nominated for a prestigious RITA™. Her books have been translated into German, French, Italian, Turkish, Taiwanese and a bunch of others.
BUBBLES REBOOTS - #7 in the Bubbles Yablonsky mystery series - will be published June 26th in Kindle, Nook and Kobo (pre-order now!) It is an homage to her dearly departed high-school friend, Josh Simon. So 10% of the profits will go to organizations he approved: The Cancer Research Institute & Planned Parenthood.

Reviews

[cheryna27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don’t be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more

For some reason, reading this book makes me hum. I don't really remember the lyrics for A Thousand Years by Christina Perri but reading this book has made it possible. Plus, I strongly believe that the song and the book are really synchronise; knowing that this book is not just about food but also about a long lost love.

Imagine having a crush since you were small and you kind of hanging on that crush for quite sometime but eventually your fate is to marry somebody else. So, if that is your story, then you should buy this book. If you're still clinging to old memories and you feel that one day you'll meet your true love, so be it. Let's read the book together, shall we?

I don't know about how things can be co-incidental or ironic. This book, regardless the spoilers which I have read before this, has made quite an impact on me. I mean, my mum is not the type of person who cooks great desserts. But I know for sure that this book is a comfort after a car accident that I went through few days ago. My mum was with me in the accident and I'm appreciating her more after these days. I can't even think of a day without her.

This afternoon, I watched Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna; a love story which shows that love relates with time. I read this book during the commercial and currently shaking my head for some element of similarities.

Okay, let's be objective: this book is supposedly a cliche. Something which has all the normal elements of love stories. But the thing which differentiates good and bad authors are the research on things which they are going to write (in this book, it shows how literature can be romantic and desserts are not really for the diabetic).

A dessert book which makes you drool but at the same time teaching you that food brings people together:)

I might sound bias but when an author reads before she writes, the book will make you cry. I'm giving 5 stars for the effort and maturity shown in this book and I'm seeking for more of Sarah Strohmeyer's book after this.

And guess what? This book is my first book of 2012!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining, but somewhat disappointing and disjointed romance/family story. The ending was a bit unsatisfying to me and I was never really sold on the main romance.

[Sarah Nealy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a re-read for me. I read this in my 20's and now being in my thirties I wanted to see if I liked it as much as I did then. I will have to say yes and no. I still loved the setting, and all the descriptions of the different deserts she made in desert class, but I found the main character Julie to be negative and whiney. This is definitely a light fluffy read but there is some depth to her relationship with her Mom. It was a cute read overall but nothing life changing. Definitely a summer read!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a book similar to "The Cinderella Pact", something light, fluffy, and silly.

"Sweet Love" is nothing like "The Cinderella Pact". It's an insightful, and at times heartbreaking account of the struggles that a mid-aged single mother trying to care for her teenage daughter and her elderly parents, all while trying to develop a relationship with the man she's loved since she was a teenager.

I liked that this book didn't have a completely fairy tale happy ending. I was surprised by the ending of this book, which doesn't happen very often to me while reading chick lit. I found myself sitting in bed crying as I read the last 25 or so pages. This book felt very real to me, like the characters could be my next-door neighbors.

The relationship between Julie and her father could have been explored in much greater detail; that aspect of the storyline was shockingly underdeveloped. I could tell that there was an interesting thought there, but the author failed to explore it.

Overall, a great read. A good example of "heavier" chick lit.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Mueller has known Michael Slayton since she was 10 years old. At age 17, she discovered that she was in love with him, only to be rebuffed. Many years later, Julie's and Michael's paths cross again, both divorced, they are on opposite sides of a steamy political scandal that deepens the rift between them. Then, Julie's mom gets sick and wangles Julie and Michael into the same cooking class at a Boston culinary school. As Julie finally learns to cook, the story of her and Michael starts to unravel, along with her career. The book has a series of ups and downs where Julie nearly loses her job as a top reporter at for a Boston TV station, but later gets to the bottom on an unsolved murder, and is subsquently offered a job she has been vying for on the National election team for her network. There are many other twists and turns, some heart-wrenching, while others take the reader by complete surprise!

I truly enjoyed this book (it is a great summer read!) and would recommend other titles by Strohmeyer.

[Alissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read. I enjoyed it but not as much as the others. Although there was a plot twist at the end I didn't really see coming. I enjoyed the various Shakespeare quotes at the beginnings of the chapter which foreshadowed events. And I totally wish I could eat the cupcake pictured on the cover - it looks delicious!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would give this 3.5 stars if I could. I liked it better then some of Sarah's other recent releases. Her characters are always so entertaining to read - I actually laughed out loud in the library at one point (totally embarrassing myself).

[Tonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a ‘sweet’ book on second chances. And it had lots of food talk which made me hungry half the time.

Julie Mueller is a single mom and a workaholic. Her mother, Betty, wants her to find lover before she kicks the bucket. So she arranged for her daughter to have dessert cooking classes with her long lost love, Michael Slayton. They met when they were young and she kept them apart and now Betty thinks she drove away her daughters only love. So she signs them both up and hitches a plan to get them there and lets their chemistry take over. So while Julie is dealing with her feelings with Michael, she wonders about her job- as is she happy there?, figuring out if this lump in her breath is cancer, and helping her mom deal with all her medical problems.

This is a nice love story mixed in with life, death, second chances and lots of humor. I laughed and smirked my whole way through. Julie is a hoot and her humor is on par. I loved her.

[Marika Lenee Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author and how she brings the characters to life. A dessert class will bring an unlikely couple back together. A mother will meddle, but try to mend mistakes she made in the past. Some great tips about cooking and sweets that also make my mouth water. A believable story with heartache and love. There are also always funny parts to her writing that make me laugh out loud and I do love that.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Love Strohmeyer, Sarah * 4 F Drama funny sad, middle aged single mom with teenager put together with 1st love in dessert class, deals with mother & her own breast cancer scare during her Mom's last illness, punctuated with mother's friends father's disappearing act, support of 1st boyfriend with dessert ties to mother 2017 7/13/2017 7/12/2017

[Emily J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not a very good book. The plots were all over the place and the title made me think there would be more about baking or a bakery or something?! The ending was just sort of .... two paragraphs and over. And I still don’t know what the heck was up with carol?!

[Nicole Inzero · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wouldn’t call this a romance, but definitely a love story. The love story, however, stars a mother and daughter. It’s a beautiful story about the bond between mother and daughter and how that love will constantly change, but always abide.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story- but not the foul language. Had that been different, I would give a higher rating. The story, though it started out quite frothy, in my opinion, held more depth by the end. A quick read.

[Chris Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie's story is very sweet...no pun intended!

[Dawn Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg! What a great book. I could hardly put it down. Such amazing characters & a well planned plot. I would totally read it again!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great literature, but a cute book with many descriptions of decadent desserts.

[Mandi Grasmeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun reading about the desserts - quick, fun read

[Julie Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a light and frothy read - could have sped it up toward the end as it dragged but cute.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good :)

[Keanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addictively good!

[Maryann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book's exploration of the relationship of mother/daughter, as well as the food elements, of course. It reminded me that I love my mother and I should call her more often.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, enjoyed the characters.

[Barbara Pifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of Julie and her one-time crush Michael, who she hasn't seen in six years who end up in the same dessert class. Meanwhile, she is dealing with a possible promotion also younger woman who is competing with her. There’s a murder, a strange homeless man, passion and jealousy between her and Michael, and different family health crises. Lots to keep you involved. Definitely would recommend

[LynnB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, enjoyable chick-lit read.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story that touched my heart 💓

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was supposed to be a romance novel. It wasn’t in my opinion. Not my kinda book

[Diane Morasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE Sarah's Bubbles series. I am a Bubbles head & proud of it (yes, I am a yahoo carrying member). I am also going to say, my heart belongs to the Bubbles series & nothing Sarah writes will be as good as Ms. Yablonsky's hilarious series! For real! I mean, hello Bubbles Unbound scooped up the Agatha Award for best first novel in 2001.

That said & out of the way, I will say Sarah has whipped up a savory morsel in Sweet Love. This is Sarah's best stand alone to date.

Sweet Love is delectable. Sarah Strohmeyer has created a beautifully written novel that dares you to care & get invested in Julie's life. Julie is a single mom doing her best to do the right thing. When I think of Julie, the word mosaic comes to mind.

Sweet Love is a heart-rending novel rich w/ emotion. Michael is a brilliant gem. He simply steals the show. Julie's mom, Betty, reminds us just how precious our mom's are. Strohmeyer hits a home run delving into the heart of mother/daughter dynamics. Strohmeyer shimmers as she tenderly & realistically gives us a peek into the lives of Julie & Betty. *Tissues*.

Sweet Love is a quick read that packs an ardent wallop. Strohmeyer's writing is so riveting, you can't help but empathize w/ Strohmeyer's delightful cast of characters.

Strohmeyer's Sweet Love is as frothy as a chocolate soufflé. Sheer bliss.

Sweet Love is a bit slow to simmer but as soon as Michael appears the book bubbles over w/ yummy goodness.

Strohmeyer tosses in a plot twist @ the end that took me by surprise. Kudos to Sarah for penning such a charming novel that invites you into the hearts & souls of the sweetest characters to come along in a long time.

[Aislynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading Sarah Strohmeyer's books after discovering the Lipstick Chronicles she and several other sassy authors contribute to. In the time I actively read that blog Strohmeyer wrote about this book a lot and I was looking forward to reading it. Finally picked it up last week and I have to say I enjoyed it. The recipes discussed sound incredibly good, but that's just the proverbial icing on the cake. The real heart of the story is Julie's relationship with her mother and her childhood crush Michael.

Michael seems too good to be true and their relationship blossomed fairly quickly on the page. But Julie and her mother's relationship seemed incredibly real to me. The only thing that really disappointed me was the lack of exploration in the relationship between Julie and her father. There was so much resentment built up on Julie's side, I really would've liked to see her father's side of things or even for him to have a few more lines - something that would give me the chance to see if their relationship would be salvageable after the story was over.

Would I recommend this book? Sure! It's not just a light fluffy read, there's moments that inspire strong emotion, but it also brings a smile to your face or even makes the reader laugh out loud in a few places.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seventy-five year old Betty Mueller is worried about her daughter. Daughter Julie, at 17, made no secret of her huge crush on the boy next door, Michael. Michael was Julie's older brother's best friend and was practically a member of the family. They all loved Michael. Problem? Michael was 4 years older than Julie. Big problem, but easily solved; and now Betty regrets, 20 years later, the role she played in solving the problem.

Julie went on to marry, a baby already on the way, only to have her husband leave her with a 9 month old infant. He is remarried with a new family of his own. Julie made do with the support of her family and friends and is now quite content (sort of) with her job that takes most of her time as a news reporter.

Betty has decided it is time to make up for her mistake. She wants her daughter to be happy. There must be some way to bring them back together.....

This was a sweet story, no pun intended. It had laughs and tears and, oh yes, some very tantalizing ideas for desserts! Each character stole my heart except for Julie's dad who remained only a shadow and that frustrated me a bit. It was about love for family and friends and about making hard decisions when your desires and your beliefs conflict and about being honest with yourself and with those around you.