Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer

Decadentby TheBookResort

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June 24, 2009: 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.

The cover is heavenly, huh? Magnolia bakery anyone...

As smooth and luxurious as ganacheby Veggiechiliqueen

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November 05, 2008: Sarah Strohmeyer's "Sweet Love" follows the hectic life of single mother Julie Mueller, a TV reporter who's currently single and seriously overworked. Julie's hoping to be picked to follow the upcoming presidential campaign even as she digs up facts on the abduction and murder of a local girl. As a single mother, the case touches her deeply, and she oversteps her journalistic bounds in pursuit of the truth.

Julie lives above her parents, and her mother Betty, a breast cancer survivor, is desperate to see Julie matched up with the perfect man before she dies. Betty enrolls Julie in a dessert class by the renowned chef Renee D'Ours, much to Julie's chagrin. Julie feels herself to be a modern, liberated woman, and has no desire to be chained to the kitchen simply to appease some male whim. She feels strongly that her mother is little more than a domestic slave to her father, who disappears as soon as Betty is ill. Julie struggles with the sense that her father is constantly abandoning her mother, and can't understand why Betty stands by him despite his shortcomings.

Despite her misgivings, Julie goes to the dessert classes to discover that a) she does enjoy learning how to make sumptuous desserts, and b) her first love Michael Clayton, newly divorced, is also enrolled in the same class. Coincidence?

The rest of this sweet confection reads like a primer in dessert porn (but is thankfully calorie-free!) as Julie struggles to master elegant desserts. She also comes to grips with her bitter earlier falling-out with Michael, and she must step in when a family health crisis arrives. "Sweet Love" is a delightful read, the story of an overworked single mom looking for love and unexpectedly finding a connection to her own mother in the kitchen, the last place she ever planned on being.