Title: Sweet
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Pub Date: June 2nd, 2015
Publisher: Macmillan
This book gives meaning to the expression, "that escalated quickly." Featuring a mix of all the genres, I can say that it was a daunting idea and Emmy rocked it. - Nova @ Out of Time
Is it possible to have a mix of every genre in one book? Maybe. Maybe not. But Sweet definitely did a great job of having a bunch of them. The book starts off really fun and contemporary-like. The main character and her friend are on a cruise and there are hot guys. Fun, right? But then things slowly take a turn for worse as everyone becomes unstable addicts who are dying for a fix. By three quarters in, it's almost as if they've become zombies. And I didn't expect for it to go that far but it did and I found myself pulled in even deeper into the story.
Solu is a sugar alternative that also causes people to lose weight. However, there's a major drawback that no one tells anyone about until it's too late. It reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who that featured Adipose [a pill that caused fat to jump out of your skin and walk out the door.] The idea that people are looking for any quick fix to their weight problems is what makes this story believable. It's actually really sad because some of these people have such low self esteem even though they're described as beautiful [by Laurel.]
Something that irked me a little is that the main characters didn't have much to do with the plot. They found out about the master plan the same time as the reader. There was no investigation and no one suspected anything was wrong until it was. It didn't really bother me per se but it made the characters seem irrelevant to what was going on. Of course, towards the end, it was all on them to make the ending happen.
I didn't really care about the characters. I didn't hate them and I didn't like them either. They had personalities that were alright but something was just detaching them to me, even though I knew they were well written and rounded to feel real. Writing wise, they were done well but personally, I couldn't really connect.
I also had issues with the way the plan was revealed. It was literally a "main characters are tied up and the evil guy is pacing around, explaining his evil plan." I didn't hate it since I wanted to know what was going on, anyway, but I felt like it should've been more interesting.
I admire that this book doesn't hold back, however. Some of the descriptions are really graphic and I had to cringe while reading because this book turns crazy three quarters in. I can see obvious skill in Emmy's writing and that's why this book turned out pretty good for me. The dialogue was fabulous and so was the pacing. In a way, the pacing tricked me into thinking "oh, nothing bad can happen!" and made it all the more shocking when things did.
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Pub Date: June 2nd, 2015
Publisher: Macmillan
*People would kill to be thin.*
Solu’s luxurious celebrity-filled “Cruise to Lose” is billed as “the biggest cruise since the Titanic,” and if the new diet sweetener works as promised—dropping five percent of a person’s body weight in just days—it really could be the answer to the world’s obesity problem. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv’s invitation. She’s already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host, Tom Forelli (otherwise known as the hottest guy ever!) and she’s too seasick to even try the sweetener. And that’s before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange.
*But will they die for it, too?*
Tom Forelli knows that he should be grateful for this job and the opportunity to shed his childhood “Baby Tom-Tom” image. His publicists have even set up a ‘romance’ with a sexy reality star. But as things on the ship start to get a bit wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when his celebrity hosting gig turns into an expose on the shocking side effects of Solu, it’s Laurel that he’s determined to save.
Emmy Laybourne, author of the Monument 14 trilogy, takes readers on a dream vacation that goes first comically, then tragically, then horrifyingly, wrong.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Chapters Indigo
This book gives meaning to the expression, "that escalated quickly." Featuring a mix of all the genres, I can say that it was a daunting idea and Emmy rocked it. - Nova @ Out of Time
Is it possible to have a mix of every genre in one book? Maybe. Maybe not. But Sweet definitely did a great job of having a bunch of them. The book starts off really fun and contemporary-like. The main character and her friend are on a cruise and there are hot guys. Fun, right? But then things slowly take a turn for worse as everyone becomes unstable addicts who are dying for a fix. By three quarters in, it's almost as if they've become zombies. And I didn't expect for it to go that far but it did and I found myself pulled in even deeper into the story.
Solu is a sugar alternative that also causes people to lose weight. However, there's a major drawback that no one tells anyone about until it's too late. It reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who that featured Adipose [a pill that caused fat to jump out of your skin and walk out the door.] The idea that people are looking for any quick fix to their weight problems is what makes this story believable. It's actually really sad because some of these people have such low self esteem even though they're described as beautiful [by Laurel.]
Something that irked me a little is that the main characters didn't have much to do with the plot. They found out about the master plan the same time as the reader. There was no investigation and no one suspected anything was wrong until it was. It didn't really bother me per se but it made the characters seem irrelevant to what was going on. Of course, towards the end, it was all on them to make the ending happen.
I didn't really care about the characters. I didn't hate them and I didn't like them either. They had personalities that were alright but something was just detaching them to me, even though I knew they were well written and rounded to feel real. Writing wise, they were done well but personally, I couldn't really connect.
I also had issues with the way the plan was revealed. It was literally a "main characters are tied up and the evil guy is pacing around, explaining his evil plan." I didn't hate it since I wanted to know what was going on, anyway, but I felt like it should've been more interesting.
I admire that this book doesn't hold back, however. Some of the descriptions are really graphic and I had to cringe while reading because this book turns crazy three quarters in. I can see obvious skill in Emmy's writing and that's why this book turned out pretty good for me. The dialogue was fabulous and so was the pacing. In a way, the pacing tricked me into thinking "oh, nothing bad can happen!" and made it all the more shocking when things did.
I just finished this one last week and it turned out pretty good for me as well. A bit gory, but also page-turning and intriguing. Glad you enjoyed it as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is one book that has been on my radar for a while, so it's good to see some reviews coming in for it! I have to say, the premise sounds pretty unique, and that cover just draws you in. Glad to hear you liked it Nova, I hope to read it when it comes out :)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your assessment on this one! I liked it, and it definitely was unique and intriguing, but I felt a big disconnect with the characters too. I think had they been just a little stronger, this book would have been a HUGE win, but I still enjoyed it, and I am glad you did too! Great review!
ReplyDeleteShannon @ It Starts At Midnight