Sweet As Sin by Inez Kelley - A Review(-ish)

When a blood red bra comes flying over his fence from the house next door, John Murphy decides it's time to meet the neighbor. When he meets Livvy Andrews, his neighbor, he is immediately attracted. For her part, Livvy takes one look at John and just knows that he is bad news. He's all kinds of hot and sexy and is getting his flirt on with her in a major way. But she is at an age where white picket fences and biological clocks are what she's looking for, and John is clearly a one night stand kind of guy. John is a renowned author, writing a very successful young adult series about two monsters who are best friends. As John worms his way into Livvy's life, she finds that the monsters that he writes aren't just figurative, they're literal, and part of his soul.

 

 Their attraction is incendiary and soon Livvy is compromising what she thinks she wants to have a summer fling with John. He makes it clear from the start that he is not looking for serious. He wants to have fun (and LOTS of sex) with Livvy, and when it ends, it ends, no harm, no foul. Livvy is trepiditious, but agrees. But soon John finds that Livvy is becoming his port in the storm. You see, John had an awful childhood, full of abuse and terror at the hands of his stepfather. He spent his childhood protecting his younger sister Gina and suffering horrible torments at the hands of the Reverend Alan Walker. In the end, John made an awful choice and killed his stepfather. But the constant childhood torment left its marks. John has night terrors, panic attacks, and more than that, lets no one into his life. Even his beloved younger sister can only push him so far. But he finds himself sharing things with Livvy he's never shared before. He opens to her, tells her his secrets. And finds an incredible peace and comfort with her.

For her part, Livvy is not without her own issues. She comes from a family where her father was a serial philanderer, and it's scarred Livvy. She has trust issues with me, and she makes it clear to John that she will never leave him, as long as he doesn't do the unforgivable: cheat on her.

The more involved they become, the deeper Livvy falls in love with John. She knows he loves her. But she also knows that he adamantly doesn't want anything serious, and when his past comes back to haunt him, he can lash out, being cruel and hurtful to the one person who offers him the most support. Will they be able to find happiness? Can John deal with his past in order to have a future with Livvy?

Regular readers of this blog know that there is little I adore more than a heaping helping of angst in my romance. And this book had it in spades. It's a book that lingers with you. The horrors that John suffered at the hands of his stepfather are indescribable, and the author never pulls a punch in conveying how they effect John. He's difficult, moody and haunted. But he also has this incredible tenderness for Livvy. She brings a light to his darkness and really does both keep the monsters at bay, and help him get over a writers block that had been stalling his writing. John is just not ready for the emotion that she brings out in him. What starts as attraction blooms into something profound and deep for him. Something that makes him want to change.

The book is deeply emotional, devastatingly so. And it's brilliantly written, offering us enough glimpses into John's psyche, that even when he is acting like an utter ass, we understand why he is doing it. Livvy is also a delight. She really is the juxtaposition to John's darkness. She's sweet and caring, but not too much so. She's not afraid to stand up to John and she doesn't put up with his bullshit.

I'd only read Ms. Kelley's lighter erotic romances, which are entertaining, but Sweet as Sin is a book that lingers with you, making you continue to reflect on it. And the resolution at the end of the story really does give you that sense of peace that an extremely well written romance evokes. I would compare my reading experience for this book to another dark and emotional book, Butterfly Tattoo by Deirdre Knight. The books are on the same emotional level and sparked in me that same desire to read them over and over again, just to experience the wonder of a deeply damaged character being renewed by love.

Final grade: A