The Sweetheart Deal

Set in the 1950's during the height of McCarthyism, this romance has it all. Betrayal. sexism, lies, misunderstandings, all the elements of a good story. Ellen Hamilton has the brains and the drive to be the CEO of her family business but she's missing the y chromosome and so her feckless brother is in line for the job. When the company decides to partner with another bigger company to launch their new product, Ellen's onetime love John Adair comes back to town as the representative of the other business. John left under suspicion of corporate espionage and broke Ellen's heart. When he returns, the truth of that long ago time will finally come out and blow up Ellen's life.
This was an interesting concept a contemporary romance with a semi-historical setting. The sexism of the times combined with the effect McCarthyism had on the American psyche makes a great plot element. Ellen and John's romance has lots of hurdles but they are different people than they were before and maturity makes a difference. There is not a lot of spice in the book but it's a nice romance with just enough angst to be fun.

This was a super cute read! I tend to avoid the romance category, thrillers are more my thing. BUT- "The Sweetheart Deal" may have just saved the sweet romance genre for me!

Set in the 1950's, there's a lot of retro references that make it a unique and stand out story. Readers will wade through some 50's male chauvinist tripe, but that's what makes John Adair's character so much sexier! Ellen was a complex character, way ahead of her times, and I had trouble deciding if I like her or not. I definitely enjoyed her interactions with John, and her sassy attitude about what she wants in life.

This story was actually still pretty relevant to today's historical timeline, and its references to male-centered culture and the petty, lawless business culture of the 50's really makes you think about what's going on today.

The plot moved quickly and seemed even more central to the story than the romance, which I liked, although the romance was cute and spicy enough to keep me hooked. Overall a great read, and time well spent!

First, I should say that I am not typically a fan of historical romances, so my review may be a bit biased as a result. Since this book occurred during the 1950's, which is an era that fascinates me especially movies from this time period, I decided to read it. Sadly, it was not a novel that I would recommend.

Although the writing is fine with no grammatical mistakes or major hiccups in the plot, I found the characters to be relatively uninteresting (both the hero John and heroine Ellen) and somewhat cartoonish (especially the supporting characters), the dialogue and plot to be overly melodramatic, and challenging to complete.

Other reviewers have loved the book, so it may truly be might be my general distaste for period romances, but The Sweetheart Deal was not for me.

Good book! Great summer reading. I enjoy reading it. I received an ARC from Netgalley for a honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book! While this is a romance book, the plot also deals with betrayal, manipulation & overcoming stereotypes. I loved the romantic tension & the message that life is not always as it appears at first glance. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

General info
Ellen and John were in love nine years ago until John was accused of theft and driven out of their little town. Now he is back and onto something that Ellen isn't sure about.

Things I liked
The plot turned out to be great. It is mysterious and romantic. There are some twists and lot of things that only come out later in the story. It is truly great. I also really like the relationship between Ellen and John and the feelings they so try to hide and fight. I also really like Ellen and John as characters, I kind of feel for them. And I guess characters are well written when they make you hate them, like I really kind of hate Tim. Also, I like that there is a happy ending especially when at some point I was about 90% sure there would not be a happy ending.

Things I like less
This is not really a negative thing, but the start for me was a bit slow. For a little while I was not sure if I would ever actually get into the book but I did and I loved it.

Conclusion
All in all this book is amazing and I loved the story. It kept me hooked until the very end. I love the characters and the happy ending there is. It is truly a brilliant book.

*ARC received from the publisher via Netgalley