The Sweetheart Deal
Fiction
Little, Brown
May 19, 2015
Hardcover
320
Publisher via BookSparks
The poignant story of what happens when a woman who thinks she's lost everything has the chance to love again. Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident. As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey's feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.
My review:
When I first read the synopsis for this book, I will admit that I had a pre-conceived notion that it was going to be kind of cheesy and predictable. Imagine my surprise and delight to find that this story had some real merit to it! I thought the author did a superb job of describing the grief that the family goes through, particularly the wife/mother. Thankfully I've never been in such a position, but I bought into the devastation, grief, anger, and feeling of having to go on after a tragedy. Even the boys reactions were well done. This was the strong part of the book. The not as strong part was the relationship between the wife and the best friend. It wasn't off-putting, but I didn't buy into it as much as the grief portions. I became a bit annoyed with Audrey toward the end (no spoilers, so I won't go into why), and it did have a predictable ending, but this was a really good read overall.
Well paced, nicely written, and very good look at the emotional upheaval of a family following a tragedy. A bit further exploration into the changing feelings of Audrey and Garrett would have elevated the story even more, but a solid read, albeit with a predictable ending.
This book is one of the June picks for the BookSparks summer reading challenge. Click the link to learn more, or follow #SRC2026 and #BestSummerEver on social media to read more reviews.
From the cover and synopsis, I would have thought cheesy, too. From your review (lovely, by the way), I really think I would like this one, but the timing will have to be right for me.