Friday, April 24, 2015

Book Review: Sweet by Emmy Laybourne

Less than three weeks until TBF!

I recently read Emmy Laybourne’s new book SWEET and let me tell you, it was a delicious read. Take a look:

*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.


I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading SWEET. Was it a thriller? Was it a romance novel? Was it a crazy, horror contemporary novel? The answer: it was all three! I love that SWEET is a mixture of different genres that made it a perfect read.

The thing I love about SWEET is Solu, the new diet artificial sweetener. Even though Solu is definitely not a character in the story, it can easily be one. If I were to personify Solu, it would be the charismatic popular kid, who everyone loves, wants to be best friends with and will do anything to have Solu attend their party. It even outshines all the celebrities on the cruise ship as well as the main characters. Solu seems pretty harmless because it’s an artificial sweetener. And Solu does exactly what it’s supposed to do: help people lose weight. Soon everyone becomes obsessed with Solu and there’s no turning back on this addiction. Thankfully, our main character, Laurel and Tom, refuse to fall into this sugary sweet trap because Solu has a dark side.

I highly recommend SWEET to readers who enjoy Matt de la Pen’s THE LIVING. You can check out my book review of that book here.

Unfortunately, SWEET will not be released in time for TBF. However, you can get a bookplate signed by Emmy Laybourne so you can stick it inside your book when it comes out June 2. Be sure to check out the prequel e-novella, EXPELLED, which is available May 5. Preorder it now on Kindle and NOOK.

To our future filmmakers, check out the super sweet contest, hosted by MacTeen Books (NOT TBF blog). Make a video to promote Solu and you can win amazing prizes! The deadline for this video contest is May 15th, just before TBF so get to it readers!

For more information on Emmy and her books check out her website. Also follow her on Twitter and Facebook page.

That’s it for today! See you guys soon!
Miranda

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