Release Date: January 2018
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 320 pages
Source: Netgalley
Genre(s): Young Adult, romance, contemporary, mystery
A well-developed story with a compelling core that makes readers want to keep reading. I was easily enthralled by my curiosity to find out what happens at the end of the story with CC and Thorn and especially with the mayor and Sugar Lump. Edgy at one point and sweet at another. Sugar Lump's tempting pull and the brewing romance between CC and Thorn makes the novel for an enjoyable fast paced read.
Sugar Lump is a tempting carefree perfect town that people are drawn to and are unwilling to leave but beneath that perfection lies secrets. The conflict surrounding Sugar Lump was the main attraction of the novel. It was what I was focused on and interested in.
CC: a travel blogger who always has a witty comment locked and loaded.
Thorn: the love interest who was willing to help CC in her quest to dig up the secrets buried within Sugar Lump. He is another mystery package in the story which I had fun unwrapping.
All the characters, even those not mentioned above, added to the thickening mystery of the plot even further making the reader even more curious to what the characters are hiding.
Simple and easy to read and understand. It did not contain any over-simplistic or formal language. I did not like it. I prefer books that challenge my diction which this book did not satisfy.
Negative points: Too many pages were wasted introduction of the setting and characters. the ending was unsatisfactory and vague. If this was some sort of series or if the story was longer with more complexity to it than the ending would have been fine, but since it was such a short story the ending was unsatisfactory.
This is no exceptional book but it has the originality to it which is the main. It is simply a good and well-told story with nothing that has not been written before.
