Review of Life Is Sweet

Synopsis:

Elizabeth Bass—author of Miss You Most of All, Wherever Grace is Needed, and The Way Back to Happiness—weaves an emotionally rich and layered new novel about a former child star rebuilding her life…

 Becca Hudson has come a long way since she was a tween starring in the sitcom Me Minus You, but as far as she’s concerned, she finally has her act together. She’s relocated to Leesburg, Virginia, owns a successful bakery, and has a great set of friends—even a friendly ex-husband. She ignores “Whatever Happened To?” speculation and the occasional overly obsessed fan, and flatly turns down a lucrative offer to appear on a reality show called Celebrities in Peril: Child Star Edition. She has an uncomfortable relationship with her Hollywood past, preferring to think of herself as more than a 1990s trivia question. Then one day a mysterious man appears and stirs up her past—all of it—in ways she never imagined…(Goodreads)

Review:

Becca Hudson is a former child star.  As an adult she wants to pursue her love of baking and opens her own bakery.  She is living her dream but the past continues to intrude on the present.  She wants people to visit the bakery because of the delicious treats she bakes, not because of who she used to be.  She wants people to see her as an adult and like her because of who she has become.  It is very frustrating for her when that does not seems to be happening.  When she is asked to appear on a reality television show, her initial reaction is to say “no”.  But she meets a few people that see her for who she is and learns some facts about her life that have her reconsidering her answer.

The characters are well developed and three dimensional.  At times Becca is frustrated and not as pleasant as she should be.  But does that not happen to all of us sometimes?  There are times when I did not like her very much and then other times when I felt sorry for her.  I think that is a sign of a good author when the readers feelings toward a character change while reading the book.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy, although at times I felt like it was a little long.  Sometimes I felt a little too much description was given concerning things that were not that interesting.  That is my opinion, though, and other readers may disagree.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading women’s fiction.  If you love bakeries or baked good, and who doesn’t, give this book a try.  I plan on seeing if this author has written any more books and checking them out.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.  I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.