Do Not Read This Book – Inez Kelley Guest Post

Please welcome my guest, Inez Kelley!

#

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.

Seriously, don’t. I wrote Sweet as Sin and while I love it, you might not, so don’t bother wasting your money. Several reviewers have sung its praises. They speak of needing tissues, of the story lingering with them, of feeling John and Livvy’s pain as if it were theirs and of delighting in their hope. One reviewer called it genius. Another called it the best book she had read in years. One other said it was beautiful, compelling and genuine. Another likened it to a split lip, hurting with each smile.

Despite the raving reviews, this is not a book you want to read if you like your romance fluffy.

It’s dark and emotional, dealing with an imperfect man and woman who each have baggage. They do stupid crap and hurt each other, you know, like real people. They have no business calling themselves a hero and heroine. They aren’t. They are just people.

Livvy has Daddy issues. Her father was a cheater and she projects that fear onto any man she dates, just waiting for him to just screw up. She has a struggling bakery business that she loves. She’s poured her heart and soul into this shop and by God, it is going to succeed. See? She has this stubborn determination that is so not Mary Sue-like. She’s strong, competent and isn’t going to swallow John’s crap. She calls him on it left and right. Shameful, huh?

And John? Lord, where do I start?

He’s a crackpot hiding behind locked doors and rock-hard muscles. His issues aren’t something that is going to go away with the love of a good woman. Nope. They are too ingrained in his gorgeous body. He’s broken every commandment and doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him. He is human in all the ugly, angry, slap-the-asshole ways that some real men are. Sure, he’s hot and knows his way around the bedroom. He may inspire wet dreams(and does in Livvy) but no one is perfect and John is definitely not. He loves his sister and his nephews but puts up a wall around his heart blocking everyone else out. Total non-hero there.

He is a crude and doesn’t want anything but the occasional piece of ass. He writes YA Fantasy monsters and they are enough for him. The real-life monsters in his past have left him scarred inside and he’s not about to trust anyone ever again. His goodness comes through in his tales of hope and loyalty. I included sections of his YA story inside the book. They are sweet and cute and show how badly the man who writes them wants to find peace.

What was I thinking?

This anti-social hottie and career-driven cupcake even agree they want nothing from each other but a few steamy nights. Then things change and morph and they can’t even do that right. They fall in love with each other, even knowing that it is an uphill battle. They hurt each other. Yep, they hit below the belt and scream at each other, get into loud fights, lie and call each other names and well, it ain’t pretty. *Sigh* But when they are laid bare and holding each other, clinging to the one thing they know is true(their love) the story sings.

Throw in some money troubles, that bastard Cancer rearing its ugly head, child abuse to the extreme and a little thing like stealing… The story is not the normal romance. It is more. It is real. It is gritty.

Love, that all-powerful romance story motivator, isn’t a Mr. Clean Magic Owwie Eraser. Some real-life issues don’t have quick fixes. There is not kiss-and-make-it-better. There is a kiss-and-accept-you-with-all-your-flaws-as-long-as-you-are-meeting-me-halfway. There is a Happily Ever After tinged with realism. It is tinged with hope for a future that is better because they face those bad things together.

So save yourself and DO NOT BUY this book. Unless you want to cry and hope and hurt along with the characters.

****This blog was written with Inez’s tongue firmly in her cheek****

~~~~

Buy Sweet as Sin at Carina Press, AMZ, ARe, or BoB.

Inez Kelley is a multi-published author of various romance genres. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/.
Follow Inez on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.kelley.