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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
No "Sweet Talk" here, June 30, 2008
Claire, a concert pianist on tour since the age of 6, comes home at the request of sister Jesse to take care of third sister Nicole (Claire's fraternal twin) who needs an operation and somebody to care for her during recovery. Nicole hasn't spoken or had contact with Claire for 20 years because she blames Claire for ruining her life (blames Claire for their Mothers' death) - won't take calls, answer mail - invite Claire to her wedding(she is currently separated from husband Drew). Nicole is also not speaking to sister Jesse and plans to never forgive her for a mistake that Jesse recently made, on top of inviting Claire to come and care for Nicole. Wyatt, Nicole's good friend, but no sexual chemistry with Nicole, is a single father who vows never to have another "relationship" with a woman other than casual sex. Nicole has filled Wyatt's head with hateful descriptions of Claire for years, so Wyatt has an immediate dislike for Claire when she arrives to care for Nicole and try to mend the familial fences. Claire and Wyatt are the love interests.
There was absolutely no "Sweet Talk" in this latest offering by Susan Mallery. While I have loved all of her previous books, this one offered chapter after chapter of of one sister declaring "you ruined my life" louder than the next. These characters are so very immature, shallow and thoroughly dislikable that you don't care for them even after they get together. I kept hoping that the sisters would open their eyes, grow up and start acting like adults, unfortunately, that didn't happen. The dysfunction of this family is front and center from individual issues through relationship issues. There wasn't even any good romance with only two very short sexual encounters between Claire and Wyatt. The rest of the book was hashing and re-hashing, but not dealing with, the "you ruined my life" themes. This was not a fun read.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet intro to the Sweet series, September 4, 2008
Child prodigy turned world renowned pianist Claire Keyes receives a distressing call from her estranged sister Jesse advising that her twin Nicole needs her assistance after surgery. Claire hasn't talked with either sister for years, but a bout with panic attacks and a chance at reconciliation has her packing her bags and heading to Seattle. As a young child, she was plucked from the comfort of her family to perform in concerts all over the world. When she was 12, her mother joined her on the road, and Nicole has never forgiven Claire for taking their mother from them - especially when their mother dies in a car accident when they are 16. Despite attempts at reconciliation, Nicole has rebuffed her for years.
No one is more surprised than Nicole when Claire arrives to take care of her and won't take no for an answer. Nicole is also nursing a broken heart after catching her soon-to-be-ex-husband in bed with youngest sister Jesse. Nicole's best friend Wyatt instantly takes a dislike to Claire due to all the nasty stories he has heard about her. But soon his attitude changes as he gets to know Claire and starts to desire her. Thinking that they will just have a quick physical relationship, he is not prepared for the depth of his feelings, particularly her relationship with his deaf daughter, Amy. Will Nicole and Claire be able to bury the hatchet and forgive each other? Will Wyatt be able to give his heart to another after being trampled by his ex-wife?
Mallery's first foray in the Keyes sister trilogy is a sweet tale. While so many authors opt to have a virginal heroine, none have handled a heroine's introduction into womanhood (I can't think of any other way to put it) as sensitively and realistically as Mallery does with Claire. Her enthusiasm and cluelessness as to what she is experiencing (and Wyatt's bewilderment) are at times funny and bittersweet. I also like how Claire was forced out of her comfort zone - where even a simple load of laundry or cooking a meatloaf is foreign to her.
The only real problem I had with the novel is the character of Nicole. She's completely nasty throughout 90% of the book (to both Claire and Jesse). While Claire grew as a person, Nicole remained pretty much the same (in fact, I couldn't even recall when the two reconciled - it left that little an impression on me). It makes me wonder how Mallery will redeem her character enough for me to care about her own story. I also hate the unexpected pregnancy plotline as it has been done so many times that it has become pretty trite.
© Tracy Vest, September 2008
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun story about siblings, family and love, August 26, 2008
I should premise this review by saying that as a child, I trained toward the goal of concert pianist. Certainly not a child prodigy like our heroine, Claire, but I delved into that life enough that I understand the world she was thrown into at such a young age.
I found Claire's sweetness, the naivete and willingness to be knocked down over and over again in order to regain some semblance of relationship to her sisters VERY believable. Claire has existed in such a small world, the tentative connections she has with her sisters become so much more important to re-establish. Claire is determined to build herself a normal life, to be a normal person... and when she comes home, she's thrown into what I would say is prime sibling warfare. :)
Claire, Nicole and Jessie were sisters in every sense of the word. Bratty at times, unlikable at times, lovable at others, but eventually Claire and Nicole find a way to recognize their own pain in each other and learn that they weren't the only ones hurting. There is no bond quite like that of a sibling, and Susan Mallery is the master at showing the funny and not-so-funny sides of sibling rivalry.
As for the romance... Claire came home with a To Do list of things she wanted to do and experience, and fall in love was one of them. Nicole's close friend, Wyatt is everything she's never had...and Claire is an instant, somewhat unwanted attraction on his part. As Claire slowly builds a normal life for herself, Wyatt becomes a deeper part of that. Their love story is sweet, romantic and enjoyable.
I'm very much looking forward to the other two books in this series.
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