Customer Reviews

Sweet Talk (Wheeler Hardcover)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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

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.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. The two lead characters were charming but human. Claire was just kooky enough to be fun. The plot had just enough bumps and twists to be interesting.

About halfway through the book, I ran into a problem: Claire's two sisters.

At the beginning, they provided necessary conflict. In a straight romance, all of the conflicts are supposed to be nicely wrapped up at the end.

But these two aren't directly involved with the romance.

And they are incredibly annoying.

And they are being set up for future books. So they need to remain flawed, so they can overcome their issues in their own books.

In the end, I really enjoyed the primary characters and their storylines. I also liked Wyatt's daughter and her story as well. I decided to ignore Claire's sisters, and kept the 4 star rating.

But unless someone gives me a good reason to, I'm not reading the rest of the series!

As a longtime Susan Mallery fan it pains me to say this, but this book was atrocious. I was clapping my hands with glee at the introduction of not one but THREE new Mallery novels, and best of all, a series. However, after forcing myself to finish just the FIRST book, I am not about to endure more of this literary letdown. The three sisters were so completely annoying and unlikeable. Nicole for starters, was a whiny, self pitying, DRAMA QUEEN with a galatic sized bitchy streak. WAH this, WAH that. To wish your own sister dead is inexcusable under ANY circumstances. Claire was just annoying. So she learned to make a meatloaf and we're supposed to cheer her foray into the outer fringes of rocket science? Puhleeze! If she wasn't portrayed as a world famous concert pianist I would think she was a bit simpleton. Nothing wrong with a 28 year old virgin, but her "responses" to the whole interlude had me thinking she had the mentality of a child. I mean, who acts like that in everyday reality? Even her panic attacks seemed utterly ridiculous. As a woman who realistically suffers from them, I find it hard to believe that "pretending" to endure them will actually "cause" them. Jesse was a liar and a tramp. I couldn't begrudge Nicole that much for kicking her to the curb. Anyone who would allow her sister's husband to even so much as remove her clothing is pure scum. And all she could offer up in the way of an excuse was to play the victim much like the sister she stabbed in the back. The supporting cast of characters were judgemental jacka##es who bought into one woman's nasty, barb slinging bouts of self pity and were ready to lynch Claire sight unseen. Would you take the side of someone who thinks nothing of airing her dirty laundry for the world to hear? I wouldn't want to associate with someone so tacky and classless. And to hear Knight Wyatt, in an alternate universe where she wasn't like a 'sister' to him, she would have been his dream woman. SAY WHAT?! Only in the land of make believe perhaps is a woman like that appealing. All in all, the opening story was just one colossal mess imo. I almost feel the need to apologize for shredding the work of an author I adore as much as Susan Mallery. Emphasis on the 'almost'. This book was nowhere NEAR the caliber of which I have always admired her for.

This was such a poor effort by a normally really fun author. The characters were all totally unlikeable people who were verbally abusive and did unforgiveable things to their family members, but even more incredible was the nasty behavior of strangers toward our "heroine"--it's just not likely the employees or customers of a bakery would be so vicious upon seeing someone for the first time. Further, it's hard to believe she would make any attempt with her sisters after the years of neglect and disparagement, but after the constant put-downs and really ugly statements, any normal person would have headed for the hills. The love story was also without any basis in reality because the "hero" was such a jerk. All in all, I was sorry to see Susan Mallery's name on this garbage.

This was my first Susan Mallery book, and I liked it. I see that a lot of her fans were disappointed with this book, so i look forward to reading the books people did like.

I like her writing style, and her light humor throughout. The book was cute. The second book, Sweet Spot, was my favorite.

I liked Claire and Wyatt's relationship for the most part. I especially liked Wyatt's daughter Amy. I wasn't a huge fan of Claire though. I know most people on here didn't like Nicole because she was such a biddy- but I didn't mind her. I know real people like her. It's people like Claire that don't exist. Her character was too perfect, or maybe I should say "sweet." But it was still a cute book. I liked it enough to buy the next two books in the series.

This is my first Susan Mallery, probably because I have made a practice of avoiding Harlequins since my late twenties. I can see that they have changed quite a bit, and for the better.

Now, in regard to this book about the Keyes sisters, specifically, Claire Keyes. She was a child prodigy whose parents chose to develop her genius to its fullest extent. Whether they did so for personal reasons or not was not fully discussed. What was apparent to me was that this was a fully dysfunctional family from my perspective. The mother was unhappy being a mother, and left her oldest child at home to take over her own responsibilities, leaving a bitter and ill-used Nicole behind. Claire was like a sparkling show-horse for years, without a real life, and decided to come home to help her sister because she had just had enough.

Like a child learning her first steps, she learns to live life like a normal person, and not a celebrity. The fact that her sister hates her, whether fair, rational, or not, doesn't stop Claire from becoming a better rounded person. She falls in love with the first good, honest man to give her attention, and her life changes for the better.

As for Nicole, whom everyone seems to hate for her rigid rejection of her baby sister and unwillingness to forgive, I think she had a point about Jesse. I think the author could have made it better by making her more likeable, but the truth is, Nicole was the lynchpin for her family from the time she was six years old, and no one has the right to beat up on her for being the person she became. Her parents, who used her, her baby sister, who used and abused her, her sister Claire, who loved her but from a distance. Jesse was still unwilling or unable to admit her fault, and her weak excuse for why she climbed into bed with Nicole's husband didn't hold water. It's kind of like that joke about the man slipping on the floor and ending up with his p**** you know where. Nicole wanted a simple admission of wrong and a sincere apology, but all she got from Jesse was weak excuses and accusations.

On the other hand, Nicole's rabid anger at her sister Claire's absence from her life was unfair, in that Claire's absence wasn't her choice, and a rational Nicole would have admitted that much sooner. None of them dealt with their parent's huge blame for their situation, but all blamed themselves for their parent's choices, which ended up hurting each sister terribly.

That Claire was able to make a true emotional and binding connection with Wyatt was a plus. I find that I like Mallery's ability to draw characters with whom I can relate, or with whom I respond strongly. They are not milk and water people for the most part, and sometimes too much in one direction, but that is what has made this series interesting to read. I have actually already read the second in the series, and so far, I like both, and do like both Claire and Nicole. Yes, Nicole is a hard woman, but she is likeable if somewhat neurotic in the case of Jesse. I think you will like her better in her own story.

I'm not going to provide a summary of the book, there are plenty already posted, so I'm just going straight for my opinion of the book.

I thought the relationship between Claire, Nicole & Jesse was definitely realistic. There was a lot of animosity between all of them and each one thought they knew about the other's life/feelings. Boy, were they all wrong! I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that just because one said the words "I'm sorry" it didn't make the other one instantly forgive. With years of hurt and perceived betrayal, there is/was a lot to work through.

As for the romance between Claire & Wyatt - it was good. Not completely hot & sizzling (like I felt with Nicole & Hawk), but it worked. I admit there were points in the book where Claire's naiveness drove me insane! But, I guess when you have lived a sheltered life, that can happen.

No matter what though, I enjoyed the book and loved the series with the Keyes sisters. I'm sorry we won't be reading anymore about them.

Claire, a concert pianist renowned for being a child protigy, drops everything to fly home when her (long estranged and bitchy) sister Nicole is having surgery and unable to manage their family bakery. It's been years since they last spoken as Nicole resents the lifestyle Claire was destined to have since exhibiting her talent at the age of 3 and blames Claire for their mother spending the last years of her life touring with CLaire.
Wyatt is Nicole's long time friend and the brother of her soon-to-be ex-husband. Basically he's the shoulder she cries on and takes advantage of. With a daughter and a family history of picking the wrong girl, he wants no part of a relationship. But unfortunately there are sparks between he and Claire.

I noticed this book at a friend's house and read the first hundred pages while waiting on her. They were pretty well written and definitely drew me in so I bought the book upon returning home. Huge mistake.

Claire is a bit too perfect and sweet and INNOCENT (at twenty-eight). Her sisters are dysfunctional, predictable and very repetitive. At first I thought that the book was pretty good if you skipped over every time they opened their mouth but the book just got worse as you moved on. The Keyes girls had the same fights over and over and over.

My only other problem was Wyatt's daughter who doesn't actually seem like a real character to me. I don't know; she just wasn't realistic in her perfection and matchmaking.

If you like Mallery and are thinking of ignoring my advice NOT to buy this book then just look at the bar graph. It can't be good when more reviewers gave it 1 star than 5.