Customer Reviews

The Sweetest Taboo

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is an okay book. Written in both first and third person. It was an easy read with extremely short chapters. Plot was okay at best.

The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews is a mild roller coaster ride with a few predictable twists and turns for the reader to digest. While her plot line sustained my interest for most of the book, Ms. Matthews made the mistake of telling, not showing her readers how great her protagonist, Sadie, really was. Her slapstick antics made her character flat, not warm or someone to which readers could truly relate. We got beaten over the head with how poor Sadie was and we were to fall in love with her for her simple, uncomplicated personality. She seemed more a fool than a lover throughout the entire book.

Ms. Matthews wrote the book as if it were a screenplay. She found the right topic, just the wrong medium to convey her story. I can easily imagine Greg Kinnear as the quirky, I-must-act-or die waiter, Tavis; Mini Driver as the bumbling Sadie; Bruce Willis as the well-meaning, yet sorely misguided Gil; and Goldie Hawn as the luscious lush, Gina. I wish Carole Matthews well in her pursuits. It seems she has Hollywood pegged to a tee.

At 32, Sadie is still experiencing the angst of a revolving door of bad jobs. She currently hands out leaflets at a London book fair, and runs into Gil, a Hollywood producer. The two hit it off, and after talking on the phone for a couple weeks (during which she has had several more "jobs"), he offers to send her an open-ended airplane ticket so that they can get better acquainted and see if this relationship is worth pursuing. She is in a dead end job, has no real ties, and so figures what the heck.

Faster than you can say "mush," she has arrived in LA, and Gil is no where to be found. At least not at the airport... he is too busy rescuing his alcoholic / drug addicted / philandering wife (from whom he has been separated for two years since she ran away with the pool boy). When Sadie discovers that not only is Gil still married, but he caters to his ex-wife's every need (and said wife plans to stay with him indefinitely), Sadie finds other living arrangements. A series of mishaps, miscommunication, and machinations on the part of his ex, Gina complicates the unconsummated relationship, while Gil tries to make it up to Sadie by buying her expensive gifts.

Meanwhile, Sadie has started a job at a talent agency specializing in body doubles. There she works with up and coming actor Tavis, and after spending extra-curricular time with him and his gay roommate, assumes they are a couple (and Tavis makes no effort to steer her into a different conclusion). After helping him with a scene from "Romeo & Juliet," she starts to feel a little more than friendship for him, especially after some racy kisses make her pulse to race, but he takes the time to assure her that it was acting, and they can never be more than friends. Her friendship with Tavis has Gil jealous. But does he really have a right or a reason?

Matthews does a good job working with an interesting premise, though Sadie seemed a bit whiny and hard to like at times (and lets face it, good things fell into her lap with no effort a bit too often). At some point, the reader says UNCLE. How many times can Gil disappoint Sadie and expert her to turn the other cheek? She does a good job of adding tension and making the reader wonder what path Sadie will choose.

This book was not written well at all! IT has no comparison to Bridget Jones or anything like it...Firstly, the setting is in LA (Hollywood specifically), but all the American characters talk like they are British! They say things like "Indeed" or "let's have a go," sayings that are basically unknown in America! the author is unable to capture the American vernacular, and her character Tavis, the token hot guy, represents the typical American guy by saying "man" after every sentence...Also, the author would represent Sadie's naivate regarding America by having the other characters say "After all, this is LA" or "Welcome to Hollylwood." This sentence appeared on almost every page to the point where I was like yes, I GET IT, LA IS DIFFERENT FROM London!

I have read all of her previous books and this one was a disappointment. It was very sloww and lacked the humor of her other books.

Don't be fooled by the cover blurb--this in no way compares to Bridget Jones!! This book is one long whine which begins when Sadie meets movie producer Gil Mcaan at the London Book Fair. He leaves the next day but sends her a plane ticket to visit a week later. Without actually bothering to find out what his intentions are (a long weekend? a week?), she quits her job, packs all of her things up, settles with her roommate, and shows up on his doorstep ready to move in. Turns out he's still married to a drug addict/relationship addict who lives with another man but still won't let him go and he's such a weakling that he can't just cut her off (and this guy is a movie producer? Come on!) Sadie doesn't take this lying down (in fact, they never have sex.) She lets Gil buy her lots of designer clothes and declares undying love for this guy she's known all of two days. But wait! Because of Gil's crazy shedule, she finds herself some instant best friends (an adopted mom, a roomie, a ten year old who acts four and likes to put her Sparkle Barbie on the phone when she talks to adults, and a boss who says she'll retire so Sadie can run the office) and a Boy Friend (not boyfriend, as she makes a presumption that he is gay), Tavis. Tavis has nice T&A (pecks and buttocks), so she decides she's in love with him, too. If only he weren't gay! ...Alas and Alack...He's not!! Oh, what to do?
Here's some advice: If you must read this trash, get it at your local library (it's probably in the free bin.)

I enjoyed this book, even if it is total fluff. The main character, Sadie, is down on her luck. She meets a film producer who invites her to go to Los Angeles. What follows is the unrealistic fantasy most romantics have when they think of "Hollywood."

True, it is nothing more than a bowl of frosting, but it isn't masquerading as something more either. It's a good book to read when you're having a bad day - sweet and lighthearted.

i really like carole matthews's books, but a little dissapointed when i ended this book it didnt have the same "this was a great book" feeling.

This is the perfect book to take on a plane or read at the beach. The secondary characters added a lot to this book. The plot was a bit far-fetched, but that was what made it fun.

I thought this was a truely unique, but great read from this author. The book is set in LA, but Sadie the main character is from London. Carole Matthews greatly emphasizes on the differences of the two worlds and brings along a love affair of many angles. Again, I highly recommend this book!