The Sweetest Thing [Kindle Edition]

Barbara Freethy (Author)

Book Description

#1 NYT Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy delivers an emotional and poignant story with touches of humor and a cast of quirky, lovable characters. A touch of mysticism adds an extra layer to this story of love and family.

Alone in the world, Faith Christopher had always yearned for love ... and a man who'd make her heart pound. But her dreams of a place to call home were getting harder to hold on to ...

Alex Carrigan liked fast cars, fast women and fast deals - then a tough-talking teenager arrived on his doorstep claiming she was his long-lost daughter, and his meddling grandfather decided to move in. Suddenly, Alex has to face the family he never expected.

Enter Faith. Little did the outspoken and beautiful baker know that deep inside Alex was a well of tenderness ... and that she might have the recipe to bring him true love - the sweetest thing life has to offer.

Reviews...

"The Sweetest Thing is a heart-tugging tale of family and the healing power of love. Barbara Freethy has created a delightful cast of quirky yet lovable characters and brought them to full life. The Sweetest Thing is a story as enjoyable and richly satisfying as one of the heroine's chocolate eclairs!" Romance Fiction Forum - AOL

"Freethy has crafted an entertaining and moving contemporary romance. The paranormal elements are well handled and enrich the story. But ultimately, The Sweetest Thing is about the importance of love and family, for it is love that makes family sweet." The Romance Reader

"Ms. Freethy has again done a wonderful job of crafting an intriguing plot line and peopling it with fully developed characters that have all of the flaws and foibles common to human beings." Bookbug on the Web

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Contemporary San Francisco

Sensuality: 6

Successful entrepreneur Alex Carrigan's life is neatly organized and focused on building his company. But fate drops a series of bombshells when his eccentric grandfather appears on his doorstep to move in with him, the sudden death of his ex-wife leaves him with a precocious 12-year-old daughter he's convinced he didn't sire, and beautiful redhead Faith Christopher walks into his life.

Faith has her own set of problems. She's been in emotional limbo since the death of her fiancé several years before, and the ties to his family are growing increasingly troublesome. She's wondering if she should give in to family pressure and marry the second son when Alex wanders into her bakery looking for his grandfather. The physical connection she feels with Alex is instantaneous and mutual, making her question whether a marriage based on companionship is wise or even possible.

Meanwhile, Alex's grandfather has an agenda of his own. Fifty-six years earlier, he'd fallen in love, broken a piece of ancient Indian pottery, and brought a curse on himself and his heirs. He's convinced he must locate his lost love, return the pottery to its hiding place, and lift the curse, a plan Alex has heard many times before and doesn't want to get involved in. But Faith is intrigued by the elderly gentleman's tale and agrees to help him. Little does she know what life-changing forces have been set in motion by her decision.

Can a woman who wants commitment find happiness with a man who doesn't believe in love? Will Alex be able to accept that not only is Faith everything he wants but also everything he needs? If Alex and Faith don't help his grandfather solve the more than half-century-long mystery, will the curse doom the two lovers and all the people they love? And what about the child he doesn't believe is his but who needs him so desperately? It's a pleasure to read Freethy's answers to these questions and more, thanks to her charming writing style and expert plotting in The Sweetest Thing.--Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

An ominous curse ("And the winds will curse your life until you return to where it began") propels Freethy's latest novel (after One True Love), which involves a romance that ended when two young lovers, Julian Carrigan and a girl named Suzannah, stole an Indian pot from a burial site. Fifty years later, Alex Carrigan has more than he can handle with his dotty grandfather, Julian, who has crazy ideas about finding his old flame and returning the Indian pot to its resting place, let alone a smart-mouth teenage girl insisting he's her father. And then there's bakery shop owner Faith Christopher, who adds fuel to the fire with her recipe for love. As it turns out, Faith has a psychic connection with the pot and a spiritual connection with the teenager, which involves her in long-time bachelor Alex's life, whether he likes it or not. Together they agree to help Julian find his beloved and end the 50-year-old curse. Beyond this, there isn't much to stir the reader's senses: Alex and Faith are romance-formula protagonists and the plot line is predictable.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 619 KB
• Print Length: 399 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0985199768
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Barbara Freethy; Kindle Edition edition (May 26, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004T3RQQK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,510 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a keeper! March 27, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Barbara Freethy has acquired a new fan. This story was touching but not saccharine, fast-moving but fleshed-out, sensual without being too graphic, and mystical but not far-fetched. While the ending was a bit rushed, the loose ends all coming together conveniently, it was still a great introduction to a talented author, and worthy of any reader's "keeper" shelf.

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good romantic duo November 14, 2006

By Tracy Vest TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Alex Carrigan has made a success of his life. He's slowly building an athletic shoe empire to rival the likes of Nike when fate deals him several blows. First his eccentric grandfather Julian drops into his orderly life, then a further bombshell - the woman he divorced at 18 because she claimed he was not the father of her child has died and left the potty mouthed pre-teen Jessie in his custody.

Pastry chef and orphan Faith Christopher has spent her lifetime wanting to be loved. Abandoned at a church as an infant, she finally found love with Gary Porter, but he died before they could marry. His family has adopted her and hopes that she'll accept second son Ben's proposal. The two are merely friends and have never had romantic feelings, yet Ben is insistent that they marry, and his family is putting pressure on her to make it happen. Then Julian walks into her bakery and sets her life on a different course with his tales of a family curse which he's asked her to help him reverse. Just when she thinks that a marriage of convenience with a friend would be acceptable, she meets his brooding grandson, and a reluctant attraction develops between them.

As Faith sets out to help Julian find his lost love and to reverse the past, she and Alex find themselves spending more time together, and she spending less time with the Porters, who are still convinced she'll be their daughter in law soon. She feels a kindred connection to Jessie, who is convinced that if she is a good girl, Alex will keep her. Jessie and Julian play matchmaker to the hesitant duo.

Freethy goes to such lengths to keep Ben's "secret" under wraps. But a single man living in San Francisco, working in an art gallery, desperate to marry a woman he does not love to please his parents... I guessed that secret after the first page. This is one of her older stories, but pales in comparison to her better early novels such as "One True Love" and "Just the Way You Are."

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best story I've read in a long time! October 1, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Wonderful love story. I absolutely wanted to visit Faith's bakery. The secondary characters were all interesting and their stories compelling. I loved the trip to Arizona. What wonderful depth this book had with all the family relationships. Great read. I recommend it, especially to people who want a bit more than just one simple love story.