How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton (Review)

Title: How Sweet It Is
Author: Dylan Newton
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Forever (Hachette Book Group)
Date published: July 13, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets—or rather, accidentally maims—the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.

Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and tired of his reputation as the Knight of Nightmares. He’s really a nice guy! But he’s not prepared for Kate, a fearless agent of chaos in steel-tipped stilettos, or for that sweet sting of attraction he feels for her. She’s inspiring him to take his writing in a whole new direction—one that no one expects. Because now Kate and Drake are changing up the rules, and this plot twist might just surprise everyone . . . including themselves.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Dylan Newton’s How Sweet It Is was one of my most-anticipated reads of summer/fall! A love story between a wedding planner and a horror novelist? Sign me up! Once I started reading How Sweet It Is, I got even more excited. I hadn’t realized the house said horror novelist would be living in, and also that this love story would unfold in a small town.

For the first few chapters, I could not put this book down. I’m sad to say, however, that my experience with How Sweet It Is went downhill from there. As I mentioned, in my opinion, the book was off to a good start. I was starting to get a feel for the heroine and hero of the story, and the author painted a very good picture of the small town in which things start out in How Sweet It Is.

Something about the writing started to bother me, unfortunately–both stylistically as well as the structure of the story. Some of the things the characters started doing, as well as some of the situations, felt a little forced. And some of the phrasing used to describe the characters and their budding relationship also felt a little cliche and/or juvenile to me.

As for the structure. I found that while How Sweet It Is contained a lot of tropes, themes, and plot devices that would work very well together, the way in which they were combined just didn’t work for me. I really struggled with getting through the last 3/4 of this book, and I was very disappointed because the first chapters lead me to believe that I would not only devour How Sweet It Is, but also love every minute of said devouring.

I’m sure that there are readers out there who really loved this one! So, I wouldn’t let my review drive you away from picking up How Sweet It Is if you’re gravitating toward it! I think that I would also give this author another chance by reading an upcoming book that they might publish.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Dylan Newton was born and raised in a small town where the library was her favorite hang-out. After over a decade working in corporate America, Dylan quit to pursue her passion: writing books. The gamble paid off with four published novels, and more to come! When she isn’t writing, Dylan is pursuing her own happily ever after with her high school sweetheart as they split time between Florida and Upstate New York with their two much cooler daughters, and a tone-deaf cockatiel.