Book Reviews

Book Blurb

In the Army, Robbie Chambers turned on his lover out of fear—and he hasn’t been able to live with himself since. Now he’s out of the Army but still trapped in the closet that brought on his most cowardly moment, and he starts to think he’ll never be able to fight his way free.

Until he sees Cy McVeigh. Beautiful and uninhibited, Cy is dancing on the boardwalk at Old Sac for no other reason than the moment called for it. Robbie not only joins in the dance but is smitten from the very beginning.

However, Robbie still has old business to clear up, and when he helps out a kid in need and comes face-to-face with the man he betrayed, he’s forced to come clean with himself. He can’t redeem his mistake if he’s still locked into his old patterns, and he won’t ever be worthy of Cy if he can’t earn Adam’s forgiveness. He’s going to need all the help he can get from the people at Candy Heaven in order to make things right with his past so he can have a future with Cy.

 

Book Review

I've said it before in each of my reviews for the first three books in this series, but I have to say it again. I've had an emotionally rough week and I need the men of Candy Heaven. I need Amy Lane's wonderful world of sweet, sexy, gentle, loving, mixed with a little angst, and sprinkled in rainbow sugar. Somehow the universe must know when I'm going to desperately need the joy I find in these books and, voilà, Dreamspinner Press releases another at exactly the right time. Maybe Darrin has been looking at me through pixy stix powder?

He’d known Robbie was coming—he’d seen the guy in his dreams, watched his betrayal unfolding with the Pixy Stix powder, had known it in his bones. He had not anticipated everybody’s favorite hamburger delivery boy getting hurt.

Robbie has been hating himself ever since he called the man he loved a "faggot" in front of their commanding officer. The same night he dances with Cy in the street, he helps Finn to Candy Heaven after Finn is sideswiped on his bike by a car, he sees Adam again, he meets Darrin and Ezra, and breaks up with his girlfriend. It was a big night! But Robbie wants to be free. He doesn't want to be entangled in his parents’ racism and bigotry. First, though, he has to learn to forgive himself and deal with what happened with Adam.

"But I want to not be that guy ever again. What you did? Show up here with nothing and end up with Finn and a family and people who care about you? That’s what I want to be.”

Cy captivates Robbie from the very first moment and even though Cy hasn't felt the desire to be in a relationship for a while, something about this sweet soldier worms his way in. Unknown to Robbie, Cy is friends with Adam, Finn, Ezra, Miguel, Rico, and Derek. Finn believes Robbie is a hero until it comes out who Robbie is from Adam's painful past and Robbie doesn't deny it, accepting all the tears and recriminations - adding to his own self-loathing. Cy doesn't want to give up on them and I loved that about him.

“I’m going to think hard and see if there’s enough of this guy left to love you like you deserve.”

Oh, Amy! What a finale to the series. Not to mention sneaking Mikhail in from the 'Promises' series as Cy's dance teacher, and letting me see Shane, too? Heartbreaking, beautiful, and wondrous this last book of the series. Watching Robbie go through his "defining" moments was just… well, I don't have words. You've completely undone me, Amy, and 'Tart and Sweet' was exactly what I desired. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook, print and audio
Length	Novel, 220 pages/71535 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	05-September-2016
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle, $19.95 audiobook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/tart-and-sweet-by-amy-lane-7484-b