Sweet Nothings

There might be an appealing contemporary romance in here. I'll never know--because I couldn't take the romance-novel stylings. Not even five pages in the eyes of the rancher hero Jake were described as both "blue and searing as laser beams" and a "blaze of azure" and that was only the bare beginning of the detailed description of male pulchritude ("sable hair" and skin like "melted caramel" among other things in the very first pages). The heroine, Molly, is described by the hero as "pleasantly plump," and she feels she needs to lose 30 pounds--that was a bit different and refreshing. Both seemed likable characters, and there were hints of a real dilemma and plot there--but I knew if I read one more page, I'd hurl. Stopped at page 40.

Though not Catherine Anderson's best novel that I've read to date, I thought that Sweet Nothings was still a good book. The first half of the story moves at a very languid pace as Molly goes through the process of recovering from her ex-husband's extreme verbal abuse and rediscovering herself, while building a relationship with Jake. I liked the way that the author mirrors Molly's recovery with that of the abused horse she rescued from her ex-husband's clutches, and how they become kindred spirits. I found myself wishing that Ms. Anderson had written more interactions between them and Jake. The second half of the story turns into a light suspense/thriller as the ex comes back to become a menacing presence in their lives. This part of show more the story was interesting, but in my opinion, a little too predictable. Unfortunately, I felt that the romance took a back seat to these two elements of the story. While there were some romantic moments, I just didn't feel like it was quite enough, and it didn't have the heart-stopping quality that can be found in some of Catherine Anderson's other works. In fact, readers who prefer books that are light on love scenes would probably enjoy this one. Aside from one brief lustful embrace early on, the hero and heroine don't even kiss again until 3/4 of the way through the story. I normally wouldn't care about the shortage of love scenes if the romance and sexual tension are good, but as I said I found this part to be a little lacking.

I would predict that some readers will probably find Molly's constant self-reproach annoying, and there will be others who will find her less-than-perfect body to be a refreshing change from the typical slender beauty. Neither of these things were really make-or-break for me personally. What I liked was how deeply nuanced the character is, challenging the reader to look well beneath the surface to truly understand her. I love stories that delve into the limitless depths of the human psyche, and if the reader takes the time to look carefully, this one certainly does that. Even though Molly wasn't the most memorable heroine I have ever read, this aspect alone made her fascinating to me. In my opinion though, Jake is the character who really made this book a good read. He is quite possibly the most perfect hero I've ever read. Jake exhibits more of a beta hero persona that always seems to be completely in tune with what Molly is feeling, but he also has a dash of the protectiveness, jealousy and confidence that alphas are usually known for. Even though I usually prefer my heroes to be a little more imperfect, I simply couldn't resist this gorgeous cowboy who not only reads, but willingly read a romance novel. Now that's pretty cool! In spite of it's weaknesses, Sweet Nothings was, in my opinion, a very readable book and a nice addition to the Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan series which I look forward to continuing soon. show less

The second of the Coulter family books, and, *gasp* nobody has a handicap. Although the heroine's ex-husband had her committed to an insane asylum. Which is, btw, part of the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. While I can buy most of that plot thread, I can't quite believe that there aren't any checks & balances to keep someone from drugging his wife and throwing her into a mental hospital to get control of her fortune--wouldn't drug tests be one of the first things they'd do?--or maybe I just hope it's unrealistic. Then there's the mother, who not only believed her son-in-law, she helped keep her daughter locked up, and when it all came out, she couldn't even bother to apologize. And finally, there was the tired plot of the heroine being show more hired to cook for the ranch hands and not making enough food, but everybody liked her so much they couldn't bring themselves to tell her--not only is it overused, but it was just left dangling. Argh. Really, though, those were minor irritations--they just stand out because the rest of the book was so good. The hero wasn't as perfect as his brother-in-law, and tended to step in it, and had to do a lot of apologizing. show less

Molly Wells is on the run from an ex-husband trying to get a beautiful stallion, Sonora Sunset to safety. She gets to Jake Coulter's ranch & is stunned how much it will cost to heal Sunset.

Jake suspects that Molly isn't telling him the truth, yet something about her speaks to him so he offers her a job. This begin a journey for Molly to discuss who she really is. Jakes thinks he knows the person Molly is inside but she has lost that person.

I think this was a good book. I couldn't put the book down and was frustrated that I had to go to work!

Not sure why people would read this series that don't like women that have problems (physical, self esteem). Some of the ratings seem to be about why the author shouldn't have written about this show more topic. There are hundreds of thousands of women that have issues and all deserve love. If you have an open mind and read this series to enjoy a love & redemption series then I highly recommend it. If you want to analyze each situation to see if you would feel this way or that way, then you should pass. show less

Catherine Anderson sure does play to my tastes. Chubby, abused heroine who is skittish and insecure. Hero who slowly helps her heal. This is the exact kind of story I can't seem to get enough of. Definitely a keeper.

Catherine Anderson sure does play to my tastes. Chubby, abused heroine who is skittish and insecure. Hero who slowly helps her heal. This is the exact kind of story I can't seem to get enough of. Definitely a keeper.

rabck from jmsmom; Molly is fleeing her ex-husband and his vindictive behavior, with Sunset, a racehorse he whipped after losing a race. She "stole" Sunset, before her ex could come back and shoot him and drove Sunset hundreds of miles to Jake's ranch, on the hearsay that he was a horse whisperer and could save Sunset. Jake knows from the get go that the horse is likely stolen, the woman badly defeated and he really should say no, rather than get into the wrong side of the law. But something about the Molly makes him say yes, and he falls in love with her. Getting her to agree to fall in love with him is another matter - until her ex shows up, tries to get her committed to a mental hospital on his say so, and Jake realizes the only show more thing he can do to protect her is to marry her, which he does. The ex comes back with a court order, but Sunset is the one that saves Molly, protecting her while holding off the ex. show less