Debra's Reviews > Sweet Thing

"You have to teach your heart and mind how to sing together...then you'll hear the sound of your soul."

4 STARS for this SWEET, HEARTWARMING, MEANINGFUL, TOUCHING STORY about love, loss, friendship, music and so much more. It's a story about two people trying to come to terms with their past and trying to find a way to realize their hopes and dreams together in the city of New York.

Mia --


Will --



After reading this story's thoughtful, original and intriguing prologue, I knew I was in for an unforgettable read and that's exactly what this book turned out to be. From the moment I started reading it, I could not put it down and I ended up devouring it in one day.

Mia and Will meet each other on a plane to New York City. Will has been living there for quite some time, while Mia is heading there to take over her recently deceased father's cafe. After they land, Will promises to stop by at the cafe some time so they can chat over a cup of coffee, and he keeps true to his promise. When they meet each other again, Mia mentions that she's looking for a room mate to share her father's old apartment with and before she realizes it, Will, who was looking for a new place to live himself, has taken her up on the offer of becoming her new room mate.

"The idea that I just invited a relative stranger, who owns nothing, to live in my apartment gave me a stomachache, but the weird thing was that I felt like I had known him forever."

Although they haven't know each other for a long time, they both feel comfortable living together. They become room mates and best friends, and although it takes them a long time to realize it, their friendship slowly but surely evolves into something much more...

Mia

At first I really liked Mia; she seemed to be an open-minded, talented, adventurous young girl and a character I could easily relate to. But as the story progressed, the way she acted started to irritate me more and more and I had to ask myself:

Seriously, the way she (view spoiler)[kept pushing Will away while he was being nothing but sweet and kind to her, and the way she treated him like a loser for not selling out his soul in order to gain a promising record deal and earn a lot of money. (hide spoiler)]. Yep, that made me really *really* dislike her, a lot. I even think Mia might be one of the most frustrating female characters I've ever come across. Still, she had some good qualities too and she was a remarkable musician. I do understand why it was so hard for her to let people in and let herself be vulnerable (view spoiler)[knowing that Will was a rock artist and would probably be away on tour a lot of times (hide spoiler)], but still, it wasn't easy to read the way she treated Will and some of her other close friends sometimes. Luckily, towards the ending, she really changed her attitude and I ended up understanding her reasonings much better.

Will

"Hey, little firecracker, you like taunting me, don't you?"

From the moment, Will and Mia meet on the plane, there's an easy banter between the two of them. They often tease each other and make each other laugh, but at the same time they can also be open to each other about their past. Because their each other's best friends for a long time before evolving into something more they really get to know each other's deepest secrets and they really just want the other person to be happy. It was refreshing to read a story that wasn't about insta-love/lust but about a slow-building kind of love, based on a solid friendship.

"You're beautiful and amazing and you have a special soul, Mia. You deserve the best."

*SWOON*

I really loved Will. He was sweet, caring and always trying to make Mia happy. He was always there to support her and stand by her no matter what. It was obvious he had deeper feelings for Mia but he never pushed her into wanting something more. Instead he gave her all the time she needed to realize how she really felt about him. Will was a very talented musician on the verge of major breakthrough and I loved how he still tried to makes as much time for Mia and how he showed her his true feelings through his song lyrics.

I also loved the many music references throughout the story; especially the ones of the song called Sweet Thing by Van Morrison because "sweet thing" was the nickname Will often gave to Mia.

"And you shall take me strongly in your arms again
And I will not remember that I even felt the pain
And we shall walk and talk in gardens all misty and wet with rain
And I will never, never, never grow so old again
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing oh, my, my, my, my, sweet thing."
~ Van Morrison's "Sweet Thing"

"It's a fool who thinks love will set you free. Love equals a morbid and relentless fear of losing the other person. To love is brave and Will was the bravest person I knew."

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story and would highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for a thought provoking romance story with a little bit of angst!

I think the author Renee Carnilo did an outstanding job at writing this debut novel and I'm already looking forward to reading much more of her work!


**ARC courtesy of the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**