Lovin' los libros

A book blog dedicated to young adult and new adult novels

Review Tour: Sweet Nothing by Mia Henry {Review+Giveaway}

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Welcome to my stop on the Sweet Nothing review tour hosted by InkSlingerPR!
Today I am excited to share my review and a giveaway with you all!




Sweet Nothing
   by: Mia Henry

Publication Date: Dec. 12, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received from InkSlingerPR in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3/5 stars


Elliot Halloran is running away. Away from her privileged Manhattan upbringing and a promising future at business school. Away from her family, which plummeted from A-list to disgraced after her criminal father’s atrocities were exposed. Despite the guilt Elliot feels for abandoning her family, she has no choice. She is too recognizable to live life as the person she has always been. So when an old family friend offers her a position as an economics instructor at Miami’s elite Allford Academy, Elliot jumps at the chance to distance herself from her past. She cuts her hair, changes her name, and vows never to speak of her old life again.

Keeping her identity hidden is harder than Elliot expected, especially with a roommate who seems to be on the verge of uncovering her true identity. As she fumbles through the opening chapters of her new life, Elliot encounters an entirely unforeseen obstacle: photography instructor Luke Poulos. Luke is sensitive and spontaneous. An art lover. Smart. Everything Elliot has ever wanted. Luke and Elliot’s connection deepens when she learns that he lost his parents in a car accident when he was a teenager. Like Elliot, Luke understands that life can shatter in an instant.

Elliot knows that a relationship with Luke is impossible; that he would never love her if he knew the details of her past. But as she struggles with whether to open herself to love or keep her true self locked away, Elliot learns that she’s not the only one with dark secrets.

 
My Review:
 
When InkSlingerPR first posted this review opportunity and I read the blurb, I was instantly curious. I really like the whole secret identity, running away from your past to make a new future storyline. However, if it's one thing Elliot (Elle) learns, it's that you can't outrun your past. It always seems to creep up on you, whether you want it to or not.
 
I felt bad for Elle's character. She made decisions that really affected her family and now she must live with the consequences. Instead of staying in NYC to help them pick up the pieces, she flees to Miami to start over. In starting over, Elle just wants to do her new job and keep under the radar. She has to be careful, as her family's story is a very public one. She knows that if word got out, she would lose her fragile hold on this new life. Elle's new job happens to be teaching economics at a privileged private school and one of my favorite parts was watching her interact on campus. As a teacher myself, I can't imagine going to a cocktail party to welcome to faculty back to school. That is where Elle sees just how elite this school is. She finds teaching to be a challenge- whether it be getting to class on time wearing the right clothes or dealing with spoiled rich kids.
 
She lives on campus with two fellow teachers, Gwen and Waverly. Gwen is the more logical of the two as well as the more practical. I liked her a lot more than the outgoing, feisty Waverly. She seemed like a better match for a friend than Waverly did. Waverly was ok, but she seemed quite superficial and definitely a wild child. Both were there for her when she was hurting and really ended up being good friends who cared about her.
 
My favorite character however would have to be Luke. Elle first meets him at the party and she thinks he is just the guitar playing musician. However, after running into him at school, it turns out he is actually a teacher as well. The last thing Elle should be thinking about while here is a relationship and she knows it. Yet, Luke is kind, sweet, and fun- AND he happens to be her faculty mentor. The two are attracted to one another, yet Elle has no intention of letting the cat out of the bag about her past and it seems Luke as a secret of his own.
 
Elle knows having any kind of relationship with him would be wrong, especially since it would be built on nothing but lies, but Elle starts to believe in her new identity and her new life. Why shouldn't she be able to start over and have this new Elle be the real one?
 
I really liked how the chapters opened with an email from Elle's younger sister, Aria, who has been left in NYC. I think Henry did a good job of showing you how Elle's absence really affected her family and how her sister puts on a brave face, but really feels anything but. I felt these emails played a pivotal role in the novel, showing us readers that while Elle may be in Miami assuming a new life, her past is constantly at the forefront of everything.
 
I found Sweet Nothing to be a cute read. I felt it was a bit lacking in depth and while the characters were likeable, they didn't really stand out or strike me in the way I would have wanted them to. I also felt Luke and Elle's relationship progressed faster than I would have liked, especially since the two have withheld quite a bit from one another. I do think Elle handled Luke's secret quite well after the initial drama of finding out the way she did. After Luke's secret was revealed, we really saw the internal battle Elle faced at opening up to him and coming clean about her own. Relationships wont last if they are built on lies and I think Elle must subconsciously know that the past will always come back to haunt you.
 
While Henry doesn't leave us with a cliffhanger, she does end the book with the intent of continuing Elle's story. I think Elle has a lot that she will need to face head on and she realizes that it's about more than just her and that she can't run from her problems anymore.
 
 
About the Author:
Mia Henry adores all things romance, from steamy stories to ugly cry-inducing movies. She lives in Florida, where she dreams up storylines during beach walks with her muse, a ferocious 8-pound pup named Lulu.
 
 
Giveaway:
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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15 comments

  1. Great review girl! I saw this one too and I was intrigued by the synopsis but ended up not requesting since I have too many already. Sounds like a cute read but it's tough when you can't connect to any of the characters. I like that her past is always in the forefront because like you said, you can't outrun it.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Chelsea! It was cute, but I just felt like I needed a bit more for it to really grip me and get me invested.

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  2. Hmm...this does sound pretty good. I'm glad you ended up enjoying it, despite not feeling the depth.
    Nice review!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Andrea! It wasn't a bad read by any means, just could've done with a bit more is all.

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  3. Thanks for your review. I have added to my TBR stack :)
    Lori

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  4. Thank you for the review and giveaway

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  5. Great review! Adding this to my wishlist

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  6. This is a really good review and thanks for the giveaway!

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