I could just imagine my mother's face when she saw me - her trouble making youngest daughter, the university dropout who worked in a bar - turning up hung-over and in a ridiculously tiny miniskirt... Ah, to be the black sheep of the family...Eight years ago, Charlie lost her brother in a mountaineering accident. She's come a long way since, or rather has fallen a long way down… A drop out, an alcoholic and promiscuous to boot, she is a constant disappointment to her family.
Eight years ago, Richard Davenport watched his best friend die. Now a successful businessman, he's never forgotten the promise he made to Charlie's brother that he would keep her safe. But how do you go about saving someone hell-bent on self-destruction?
One night Charlie goes too far and Richard is her only option for help. Can he break through and stop her lying to herself? Or will Charlie finally succeed in tumbling over the edge....
Review:
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Sweet Deception for honest review and after reading Tara Bond's other book, Beautiful Liar, I was really looking forward to reading this one.
The story instantly captured me with a heartbreaking prologue, that left me intrigued with how the story might progress in regards to how the characters would be shaped from the family tragedy. Charlie's family had lost a brother, a son, a man that had brought joy in his own way to each of their lives. When we first got to know more of Charlie’s character, her standoffish attitude, her indifference to other people's opinions I had some sympathy for her, though as the story progressed and her attitude to others became ruder I started to really dislike her and thought losing a brother was not enough of a reason to get away with treating people the way she did. So I continued reading, hoping to get to the bottom of all the hostility this character projected and to see if there would be any way for the author to redeem her.
The writing style took me deep into each of the main characters thoughts, only making me feel Charlie (Charlotte) was that much uglier on the inside, but there was always, always this niggling feeling she was hiding more. When she had conversations with her best friend or shared back and forth banter with a family friend that would become her boss, this feeling only started to grow. Then as the book got deeper and Charlie started to show some remorse and tried a little harder not to disrespect others, I actually started to empathise for her again realising there was definitely a deeper hurt than just the loss of her brother that was eating away at her.
Richard, the patient and caring family friend, refused to give up on Charlie, not matter how hard she pushed. He had made a promise and there was no way he was going to break it. His strong, forgiving and though at times stubborn personality made him really easy to like, especially since not many would have stuck around to help Charlotte. It was lucky that he did fight so hard, because it was ultimately Richards actions that would be that nudge that Charlie needed to reveal her heartbreaking secret. It is a secret that not only made me hurt for her, but one that finally led me to fully understand why she acted the way she did.
Tara has done an amazing job of creating a character with depth, that will have readers continuously changing their opinions on Charlie, showing that there is always a lot more to someone than what they show on the surface. The story moved slowly, though did not drag, it gave time for feelings to form and for readers to understand them, before they were changed by the next part of the story; a storytelling trait that can be hard to achieve, whilst still keeping a reader enthralled. Definitely a writer's books that I will be keeping my eye on in the future.
4/5 ❤️s
❤️Amanda
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