Review: How Sweet It Is (Book #6: Summerhill Series) by Kate Perry

Posted on February 23, 2015 by rolopolobookblog

Synopsis:

Viola Summerhill needs sex. Her sisters say a rebound fling is just the thing to wash away the bad taste left from her recently crumbled marriage. But Viola knows she needs more than that. She has to reinvent herself, to regain the identity she lost being a wife and a mother. And she’s going to do it as an art gallery owner. Stocking her new gallery with work worthy of the grand opening she desires isn’t easy, though. She needs a smashing piece–something that’ll steal everyone’s breath. And she finds the most amazing work she’s ever seen where she least expects it: in the home of what was supposed to be a one night stand.

Source: Purchase

My Rating: 5/5 stars

My Review:

Viola Sumemrhill is in what we commonly refer to as a rut. Since her divorce from her loser husband, Charles, Viola has struggled to find her place in the world. Viola married at a very young age and for the entirety of her marriage she has been a stay-at-home mom (I’m not saying that in a negative way so calm down!) and done very little in the way of developing her own interests and pursuits. With an impressionable teenage daughter at home, Viola is desperate to find a way to not only support her small family but to find a way to make her daughter proud of her.

According to Vi’s older sister and best friend, Beatrice, all Viola needs to get out of her rut is some good old fashioned sex! Sure, sex sounds good but Viola hasn’t dated in more than a decade and she’s pretty sure casual sex isn’t going to help her straighten out her life and find a real future. So, with sex off the table, Viola is right back where she started, looking for a career. In a moment of pure brilliance it occurs to Viola how much she loves art and the knack she has for recognizing talent. In the moment just after the brilliance strikes, Viola decides she is going to open her own art gallery. Now all she has to do is find just the right artists to stock her gallery with.

Finn Buchanan’s art is his passion, his soul and anyone who has ever had the pleasure of seeing it knows they are being allowed to experience something quite special. Finn’s talent is astounding yet he allows very few people to see his paintings and absolutely refuses to sell anything he creates. Finn’s refusal stems from his love of his uncle who killed himself after being unable to meet the demands of life as practicing artist. When his uncle died, Finn understood that producing for a gallery and sales is simply too much pressure for one person to bear and not worth the paint hat is inevitably involved. In order to support himself and be as far away from his family as possible, Finn has lived in Paris for years and works as a high-end restoration specialist. To date, Finn’s life has gone exactly according to plan and then, Viola Summerhill comes calling.

The second she sees Finn’s work, Viola knows she absolutely must have it for her gallery’s opening. With Finn’s paintings on her walls the gallery is sure to be a success. Getting to Finn in Paris is the easy part, getting Finn to agree to show and sell his work is a cat of a different color. When Viola shows up unexpectedly on Finn’s front porch, each is wholly unprepared for the road they are both about to travel. Neither Finn nor Viola is prepared for the other and in just a few days’ time each is reevaluating everything they know and have done up to this point in their lives.

The Bottom Line: Up to this point in the Summerhill series, Viola has just been one of the sisters and in large part this has been because of the rut she has been in. Viola’s divorce has taken a serious toll on her, her daughter is a somewhat angsty teenager Viola wants to connect with and, up until she conceives of the gallery idea she has had no direction in life. Meeting Finn turns Viola’s world upside down and with him by her side, she comes into her own. Finn is by far one of the most stubborn men chosen by a Summerhill sister but in that way, he is perfect for Viola. The give and take, push and pull between Viola and Finn keeps the story moving along at a quick and sexy pace. Their road to an HEA is not at all easy but then both have a significant amount of baggage they are bringing into the relationship. As usual, Perry throws some fun and totally unexpected curveballs at her characters, the rest of the Summerhill’s are totally involved up to their butts and, the ending is pretty much perfect. In all, Perry has added another winner to the Summerhill series!

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About the author and where to find her:

Kate has tangoed at midnight with a man in blue furry chaps, dueled with flaming swords in the desert, and strutted on bar tops across the world and back. She’s been kissed under the Eiffel Tower, had her butt pinched in Florence, and been serenaded in New Orleans. But she found Happy Ever After in San Francisco with her Magic Man. Kate’s the bestselling author of the Laurel Heights Novels, as well as the Family and Love and Guardians of Destiny series. She’s been translated into several languages and is quite proud to say she’s big in Slovenia. All her books are about strong, independent women who just want love. Most days, you can find Kate in her favorite café, working on her latest novel. Sometimes she’s wearing a tutu. She may or may not have a jeweled dagger strapped to her thigh…