Mia Kelly is a twenty-five-year-old
walking Gap ad who thinks she has life figured out when her father’s sudden
death uproots her from slow-paced Ann Arbor to New York City’s bustling East
Village. There she discovers her father’s spirit for life and the legacy he
left behind with the help of an old café, a few eccentric friends, and one
charming musician.
Will Ryan is good-looking, poetic,
spontaneous, and on the brink of fame when he meets Mia, his new landlord,
muse, and personal heartbreaker.
A story of self-discovery and
friendship, Sweet Thing shines light on the power of loving and letting go.
~*~
Review
Wow. There is so much
to say about this book. Initially I had a hard time getting in to it. It was
interesting, but I was just at a point where I was struggling to get in to
stories. We’ve all been there. But I’m glad I kept going. There was just so
much to this book!
Mia’s character
frustrated the crap out of me quite often. I wanted to shake her and tell her
to just open her eyes. But, I understand why she was that way. She’d been
through a lot in her life, especially the most recent times. She was just
confused and you just have to love her through it.
Will. Bah. That guy.
He sounds totally dreamy and amazing. But, there were times I wanted to shake
him, too. I wanted him to just come out and say whatever it was he needed to
say instead of just stopping. However, in true Will fashion, there was a reason
behind his way of doing things. It made sense in the end.
The writing
throughout the book is flawless. It flows perfectly and captivates your interest.
It is conversational as well as reflective, but certainly not cheesy. This was
a fabulous read and I cannot WAIT to read more by Ms Carlino!
{em}
~*~
Playlist
Sweet Thing was inspired almost
entirely by my love for music and the music scene. There are so many famous songs not only
referenced in my book but performed by the characters as a tribute to those
artists and further proof of my obsession.
Sweet Thing follows the trials and tribulations of two
twenty-something musicians, Mia and Will, who fall in love over the course of a
year and find that their shared musical appreciation and talent is the ultimate
catalyst in their relationship.
I thought I would list a
few songs referenced or performed from the book and then list a few that I just
listened to while I was writing it. Many
times a song would evoke an emotion in me, which aided in making a scene more
dramatic, powerful or sweet.
“Ask” by The Smiths
There is just something inherently
happy about this song and when Will sings a couple of lines to Mia, it speaks
volumes.
“Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam
This is an old favorite of
mine that Will performs at Kell’s Café.
Even though he doesn’t sing the words until the very end, I just had to
have him play that smooth, sexy guitar solo.
“Pictures of You” The Cure
This song has stuck with
me for many, many years. There is this
building up feeling with the guitars in the beginning; it’s like a really
delicate crescendo before Robert Smith starts singing. Will plays this in the apartment, just
goofing around with the song, when Mia surprises him and discovers how truly
talented he is. I always thought of Will
singing these lyrics to her because I think the lyrics are powerful and
romantic. I chose a live version because they jam a bit longer in the intro and
I love that.
“Wash”(iTunes Session) by Bon Iver
and a stem remix called “We Washed Texas” by St. South
THIS IS THE SONG. This song
wrote half the scenes in my book. I’m
putting two versions because of how much I love it. The emotion in the original
version and again that building up, the crescendo that helped me to build the
drama in a scene is what I love about it.
I would get completely emotional listening to this. When Mia asks Will to make her feel better in
chapter (Track) 17, this was the song I was listening to when I wrote it. The
second version I just recently started listening to while writing two new scenes
from Will’s point of view. It’s a much
softer and sort of melancholy version.
“Cheer Darlin’” by Damien Rice
This is such a sexy,
bluesy, sad song. I didn’t reference it
in Sweet
Thing, but I felt like Will was singing this to Mia for much of the
book while she strung him a long and especially when he walks in to find her
with Robert.
“Hole in the Ocean Floor” by Andrew Bird
I listened to this many
times, especially while Mia was in Memphis.
It helped me to visualize the scene.
I like the fragility in it. It’s
one of those songs where you need to be quiet and just listen to fully
appreciate it. This extremely talented
artist inspired some of Will’s gifts.
~*~
About the Author
Renee’s first friends were the
imaginary kind and even though her characters haven’t gone away, thankfully the
delusions have. She admits she’s a wildly hopeless romantic and she blames 80’s
movies staring Molly Ringwald for that. She lives in Southern California with
her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she’s not at the beach
with her boys or working on the next book, she likes to spend her time reading,
going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate.
~*~
Stalk Her
~*~
Buy It
Amazon US - http://tiny.cc/4p97zw
~*~
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