Thursday, March 2, 2023

Book Review and Giveaway: The Sweet Spot

By Melissa Amster

In the heart of Greenwich Village, three women form an accidental sorority when a baby—belonging to exactly none of them—lands on their collective doorstep.

Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive 70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.

Melinda’s husband of thirty years has dumped her for a young celebrity entrepreneur named Felicity, and, to Melinda’s horror, the lovebirds are soon to become parents. In her incandescent rage, Melinda wreaks havoc wherever she can, including in Felicity’s Soho boutique, where she has a fit of epic proportions, which happens to be caught on film.​

Olivia—the industrious twenty-something behind the counter, who has big dreams and bigger debt—gets caught in the crossfire. In an effort to diffuse Melinda’s temper, Olivia has a tantrum of her own and gets unceremoniously canned, thanks to TikTok.

When Melinda’s ex follows his lover across the country, leaving their squalling baby behind, the three women rise to the occasion in order to forgive, to forget, to Ferberize, and to track down the wayward parents. But can their little village find a way toward the happily ever afters they all desire? Welcome to The Sweet Spot. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

If you were following us in 2018, you might remember just how much I loved Limelight (reviewed here). Well, Amy Poeppel's recent release, The Sweet Spot, is on par with Limelight's greatness. I had such a fun time reading it and felt like I was breezing through the story as it was so entertaining. I enjoyed all the different perspectives throughout, especially those of the three main characters: Lauren, Olivia, and Melinda. 

Lauren was the most relatable for me, as we're probably close in age, have two sons and a daughter, and our houses are always in some stage of chaos. (Although I don't have any pets.) I felt like Amy was listening in on conversations I've had with my mother, as the dialogue was that spot-on between Lauren and Evelyn. Melinda grated on me at first, even though I felt bad for her. Taking her situation out on Lauren bothered me though. I did find her revenge tactics amusing and somewhat creative and I wish I could sic her on a certain friend's ex-husband. I liked Olivia a lot and felt like she was easy to connect with, even with the twenty years age difference between us. I hated what happened to her as part of Melinda's revenge plot and I love how she found her place with Lauren's family. 

I didn't know that I'd want to read Russell's perspective, but it did clear some things up in the story and I enjoyed seeing how things were going for him given what he did to Melinda. I also didn't think I would like Evelyn all that much but she changed throughout the story and became so wonderful. I love how New York City is the backdrop, and how Amy really captures the feel of the city without having to overly describe it. 

My only concern is that I felt the baby situation was introduced so late into the story. It was around the halfway point. I wish there had been more time to work with that situation and really explore it more. I also would have liked another chapter with Felicity's perspective aside from the prologue and epilogue. Having said that, none of these concerns took away from my overall enjoyment.

I've been recommending The Sweet Spot even while just in the early chapters, it's that well-written and engaging. Do yourself a favor and pick up this feel-good read!

Movie casting suggestions:

Thanks to Atria for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have one copy to give away!

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends March 7th at midnight EST.

More by Amy Poeppel:


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18 comments:

Padmini Rao said...

someone at work gave me a thank you note for being helpful. I really appreciated it.

Marta Suárez Mazaira said...

Whenever a friend's kid, or a family member (cousins, nephew...), hug me endlessly or say they want to be with me

Rita Wray said...

It is sweet when my grandkids hug me when I visit them. They are the bright spot in my life.

Jess R said...

It is sweet when my adult kid messages me to share something good about his day.

Jess R said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Toni Laliberte said...

Something sweet that happened to me, happened today 32 years ago when my son was born and 3 years ago when my granddaughter Avery was born. They share the same birthday! Father and daughter. 💙🩷

Mary C said...

A neighbor removed the snow on my car roof which I was unable to reach.

dstoutholcomb said...

received a nice thank you for donating some clothes at the shelter.

Annmarie Weeks said...

I think one of the sweetest things lately was that my longtime good friend came through for a visit...we hadn't seen each other for a while!

satkins said...

My daughters call me almost every day just to say hi and I love you-

Mary Preston said...

New school years are always chaotic.

petite said...

Unconditional love and devotion from my sweet dog.

bn100 said...

got flowers

Xia Lee said...

House fire last year

Lelandlee said...

My car broke down in the middle of the road

Lisa D said...

The last time I was in a chaotic situation was a few weeks ago when I needed to provide my bank with valid photo ID but my only form of photo ID (my passport) had expired. I had to get an expedited passport renewal in order to prove my identity.

diannekc said...

I was at a bakery in Michigan around Christmas and the clerk gave me a card and said the gentleman before me had given $10 for her to give the next person in line. It was really nice surprise.

Carole said...

Going to see if the library has ordered this. Cheers