Review and Giveaway: Sweet Addiction

Sweet Addiction (Sweet - Book 6) by Maya Banks


Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Genre: Erotic Romance
Pages: Paperback, 330pp
ISBN-13: 978-0425245651
ISBN: 0425245659


(Received for an honest review from Berkley Heat)


Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound


Maya Banks on the WEB: website, blog, facebook, twitter


Books in the series:

 Sweet Surrender (2008) 

 Sweet Persuasion (2009) 

 Sweet Seduction (2009) 

 Sweet Temptation (2010) 

 Sweet Possession (2011) 

 Sweet Addiction (2012)

 
CoverArt: Click on the picture for larger, clearer image of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from Sweet Addiction


Synopsis:  


He awakened a need within her.


Cole is successful beyond his dreams. He can have any woman he wants, but there is only one he can't stop thinking about: his high school sweetheart, Ren. He's never forgotten his first taste of innocent love and the desire that consumed them - or the pain he brought upon her...


But now she belongs to another...


Her long ago brush with submission awakened a longing in Ren that drove her to walk the darker edge of desire. She has become a beautiful woman at ease with her sexuality and unapologetic about her need for a dominant man. When Cole finds her again, he's gutted that she belongs to another. Ren's current master agrees to give her to Cole for a short time, but she must return to his keeping. And though Cole agrees to this bargain, he will never be able to let Ren go again...


Thoughts:  


Maya Banks continues the Sweet series with her latest book, Sweet Addiction. Long time readers of the series will enjoy Cole's story, while new readers will be intrigued. This book isn't for the faint of heart. It is intense and emotional. Banks' knowledge and portrayal of submission in a contemporary setting is gripping and full of surprises that many readers won't see coming. Her characters are multi-layered and show depth and personality on every page. A worthy addition to the series!


The Sweet series has always been one that I felt I had a handle on. I kind of had an understanding of how Maya Banks was going to treat each book and the characters in it, until this one. Sweet Addiction is somewhat of a departure for Banks in that it was unpredictable and hard to gauge how the heroine was going to resolve or find a solution to her problem. It seemed a bit as though Ren was more than just confused. Her character wasn't staying true to how she was originally written in previous books in the series. It was like a different person in some respects. 


The Ren in this book was very confused and tormented. That I could understand given the circumstances. She is with someone she feels compatible with, someone she understands and who understands her, yet Cole is someone from her past that she has never been able to forget. That's a tough situation in and of itself. But she comes across as differently in this book. She seems as though it doesn't really matter who she ends up with at times. As long as she is getting the sexual things that she wants and feels she needs, she doesn't show a preference to who gives it to her Cole or Lucas. So it didn't feel like a true love story. It was just lacking something for me. I just couldn't get into the heroine or her personal choices.


I think fans of Cole will be a bit disappointed in how this one plays out, because it seems as though he is getting Lucas' leftovers. He's the guy Ren will fall back to if things don't work out and I think that is selling Cole a bit short. He is a great character. He has a lot going for him, and I was disheartened that I didn't think he found real love. He obviously loved Ren, but I'm not so sure about her feelings for him.


I did like the fact that the author divided the book into basically three sections. Each one from the point of view of one of the main characters. In Lucas' section I felt the connection between him and Ren and didn't understand the need to disrupt it. Cole's section made it clear what his history was with Ren and why he felt so drawn to her. The reader could feel his need for her, but Ren's section made it clear that she had feelings for Cole, but they didn't seem to resonate the way her relationship with Lucas did.

Both Cole and Lucas take the submission aspect of the book to the absolute edge. There were moments in this book that were a bit too much for me and I had not experienced that with this series before. Pushing the envelope is one thing, pushing someone to their breaking point is another. It was a very intense read and very emotional. There was a lot of confusion, torment and pain in this book and I felt there needed to be a few moments that lightened the mood a bit, some comic relief or just a scene that didn't focus on how desperate and confused Ren was.


Sweet Addiction was a good book. Most of the issues I have with are not due to the writing or the authors style or anything like that. It's mostly personal preference. I understand that there are people who get into submission and I like a little dominance myself, but this one took it a bit too far for my tastes. That's not to say there are not people out there that will love this book. It is very intense, very emotional and the ending is a bit shocking. Take my review with a grain of salt. If this is the kind of book that floats your book, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It is very well written. It was just not my cup of tea. 

Sweet Addiction is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving it 3 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

My name is Maya Banks and I live in Texas with my husband and three children and our assortment of pets. I’m more of a cat person, but my daughter became convinced she NEEDED a dog. So convinced in fact that it became her mission to convince her father and me. She prepared a two page handwritten proposal that detailed WHY she needed a dog, and well, after I sent her to her father (I knew he wouldn’t tell her no) we embarked on the search for the perfect dog. The journey that was two hours away and that I got pulled over for speeding while I was on the phone with my agent who had an offer from a publisher for one of my books… The officer wasn’t impressed. He wrote me a ticket anyway. Thus, I now tell my daughter that her dog turned into one very expensive concession! But isn’t he cute? 

When I’m not writing, I love to hunt and fish with my family. We all love the outdoors and go on family hunting trips every year. We also love to travel. One of our more recent trips was to Scotland, which was every bit as comical as National Lampoon’s European Vacation. You know the part about “Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament” as they went round and round the roundabouts? Yeah, that was us, only we couldn’t even get out of the airport in Glasgow without hitting three of those suckers. 

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of a writing career is getting to meet so many wonderful readers. There’s nothing better than dishing books with someone who loves the romance genre as much as I do. Romance readers are passionate and vocal. We love our books, love our happily ever afters, and we love to spend time talking to others about our favorites. THIS is why I love my job so much, and I’m so grateful to readers who gave ME a chance when I began my career. So thank you. 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: 

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Sweet Addiction by Maya Banks.

~ You must be a GFC follower or an E-Mail subscriber to participate.

~ US and Canadian addresses only!

~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST April 26th. 

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