Goodnight, Sweetheart: (Berkley Sensation) [Mass Market Paperback]

I enjoyed the first book in this series and expected to enjoy this one, but there were just too many HUH? moments by the end for me to really recommend this book.

Subplots were started, dropped, then picked up again. The whole threat against Sydney made no sense, the resolution of the identity of the culprit was pulled out of thin air, and the "rewarding" of the culprit just came out of the blue. The subplot involving Sydney's aunt made no sense - she is a smart woman with her own business, she was the daughter of a lawyer, she lived in the same town with the man involved with her part of the story for all her life, the town has only 11,000 residents and she still didn't know her legal status? Made no sense whatsoever.

Sydney and Eric were nice characters, but they could have been much more. Every time Eric contemplated his failed marriage, he would stop and say "that's water under the bridge". It left the impression that there was something more interesting to that part of the story, but it was never revealed.

All in all, after reading the book, I felt like there was a chapter or two missing. If you read the first book in the series, you'll probably want to read this one, but to the rest of you, you're on your own.

As a child she was cruelly nicknamed The Freak by her classmates. He was the black sheep of his family, not a good thing when his siblings are overachievers and his father is the sheriff. She was a "Miss Goody-Two-Shoes." He was the quintessential "bad boy." Both left their hometown and vowed never to return. Now they're all grown up and back in Sweetheart, Indiana "Where everyone is your friend."

Sydney St. John has lost her job and needs a little R & R, and Eric Law has promised to be the best man at his older brother's wedding. They meet by accident and realize they really need to stay away from each other, a seemingly impossible task since they end up in the same place every time they turn around. The question is, in the end, will they, can they, have a future together.

There are some interesting secondary characters in this story. Some are comic relief. Some are poignant and will bring a tear to your eye, like Sydney's beloved aunt who passed up her chance at love and happiness many years before and who fears that Sydney may be making the same mistake. There is also a minor element of intrigue involving an old classmate, but it's really minor.

GOODNIGHT, SWEETHEART has it all in my book --humor, passion, a page-turning story, and a wonderful couple. I gobbled up this romance in one weekend!

Okay, from the synopsis on the back, this book seems very promising. Sydney St. John was a dork in high school and had a crush on the town bad boy Eric Law. She made a fool of herself by throwing herself at him. Fifteen years later, they both return to their hometown for different reasons [basically they've both reached a point in their lives where they are going through serious self reflection] and run into each other.

Overall, the story was okay, not great or amazing. Their romance isn't developed very well, so at the end you get the feeling that even though they like each other, it certainly doesn't seem like they love each other [suddenly they're getting engaged and the entire time I was wondering, 'when did they fall in love?'].

What really irritated me was the secondary characters. One in particular: Sydney's childhood tormentor. This character picked on Sydney as a kid and then went on to harass her as an adult and engages in some very mean behavior. So, what does Sydney do in response? She arranges for this person to have "a scholarship to beauty school, all expenses paid, including enough to live on until she gets back on her feet." Yeah, it didn't make any sense to me either.

I'm all for heroines being able to rise above the maliciousness of other characters and retain their dignity in the face of adversity. But, there's a difference between being the bigger person and just being an idiot. I think we all know what category Sydney falls in.

The other thing that annoyed me was the subplot involving Minerva, Bim and Ella. The whole situation was just unfair to Minerva and Bim. And Ella deserved to get hit by a bus for her selfish and manipulative ways. I won't mince words; I was very disappointed by the way the author settled the plot. It was too ... weird. It left me feeling inconclusive and unsatisfied and that's the worst possible way to feel after reading a three hundred-page book.

So, in conclusion, I don't recommend buying this book. If you can get it for free at the library or something, then by all means read it. Otherwise, avoid it at all costs.