Sweet Deception

Sweet Deception is more than a story, it’s a psychological profile of a girl who lives her life in self-destruct mode. Reading this will give you more than entertainment; it will give you insight into why people might drink themselves stupid and have a string of one night stands rather than seek a stable relationship. This is no quick study in stereotypes; Charlie comes across as a very real person. She is complex and, in the beginning, not even a particularly nice person in how she treats her parents, herself and Richard, her dead brother’s friend, who she considers is interfering in her life. Richard clearly cares for her, and I suspected early on that he had feelings for her that went beyond looking out for his dead friends little sister.

The story is essentially about how Richard in stalwartly standing by her sets off a transformation in Charlie. With the help of a therapist he tricks her into seeing, she comes to understand why she changed from the sweet eighteen-year-old virgin to the tramp she is today. The revelation comes slowly, so we read on to find out what happened that summer. Charlie’s transformation is entirely believable. Each change has solid reasons for occurring, but the path is not straight forward; setbacks occur when you least expect it.

The book is exquisitely written and ends on a satisfying positive note, leaving me feeling as if I’d just eaten a very good meal.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Simon & Schuster for the ebook copy to read and review.

Charlotte or Charlie as she prefers to call herself, is an obnoxious 25 year old who is self-indulgent and on a path to self-destruction. Her dress sense, her lack of social sensitivity, her rudeness to her family and her propensity to get drunk and have one night stands leads a family friend, Richard, who was with her brother when he was killed in an avalanche, to step in to prevent her from continuing on this self-destructing path. Initially by getting her out of the bar where she works and into an advertising agency job and also by getting her to have sessions with a psychologist to see if this might help her to see where she is heading and why.
The story is embedded with tragedy from the start with the death of Kit (Charlie's brother and Richard's best friend), the death of Richard's parents and we follow Charlie wondering whether there is tragedy awaiting her.
While this is an easy to read and fast moving story I found myself identifying with Charlie's parents and feeling quite angry towards Charlie and this hampered the flow of my reading as I stopped to reflect on my reactions. I felt angry at Charlie for her behaviour and way of life and felt sorry for Charlie's parents who were trying to do their best. However, with the help of Richard the story moves in a different direction and so did my discomfort.
This is a romantic drama but there are serious issues raised especially about how people cope differently with trauma. I certainly would recommend others to read this novel.