The Sweet Life Book Review

 I was excited to check out this new series by Suzanne Woods Fisher. I thought from the picture on the cover that it would be a light summer read so I was surprised by the beginning of the book.  It was about the break up of a relationship that was headed towards marriage and about getting over the death of a loved one.  This was a lot deeper then an ice cream cone on the cover suggested. I think that the lighter ice cream cover suggests a lot more because of the name of the Cape Cod Creamery.

Dawn Dixon can hardly believe she's on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod...with her mother. Sure, Marnie Dixon is good company, but Dawn was supposed to be here with Kevin, the love of her life (or so she thought). 

Marnie Dixon needs some time away from the absolute realness of life as much as her jilted daughter does, and she's not about to let her only child suffer alone - even if Marnie herself had been doing precisely that for the past month. Given the circumstances, maybe it was inevitable that Marnie would do something as rash as buy a run-down ice-cream shop in the town's tightly regulated historic district. After all, everything's better with ice cream. 

Her exasperated daughter knows that she's the one who will have to clean up this mess. Even when her mother's impulsive real estate purchase brings Kevin back into her life, Dawn doesn't get her hopes up. Everyone knows that broken romances stay broken...don't they?  Welcome to a summer of sweet surprises on Cape Cod - a place where dreams just might come true. 

I thought it was an interesting book that started out with a deep sadness.  It was hard to get started on the book because it was sad because Dawn lost her father and broke up with her fiance. Marnie lost her husband and got breast cancer. I knew that starting off on such a negative note meant that anything had to get better.  Both women decide to go on a vacation together (which happens to be the honeymoon that Dawn was supposed to go on). There is a lot of hurt and sadness and they spend most of their time apart doing things that make them both feel better like laying on the beach or walking around the small town they are staying in. Both Marnie and Dawn are on the very slow road to healing and the small Cape Cod town is helping them to do that. Although this isn't a light and uplifting book, it is still a book of hope and rebuilding after something bad happens in your life.  I know that many people use books as an escape from the things that are going on in our lives and if a heavy book is not what you are looking for, I totally understand.  However, I promise that you will want to keep on going to find out what happens in the lives of all those involved in the Cape Cod Creamery.  Marnie and Dawn bring a lot of people into their lives through this story and they all make the story great.  I know that there are a few surprises worth sticking around to find out.  I hope that you check out the book and see for yourself.

**I got a copy of the book for my review but all opinions here are my own. No positive comments were required.