Review: Sweet

Info: 
Title: Sweet
Author: Emmy Laybourne
Series: Sweet #1Publisher: Macmillian
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
Source: I received a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
*People would kill to be thin.*

Solu’s luxurious celebrity-filled “Cruise to Lose” is billed as “the biggest cruise since the Titanic,” and if the new diet sweetener works as promised—dropping five percent of a person’s body weight in just days—it really could be the answer to the world’s obesity problem. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv’s invitation. She’s already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host, Tom Forelli (otherwise known as the hottest guy ever!) and she’s too seasick to even try the sweetener. And that’s before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange.

*But will they die for it, too?*

Tom Forelli knows that he should be grateful for this job and the opportunity to shed his childhood “Baby Tom-Tom” image. His publicists have even set up a ‘romance’ with a sexy reality star. But as things on the ship start to get a bit wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when his celebrity hosting gig turns into an expose on the shocking side effects of Solu, it’s Laurel that he’s determined to save.

Emmy Laybourne, author of the Monument 14 trilogy, takes readers on a dream vacation that goes first comically, then tragically, then horrifyingly, wrong.

Review:
I really enjoyed this book. The concept was creepy and interesting and I enjoyed both the main characters.

Laurel was a rare case on the Cruise to Lose. A slightly overweight girl who wasn't dying to change her body. Plus bonus points for the fact that she had a hobby (classical guitar). Laurel was sweet, caring and shy, but also tough enough to survive when things got crazy. Plus she is a poster-child for body love, if that's something you would enjoy.

I found Tom to be an interesting character. A formerly overweight former child star trying to reinvent his image. He has dreams of being a film star, but is stuck going hosting gigs for entertainment shows and now the Solu Cruise to Lose. He's a rather serious guy, but very caring and always tries to be genuine, which is pretty rare on a ship full of minor celebrities and reality tv stars.

One thing that bothered me a bit was that I felt like the romance went too fast. It wasn't instalove, but I would have liked to see a bit more development there.

I liked the danger and building sense of something being wrong. I think Emmy Laybourne does danger and crisis well. Do I think something like this could happen in real life? No, not really, but I think the underlying theme of the dangers of untested 'supplements' is real. 

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Don't Just Take My Word For It:
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