Book Review: Diann Hunt's Bittersweet Surrender

  Carly spends her days at a spa (okay, so she owns the place), she’s dating a hunk, and she’s surrounded by chocolate. She’s living the dream . . . or is she?
   The last few years have been tough, but now Carly Westlake’s life seems picture perfect. Business at her spa is up thanks to her famous chocolate facials. And Jake Mitchell—her dreamy, teenage crush—has moved back to Spring Creek, Vermont, with his daughter in tow. Carly’s nearly floored to learn that Jake has his sights set on winning her heart. 
   But when long-buried secrets threaten her business—and her friendship with her best friend and business-partner, Tom—Carly has to fight like crazy to keep her plans afloat. Can it be that her dream of marrying Jake Mitchell isn’t the plan God has for her life? What if God’s plan requires something totally unexpected . . . a bittersweet surrender that Carly must make before she can discover true love?
  There were some really good moments in this book, and some moments that weren't as good. I will say that for the first time I was actually looking forward to two characters actually realizing they liked each other though. I found it annoying how they darted around though I could see why they would.
 I can understand why Carly had such bad self-esteem issues, but I think the book focused on it way too much. You don't have to tell me every other page that she has a problem with her body. I've also met people from online and know that you do get worried about what they think of you. It's the natural thing to do, but it was just too much obsession over one thing. I found it relatable, but also very overwhelming to keep reading. 
   I did like the story though, and it was cute. I had no idea how Carly couldn't tell Jake would be a jerk though. I if I had met him, or even read his messages I would be able to tell something was off about his personality.  As always though it's understandable why Carly continues to hope. If there was anything I liked about the story it was that. You could understand why the characters do what they do. Though the points are repeated so many times, so I'm not sure if they had anything to do with that. 
  If you are a fan of romantic, and light read books then you'll definitely enjoy this. At the heart of it, it is a cute story. You can check it out at Amazon. 


This book was provided by Booksneeze in exchange for a review.