REVIEW: The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

In The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan, Audrey MacGeary’s life, and that of her three children, was ripped apart when a freak skiing accident took the life of her beloved husband Leo. As a firefighter, she worried daily about his dangerous job. She never thought that one of their favorite pastimes would end his life. So as Audrey and her boys try to heal, day by day, she’s thankful for family and especially for Leo’s best friend, Garrett, who moves across the country to stay with her and help out for the time being.

‘Could a person rebound after their spouse died, like after a romance ended? The idea seemed so profoundly wrong, and I was ashamed at the thought, but that was what I felt like I’d done with Garrett.’

Garrett is haunted by the gentleman’s agreement he and Leo made one night (alcohol may have been involved) that he would move in and marry Audrey in the event that Leo passed away. He never thought it would actually come to pass. Moving to Portland to take care of Audrey and the boys felt like the right thing to do, but Garrett feels like an intruder at first. As time goes by, however, both he and Audrey feel a connection that wasn’t there before. Should he tell her about the agreement? Or will it only make the situation more awkward?

‘He made me sign a piece of paper that I’d marry her. And what if what I’m thinking is completely out of line and I’m falling for her? Falling for all of them?’

A wide range of emotions ruled the pages in The Sweetheart Deal as a family dealt with the sudden loss of one of their own. Written from multiple POVs, this story gave us insight into their sorrow and their eventual healing.

Author Polly Dugan certainly did a good job in her description of this family’s grief and how heartbroken they all were when Leo died. I liked that the first chapter was written from his POV, as it gave us a moment with his thoughts and his ‘voice’. That was a nice way to start things off. I felt like I really got to know all three of the children as well as Audrey and Garrett as the story progressed thanks to the format of the book. It worked well for an emotional story such as this.

I did feel like this was more of a daily chronicle of how each family member was doing rather than an overview of how they did as time wore on. So, in some ways, the flow of the story felt a bit more stilted than cohesive. And I know that women’s fiction is not necessarily a HEA genre, but even though this ended on a positive note, I felt like their story came to an abrupt halt. I would love to have seen at least an epilogue to give a final bit of closure.

The agreement that Leo wrote and Garrett laughingly signed was a nice premise for this novel. I could just tell that it was going to be a point of contention between Garrett and Audrey once she found out, leading to some emotional fireworks. I also thought that Audrey and Garrett’s relationship happened gradually and in a fairly natural manner. Their reactions as well seemed real. The guilt over acting on their new-found attraction was honest and raw, like one could only imagine in such a situation.

Fans of heartfelt women’s fiction might be interested in following this family’s journey, as they each fought their way back from the depths of despair.
 

Book Info:

Published May 19th 2015 | by Little, Brown and Company |

The poignant story of what happens when a woman who thinks she’s lost everything has the chance to love again.

Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey’s feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.