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.
5 stars.
