A short while back I received a copy of Lucy Diamond's newest novel The Beach Cafe, which I love (review coming shortly!) and seeing as that was the first book by this author that I'd read, I picked up her 2010 novel Sweet Temptation. The synopsis had me hooked immediately.Sweet Temptation focuses on the lives of three women - Maddie, Jess and Lauren - who are each on a personal mission to lose weight. Maddie, assistant at a radio station, has always been unhappy with her large size, and working alongside skinny superbitch Colette isn't doing her flagging confidence any favours. When Colette decides to start a Make Birmingham Beautiful radio campaign and signs up all her staff, reluctant Maddie is embarrassed. Faced with a 'fight the flab' mantra and paid-for gym subscription, Maddie finds the whole thing embarrassing, especially the Fatbusters meeting that she's forced to take part in.
Beautician Jess is also unhappy about her weight, especially as she's due to be marrying Charlie. Despite Charlie's bullying nature and her friends' pleas for her to ditch him, Jess is happy to wait to set the official date. Determined to get into a smaller wedding dress, Jess too finds herself in the Fatbusters class.
Meanwhile Lauren, who owns a city dating agency, has long given up on her search for Mr Right, even though she makes a living selling the dream of 'happily ever after.' Lauren has always been a bigger girl, happy with the fact that she's witty and endearing and after a failed relationship is waiting for a charming man who'll fall for her personality and not care about the 'extra poundage'. When handsome Joe signs up to her agency, Lauren is even more ambitious...
The three women are in need of shedding the pounds and cutting out the tempting treats that are luring them away from actually facing their problems.
Pretty soon the ladies meet at Fatbusters and, seeing as they're all newcomers, decide to be 'diet buddies'. And as their friendship blossoms, the ladies' lives intertwine. With Maddie feeling belittled at work and also facing the prospect of losing her mum, Jess being bullied and controlled by the man she wants to marry and Lauren securing dates for clients but never her own, it seems as though the girls need more out of life. And their new Fatbusters class might be the perfect place to find it...
I don't want to give too much away in this review, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed Sweet Temptation and finished it in one sitting. I loved all of the characters, especially Maddie, who had to deal with working with a total bitch of a boss, as well as juggling motherhood, her new regime and looking after her sick mum. Jess and Lauren were also lovely characters, and I felt myself rooting for Jess, who had to put up with Charlie and his bullying for so long. I find it hard to carry on without revealing too much of the ending (sorry!) but this was a great book and I enjoyed it just as much as The Beach Cafe. Needless to say, I am now a big fan of Lucy Diamond and am about to check out her previous novels!
Rating: 5/5
