Sugar Rush by Rachel Astor
Entangled Publishing, 182 Pages
US Release Date: August 25, 2012
Format: e-book
Source: From publisher, for review - thank you!

There’s nothing quite like your first bite.

Dulcie Carter has been running her family’s homemade sweet shop, Candy Land Confections, on her own since her mom passed away. But business is slow and rent is high, so Dulcie knows if she wants to keep her mom’s dream alive, she’ll need a miracle. Winning the annual Assembly of Chocolatiers competition will change everything, if only she can overcome her fears and bring herself to create something new for the first time in a long time.

Then she meets Nick, a molten-hot guy with a sexy smirk and chocolate brown eyes. The attraction is stronger than any sugar rush—until she discovers he’s set to inherit his family’s big-box candy shop in town, which is her strongest competitor for first prize. Nick’s got his own reasons for needing the win, but then being around Dulcie is proving addictive.

As the competition heats up, so do the sparks between them. Can they keep their sights on winning, when love might be the sweetest prize of all?
-----------Goodreads summary
What's this - an ADULT book?! What is going on!?

I know, I know. But sometimes, you just need a break, you know? Even when I was a teen, I totally had to step back from my life for 30 minutes, find a distraction, and just stop thinking about all the drama going on in my life. That's how I viewed Sugar Rush.

One of the reasons I accepted this book for review was because I wanted a silly romance to read since I was in the middle of some heavy Dystopian books and really mentally draining books. Plus, who can say no to something that focuses on candy and chocolate?! Sugar Rush sounded like a perfect, superficial fling. And guys, it definitely delivered!

I went into the book knowing it would probably be a sickeningly sweet romance with a rise and fall and clash and perfect ending all wrapped up in a bow. Even though I wasn't quite wrong, I was definitely taken by surprise that it turned out to be much more! While the basics of the story are minorly predictable, there were some really fun turning points and twists thrown in. It was fun to read because something would happen, and I'd think 'yep, just as I thought"...and then suddenly another thing happened and I'd think "woah!" Normally I'd call a story like this typical and move on, but there were just enough unexpected things to keep that judgment away.

Perhaps the one thing I wasn't too sold on was Nick. Don't get me wrong, he's sweet and awesome and any man who can bake a perfect cupcake will totally get my heart. But he felt just a tad underdeveloped. I don't know if adult romance books normally keep the love interest visibly secondary, but Nick was just a little vague for me. We were told details about him, sure, but it was nothing I really connected to. I did love the little tidbits of his past, like that he was a chubby kid; and that section where he knew all the candies that Dulcie's shop had made? Adorable. Freakin' adorable.

I really liked the plot of this story, too - it's a great romance set up and I was totally invested. I wanted Candy Land Confectionaries to succeed, I wanted Dulcie to continue her mom's legacy, I was rooting so hard for Gram's to be able to step into the shop, and I wanted so badly to be at the Contest and see all the creations. It was pure sugary fun.

Something I really liked was that while this is a romance, the romance in it is tame and actually? Didn't really seem that important to me. Obviously it's the reason most of the plot exists, but I mean that there were real issues aside from just Dulcie and Nick trying to be together. The Romeo & Juliet-esque feud was tons of fun and a fabulous element to toss in, but I liked best the part it played in the whole plot. This is definitely more than just two people trying to establish their love affair.

Sugar Rush is filled with fantastic treats, lovable characters, and a sweet love. Now, if only they could somehow get the book to actually come with all the candies and chocolates...