Mo Daoust
In the second book of the Sugar Bowl series, things are rocky between Sela Halstead and Beckett North. They had a serious misunderstanding, but Beck came to his senses quickly, and no time was lost in miscommunication of all sorts. But Sela still wants to make Jonathon Townsend pay for what he did. Beck has some ideas, but Sela needs convincing. I had really loved the first book in this series, Sugar Daddy, and I was very much looking forward to SUGAR RUSH, which picks up right after Sugar Daddy left off. Ms. Bennett is a terrific writer, and the writing is amazing, especially with how she conveys the characters’ feelings and thoughts. SUGAR RUSH is told in alternate points of view, and while I don’t care one way or the other for this stylistic technique, in this series, I think it adds to the story because Sela and Beck have very dissimilar ways of looking at things, their “relationship” to Jonathon, at the beginning at least, couldn’t be any different. However, there was one thing I found rather odd, especially from Sawyer Bennett: an overuse of “softly”, and several words of that ilk, which made it a tad too obvious that we should understand that Sela is soft-spoken, gentle, and so on. While SUGAR RUSH started well, I thought the pace slowed down too much, it dragged even, when Beck and Sela get really comfortable with each other, and fell even more deeply in love. Strangely enough, I had thought the choice of cover art was a bit peculiar – pink while the theme is rather dark – but it fits SUGAR RUSH, I might add, unfortunately; as far as I’m concerned Sela and a “pink” atmosphere don’t quite go together. To be honest, the not-so-angry-and-in-love Sela is not that interesting, and as Beck is not much more compelling either, I found SUGAR RUSH rather sedate, and I did not race through it. While the sightseeing in Europe is lovely and all that, I was missing the real gritty story, it just dragged on and on while Sela and Beck were mostly floating away in a pink cloud of blissful love, and I found that atypical of Ms. Bennett. It’s not that SUGAR RUSH is bad, but it was not what I expected. I’m wondering if the series might have been better as a duology, because there is a lot of filler in SUGAR RUSH. I was expecting to rush through this book, instead it took me forever to read, and I must admit I was tempted to skim several times, but I kept hoping things would pick up. I understand it was to make us grasp that Sela was in a better place, but I was numb from all this pastel, fuzzy fluff, and by the time we get back to the nitty-gritty, I found it difficult to get out of my sweet, pink coma. I think I understand what the author was trying to do, but as far as I’m concerned, it didn’t work. It’s a good thing there was Dennis Flaherty, a fascinating secondary character. And then Sela does something really stupid that a whole star fell here, but something so stupid that I’m not even sure if I will read the next book, Sugar Free, and there is a cliffhanger… I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
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Gina Ferguson
Sawyer Bennett's Sugar Rush Broke Netgalley!!! A MUST have read! This is book #2 in the Sugar Bowl Series! Well where I start... How about when the ARC came available on Netgalley, everyone wanted it so bad. The Netgalley site "broke/froze" whatever you want to call it. Especially after that cliffy hanger on Sugar Daddy, The site was down for about 10 mins for "Maintenance issues." lol everyone wanted and needed Sugar Rush so bad that we broke Netgalley! She wanted to Infiltrate and get revenge by Murder and Repeat of the Sugar Daddy and his accomplice but what she got was a Sugar Rush and while giving us the rush of a life time! Sawyer Bennett did it again! She mesmerized me and had me from the first word...the title! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I cried not only tears of joy but tears of heartache and pain I felt for Beck and Sela. At points I was laughing my ass off then wanting and wishing I could reach into the book and choke someone. There was suspense and a little bit of love. I can't recall how many times I said OMG & WTF and a few of I Knew IT!! lol I finished this in less than 24 hours, I was on a rollercoaster of emotions and I didn’t want to get off the ride...But I give you fair warning Like I was given .... This does have a cliffy again that makes you scream and say NOOOO, WTF why did she stop there...UGH! LOL You may or may not want to throw your reading device again! This story line does give you a rush, it’s an on the edge of your seat page turner! Sawyer pulls the story together so wonderfully but yet leaves you wanting more! You will want to 1-click this book plus you can order it in print!! YAY!!! I can't wait to read Sugar Free and see how wonderfully Sawyer finishes this series up!! Hands down to Sawyer Bennett she did it again, another great read I can't wait to add the paperback to my collection! I received this ARC from Netgalley and Author Sawyer Bennett for and honest review.
Janett Gomez
Bennett does it again, but this time the suspense is more intense, secrets start unraveling, and lives that were not connected before have more in common that they ever thought they could. The Rush begins where the first book left us. Beck has an A-HA moment where he starts to understand Sela a little more, he sees with clarity where her desire for revenge is coming from. And Sela now has an ally, one that will fight next to her and for her until she's been avenged. Not only is the storyline of this book one that is intricate, but the characters have many layers to them, intensifying the developing of the plot. I dare say, Sela is one of the strongest female characters I've ever read, her story is heartbreaking, part of her past is still in the shadows since she doesn't remember exactly what happened that horrible night that changed her life, but through it all she got stronger. Sela has a spirit that not too many people are blessed to have, she didn't let her past define her, she went through hard times (understandably,) but she got up again and now her fighting soul is what prevails. For someone who never wrote cliffhangers before, Sawyer Bennett has become the queen of them in my eyes, if you thought the cliffy in the first book was bad, wait until you get to the end of this one, it will blow your mind and leave you asking for mercy (or the next and last book.) This is hands down the best series I've ever read. The author pour her heart and soul into the writing of these books and it shows.