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The Sweet Spot
Edie St. Claire is smack in the middle of what’s going on in her in-laws’ general store, the Do-Si-Do Bar, and this small town’s biggest scandal in years. Her father is a crusty so-and-so who runs the town dump. Her wisecracking aunt is as fiery as her dyed red hair. Both live next to Edie and her young daughter on this dead-end dirt road. Edie is an “I gotta go” kind of woman, pretty and direct, but she holds onto an old the death of her husband in Vietnam. She tries to ease her grief with his married brother, Walker. But when the affair comes to a tragic end, Edie does her best to survive the blame with the help of her rough-sawn family and a badly scarred man who has arrived for his fresh start.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 13, 2017
105 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Joan Livingston
20 books58 followersJoan Livingston is the author of novels for adults and young readers.
She has completed seven books so far in her mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. They are: Chasing the Case, Redneck's Revenge, Checking the Traps, Killing the Story. Working the Beat, Following the Lead, and Missing the Deadline. Her Hilltown Books include The Sweet Spot, The Sacred Dog, and Northern Comfort.
An award-winning journalist, Joan started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure. Her last gig was the Pioneer Valley Editor-in-Chief overseeing the Greenfield Recorder, Daily Hampshire Gazette and Athol Daily News. She's officially done with journalism and concentrating on writing fiction.
After eleven years in Northern New Mexico, Joan returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series.
She has completed seven books so far in her mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. They are: Chasing the Case, Redneck's Revenge, Checking the Traps, Killing the Story. Working the Beat, Following the Lead, and Missing the Deadline. Her Hilltown Books include The Sweet Spot, The Sacred Dog, and Northern Comfort.
An award-winning journalist, Joan started as a reporter covering the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She was an editor, columnist, and the managing editor of The Taos News, which won numerous state and national awards during her tenure. Her last gig was the Pioneer Valley Editor-in-Chief overseeing the Greenfield Recorder, Daily Hampshire Gazette and Athol Daily News. She's officially done with journalism and concentrating on writing fiction.
After eleven years in Northern New Mexico, Joan returned to rural Western Massachusetts, which is the setting of much of her adult fiction, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 7, 2020
Good reading
This is one of those books that follows a formula. Is not a romance because instead of kisses, we have punches. Poor girl and rich boy fall in love. His family is not very happy but if the son is happy, they will do the best to love her. Her name is Edie and his name is Gil. Edie is pregnant with a baby girl, but Gil has to go to Vietnam. He died and never met her daughter. For 6 years everything is fine. Until Gil's brother Walker decided that Edie should be his. And everything goes from worse to worst. There is a lot of drinking, more than casual sex, a lot of physical abuse and bullying. Walker was married but still was claiming Edie has his. But, he physically abused Edie, black and blues, bruised ribs and broken lips.
But, I will stop here. But Edie eventually had her happy ending.
This is one of those books that follows a formula. Is not a romance because instead of kisses, we have punches. Poor girl and rich boy fall in love. His family is not very happy but if the son is happy, they will do the best to love her. Her name is Edie and his name is Gil. Edie is pregnant with a baby girl, but Gil has to go to Vietnam. He died and never met her daughter. For 6 years everything is fine. Until Gil's brother Walker decided that Edie should be his. And everything goes from worse to worst. There is a lot of drinking, more than casual sex, a lot of physical abuse and bullying. Walker was married but still was claiming Edie has his. But, he physically abused Edie, black and blues, bruised ribs and broken lips.
But, I will stop here. But Edie eventually had her happy ending.
September 2, 2020
Not very sweet.
May 14, 2020
Normally I'm sort of meh about Kindle books. But this one was really good! It's a story about a small town girl whose husband dies in Vietnam, leaving her to raise her baby girl alone. There are lots of people I would not want to get to know in this story, but Evie Sweet St. Claire was one I think I'd love to know. Just a nice, good story!
April 26, 2020
Wonderful story.
This is a complicated story with so many twists and turns, feelings, and motivations. In the end, there is resolution and perhaps a happy ending. I want the story to continue for a long time. It is a series that is well worth reading g and experiencing.
This is a complicated story with so many twists and turns, feelings, and motivations. In the end, there is resolution and perhaps a happy ending. I want the story to continue for a long time. It is a series that is well worth reading g and experiencing.
April 27, 2020
Great book
When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure I would like it. It seemed like it was going to be kind of hokey, but I quickly changed my mind. It was sad but heartwarming also. Definitely enjoyable.
When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure I would like it. It seemed like it was going to be kind of hokey, but I quickly changed my mind. It was sad but heartwarming also. Definitely enjoyable.
November 29, 2020
Her name is Edie and his name is Gil. Edie is pregnant with a baby girl, but Gil has to go to Vietnam. He died and never met her daughter. For 6 years everything is fine. Until Gil's brother Walker decided that Edie should be his.
March 14, 2022
An interesting story
I enjoyed this book, although it was a bit slow to start with. The characters were really interesting and believable. I found myself engrossed in the story about love and loss.
I enjoyed this book, although it was a bit slow to start with. The characters were really interesting and believable. I found myself engrossed in the story about love and loss.
March 22, 2022
Touching
A story of small town folks in hardship and good times and how everything works out in the end. The characters pop off the page and into your heart.
A story of small town folks in hardship and good times and how everything works out in the end. The characters pop off the page and into your heart.
April 21, 2017
A Sweet Read
Edie Sweet's disposition is identical to her last name. She is sweet and lovable, the type of woman who never meets a stranger. She's sweet in spite of losing her husband, Gil, to the Vietnam War. But maybe she's a little too sweet and lovable, because she doesn't make the best choices when it comes to men. This is clearly evident in her affair with Gil's brother, Walker: a married man. The town of Conwell is too small and interconnected for extramarital affairs. Edie's and Walker's is an affair of astronomic proportions; the kind that can cause grief for generations to come. Will Edie survive it? What role will a scarred stranger play in her survival?
I loved the way Joan built Edie. She was sweet but flawed. Aren't we all? And Walker? I pitied the boy because he had it bad. In love with his brother's woman but stuck in an unhappy marriage where he can't express that love openly. Joan also paints for us the struggle Walker has with his parents. They clearly loved Gil more. Why do parents do that? Why pick favorites? Don't they know that favoritism can have detrimental effects for years and years. That the affected child can grow into an adult and still deal with it? Take it out on their children. Even on their spouse?
I loved the dynamic between the Sweets, St. Claires, Crockers, etc. How the Sweets were looked down on in Conwell because patriarch, Benny, worked the town dump. You see this kind of thing in small towns, small communities, and unfortunately in churches. I can't stand it, though. No one should be ostracized because of their lineage. No child should be picked on at school because someone feels that their family is beneath others. I could get on a soapbox about this issue but I don't want to belabor the time or space for this review.
I enjoyed this novel and would love to see what's next for Edie. Hopefully Joan Sullivan will follow up on the good folks of Conwell in a subsequent novel. I'm sure it would be just as sweet a read as THE SWEET SPOT.
Merged review:
Edie Sweet's disposition is identical to her last name. She is sweet and lovable, the type of woman who never meets a stranger. She's sweet in spite of losing her husband, Gil, to the Vietnam War. But maybe she's a little too sweet and lovable, because she doesn't make the best choices when it comes to men. This is clearly evident in her affair with Gil's brother, Walker: a married man. The town of Conwell is too small and interconnected for extramarital affairs. Edie's and Walker's is an affair of astronomic proportions; the kind that can cause grief for generations to come. Will Edie survive it? What role will a scarred stranger play in her survival?
I loved the way Joan built Edie. She was sweet but flawed. Aren't we all? And Walker? I pitied the boy because he had it bad. In love with his brother's woman but stuck in an unhappy marriage where he can't express that love openly. Joan also paints for us the struggle Walker has with his parents. They clearly loved Gil more. Why do parents do that? Why pick favorites? Don't they know that favoritism can have detrimental effects for years and years. That the affected child can grow into an adult and still deal with it? Take it out on their children. Even on their spouse?
I loved the dynamic between the Sweets, St. Claires, Crockers, etc. How the Sweets were looked down on in Conwell because patriarch, Benny, worked the town dump. You see this kind of thing in small towns, small communities, and unfortunately in churches. I can't stand it, though. No one should be ostracized because of their lineage. No child should be picked on at school because someone feels that their family is beneath others. I could get on a soapbox about this issue but I don't want to belabor the time or space for this review.
I enjoyed this novel and would love to see what's next for Edie. Hopefully Joan Livingston will follow up on the good folks of Conwell in a subsequent novel. I'm sure it would be just as sweet a read as THE SWEET SPOT.
Edie Sweet's disposition is identical to her last name. She is sweet and lovable, the type of woman who never meets a stranger. She's sweet in spite of losing her husband, Gil, to the Vietnam War. But maybe she's a little too sweet and lovable, because she doesn't make the best choices when it comes to men. This is clearly evident in her affair with Gil's brother, Walker: a married man. The town of Conwell is too small and interconnected for extramarital affairs. Edie's and Walker's is an affair of astronomic proportions; the kind that can cause grief for generations to come. Will Edie survive it? What role will a scarred stranger play in her survival?
I loved the way Joan built Edie. She was sweet but flawed. Aren't we all? And Walker? I pitied the boy because he had it bad. In love with his brother's woman but stuck in an unhappy marriage where he can't express that love openly. Joan also paints for us the struggle Walker has with his parents. They clearly loved Gil more. Why do parents do that? Why pick favorites? Don't they know that favoritism can have detrimental effects for years and years. That the affected child can grow into an adult and still deal with it? Take it out on their children. Even on their spouse?
I loved the dynamic between the Sweets, St. Claires, Crockers, etc. How the Sweets were looked down on in Conwell because patriarch, Benny, worked the town dump. You see this kind of thing in small towns, small communities, and unfortunately in churches. I can't stand it, though. No one should be ostracized because of their lineage. No child should be picked on at school because someone feels that their family is beneath others. I could get on a soapbox about this issue but I don't want to belabor the time or space for this review.
I enjoyed this novel and would love to see what's next for Edie. Hopefully Joan Sullivan will follow up on the good folks of Conwell in a subsequent novel. I'm sure it would be just as sweet a read as THE SWEET SPOT.
Merged review:
Edie Sweet's disposition is identical to her last name. She is sweet and lovable, the type of woman who never meets a stranger. She's sweet in spite of losing her husband, Gil, to the Vietnam War. But maybe she's a little too sweet and lovable, because she doesn't make the best choices when it comes to men. This is clearly evident in her affair with Gil's brother, Walker: a married man. The town of Conwell is too small and interconnected for extramarital affairs. Edie's and Walker's is an affair of astronomic proportions; the kind that can cause grief for generations to come. Will Edie survive it? What role will a scarred stranger play in her survival?
I loved the way Joan built Edie. She was sweet but flawed. Aren't we all? And Walker? I pitied the boy because he had it bad. In love with his brother's woman but stuck in an unhappy marriage where he can't express that love openly. Joan also paints for us the struggle Walker has with his parents. They clearly loved Gil more. Why do parents do that? Why pick favorites? Don't they know that favoritism can have detrimental effects for years and years. That the affected child can grow into an adult and still deal with it? Take it out on their children. Even on their spouse?
I loved the dynamic between the Sweets, St. Claires, Crockers, etc. How the Sweets were looked down on in Conwell because patriarch, Benny, worked the town dump. You see this kind of thing in small towns, small communities, and unfortunately in churches. I can't stand it, though. No one should be ostracized because of their lineage. No child should be picked on at school because someone feels that their family is beneath others. I could get on a soapbox about this issue but I don't want to belabor the time or space for this review.
I enjoyed this novel and would love to see what's next for Edie. Hopefully Joan Livingston will follow up on the good folks of Conwell in a subsequent novel. I'm sure it would be just as sweet a read as THE SWEET SPOT.
August 8, 2022
Characters so flawed and real that you’ll feel like you made friends. Okay, maybe one whose life is pretty messed up but that’s part of what makes this book so compelling.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews