Sweet Thing: A Holiday Novella

by Rainie Dang

Content
Contains brief mentions of past domestic violence.
~
An ambitious, curvy girl.
A hot, baker guy.
A spicy romance for the ages.

Foodie influencer Laura Phan is loved for her celebration of dessert at every time of day. When her best friend Tina offers her auntie Gloria's cottage for the winter holidays, Laura takes the opportunity to get away from the city to focus on writing her cookbook.

An unfortunate run-in with the town heartthrob Ethan leaves Laura less than impressed. Can this intense, smoldering giant melt her cautious heart, or will she throw him in the trash?

In a fun, tantalizing romance filled with butter, chocolate and fierce touches, if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, take it to the bedroom.

174 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2022

About the author

Rainie Dang is a writer, actor, baker and an unapologetic romance book reader. She's been addicted to romance ever since she was a teen at her local library, hiding the saucy covers from her family.

She spends most of her days supporting the theater spaces in her community and advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in all walks of life.

She lives in Salt Lake City, UT with her husband Tyson and two sons, a Yorkie named Theo and a German Shepherd named Zeus.

Reviews

[Divina West · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute!! I finished it in one sitting. It’s a great mood booster for the holidays. Laura and Ethan are so wonderful. They both felt so real and relatable.
It’s wholesome but spicy. I was GRINNING for entire chapters. I was sad to see it end. No thoughts just immaculate vibes!
Plus size, Asian rep, food lover romance! Short and sweet.

[Isabel Perez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this novella wanting a cute little romcom moment where I didn’t need to think to hard but DAMN. It was like 💥BAM💥 body image issues. 💥BAM💥 traumatic childhood. 💥BAM💥 DOMESTIC ABUSE!! Where tf am I?!?!

I appreciate the author really trying to get deep but the length of the book didn’t give these topics justice or give the character and the readers enough time to reach a “satisfying” ending.

Idk. Ethan was a cutie and Laura was fun, even though she had her moments. (Like accusing Ethan of being part of the KKK?!?! Ew. Wtf was that about?!?!)

Spice was good but was a slow burn???? Idk how it happened when the book was so short and was advertised to have a whole lot of smut but it felt like I was waiting for those spicy scenes for foreverrrrr.

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!

Found on book tok and it had be at plus size. The rest was just amazing. Cute and spicy. Not fade to black but actually spicy. Some books make you cry before they find each other. Not this one and I didn’t mind. It was a great read. Can’t wait for more.

[Katelyn Rozenbroek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this book on BookTok. Love body positive fat representation in leading female characters. This is a cute quick read. It’s mild spicy. Booktok claimed it was 90% smut and this is totally not the case.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read very few romance books with realistic plot tension (not to say I don't still love many of those books) but this book felt so real, from the dialogue to the characters' decision-making. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

[Beca_Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, sweet story with diverse ensemble. Not really “Christmasy” but def a fun little novella.

[Emily ~ breatheeasybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★

[Karsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda wish this was more than a novella 😭

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m begging authors to stop with the insecure fat characters.

[Pam Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased it to support a local author. Nice read. Not very Christmassy. Interesting characters with goals.