Sweetheart (Gretchen Lowell Series #2)

Sweetheart not so sweet

I have to say Chelsea Cain can write a story that brings you back for more, but reading this latest book left me feeling disturbed. I felt like the character of Archie just forgot everything important in his life it was like he no longer loved anyone. When Gretchen goes to the school where his children are at he wasn't willing to kill her to protect them even though he remembers a case where Gretchen killed a little boy and skinned him, he seemed not worried enough to protect them. Also finding out more of his relationship with Gretchen I couldn't help feeling that his wife was getting the short end of everything, maybe if the story didn't let us know so much about her and the fact that they didn't seem to have an unhappy marriage. Even though I felt this book left you with an ungood feeling I probably will still read her follow up just to see what happens.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jennifer Wardrip - Personal Read

When I finished reading HEARTSICK, the first novel of this series, I touted it as the best thriller ever. I still stand by that sentiment. And even though SWEETHEART doesn't quite live up to the greatness of that first book, it's still a really good read.

All of the characters from the first book are back, and they find themselves in circumstances that are, in a lot of ways, similar to those in the first book.

Archie is still obsessed with Gretchen. Gretchen is still obsessed with killing -- and with Archie.

Archie's family, friends, and co-workers are trying to help him end his addiction to both painkillers and Gretchen, but it doesn't seem to be working. He's living with his ex-wife and children, and he loves them and wants to keep them safe, and yet he still wants -- no, needs -- to be with Gretchen in some way.

The plot is added to (and sometimes complicated by) the story that Susan Ward began working on in HEARTSICK -- that of the affair between the beloved Senator and the underage babysitter. This story becomes intertwined with the present when Susan's friend/mentor is killed, and the case falls into Archie's lap.

SWEETHEART is a fairly quick read, and I stayed up late to finish it. I really did like it, even though I wasn't as impressed with it as I was HEARTSICK.

There's no doubt that Archie and Gretchen will be back. I'm anxious to see more of them, and to find out who will be the death of who.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Irritating!

There have been many, many books...esp. mysteries...that involve police officers who have annoying 'issues', and one wonders how such characters would ever pass psych evals. I've never read anything else by Chelsea Cain (and will probably avoid any other offerings by this author), and only read this book through 'til the end in the hope that the stupid, sex-driven detective and the serial killer would both die horrible deaths!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Terrific series!!!!

This is an edge of your seat thriller!!! I couldn't put it down.

Guaranteed Great Read

A very interesting sequel that would make perfect sense even for those who have not read the first book. Chelsea Cain is a wonderful author with a unique and mesmerizing story to tell. The ending will have you jumping to get the third in the series. I could not put this down, I read it in under two days. This is definately a great read for thrill seekers, and it is very interesting from many different perspectives. I highly recommend this.

LOVED IT!

I absoulutely just love this series!! Its a must read suspense!!

MOVE ON. IT'S REALLY SICK

When I first read this Author I thought weird a Female Serial, but then she just kept getting uglier as the book went on. I have little respect for law enforcement and I have to say this book didn't give them any brownie points. Really you fall in love with a Serial and really can you express that she means more to you than your children. I was hoping that they both would die, but like most authors it has to continue to the last drop. I purchase these books on clearence and I'm glad I did ,as I would not pay full price for these. I have her last one and will read it as I am an avid reader, but I will not keep these in my house, as I don't want my children thinking this is proper behavior. She seems like a great writer but a little twisted. I loved Henry as he seem to be the only one with a brain. When the office said what should we do if we encounter her, his reply was to SHOOT her, but then needy ass Archie would rather save her at the cost of his children. Me I would have added and if he gets in your way shoot him as well. I know that this is fiction, but hell, let's kill them off already.

A disturbingly gripping look into obsession!!

Chelsea Cain comes back to the characters from her first novel, Heart Sick, almost directly after it ended. This book seems less like a sequel and more like the next chapter, and I love that. Here we glean more insight into the relationships of the main characters and sink with them. The end of this seems a little more open ended than the first book but it was still fun reader every page. Great stuff!

great read

loved this book read it in a day

Sweetheart made me heartsick

What a read! Chelsea Cain is my new favorite author. Didn't want to stop reading. Resented my husband for trying to talk to me while I had the nook in my hand.....almost the birth of another victim for Gretchen.

Chelsea, I hope that you have finished the 3rd installment and that it is at the printers. Waiting, but not patiently.amr

I found this book annoying

The first book in this series was intriguing, but I found this one to be pretty off-putting. It's very derivative of the Hannibal Lecter series, but the author tries too hard to be shocking and repellant -- and instead reaches well into the realm of the ridiculous. And when the key "hero" characters are so annoying and stupid that you find yourself almost rooting against them ... enough said, right? It is a very quick read and well-written enough that it moves along and I did not abandon it, but overall, I was not very impressed. I had already bought part three in the series because I liked the first one, but it has moved to the bottom of my "to read" list based on this second one.

On the edge of my seat!

This book, like the first in the series was hot. I couldn't put it down...a one day read. I can't wait to read the next. RUN GRETCHEN RUN! Am I crazy to aid in the escape of an insane serial killer? NOT!!!! (LOL enjoy)

Awesome, but I'm having some deja vu.

This book series overall is very good. Chelsea keeps the suspense going in Sweetheart by having Gretchen escape. She also gives the readers a glimpse of what Archie is feeling when he sees Gretchen when she's out. These books kind of remind me of the Hannibal series. Gretchen and Archie's relationship is kind of like that of Hannibal and Clarice. I think that's why I like this series. It gives the reader a good storyline of a killer and her obsession with Archie. I haven't read a book series in a while that had the serial killer be a woman. Gretchen just is so creepy, but at the same time interesting.

Does not live up to Heartsick

Well, I thought the book had really great parts, where it was thrilling and parts where there were quite a few surprises uncovered, but the book just didn't really live up to the first one. I thought the first one was much more engaging and had a very complete, full plot. Sweetheart though, I'm not sure what to say about it. The plot just seemed to stagnate and it seemed to pick up a little towards the end but it just didn't have the same fast thrilling ride like the other one.

Gretchen still hasn't changed, she's still the same psychotic "Hannibal Lecter" we all have come to know since Heartsick. Although, there's just something about her that I can't seem quite to understand and grasp. True, she's a villain but I've read other ones that would easily take the "Crown of Evil" away in a heartbeat. Perhaps it's because there's not much information about her yet, I'm not sure. She just feels so "wooden" but it's as if the author has tried a little too hard to make her a villain and instead the result is a stagnant villain with a dysfunctional relationship with Archie and it's puzzling. There's no feeling from her, no "flesh" to her I guess, she seems entirely two dimensional. I don't know what to say about Archie. I don't understand what he's trying to do with Gretchen. On the other hand, it seems he wants to be with her but knows it's wrong but does it anyway yet somehow "covers" it up by trying to recapture her (at least, in my opinion it sure looks that way). It's this rather strange chemistry between these two that I don't quite get and it seems to put a bit of a damper on the book.

The case with the Senator and the underage teen was interesting, but it just seemed so out of place with the main Gretchen/Archie plot that it looked like it was meant as a page filler for the novel. Thankfully though, the chapters were short so it felt as if you could read through the book quickly and easily.

Don't get me wrong, the book wasn't so bad. However I thought it could be so much better. The thrilling action bits were good and nearly redeemed the book but it just wasn't enough. I'm really hoping the third one after this will do the job and not be a giant snowball going downhill. The ending was really good and was left in a cliffhanger, but I really hope this relationship/obsession between Archie and Gretchen does somewhat come to a closure, it's just too dysfunctional for me.

overall, I'm not sure what to say. It was good, yet in so many ways it could have been better. It's a fast read with short chapters so it can be easily breezed through. It's a "must read" though, if you want to get through the Gretchen Lowell series.

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

A few months ago I reviewed Chelsea Cain's Heartsick. I just finished the next book in the series, Sweetheart. This novel continues the story of Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell but it is so much more.....

It is more intense. All the characters are back and plots that began in the first book are continued and/or finished in this one. But just like Moby Dick was not about whale fishing, Sweetheart is not about the obvious plot. It is about obsession.

It is more gripping. Susan Ward, her mom and Archie's family are in danger when Gretchen escapes. Or are they? This one is about obsession.

It is more graphic. There are scenes in this book that would make Pamela Anderson blush. Well probably not, but still it is not for kids or the immature. It is so about obsession.

In order for the reader to care about the hero of a story, the character can not be perfect. He has to have some problems in order to seem real, to connect with us. Well Archie has surely got his problems. Some of them are explained in this second book. Obsession is the worst of them.

Gretchen Lowell is a serial killer but killing is not her problem. It plays a role in this book but her real problem is obsession.

This book is kind of like one of those spooky horror movies where you want to scream at the lady not to take that shower while Norman watches through the peephole! When Archie Sheridan behaved stupidly I was thinking: "I can't believe he is doing that!"
But he does do that and I believe he would because after all he is obsessed.

Books like these make me wonder about the author. Is she an obsessive type person? Did she sit down to write these stories and develop the characters in an attempt to find peace in her own life? Or are these stories just inventive and imaginative wonderings from a creative mind?

The third book has been published. Can I wait to read it? Sure. Will I wait to read it? Well that is another story. Stand by.........

Just OK.

After reading and thoroughly enjoying Heartsick, I was thrilled when Sweetheart was in the Bargain Bin. After finishing Sweetheart, thank goodness it was bargain priced. The story started out good, but there were just too many implausible events that I kept thinking "Aw, come on." (Enough with Archie, die already,or slap some sense into him). --K--

The "Evil Dead" of thrillers, just keeps coming back and smacking you in the face

To me this was Cain's best book to date, I have just finished book three and can safely say that the second part is intense, amazing and irresistible, definitely her best effort yet. After surviving his capture by a serial killer, one who also happened to be his object of wanton desires and fantasies, Archie is determined to solve all the open cases with Gretchen's help. The only problem is his secret desire and hunger for being near her. His marriage is in shambles and his psyche is just as shattered, but Archie can't stop taking his painkillers and visiting Gretchen, in this book his life gets worse and worse by each page, I sat reading in bed with my mouth open, saying things out loud, and living through the story. The stress of being stuck between Gretchen and his wife felt like infinite number of tons of pressure on top of Archie's head, and once pushed too far he was ready to spiral in any direction, one not necessarily good. He begins to realize that his plea bargain to keep Gretchen alive is turning back on him, it's no longer about getting the info about missing victims, but about his addiction to the pain pills and the haunting dangerous blonde that has captured his mind, soul and even his libido.

The reader gets a shaking one in a while, Gretchen is so alluring and mysterious that one forgets what she had done in between these pages, the pops and burst of insane cruelty break the pages and stain them red, we see that Archie is getting lured into a spider trap one that he seems to be entering of his own free will. They way she messed with is mind is pure genius, only a cold sadist could have manipulated a living breathing creature into an entranced shell of a man who used to be a great upholder of the law. Torn between lust and his morals Archie enters deepest corners of human mind and discovers that some things about our ability to choose aren't directed by pretty desires, but primal hunger for something not always decent and not always going in our favor, one moment of ecstasy is worth a gamble of one's life when entranced by a beautiful killer like Gretchen. This was an amazing story, one that I read in bed most of the day and even took it with me into the bath, I couldn't part with it until it was over, and I loved every page. Out of the whole trilogy this was the best effort and one that I will remember the best. For fans of intriguing thrillers that keep one on the edge this is a real beauty.

- Kasia S.

Not as good as Heartsick

Heartsick was incredible. Chelsea Cain's sophomore novel, Sweetheart just wasn't as good. The characters get dull, the story is predictable, and the ending was disappointing.

Hooked!

Chelsea has done it again. I can't believe I am so addicted that I read this in one day! Ready to get the next one.

Memerizing!

After I read the first Gretchen Lowell Book, I could hardly wait for #2- I have to say I became emotionally entwined with the characters and was in suspence until the very last page - on to number 3. Chelsa Cain is superb at creating unforgettable realistic characters with whom the reader becomes attached!