By iamsandykay on September 2, 2025 ( Leave a comment )

Book Review – Semi Sweet

Semi Sweet
by Artemis Price

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Book Description:

When twenty-something Olivia Hale, a grocery store courtesy desk clerk, begins receiving anonymous cupcakes and notes from a mysterious admirer, she is swept up in a whirlwind of hope and confusion. Especially since she is engaged to the grandson of the grocery chain owners. The letters speak of her beauty, her intelligence, and how she deserves more in her life, yet the sender remains a complete mystery.

Desperate to uncover the identity of her admirer, Olivia embarks on a quest to decipher the clues hidden within the letters and poems. Meanwhile, her everyday life becomes increasingly complicated as she finds herself drawn to her new coworker, Sean Mizuno, who has been helping her deliver notes to her mystery man. But as Olivia becomes entangled in her feelings for both the secret admirer and Sean, she must confront her feelings about her fiancé and how he treats her and decide whether the heart’s true desires are more important than financial stability and someone she burned bridges for.

Love notes, secrets, and a choice that could change everything. Will Olivia follow her heart or her commitments?.

My Take:

Semi Sweet by Artemis Price Book Review Graphic

Excellent pacing and plotting of the story.

The story started out a little slow, BUT I realized this worked perfectly IN the story. We are with Olivia in her mundane life, just going through the motions. It felt that way reading the first couple of chapters [complimentary]. Throughout the story we travel with Olivia through the ups and downs. The story was completely believable in covering the range of emotions involved in being in a toxic relationship, the difficulty removing yourself from that relationship – even after you recognize that it is unhealthy, and the joy in recognizing that you do have a support system even when it feels like you have to handle everything alone.

Well-written, extremely loveable characters.

Every character in this story is well thought out and a fully fleshed-out individual. I found Olivia to be a very lovable character even if she was a bit oblivious and naïve. More like in a little sister way – she needed the love and support of friends or family to help her see how much more she deserves. There were times I wanted to yell at her to “just look over there! Remember what they said!?!?!” Which probably tells how great the writing was that I felt like I could be in the story.

The Final Verdict

My rating: 5 stars

Would I recommend? Yes

Highly recommend this wonderful story about finding your own strength
and some happiness along the way.

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