The Jellybean Dilemma

After reading book 1 of the Sweet Nothings series, The Cupcake Standard, I was excited to dive into book 2. Rhonda and Greg's connection was teased slightly in the first book, and Avery's curiosity about how Rhonda and Greg were awkward around each other piqued my interest.

In Book 1, we see Rhonda as a superficial socialite who constantly overshadows her twin brother, Derek. At the beginning of Book 2, we see that Rhonda has grown and shed the trappings of her shallow life, and she's been in a rut and very reserved. She doesn't wish to return to how things were with her ex-fiancé and former friends, but she's unsure what her next steps should be. She has pined after him for years since he was her chauffeur when she was younger. We learn that she made a play for him a few years ago, and he rebuffed her, and after that, he went to work for her brother.

Greg has been pretty reserved about his life, so they do not know much about him despite being in Rhonda and Derek's life since their teenage years. At the end of Book 1, Greg returns to being Rhonda's driver, and after he drives her home from an event, she asks him about his holiday plans. He mentions his younger sister's New Year's Eve wedding and how he had yet to decide whether he was attending. Rhonda volunteers to be his plus one, secretly hoping to reconnect with him.

Throughout the novel, there are several incidents of Rhonda and Greg judging and misunderstanding each other, which kinda made me want to smack them lol. The romantic tension between them is evident from the beginning of the book. We slowly learn about Greg's insecurities and boundaries that caused him to rebuff Rhonda all those years ago.

Rhonda has kept many parts of herself secret from her friends and family, especially her claustrophobia and the harassment by her ex-fiancé. She did not want to show her weaknesses to the world, so she avoided revealing those things. Greg takes care of her after several of her panic attacks, and he encourages her to get help. Rhonda slowly learns that she has to share her burdens, and with Greg's support, she tells her friends and her brother about what's been going on with her.

We also learn that her parents are incredibly elitist because they refuse to accept that Rhonda is in a relationship with Greg. I don't want to spoil the plot, so I'll stop my recap.

I liked The Jellybean Dilemma better than The Cupcake Standard. Rhonda and Greg's connection is heartwarming. Seeing Rhonda open up about her trauma and learn why she had difficulty relating to her brother and friends helped endear her character.

Thank you to Maren Jenner for the ARC copy; this is my honest review.