The Sweetheart Deal

by Polly Dugan Narrated by Kathleen McInerney

Overview

Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey's feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

03/23/2015
Dugan’s (author of the story collection So Much a Part of You) debut novel frames a tale of grief, loss, and healing around an unusual bargain. Best friends since ninth grade, Leo and Garrett took very different life paths. Leo’s a firefighter in Portland; Garrett’s a college professor in Boston. Leo fell in love with Audrey, married young, and had three sons; Garrett is still cycling through relationships well into his 30s. Still, there’s nobody Leo trusts more than Garrett—to the point that, one drunken night in 1999, Leo extracts a promise from Garrett: if anything ever happens to Leo, Garrett must marry Audrey and raise the kids. When a skiing accident takes Leo’s life 12 years later, Garrett feels he has no choice—he drops everything and buys a one-way plane ticket, planning to uphold at least the part of the deal where he takes care of Leo’s family. Tasks such as finishing household construction projects and chaperoning field trips come easily to Garrett, and everyone begins to move forward. But when Garrett and Audrey begin having feelings for each other, things get a little more complicated, especially once Audrey learns about Leo and Garrett’s years-old pact. Told from the shifting perspectives of Garrett, Audrey, and her three sons, Dugan’s five narrators are too similar and not quite flawed enough to be credible. Though there are genuinely touching moments and Portland comes alive on the page, the story coasts flatly to a tidy, predictable resolution. (May)

From the Publisher

"All the ingredients for a great story: love, loss, secrets, betrayal, and the chance to love again."—Redbook

"THE SWEETHEART DEAL hits all of my favorite topics: loss, pain, friendship, betrayal-but ultimately love. It's the most romantic story I've read in years."
—Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful Day and The Matchmaker

"Heartfelt and wise, Polly Dugan's THE SWEETHEART DEAL reminds us that every difficult ending can lead to a beautiful new beginning."
—Sarah Jio, author of The Violets of March and Goodnight June

"THE SWEETHEART DEAL, a beautifully-written debut, proves that the best love stories are the unconventional ones. Fans of Good Grief and PS, I Love You will adore this novel, which is brimming with heart and hope and perfectly balanced by the bittersweet."
—Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Opposite of Me

"A poignant exploration of a family not just recovering from loss, but growing stronger in its wake. Polly Dugan's debut novel moved me to tears and challenged my assumptions as it explored what any of us would do when offered a second chance at love."
—Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, author of Bittersweet

"A sensitive portrayal of friendship, family, and loss."
—Mary Ellen Quinn,Booklist

"Intimately explores how grief can affect a family."—Library Journal

"There is tender romance here, but it's more richly a story of an old family falling away and a new one beginning."—Kirkus Reviews

"A charming, poignant novel of dealing with grief and finding love again, this is the perfect light-hearted page-turner for the shore."—Coastal Living

"A perfect summer read."—Karen Winters Schwartz, New York Journal of Books

"The local beach read of the summer."—Willamette Weekly

Library Journal

04/15/2015
Firefighter Leo McGeary wanted his family to be prepared for possible future disasters. Early in his marriage to Audrey, he convinces his best friend Garrett to commit to marrying her in the event of Leo's death. The pact is almost forgotten until years later when Leo dies in a tragic accident. Knowing that Audrey needs help, Garrett puts his freewheeling bachelor lifestyle on hold for a few months to be there for his best friend's widow and her three sons. He quickly becomes an integral part of the family as they each deal with the loss of Leo. As Audrey and Garrett grow closer emotionally, their fragile relationship is threatened when she learns about Leo and Garrett's deal. VERDICT By alternating among the perspectives of the various characters, Dugan's first novel (after her story collection So Much a Part of You) intimately explores how grief can affect a family. The author provides a quick, unsurprising read that delves into family relationships in the wake of loss and new love, topics reminiscent of Anne Tyler's novels. [See Prepub Alert, 11/17/14.]—Joy Gunn, Paseo Verde Lib., Henderson, NV

Kirkus Reviews

2015-03-05
In Dugan's second book (So Much a Part of You, 2014), a deal made by two drunk friends leads unexpectedly to true romance. On New Year's Eve 1999, Portland firefighter Leo McGeary gets his best friend, Garrett Reese, to sign a scribbled agreement. The agreement states that in the event of Leo's death, Garrett will marry his widow. To Garrett, the agreement is a joke. He saves it as a keepsake, "an unlikely souvenir," and goes on with his life on the other side of the country in Boston. Garrett, who has never committed to a long-term relationship, isn't exactly husband material, but in 2012,when Leo is killed in a skiing accident, he quits his job, leaves his girlfriend, and rushes to Portland to help Audrey finish building an addition to the house that Leo started before his death. Against his own better judgment, Garrett moves into the house with Leo's grieving wife and three sons, Brian, Christopher, and Andrew. It's almost inevitable that he and Audrey become lovers, but in their complicated situation, they both have trouble figuring out their true feelings. Audrey, who knows nothing about the deal, can't separate her desire for Garrett from her feelings of loss and loneliness. Garrett, on the other hand, doesn't know if he's keeping a promise he didn't intend to make or if Audrey's been the woman for him all along. Dugan doesn't rush Garrett and Audrey into a relationship. Each character, including the three boys, gets to tell his or her own story of grief, loss, and hope. Although the adult voices are a little too similar, the reader gets a real sense of how awkward, tentative, and confusing these deepening relationships can be. There is tender romance here, but it's more richly a story of an old family falling away and a new one beginning.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170262731
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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