Stay Sweet, by Siobhan Vivian

When the weather gets warm, I tend to crave light, "beachy" reads. Preferably ones with a Happy Ending (and so what if things wrap up way too easily!). And even better if the story centers around Ice Cream, which is my favorite hot weather treat.

Thus was the case with Siobhan Vivian's new novel Stay Sweet. This story is just as sweet as its title indicates. The story centers around Amelia, who just graduated high school and is about to begin her final summer working at Meade's Creamery, the local ice cream stand famous for its unique homemade flavors and its tradition of employing an all-female staff. But this summer will be special. This summer Amelia is Head Girl at Meade's, meaning she's in charge, second in command to Mead's founder, Molly Mead who, as legend has it, started making and selling ice cream to cheer her friends (and herself) when the local boys--boyfriends, fiances, brothers--were overseas fighting in WWII. Molly kept it up even after her own beau did not return from the war. Mead's has been famous ever since. 

Being Head Girl is so much more than being just a manager. It's being a mentor for the younger girls. It's forming lifelong friendships. It's being part of local history and carrying on a proud tradition. And Amelia is excited to begin.

But that all changes when Molly passes away suddenly and her grand-nephew, Grady, inherits Mead's. Grady comes into the picture with ideas for how the business should be run. Ideas Amelia feels have no respect for tradition. And one thing's for certain: Amelia will protect Mead's at all costs.

But there's more to Stay Sweet than the all-too-predictable hate-to-love relationship between Amelia and Grady. This is a story of friendship, empowerment, self-discovery, and finding one's true place in this world (and thus finding happiness). And don't forget there's also ice cream! In fact, there's a mystery involving a missing recipe for a particular mouth-watering flavor.

Stay Sweet is one of those books that will leave you smiling long after you've turned the final page. And, if you're anything like me, it'll have you craving ice cream as well!

--AJB