I thoroughly enjoyed Candis Terry's Sugar Shack series with its small town quirks that included a deceased mother haunting the backseat of the old family car. With so many books in my to-read pile I must admit to wondering if I wanted to follow her into a new series set in the small town of Sweet, Texas. Now that I've been there once, I absolutely look forward to my next visit. With ANYTHING BUT SWEET, Candis Terry has moved to the top of my list of go-to authors for a small-town-America romance.

Ms. Terry first introduced the people of Sweet, Texas in Home Sweet Home, a novella available in the anthology For Love and Honor. Sweet is a quintessential American small town struggling to stay current while maintaining its charm and hominess. The people are as warm, welcoming, caring, and nosy as you would expect. It's that sense of home and family that calls to Charlotte "Charli" Brooks, host of My New Town, who has whirled into town with a film crew to give the town a much needed facelift. Charli spent her life moving from place to place with her Marine father and has always longed for a permanent place of belonging; something she hasn't had since the death of her mother so many years ago. She quickly starts to fall in love with the people of Sweet, especially Reno.

Ex-Marine Reno Wilder likes Sweet just the way it is. He is especially against Charli's plan to makeover his hardware store, a place he ran with his father until his death a few years earlier. Reno has experience with loss and abandonment and takes comfort in the familiar. He doesn't need Charli changing everything and challenging his peace and quiet. He has set his mind on not giving into the attraction that flares between them... too bad his heart has other plans.

ANYTHING BUT SWEET is a smart, heartwarming love story of two people who have more in common then they realize. Charli is intelligent, optimistic, and confident yet fundamentally lonely. Reno is strong, caring, stubborn, and feels safer alone then trusting in love after so much loss. Their conversations and arguments feel genuine and form the basis for the risk they take to be together. Their friends and family alternately challenge and support them, believing in the best of who they are. I want to live in Sweet! If I had one quibble it was feeling that the television aspect of the story was underdeveloped. The crew was scarcely seen and Charli never seemed to consult a producer or director. I suspect a host generally does not have the autonomy Charli enjoyed. It's a small issue, though.

ANYTHING BUT SWEET is a definite must read for fans of contemporary romance. If you love Robyn Carr, you will love Candis Terry.