Sweet Redemption by Danika Rose Lynn

A contemporary romance made of sugar & spice

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The whole package contemporary romance we’ve all wanted is finally here. Sweet Redemption is a romantic tale woven with emotional and physical scars, insecurities, love, mistakes, and adoration. Danika packs this novel with moments of flirtation and swoon, sprinkled with spice throughout. This story gives the idea of “it takes a village” to a new level as all of the small town of Sweetbriar band together to not only reunite Hawk with Maisie but also find space for Kennedy as well. 

Beware Spoilers Ahead

We’re immediately exposed to one of many hardships Kennedy Viera has faced and will face in her life when she comes home from work to end up with a surprise baby to care for and a sister who has mastered the disappearing act. At only 19, Kennedy must figure out how to be a mother when she never even had one of her own. Danika doesn’t hold back through Sweet Redemption to write these raw and relatable moments Kennedy has. She’s been hardened and forced into self-preservation and independence at a young age, she has a hard time seeing love and support when it’s right in front of her. Not only did I find myself with extreme empathy toward Kennedy and all her feelings and emotions, but I found myself feeling her victory when she had moments of emotional healing and started letting people in. Not just Hawk, but her friends and new found family. 

One of my favorite moments is when Kennedy confronts Hawk after overhearing his conversations with his moms. There are actually so many layers to this exchange that made this part so significant for me. Shortly after hearing the conversation, Kennedy reaches out to her friend Richard. Several times in the story, Richard has come up as being a friend of Kennedy’s but this is the real moment we get to see it in real action. They meet at a bar to get drunk and forget the day. Even though Kennedy is tangled up with Hawk in this coparenting situationship, that’s not really Kennedy being settled in her new environment. Meeting Richard to get drunk when she was sad and needs someone…that is being settled. Opening up to a friend, spending time, having someone in your corner. This girl has had no one most of her life, I loved that she had Richard. Then, the next day she schemes a bit to make Hawk jealous in a little revenge and “you do have feelings you liar” moment, and boy does he take the bait. Most of this story, Hawk is this sweet, caring and collected gentleman, but we get his feral side here and I loved it. It’s only after the debut of his possessiveness that Kennedy unloads on him. This is the moment I loved. After years of being alone, hidden, guarded she is comfortable enough in her skin, in her new town, in her home to lay it on the table. She’s sure of herself, settled, supported, confident. 

Kennedy isn’t the only character with emotional healing, Theodore “Hawk” Hawkins shares his own trauma as a navy seal with war injuries and PTSD in addition to having his daughter disappear for 3 years. Once he is reunited with Maisie though, there is no keeping them apart. The amount of emotion Danika was able to write into Hawk’s story was so powerful I could feel his elation, his pain, and his worry as I read. Hawk allows himself to be vulnerable with Kennedy and it just tugs hard at your heart strings. 

There is something about the vulnerable moments I love reading, the deeper connection I feel to the characters. Reflection on moments of my own life. One of my favorite vulnerable moments is leading up to Kennedy’s and Hawk’s first moment of real intimacy together. Nothing is more exposing than having your clothes removed unless you have parts of your body you are unhappy with, then every insecurity you’ve ever had is branded with a spotlight. Both Kennedy and Hawk have several physical scars. It’s actually why Hawk has his body is covered in tattoos. The moment when Hawk discovers Kennedy’s scars, Kennedy shuts down. As someone who has a lot of body image issues and insecurities, I bonded with Kennedy in this moment. Hawk coaxed Kennedy out of hiding and reminded her how beautiful she is while showing her his scars too. 

The real beauty of this story is reading how Kennedy and Hawk both manage to overcome their own barriers to reach each other’s hearts while also navigating co-parenting Maisie. Outside of the main relationship between Kennedy and Hawk, there are a variety of other smaller storylines focusing on the relationships between each Kennedy and Hawk individually with his family and the various residents of Sweetbriar. As with every small town, his mothers meddle, his friends meddle, their wives meddle. It’s sweet reading all the inner workings of how “this village” supports each other’s businesses, supports positive relationships, speaks about toxic ones. Sweet Redemption is a perfect small town romance. 

Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spice: 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Perfect for fans of: Abby Jimenez, Elsie Silver, contemporary romance, small town romance, single parent trope, age gap trope, growing together, and emotional healing/bonding

Potential Triggers: foster care, child abandonment, war injuries, PTSD representation, kidnapping/disappearance of a child, body image issues, childhood bullying