The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison AllenBook 2 of 3 for the Southern Reading Challenge
Book 77 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was just what I needed. Brain candy. (And yes, that's a pun on the title, but it totally works.) Nothing too deep and somewhat predictable, but just a nice and sweet read that I very much enjoyed. (Yikes, there's another one.)
The Sugar Queen is set in the fall in a North Carolina mountain town. The story revolves around three women about to embark on major life changes. Della Lee Baker has just run away from her abusive boyfriend and ends up in Josey Cirrini's closet. Josey is the 27-year old daughter of the town's most wealthy and prominent citizens and has never left home. She is basically her mother's personal slave, but she's getting restless. (She reminded me some of Valency in The Blue Castle.) Chloe Finley has just found out that the love of her life has cheated on her and she doesn't know how to react. The lives of these three women intersect in ways that will change them forever.
I felt the characters were well-developed and the plot moved along at a good pace that kept me turning pages. The authors signature use of magical realism adds just the right sparkle to this enchanting book. It's fun, it's romantic, and it's great escapist literature.
I really enjoyed Garden Spells when I read it earlier this year. And I'm looking forward to Sarah Addison Allen's next book coming out in early 2010.
Also reviewed by:
- Stephanie's Written Word
- Books on the Brain
- At Home With Books
- A Bookworm's World
- Bookfan-Mary
- Peeking Between the Pages
- Storytime With Tonya and Friends
- Non-historical Reads
- Shhh I'm Reading
- Book Addiction
- Cafe of Dreams
- Charlotte's Web of Books
- Medieval Bookworm
- 5-Squared
- Bookfoolery and Babble
- write meg!
- Emmegail's Bookshelf
8 comments:
Sounds really good! I hope to get one of her books soon!
Great plot and characters? Sounds good to me. I have to be superficial and say the cover and title appeal to me too.
I was wondering whether or not this book was any good. I think I'll bump it up...
Sounds like a good one. I like a little magical realism here and there.
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
I haven't read either of Allen's books yet, but I have them sitting on the shelf. I've heard good things about both and look forward to reading them.
I really enjoyed this one as well. A lot of people didn't like it as much as her first one but I did, it was just that it was different. That magical element was still there though. I'm really looking forward to her next one. Thanks for linking my review. I'll add yours to mine as well.
I have both of them from the library and need to get them read. This one looks so good.
okay, it's going on the list :)
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