The Sugar Queen

This is the first book I've ready by Sarah Addison Allen and I loved it.

It was a quick read and it made me smile numerous times. I liked the characters and their interractions with each other. It was very easy to figure out which characters you were supposed to like and which you were supposed to hate.

The story begins when Josey wakes up to find Della Lee hiding in her closet. Josey lives a sheltered life, waiting on her mother and trying to repent for the meanness she showed to her moter and the town as a child. Josey's father, Marco Cirrini, made the town of Bald Slope well know for it's skiing and winter activities and everyone in town knows Josey as the spoiled daughter of a self-made rich man. Poor Josey. Enter Della Lee, who starts sending Josey out on odd errands for sandwiches, and then turns down the sandwich when Josey returns, thus resulting in Josey eating the sandwich.

These particular sandwiches are made by Chloe, who owns the small dining shop in the courthouse and who has just broken up with her deputy district attorney boyfriend, Jake, whose father is also a prominent figure in Bald Slope high society. Poor Chloe. She not only has to deal with the fact her boyfriend cheated on her, but she has several persistent books chasing after her. Josey has a woman in her closet and Chloe has books following her around. That right there says that this is not going to be a normal encounter for these two young women.

Della Lee then assists Chloe with attracting the attention of the local mailman, Adam, who Chloe has been “mooning” over ever since he started delivering her mail. Della Lee encourages Josey to wear makeup, attend the annual town fair with Chloe and even have a conversation with Adam. All of this advice comes from Della Lee as she sits in Josey's closet.

Josey and Chloe both discover things about themselves and the town that they did not know and they both begin to face secrets they weren't ready to face, and that's in part thanks to Della Lee. These three women are connected but it isn't until the end of the book that you truly discover what that connection is and why Della Lee decides to take up residence in Josey's closet.

Old wrongs are righted and past mistakes are forgiven. In the end, Josey and Chloe find the happiness they deserve and accept the history of their lives, while developing a truly wonderful friendship.

This was a bit more straight up romance than I usually read. Floofy and entertaining, though. Enjoyed the characters of Josie and Chloe (particularly Chloe's book- magnetism - which is using).

Better than Garden Spells.

This is a charming little love story. There are several love stories in this book, actually, and they all end well. Of course, they are love stories. Everyone find their true pair.
This is also a book about serendipity, signs, and misunderstanding signs... and daring to be true to oneself, and listening to oneself.
Garden Spells was a bit too like Practical Magic, but this one is, at least to me, totally original.
There were, of course, some things that didn't make any sense to me.
Like, how bad can a child be so that people will remember them as bad even after they never did anything bad after they were nine. “Sure, she send me flowers and get better card to hospital, but she kicked me when she was 6, and I still have the scar!” “She took my piece of chocolate cake when she was 7 and laughed at me because I cried”.

What a fun book!

Part chick lit, part mystery,all in all a very fun to read book. I think this is the first book I've read by the author and I'm definitely going to look for more.

Another book full of characters I now love by this author. The plot lines might be predictable and some might feel the magic realism to be a bit too much, but I love it.

This is the kind of book that gives me a satisfied and hopeful feeling at the end of it. It makes me want to sit down and create characters and plots. I love it!

Of course there is romance, but there is also a strong element of friendship and a look askance at familial duty. We get the chance to dive deep into who these characters are and what they have been through. There is more magic in this one than I expected, but it fits the story. It took me a bit longer than I expected to connect with the characters and that little bit of magic in their lives was the oomph they needed.

And the housekeeper, Helena, was so much more awesome than I expected. Her character just kept getting better. The name issue puts her character over the edge. It is deep and superficial. It is funny and serious. A small point that really resonated with me.

I would recommend this if you want a light slightly magical read that makes you want to squeeze the characters. If you want strong and compelling plot, this may not be the one to choose. If you want great characters, this is the one to choose.

I love all of her books, but none of them will ever match the magical feeling I got when I read Garden Spells. <3

The Sugar Queen is een boek als een suikerspin: zoet, plakkerig, wollig, magisch en nostalgisch. Een liefelijke vertelling over een modern Raponsje dat eindelijk haar toren kan verlaten en de buitenwereld kan ontdekken. Het perfecte boek om mee op te krullen in de zetel en in één ruk uit te lezen.

(Meer hier)

I love her books so much. This is the last one for me since I seemed to have read them all backwards and I'm sad I have no more to read until she writes another. The books are so full of unexpected magic and love. Of suspense and surprise. I loved every word on every page.

I like Sarah Addison Allen. I like her books. I like her style. The thing that is so strange about what I like best is her subtle use of magic so much so that it isn't really even ‘magic' it just is. This is coming from a person who devours high fantasy like it is candy. I loved the interaction between Josey and Della Lee. In some ways it was so far fetched yet realistically sweet and tender. I fell in love. If I lived next to a beach a definate beach book.

Matching it's title, this book is a very sweet story. A bit predictable in the end, but the characters were enjoyable and the magical parts were fun. Loved that books followed Chloe every where she went.

My least favorite of the Sarah Addison Allen books I have read, but I stilled enjoyed it!

I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble because of the $4.98 price tag and after being intrigued by the synopsis. I was worried the storyline would be too heavily laced with magic and enchantment but did not find this to be the case.

I really enjoyed how this story kind of played off of the usual fairy tale components but in a more eclectic and unconventional way. Della Lee is quite possibly the strangest character in the story and yet serves as an unexpected friend and fairy godmother of sorts to Josey. From Josey's bedroom closet, Della Lee is able to change Josey's life from one characterized by fear and insecurity to one more suiting for a 27 year old.

My favorite part of the novel is Chloe Finley's secret - novels relevant to her life at any given point in time magically appear and reappear if ignored. She didn't even have to read some of the books but a simple glance will suffice in providing advice for a decision she needs to make.

I love the offbeat dynamic between characters and how they react. The story is completely unrealistic, but this is not something that bothered me. The ending of the novel was one that felt complete and was not entirely unexpected either. However, if there was a sequel to this novel, I would definitely be interested in reading it to see where the author takes these characters next.