Monthly Archives: November 2008

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

The Sugar Queen
By Sarah Addison Allen
Released May 20, 2008
Bantam Fiction
276 pages
Author’s Website

What led you to pick up this book?

I adored Garden Spells, by the same author, when I read it several months ago.  I recently started going to the library again and The Sugar Queen was one of the first books I checked out.  I had a feeling I would love it just as much as GS and I was so right!

Summarize the plot but don’t give away the ending.

It’s a lazy day, so here is the description available on Amazon.

Product Description: In this irresistible novel, Sarah Addison Allen, author of the New York Times bestselling debut, Garden Spells, tells the tale of a young woman whose family secrets—and secret passions—are about to change her life forever.

Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands. She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them—and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush. Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons. And that’s just for starters.

Brimming with warmth, wit, and a sprinkling of magic, here is a spellbinding tale of friendship, love—and the enchanting possibilities of every new day.

What did you like most about the book?

I think this question would be better put as “What didn’t I like?!” I loved everything about this book.   The story, the characters (see below), the whole atmosphere of the book was wonderful.  It was one of those books that you just feel at home with, as soon as you open the cover and read the first page.  I loved the magicalness of it. 

What did you think of the characters?

I adored the characters.  Josey felt like a best friend by the end of the book.  All the women were fantastic; well-drawn, strong, and resilient.   But Chloe, with her knack for ‘finding’ the right book at the right time stole the show for me.

Share a favorite scene from the book:

My favorite was when Chloe encounter all the books that had been trying to get her attention through out the book sitting in her bathroom door, just barely touching the bathroom floor.  Right before that it was said that books never came to her in the bathroom and then she turns around and there they are, putting a “toe” in, so to speak.

Thumbs up?

Oh my goodness yes.

In general:

I definitely have a new favorite author and I can’t wait for The Girl Who Chased the Moon.  I just wished I could get it before it comes out in MAY!   Hear that Bantam????

Now reading:

Almost finished with Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer for Estella’s Revenge.  Then I have The Magician’s Book, This One is Mine and all my other review books waiting.  And I have quite a few out from the library too.  I foresee lots of reading while cooking this week!

Favorite Quotes:

She stuck her head out and took a deep breath. If she could eat the cold air, she would. She thought cold snaps were like cookies, like gingersnaps. In her mind they were made with white chocolate chunks and had a cool, brittle vanilla frosting. They melted like snow in her mouth, turning creamy and warm.

and

She looked over to the door and locked eyes with Jake. The force of it nearly knocked her over. As much as Julian could do, as much as he wanted to do, he could not affect her the way Jake could. It was the difference between a tickle and a punch.

Jake walked toward her, Adam on his heels. They got caught in the group of shiny women on their way. Walking through that group was like walking into a sudden dust devil. They emerged on the other side looking rumpled and windblown.

and best of all:

“Books can be possessive, can’t they? You’re walking around in a bookstore and a certain one will jump out at you, like it had moved there on its own, just to get your attention. Sometimes what’s inside will change your life, but sometimes you don’t even have to read it. Sometimes it’s a comfort just to have a book around. Many of these books haven’t even had their spines cracked. ‘Why do you buy books you don’t even read?’ our daughter asks us. That’s like asking someone who lives alone why they bought a cat. For company, of course.”

Also reviewed by:

Bookfool (and thanks for the review format! lol) | Lisa at Books on the Brain | Magical Musings | Julie at Girls Just Reading | Taminator at Under a Blood Red Sky |