The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen

After I read Sarah Addison Allen's novel, Garden Spells, I went to the library and happened to see her second novel, The Sugar Queen. I had to pick it up. And I liked it...not as much as Garden Spells but...

Ok. Here's the synopsis:

Josey Cirrini lives in a North Carolina ski resort town. And she's rich. And she's unhappy. Her late father, Marco Cirrini, was the one who years ago turned the small town into a prime resort. So she lives with her mom in their fancy home. Her mom thinks it's Josey's job to wait on her hand and foot. So Josey has no friends, no life, and resorts to stashing romance novels and junk food in her closet. (Every chapter's title is the name of some sort of candy which I thought was pretty clever.) Oh, and she has a crush on her handsome mailman, Adam.

Then we meet Chloe Findley, also twenty-ish, who owns her own food stand in the local courthouse. She's just had her heart broken because her boyfriend, Jake, told her he had "accidentally" slept with another woman. Oh, and she has an odd relationship with books. They just appear around her and often with relevant titles. Usually its nice, like when it's a much needed romance novel. But lately they've been self-help books with titles like Finding Forgiveness.

Josey and Chloe meet up and become friends through the appearance of Della Lee...a woman who starts living in Josey's closet. (Yes...you read that right.) Della Lee is running away from her life and her abusive boyfriend so she decides to hide out at Josey's house until she figures things out. And while she's at it, she starts giving Josey the confidence to start living her life for herself.

So yeah. I liked it. It's wasn't anything mind blowing but it was a fun quick read. Josey and Chloe are both in the stage where they are breaking out of their molds and finding who they are. And as usual, I like her side characters...like her mom is a perfect "love to hate" character, but she's got her own side story. And Della Lee is pretty funny. And while Josey was the "main" character, I think I liked Chloe better.

And I love the hardback cover. Isn't it gorgeous! I want a place like that to read. Sigh.

Here's some other covers.

This is the paper back version. I don't know...I get the candy thing but it just looks a bit depressing:
And this one is pretty, but I don't get the wings reference:
And this is the large print version. Hmmm...could have been pretty but the girl is kinda creepy...that's just my opinion
Also Reviewed By:
Girls Just Reading
S. Krishna's Books
A High and Hidden Place
Reading Derby
Medieval Bookworm