A few days ago, I read The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. Here's a description of the book.
"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."
Sarah Addison Allen novels are known for southern charm, illustrative descriptions, and a bit of magic. The Sugar Queen definitely has all three.
I have to admit I did enjoy Allen's previous novel Garden Spells a bit more than The Sugar Queen. Yet it was an enjoyable and quick read. I liked that each chapter title had a candy name that alludes to the chapter's contents. The main character, Josey, is really endearing. I love that she is always thinking about food and hides large quantities in her bedroom closet. She also drives a large, gold Cadillac. That alone is pretty cool. I have a few complaints with the book. Some of the twists were a bit predictable and I think it ended rather abruptly. I also didn't like that people made such a big deal out of Josey's unruly childhood. She had thrown a lot of tantrums and been a bit spoiled but she did grow out of it. It seemed a bit unrealistic, even for a small town, to hold on to thoughts about a behavior that had changed nearly twenty years before. Other than those three things, The Sugar Queen was a fun book to read.
3 out of 5 stars
Image via Allen's website