The Sugar Queen: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle)

Josey Cirrini lives a quiet, unremarkable life in the small Southern town of Bald Slope, NC, caring for her elderly (and domineering) mother, Margaret. When she's not catering to Margaret's every whim, attempting to make up for being a disappointing child, she escapes into her secret closet refuge, stocked to overflowing with romance novels and every variety of candy imaginable. Josey's predictable existence starts to unravel the morning she discovers the bold and brassy Della Lee, a local waitress, has taken up residence in her closet and refuses to leave. Desperate to rid herself of the unwanted closet squatter and afraid Della will expose her secret affinity for sweets to the world, Josey reluctantly finds herself acquiescing to Della's demands. Della's unique brand of tough love gradually chips away at the carefully set boundaries of Josey's life. For the first time in her nearly 30 years, Josey gains a friend - Chloe, a sandwich shop owner suffering from her own heartbreak, who mysteriously attracts books, and her secret crush, Adam the mailman, starts to notice her existence as more than just another stop on his route. When painful family secrets come to light, Josey must decide if she's ready to shed the shackles of her past and live life to the fullest, embracing risk and devouring the delicious possibilities of the unknown, or remain content with the status quo. But can she take that first brave step? Oh how I loved this book. After seeing a lot of buzz around the blogosphere about Sarah Addison Allen's fiction, I decided to give the author a try - and I can honestly say that I have never, ever read a book that captivated me from the start like The Sugar Queen. It sounds so clichéd to say this, but it is truly magical in every sense of the word. Magical and yet heart-breaking, real and honest and authentic, brimming with Southern charm and characters so real and wonderful it almost hurts to read about them. Allen's writing is like comfort food without the calories. For all of Josey's quirks and her rather eccentric upbringing, Allen never makes you pity her - because she's so emotionally honest, you can't help but relate to Josey's growing pains as she comes into her own. Allen deftly explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the push-and-pull that can make or break them, never resorting to cardboard characters or caricatures. And she has to be one of the masters at writing restrained, but passionate romantic tension. The delicate dance Josey and Adam engage in as they slowly, hesitantly, begin to wake up to the possibilities within each other is simply gorgeous to witness. The Sugar Queen is deceptively, beautifully simple. Allen possesses a gift for revealing the magic inherent in everyday, ordinary things - like the power of books, the color red, or the delivery of the mail. The residents of Bald Slope, from the fledgling Josey, who simply needed a little push to spread her wings, to Chloe, who had to rediscover herself after losing her essence in the overwhelming passion of love and heartbreak, are achingly real, raw and honest characters. Even the unlikable characters, that could have been cartoonish villains, are drawn with depth and richness on the page. I loved the way the chapter titles, named for Josey's beloved candies, tie into the action that follows. The candy that once gave Josey fulfillment now chronicle her liberation - a clever touch. While this is a relatively short novel (just under 300 pages), Allen's prose unfolds with the leisurely pace of a lazy summer afternoon, every word and action deliberately and powerfully placed in the narrative. This whimsical modern-day fairy tale absorbed me from start to finish with its charm and dash of magic. Allen's characters are rare jewels, leaving me enriched for having spent time in their company. One thing I can promise you, it won't be long before I lose myself in the pages of one of Sarah Addison Allen's novels again.

Sometimes I feel like if I only read Sarah Addison Allen's books, my moods would be so much lighter, brighter. Because even if bad things do happen in her books, you know it's not for keeps. There's an unspoken belief of the world actually being better than it looks, of powers secretly out there to help you or save you. And there's always that magical thing or two that just colors the story with glittery sprinkles. It's a world in which books with things you need to read at that moment simply appear out of nowhere and follow you around. It's a world where water boils in kettles when a man you love walks up to you, even if you're not together. It's also a world where well meaning, even if lost souls appear in the weirdest of places to nudge your life in the direction you know you need to get nudged in. And it was just so with this book. I could call it a clean romance, but it wasn't all romance. It's what I'd call a woman's book though. It encompasses so much more than just romance - it's about finding forgiveness, sisterhood, your place in life and what you want to make of it. It's about so many things you'll be able to relate to, even if you haven't actually been in one of those situations yourself. The Sugar Queen is built on unreliable narrators and clueless people, or perhaps lost people, and it's written so that you're always a step ahead of the characters - even if you're a gullible reader (like me!) It makes you worry about them all the more. It makes you want to lecture them over the page, cause maybe they'll hear you if you're loud enough! Then there's another thing about this book. It's the amount of curly haired characters and them not being shamed for being naturally curly. I will never stop appreciating that in a book. Ever. This was a great, comforting read. Very recommended.

Great book loved it

The Sugar Queen is romantic and magical tale as sweet as a handful of caramels with their delicious stickiness that hangs around your hands and mouth long after you finish chewing. This is a novel that, at its gooey core, is about the impact secrets, either hidden or disclosed, have on the lives of the characters in the story. Author Sarah Addison Allen introduces Josey Cirrini, the sweet, obedient, 27-year-old daughter, who loves all forms of sweet treats and romance novels, dedicated to her widowed mother, Margaret. One day Josey arrives home in the imaginative mountain town of Bald Slope in North Carolina, where she still lives with her mother, to find something very interesting, informative, yet frustrating in her closet that goes by the name of Della Lee Baker. But Josey has a closet full of secrets all ready. The biggest secret she is hiding involves her mailman, Adam Boswell, who has chosen to hide in Bald Slope. Another key character is Chloe Finley, a young woman who befriends Josey, who is dealing with the aftermath of a secret revealed by her boyfriend Jake. She is obsessed with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in its entirety will satisfy her, even though she has a few mysterious secrets of her own. The biggest secrets of all have been kept from Josey, and started with her parents. But will the truth set Josey free? This is a novel that I consumed as fast as most kids do candy at Halloween. The Sugar Queen will not only make you crave sweets, but will also cause cravings for more writings from author Sarah Addison Allen. It will melt your heart like chocolate on a hot engine and make you believe in magic and books.

Oh mein Gott!! Das Buch ist so zuckersüß, ich hatte laufend lust auf Süßigkeiten. Josey ist so eine sympathische Hauptfigur und man muss einfach mit ihr mitfiebern. Sie, Chloe und Della Lee sind so ein tolles Trio und man möchte einfach mehr von ihnen lesen. Adam, Helena und Jake sind auch so toll Figuren, bloß Josey ihre Mutter habe ich gehasst. Warum kann sie nicht einmal im Leben nett sein. Ihr Mann war scheiße, aber dafür kann doch ihre Tochter nichts. Das Buch ist mir richtig ans Herz gewachsen. Die Geschichte wird mit so viel Wärme und Mitgefühl erzählt, wie in einem richtigen Märchen. Josey's tiefe Bindung zu Adam und Chloe's Liebe zu Jake, sie haben das Buch so lebendig werden lassen. Natürlich gab es auch negativen Person im Buch, wie Margaret und Julian, aber sie müssen einfach vorhanden sein um Spannung im Buch aufzubauen. Das Buch hat sich super flüssig lesen lassen und war super leicht zu verstehen. Das Cover ist super schick und spiegelt super schön das Thema des Buches wieder. Es war sehr spannend, voller Gefühl und mit der richtigen Portion an Action!!

Josey is a 27 year old woman who lives in the shadows of a beautiful mother, the legacy of an inspiring father, and the nasty brattish history of her childhood, which has somewhat tainted how people see her, and how she sees herself too. Having retreated into a shell - a closet that is hidden from everyone in her bedroom where she stashes comfort food and romance novels, she escapes here when she can - that is when her mother isn't busy demanding she drive her places of fetch or cook for her. Her highlight in the day is the delivery of the post - as Josie harbours a huge crush on her postman, although he himself has been oblivious to it for the last three years. This all changes when Della Lee - a waitress with a troubled background sneaks into Joseys room and hides in her beloved closet - seeming to be on the run. Josey allows her to stay but Della seems to push her life in an existence outside of her closet - towards Chloe - someone Josey doesn't even know and towards Adam. This is a magical read, and there is a realSouthern charm to this book. I love the main characters in this, and I love the underlying theme of magic in this book. This story shows how Josey slowly comes out of her shell, and how Chloe, Josey, and even Joseys mothers all face their demons. I personally feel this is Sarah Addison Allens best book, because this one resonates on a personal level to me. I can really relate to a lot of the characters and I know I will be rereading this again at some point. Those of you who loved this, will also like 'If you could see me now' by Cecelia Ahern and 'Twenties Girl' by Sophie Kinsella.

Product is a used one but it is like new one. Could not have guessed that it's used one unless known. Packaging very good and Delivery before expected. Also, received a call from the vendor enquiring if book received or not !👍👍

i love this book with all my heart. i'm always re-reading sarah addison allen's books because they make me feel at home. the sugar queen is perfect for the winter.

My favourite book by this author. However I relate deeply to it. I would love to read a part two.