The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen

Book Review: I picked up her second book simply because her first was so delightful! I was expecting an equally enthralling read but was sorely disappointed!

In her second novel Allen sadly falls short of her debut in Garden Spells! The author who's debut novel I couldn't put down failed to keep me entranced through her second attempt. Her characters were accentric and taciturn and I couldn't connect with any of them on a more deeper level than words on a page. The plot was rather bland and the whole ensemble seemed almost haphazardly put together with long pauses for effect.

I did however, like that her protagonist was an identifiable character. She was definitely not your run-of-the-mill variety.

Basically, I was not into it! Slightly dissappointing.

Book Synopsis: Much like her charming debut novel Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen's Sugar Queen is a blend of food and magic. Josey Cirrini is fast approaching thirty. She's a plump, painfully shy recluse who hides in her closet stuffing herself with junk food and reading romance novels to find solace from her overbearing mother (the two live together). While her mother Margaret was a classic Southern belle, Josey is mousy and timid, with no friends, no love life, and no dreams. She's expected to stay and care for her mother. But Josey's dull, predictable life is turned upside-down when bad girl Della Lee mysteriously appears in her closet, smack-dab in the middle of her stash of moonpies, pecan rolls, and Little Debbie snacks. Della Lee is Josey's opposite: she lives fast and hard, has been arrested for solicitation, and seems to be on the run from someone. The only problem is that she refuses to leave the closet.

Synopsis Courtesy of Amazon.com

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Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen

Book Review: If you haven't already guessed from reading my reviews, I SO judge a book by its cover! Ordinarily I would not have picked this book up during one of my weekly library visits, but just browsing through the books I came across this delectable sage green colored book! Yes! I picked it up because I loved the color of the book cover! Not to mention how intriguing the title was...Garden Spells...it sounded like something very much like The Secret Garden! And at the time I picked it up, Spring was just setting in and I was totally into the gardening thing, being that this was the first Spring since Jason and I got married where we actually HAD a garden!!

As I always do, I opened the cover and read the insert. A little magic, a lot of mystery! I loved it from the moment I started reading it! In her debut novel Saran A. Allen sprinkles generous handfulls of fairydust over everything including the wonderful delicacies that comes out of her characters' kitchen!

This book reminds me of a cross between Practical Magic and Paula's Home Cooking!!!! It's awesome! My two favorite combinations:O)

This book is definitely for the little girl in you! A fairytale for adults! This is definitely a must-read for anyone with a little magic in their souls! Sarah Addison Allen definitely delivers a character rich, magical debut novel that takes the chore out of reading.

Book Synopsis:Two gifted sisters draw on their talents to belatedly forge a bond and find their ways in life in Allen's easygoing debut novel. Thirty-four-year-old Claire Waverley manifests her talent in cooking; using edible flowers, Claire creates dishes that affect the eater in curious ways. But not all Waverley women embrace their gifts; some, including Claire's mother, escape the family's eccentric reputation by running away. She abandoned Claire and her sister when they were young. Consequently, Claire has remained close to home, unwilling to open up to new people or experiences. Claire's younger sister, Sydney, however, followed in their mother's footsteps 10 years ago and left for New York, and after a string of abusive, roustabout boyfriends, returns to Bascom, N.C., with her five-year-old daughter, Bay. As Sydney reacquaints herself with old friends and rivals, she discovers her own Waverley magic. Claire, in turn, begins to open up to her sister and in the process learns how to welcome other possibilities. Though Allen's prose can lean toward the pedestrian and the romance subplots feel perfunctory, the blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers. (Aug.) Synopsis Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.