The Sugar Queen: A Novel

Sarah Addison Allen

May 2008 · Sold by Bantam

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this irresistible novel, Sarah Addison Allen, author of the 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.

Praise for The Sugar Queen

“Like the most decadently addictive bonbons, once started, Allen’s magically entrancing novel is impossible to put down.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Bewitching . . . Such a pleasurable book.”—Publishers Weekly

Ratings and reviews

A 27 yr old woman is aided by a strange woman who shows up one day in her clothes closet. Josey was a rebellious child, but when her father died she decided to devote her life to making it up to her mother. Now she's trapped in a subservient role to a selfish mother, but can't bring herself to leave. The only ray of light is the mailman she has fallen in love with. A couple of the characters I disliked and found difficult to forgive. I also found the main heroine a little immature and a tad dense. All in all, though, a good read. Enjoyable.

Josey buries her dreams and her self-esteem in sweets until life under her mother's thumb is shaken up by an unexpected visitor. A sweetly romantic and slightly magical story of young woman who finally begins to really live.

I loved her first book and thought I'd give this one a shot expecting to be a little disappointed considering authors don't always satisfy you EVERY time but she did!

About the author

Sarah Addison Allen was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. She is the author of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen.