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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I kind of loved this story of redemption and there are some really good quotes in here, about life, about books, about love, including the importance of romance novels' happy endings. It gets 4 stars because I'm considering a re-read/listen for those. Ain't She Sweet was really enjoyable. Sugar was awful and admirable and fictional proof that people can change.
This it the 3rd SEP audiobook I've listened to in a month. For an author who was not even on my tbr, somehow she's become a favorite. Leave it to taking a road trip and being desperate to have something to listen to. Nothing beats the laugh out loud response I had to [b:Nobody's Baby But Mine|73080|Nobody's Baby But Mine (Chicago Stars, #3)|Susan Elizabeth Phillips|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298032580s/73080.jpg|776136]. I didn't enjoy [b:It Had to Be You|73070|It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars, #1)|Susan Elizabeth Phillips|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297088239s/73070.jpg|2268839] nearly as much with the triggering backstory. I'm going to stop now. I've got over 200 books in my TBR and I need to read some of them. Or I need to stop driving.
ETA: 2/17/16 I re-listened to the last half of this again. I didn't mention them before, but Ryan and Winnie are a fantastic secondary couple. Or primary. I loved this long time married couple rekindling their marriage. I loved Winnie. Her desire for her husband, her bitterness, her kindness. She's a great character.
This it the 3rd SEP audiobook I've listened to in a month. For an author who was not even on my tbr, somehow she's become a favorite. Leave it to taking a road trip and being desperate to have something to listen to. Nothing beats the laugh out loud response I had to [b:Nobody's Baby But Mine|73080|Nobody's Baby But Mine (Chicago Stars, #3)|Susan Elizabeth Phillips|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298032580s/73080.jpg|776136]. I didn't enjoy [b:It Had to Be You|73070|It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars, #1)|Susan Elizabeth Phillips|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297088239s/73070.jpg|2268839] nearly as much with the triggering backstory. I'm going to stop now. I've got over 200 books in my TBR and I need to read some of them. Or I need to stop driving.
ETA: 2/17/16 I re-listened to the last half of this again. I didn't mention them before, but Ryan and Winnie are a fantastic secondary couple. Or primary. I loved this long time married couple rekindling their marriage. I loved Winnie. Her desire for her husband, her bitterness, her kindness. She's a great character.
I love SEP’s books, but I put off reading this one for a long time because the heroine’s name is Sugar Beth Carey. I know that’s ridiculous, but it sounds so silly. But I’m glad I finally got around to reading it.
SEP writes such good angst and romances, it’s unbelievable. And this book went beyond just the romance between Sugar Beth and Colin Byrne. It’s also about the relationship between Sugar Beth and her high school rival Winnie Davies. It’s about taking your power back and letting go of past resentments. It’s about realizing how its never too late to find love or ask for forgiveness. I found myself smiling and then close to tears and I love when a book moves me that much emotionally.
This is definitely going to be one of my favourite SEP novel, one I can already see myself rereading in the future.
SEP writes such good angst and romances, it’s unbelievable. And this book went beyond just the romance between Sugar Beth and Colin Byrne. It’s also about the relationship between Sugar Beth and her high school rival Winnie Davies. It’s about taking your power back and letting go of past resentments. It’s about realizing how its never too late to find love or ask for forgiveness. I found myself smiling and then close to tears and I love when a book moves me that much emotionally.
This is definitely going to be one of my favourite SEP novel, one I can already see myself rereading in the future.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoy Susan Elizabeth Phillips books, and this one would have been great if it wasn't for Winnie. How i hated her. I totally understand that what Sugar Beth did as a teenager was horrible and the town and people she hurt needed to see her hurt in a way, i understand the emotions that needed to play out, and that Winnie had gotten the worst of it back in the day. But holy shit they are all in their thirties now, and you would think they had done some self reflecting since high school. I got the petty stuff, the dinner party and all that , the fact that they wanted nothing to do with her, totally understandable. But winnie SOLD ALL SUGAR BETHS MOMS STUFF AND THE THINGS SHE KEPT SHE REFUSED TO GIVE BACK, even jokes about it to sugar beth. i think it wouldve helped alot of anybody at any point acknowledged that Sugar Beth lost her mom , who she loved deeply, and didnt have anything of her anymore. like nobody takes that as serious as it should be taken, even sugar beth jokes about it. and when it comes up its talked about how sad it was for winnie because she didnt have a mom like that, but her mom is still alive and even says that their relationship has improved. AND WINNIE EVEN JOKES ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEIR DAD DIDNT LOVE SUGAR BETH. i just absolutely hated winnie. sorry rant over
All of that was made up by my love for sugar beth, who at no point tries to hide from what she has done, but has grown and is trying to make up for it. she is a fantastic character.
All of that was made up by my love for sugar beth, who at no point tries to hide from what she has done, but has grown and is trying to make up for it. she is a fantastic character.
This is my first book of Susan Elizabeth Philips and I m sure this wont be the last. I really liked his book and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. While reading it I assumed it would be just one of those light chick lits but I was pleasantly surprised with the depths of each character.
Sugar Beth Carrey is one of those popular girls in school who everybody loves to hate. She has everything that one could have asked for – beauty, money, popularity and more importantly power. Her favorite victim is Winnie Davis, on whom she pulls off few pranks that are disgusting. Who could like a girl so shallow and vain, right? Wrong as you read the book and get to know her, you can’t help but start to like her. You realize there is more to Sugar Beth Carrey than it meets the eye. Then of course there is Colin Bryne who is just wonderful.
I really enjoyed this book and it’s a page turner. It’s a delightful read!
Sugar Beth Carrey is one of those popular girls in school who everybody loves to hate. She has everything that one could have asked for – beauty, money, popularity and more importantly power. Her favorite victim is Winnie Davis, on whom she pulls off few pranks that are disgusting. Who could like a girl so shallow and vain, right? Wrong as you read the book and get to know her, you can’t help but start to like her. You realize there is more to Sugar Beth Carrey than it meets the eye. Then of course there is Colin Bryne who is just wonderful.
I really enjoyed this book and it’s a page turner. It’s a delightful read!
The names of the characters are ridiculous lol, but the story itself is a gem. It has depth and all. The dialogues? Win.
I'm ashamed to say I absolutely loved this delightful story. It is an easy, brain-free read. Don't expect literary genius in this tale. Take it for what it is, indulge yourself and enjoy it.
emotional
funny
hopeful
I really like Susan Elizabeth Phillips books. They are funny, romantic, have good lovin' scenes and they almost always end the way I want. Ain't She Sweet was no exception. My only problem with this one was that the main female character had been so mean to nearly everyone in her youth that it was hard to believe that she could change that much. Sugar Beth Carey thought she would never come back to Parrish. She had been the richest and meanest girl in town but left shortly after high school. Four husbands later she is broke and back to try to claim an inheritance. Has Sugar Beth changed? Can she be trusted or will she break hearts all over town again?
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reread on audio 04/20/2022: I love this book equally every single time. Sugar Beth, you are a woman for the ages.
***
This was my umpteenth reread of this book, I listened to it this time, but it’s my first time reviewing it. No matter how many reads or how many years have passed, this book does not lose its magic. In fact, it only gets better!
The complex emotions, the nuanced characters, the tension, both sexual and emotional, the Sugar Beth! Sheer perfection! I will repeat this till the end of times, SEP is the OG Queen of the enemies to lovers, opposites attract, alphahole hero, slow burning romance. To top it all off, the narrator was absolutely amazing, with all her voices and accents and cadence and everything. This maintains its position as one of my top books of ever.
***
This was my umpteenth reread of this book, I listened to it this time, but it’s my first time reviewing it. No matter how many reads or how many years have passed, this book does not lose its magic. In fact, it only gets better!
The complex emotions, the nuanced characters, the tension, both sexual and emotional, the Sugar Beth! Sheer perfection! I will repeat this till the end of times, SEP is the OG Queen of the enemies to lovers, opposites attract, alphahole hero, slow burning romance. To top it all off, the narrator was absolutely amazing, with all her voices and accents and cadence and everything. This maintains its position as one of my top books of ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage
I so totally adore Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She creates vivid characters who are just the right amount of flawed to be realistic but just colorful enough to make her books a joy to read over and over again.
Sugar Beth has been married three times since she turned her back on her hometown. When she left, she had not only cut all ties with her current friends, she had destroyed the employment opportunities of a twenty-two-year-old teacher by falsely accusing him of molesting her. Life has kicked her in the butt and she just wants to go back, get the painting her great-aunt left her and get the heck out of Dodge. However, life doesn't always work out as planned and the teacher she had ruined is not only back in town, he's living in her old house. And her half-sister, the girl who held their father's affects, is now the queen of the town and her old friends.
But she holds her head high and does what she needs to do because a)she knows that she deserves some of their vitriol for what she did in the past and b) she needs to sell that painting so that she can support her Down's Syndrome step-daughter.
Even though I had a teeny problem with the ending, I love the characters, love the book.
Sugar Beth has been married three times since she turned her back on her hometown. When she left, she had not only cut all ties with her current friends, she had destroyed the employment opportunities of a twenty-two-year-old teacher by falsely accusing him of molesting her. Life has kicked her in the butt and she just wants to go back, get the painting her great-aunt left her and get the heck out of Dodge. However, life doesn't always work out as planned and the teacher she had ruined is not only back in town, he's living in her old house. And her half-sister, the girl who held their father's affects, is now the queen of the town and her old friends.
But she holds her head high and does what she needs to do because a)she knows that she deserves some of their vitriol for what she did in the past and b) she needs to sell that painting so that she can support her Down's Syndrome step-daughter.
Even though I had a teeny problem with the ending, I love the characters, love the book.