A review by ela_35
Ain't She Sweet? by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 I was hesitant going into this book as I didn’t really like the sound of Sugar, but she quickly became a great character. 

I really liked Sugar and I know that you’re not really supposed to because she used to be a bully, but she recognised that what she did was wrong, and she never tried to hide from it. I really liked how strong she was and how she withstood everyone’s revenge, and chance to humiliate her. 

I liked Colin too and I really liked their interactions as they were really funny. The scene with Colin’s party was great to read as it showed Colin seeing Sugar in a different light and I really liked Sugar’s responses when Colin tried to stop what he started. 

I liked the idea of Delilah, but she wasn’t shown enough to really like her. I liked how close Sugar said they were, but I wanted to see more of their conversations, and I thought that near the end Delilah could have met Colin. 

The thing that I really didn’t like about this book was Winnie. I know that she was the victim so you’re supposed to like her, but that was many years ago and she already forgave all of her other bullies, and in the present, she seemed like a horrible character. I hated her personality and how everyone saw her as a victim as well as a saint because apparently she was so good for the town, but I couldn’t get over her treatment of Ryan.

First, she traps him into a marriage by lying to him that she’s on the pill, when in fact she just wanted to get pregnant so that she could trap him. Then for all these years she’s felt so guilty that she’s made herself miserable, but when Sugar comes back to town, she blames everything on her and Ryan and moves out. Then Winnie makes Ryan beg her for forgiveness, even though he’s done absolutely nothing wrong, and she’s the one who made their marriage into something she couldn’t deal with anymore.

I didn’t like Winnie at all, so all the scenes that were told from her POV annoyed me, and I didn’t really like how quickly Sugar and Winnie became friends at the end. 

The ending of this book was interesting and different, and I found it funny. I wanted to see more scenes before the epilogue though. 

I really liked this book, and how it made me react to the characters in an unexpected way. Sugar was amazing, despite her past, while I hated Winnie because her entire character seemed so fake and deceitful.