The Sugar Queen » (Bargain)

Since her 2007 debut novel, Garden Spells, North Carolina novelist Sarah Addison Allen has been whipping up her unique brand of fiction writing a delightful concoction she describes as "Southern-fried magic realism."

In this irresistible follow-up to her New York Times bestselling debut, Garden Spells, author Sarah Addison Allen tells the tale of a young woman whose family secrets and secret passions are about to change her life forever.

Twenty-seven-year-old Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, she s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden 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 it harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tenderhearted woman who is one part nemesis and two parts fairy godmother...

Fleeing a life of bad luck and big mistakes, Della Lee has decided Josey s clandestine closet is the safest place to crash. In return she s going to change Josey s life because,...

Publishers Weekly

Ariadne Meyers's warm and whimsical performance invigorates a colorful cast of characters. Since most of them come from the same small North Carolina town, nearly all carry Southern accents, yet Meyers makes each voice uniqueand believable: the elderly yet forceful and intimidating tone of imperious Margaret; the initially soft, timid voice of Josey, which grows stronger and more confident as the book goes on; the sassy, brassy twang of feisty Della Lee; the lazy, sexy drawl of charming-but-dangerous Julian. The abridgement is seamless. Meyers' rich, nuanced performance adds an extra dimension and will keep listeners captivated from beginning to end. A Bantam hardcover (Reviews, May 5). (June)

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