Oh what a wonderfully enchanting story this was!
Josey Cirrini lives a very quiet life with her mother. She has no friends and pretty much lives to look after her mother.
Josey has a secret closet she escapes to . It is filled with junk food, romance novels and travel magazines.
She seems reconciled to this life until she discovers that Della Lee, a local waitress from the wrong side of the tracks, has moved into her closet. Della Lee refuses to leave as she feels it is now her destiny to 'fix' Josey's life. Josey has pined after the mailman for three years and Della Lee is determined to make things happen.
Della manages to get Josey to leave the house. Secretly, of course as Margaret, Josey's mother would not approve. Josey meets Chloe. Chloe is also at a crisis point in her life. Books are inexplicably attracted to Chloe and turn up everywhere she goes.
I love the following quote." Books can be possessive, can't they? You're walking around in a bookstore and a certain one will jump out at you, like it had moved there on its own, just to get your attention. .... Sometimes it's a comfort just to have a book around....For company of course"
Josey finally has a friend in Chloe and begins to discover the joy that living life can bring. Chloe needs Josey just as much. And Della Lee? Well she's still in the closet, occasionally slipping out in the night to scare the housekeeper. Except she's starting to look a little translucent.....
The Sugar Queen is just a delight to read. The characters are quirky and lovable. The story is pure Southern magic, letting us believe in love and friendship and well - maybe just a little bit of magic.
I have not read Addison Allen's first novel Garden Spells , but will be hunting it down - or maybe it will find me!
Looks like a great book. It will definitely be on my "to do" list.
ReplyDeleteI've read this book and it's fantastic! It's not quite fantasy, but on the other hand, don't we all wish we had an advisor hidden in our closet?
ReplyDeleteThis is on my list of books to read. You should definitely read Garden Spells. It's a favorite of mine.
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