Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic, funny, bitter sweet read! Two thumbs up!
Review: I've read all of SEP's books and can confidently say that this is the best she's written. I was drawn into Sugar Beth's life from the very first chapter. I felt like strangling her, crying for her, laughing with her, and cheering for her as I read each page. I simply could not put the book down until I reached the last chapter, and even then, I know I'm going to read it again from start to finish before this week is out.I'm not good with summaries of stories so I'm not even going to try. All I can say is, this is the best, funniest, sweetest story I've read in ages. I borrowed the book from the library but am heading to the bookstore the first chance I get to purchase the book.
Rating: 
Summary: A good time
Review: I enjoyed this book. I liked the two twists Ms. Phillips inserted early in the story: Who Winnie was married to, and then Winnie's relationship to Sugar Beth. The dialogue was wonderfully witty. But the story wasn't without its flaws. I simply didn't feel Sugar Beth's devotion to her elderly deceased husband, or to his mentally impaired daughter. Maybe because this happened in the past and the author didn't paint a visual picture. It was the one hole in an otherwise extremely well developed character. Nor could I understand the Seawillows. I don't see where Sugar Beth did anything for them to hate her so much, other than leave town and lose touch. Winnie was the only one who had a right to hold a grudge. But flaws aside, this was a great story of loss and redemption.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Read By SEP!!!
Review: I truly loved this book Ms. Phillips has managed to pen yet another sweet novel that is not too sweet but at the same time touching and completly unforgettable. Sugar Beth is a very complex character that I must admit to not thinking I would like. I thought "how can I read this book when the heroine is so totally nasty, spitful, and mean?". But trust me, you will end up liking this woman after you get to know her through Ms. Phillips clever writing. This book has many secondary character's that are totally revelant to the story and in fact there is a secondary storyline between Winnie (related to Sugar Beth) and Winnie's husband Ryan (Sugar Beth's high school sweetheart) that is also entertaining. And lets not forget our hero Colin. This story is set in the South in Mississippi a place that I called home for three years long ago, and Ms. Phillip's writing brought me back to what it was like to live in a small southern town. Not the spitfulness of it but the sense of community. This is a story that will have you turning the pages simply because you want to find out if there is such a thing as a "happily ever after" for Sugar Beth, and if forgiveness can be obtained by her as well for the way she treated her old friends from long ago. Who says that you can't go home again. This is truly a story about forgiveness, and growing and one that I hope you will pick up.
Rating:
Summary: Ain't She Sweet?
Review: Susan Elizabeth Phillips is the master of the heroine who has her back to the wall, but ain't dead yet attitude. Sugar Beth Carey is exactly an SEP heroine in the footsteps of Rachel Stone from DREAM A LITTLE DREAM. She may be down & out but she's not giving up or giving in until she succeeds at what she's set out to do. We all did things in our youth that we regret as we grow up and mature. Sugar Beth grew up well-to-do and then went on to the "School of Hard Knocks," doing more growing up there than she ever did in her teens. Colin is the perfect match for her and her relationship with Winnie gives everyone hope of reconcilation. A very good read.
Rating:
Summary: I am picky, and this was one of my FAVORITES!
Review: I have not had a "new" favorite book in a long time. I feel that I am pretty picky with what I read. However, I could not stop reading this book (and at the same time, did not want it to end!) I laughed so much. I even cried a couple of times. I fell in love with all of the characters. It is a truly MUST read!
Rating:
Summary: Ain't She Sweet
Review: In high school, Sugar Beth made many enemies. When she left town for college and deserted her "Seawillows" she made more. Now, she has come home broke and desperate, but to get what she is after, she will have to repent for her sins. This was a real catchy book. The characters were awesome and Sugar Beth was hilarious. I found my self laughing out loud several times. This is not your every day romance novel and I would definitely recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I Have Read In Years
Review: This book was outstanding. Dialogue was witty, touching, sexy. I can't say enough about this story. Susan Elizabeth Phillips is obviously at the top of her game. Can't wait for her next best seller.
Rating:
Summary: a story of overcoming past mistakes
Review: Fifteen years ago Sugar Beth Carey was the richest, most popular and the most beautiful girl in high school. She used the power she had to in selfish and destructive ways. She ended up leaving Parrrish, Mississippi, but not before throwing over her boyfriend, cutting off her girlfriends, ruining a teacher's reputation, and making her illegitimate sister's life a living hell. Now Sugar Beth has been through three husbands and any money she ever had. She comes back to Parrish and struggles to overcome her past reputation and to rectify old mistakes. I'm generally not a huge fan of romance novels, but this one hooked me from the first page. I loved all the characters especially Sugar Beth. There is something very appealing about a bad girl gone good. There was good chemistry between the female and male lead characters plus a very good secondary cast of characters. The plot was standard romance fare, but the writing was good and the characterization makes a five star romance novel.
Rating:
Summary: It is sweet!
Review: This is the first SEP book I've read, and I, too, stayed up late to finish it. I cried, I laughed. Toward the end of most books like this, I skip entire sections to get to the "good stuff," but I NEVER did that with this book. You won't regret reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Light novel, heavy questions
Review: This book was given to me for review and my first reaction was, "Not my kind of book!" The book's opening didn't help: -- a disheveled down-and-out southern woman returns to her hometown, driving a beat-up old car, accompanied by her late husband's only legacy: a basset hound she loves to hate. But after a few pages, I began to care about the story line. Why did Sugar Beth dread returning home? Why did so man people hate her so much? And how can we care about a heroine who's done such despicable things in the past? This book is a model of a book that's a crossover between romance and women's fiction. The author takes us to the edge of the cliff with a worst case scenario. Sugar Beth, high school prom queen, the girl everybody envied, has become a woman who's lost everything. Meanwhile, Sugar Beth's former victims have all grown up and become wildly successful. They vividly remember Sugar Beth and they're perfectly positioned to take revenge. So why doesn't Sugar Beth just go to, say, Los Angeles and get an anonymous job? Turns out she needs to find a painting she inherited. She can sell this unique art work for millions of dollars. And while she hunts for this painting, she needs a job. And who has the power to give her a job? You guessed it: Those she once scorned. In one climactic scene, Sugar Beth is pitted against these vengeful people and she's in a one-down position. She's backed into a corner. But Sugar Beth rises to the challenge. She handles herself with dignity and we soon learn her secret reasons for needing the money from the sale of the painting. She's different yet she's held on to the strongest parts of herself. She triumphs by her own grit and we're mostly satisfied with the ending. The big romance between the two main characters follows conventions of the genre. If you can't figure out who will get together with whom, you haven't read enough, although author Philips throws in enough quirks to keep the romance line from being too trite. Underneath the main story, the author raises intriguing questions that could keep a book club going for hours. Are we the same people we were ten years ago? Fifteen years ago? Should we be held accountable for dumb things we did when we were seventeen? And should people pay for those mistakes for the rest of their lives?
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