Rating: 
Summary: Exhilarating
Review: As a dis-placed, mis-placed Southerner living in the North, I have become downright testy about all the cutesy-poo, "Oh, my, aren't we just so special!" ultra-Southern writing around these days. (I'm among the few not enchanted by the Ya-Yas.) So when a friend from New England, no less, foisted the SP Queens on me, I expected the worst. Praise God for surprises! This book is an antidote to cutesy; I found it hilarious, outrageous and wonderful. Yes, some people will be put off by the vulgarity & self-centeredness. (So give this book only to people you know!) For me, the vulgarity is part of the over-the-top energy & dead-on honesty that makes the book not only fun to read but exhilarating; her run-away creativity makes me feel more creative, more alive. It did seem to me to lose some steam, to seem a little padded, toward the end. But that's a minor carp. Jill Browne is not your mother's Fannie Flagg or Rebecca Wells; she does remind me, though, of another (older, I think) very funny Southern writer--Florence King.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh Out Loud Funny
Review: Pick this book up when you need a good laugh. I started reading about these outrageous women and their antics and almost fell off the couch several times because I was laughing so hard. The narrator appoints herself "Sweet Potato Queen" at a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Jackson, Mississippi. Her friends agree that such a fabulous idea should be shared and they too become self-appointed queens. The gals all wear unbelieavably proportioned green dresses and white majorette boots. Of course, being a queen is more than looking good, it is a way of life and readers are let in on important secrets such as how to get a man to do whatever you want. I have loaned my copy to a friend and have four more friends waiting in line to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hatemhopetheydie!
Review: To quote the book. Funny in places, but once you are around the 'Queens' you know that AA has chapter just for them.
Rating:
Summary: The Mother of All Hoots!
Review: I grew up in a small Virginia town and there is something inherently funny about a southern town. Maybe it's the heat that makes people want to just sit around and tell stories or maybe it's the fact there's not a whole lot of stuff going on. Reading this book is similar to hearing each one of your friends tell you his favorite funny story. The Most Prepared Woman The World Has Ever Known is my favorite part of the book and I remember hearing about this on the news a few years ago. It's the most entertaining book that I have ever read, but I don't know which is funnier, what the author says or how she says it. It doesn't matter where you're from or whether you are a male or female, this book is for anyone who wants to laugh. You will not put it down once you begin. I've heard people describe hilarious stories as a hoot. This is the Mother of All Hoots!
Rating:
Summary: For those of you who never want your life to be "beige"
Review: I agree with all the "Tammies" that this book should forever after be referred to as "The Book". I am a 35 year old wife and mother who needed reminding of what fun we women can have. Do yourself a favor; do not hesitate to order this book IMMEDIATELY and while you're at it, you may as well get a half dozen (or more) for your "bestest" girlfriends. The book is the most hysterical I have ever read. My girlfriends and I want to fly Ms. Browne to our hometown to speak. The recipes are to die for. In particular the "New Allison's Mamba Margaritas" have been a hit at all our parties. They make us feel "festive", which is of course the "favorite Queenly way to feel". My husband is at my beck and call for "The Promise", and the lives of my friends and myself will never again be the same. We vow to make a pilgrimage to "The Parade" at some point. Buy the book and be a "Queen". You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: It's Not Easy Being Queen
Review: I couldn't imagine why I would enjoy this book. The idea of being a beauty queen doesn't appeal, I am not from the South, I don't think the only thing men are good for is buying me jewelry. So for several years after The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love came out, I ignored it. Then I heard Jill Conner Browne on the car radio and nearly ran off the road from laughing. The Book of Love is a ridiculously disguised excuse for Browne to dish out heaping servings of advice. It is all good-natured and upbeat, if not always prim and ladylike, if you catch my drift. The Sweet Potato Queens, who receive the ceremonial title of "Tammy" upon reaching Queendom, all know the magic words to get a man to do anything you want him to. They know the Best Advice Ever Given in the History of the Entire World. And they reveal all in this, the first Sweet Potato Queens book. Fortunately, it is not necessary to dress up like a Sweet Potato Queen to benefit from the Book of Love. In fact, the SPQ costumes look rather like drag queen ensembles. In any case, if you get the audio version, just be careful while you're driving.
Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating
Review: As a dis-placed, mis-placed Southerner living in the North, I have become downright testy about all the cutesy-poo, "Oh, my, aren't we just so special!" ultra-Southern writing around these days. (I'm among the few not enchanted by the Ya-Yas.) So when a friend from New England, no less, foisted the SP Queens on me, I expected the worst. Praise God for surprises! This book is an antidote to cutesy; I found it hilarious, outrageous and wonderful. Yes, some people will be put off by the vulgarity & self-centeredness. (So give this book only to people you know!) For me, the vulgarity is part of the over-the-top energy & dead-on honesty that makes the book not only fun to read but exhilarating; her run-away creativity makes me feel more creative, more alive. It did seem to me to lose some steam, to seem a little padded, toward the end. But that's a minor carp. Jill Browne is not your mother's Fannie Flagg or Rebecca Wells; she does remind me, though, of another (older, I think) very funny Southern writer--Florence King.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious advice on Living, from a woman who really does.
Review: "The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love" will have you calling friends and reading them quotations, which is usually annoying, but in this case will probably make them want to buy their own copy, and I heartily suggest that they do. The Book is at once hilariously funny and utterly sensible. My copy has taken up residence on the shelf along with a few treasured others, to be read and re-read innumerable times in the future. The Sweet Potato Queens take a bit of explaining. A tradition in the Jackson, Mississippi Saint Patrick's Day parade since 1982, they were founded by the Original and Supreme Queen, author Jill Conner Browne. They are all women of a certain age; past the first bloom of youth, one might say, but proof that you can blossom into something better after. The Queens appear in the parade, waving graciously from their float and tossing trinkets to the adoring crowds. They are easy to spot, traditionally garbed in green sequined mini-dresses (with hugely amplified bosoms and busts), flowing red wigs, Revlon Love That Pink lipstick, and majorette boots. It is often said of the Queens that "[they] turn into someone else when they put those outfits on." Queen Jill responds that they in fact are completely themselves only when they put those outfits on, and this is what the book is hilariously, wisely about; living the life you like, giving yourself what you desire, and having a really good time. Queen Jill graces the lucky reader with advice on how to live a Queenly life. I could begin quoting the parts that made me laugh, but that would mean copying out the whole book, so I'll simply tell you that The Book is consistently, screamingly funny without ever being mean. You will laugh through advice on child-rearing, getting a man, getting rid of a man, getting over a man, what to do when there's a possum under your bed, and why you never wear panties to a party. And then there's the chapter on "What to Eat When Tragedy Strikes." This is a collection of recipes for people who absolutely do not care, and which are therefor irresistible. Chocolate Stuff. Armadillo Dip. Fat Mama's Knock You Naked Margaritas. A coconut caramel pie simply called "Oh, God!" And Danger Pudding (Boil an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for an hour. Bear the name in mind before deciding this is a good idea.). I enjoyed myself so much reading about the Queens, it never dawned on me that I was reading advice until the very end, when Queen Jill tells us that if life seems lifeless, "[you] don't have to move or change jobs or leave your husband or unnaturally alter your state of consciousness. We're not after an altered state; we're after our True State - unbridled joy." Any number of New Agey books have been written on this theme, but none, I think, have succeeded in making it seem as possible as The Book. Browne closes with a quotation from George Eliot: "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Read "The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love" and laugh yourself sensible.
Rating:
Summary: Get it as a book on tape
Review: I checked out this in the books on tape form and listened to it in the car from Denver, CO to Topeka, KS and laughed the whole way! What a super way to make the drive go faster. Funny, funny stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Ladies, the big three
Review: Ladies, there are three books that you MUST read if you're interested in great storytelling, wonderful plots, Southern themes, and a great time: "The Divine Secrets" is the first, and many of you have already read this great literary achievement. The second is Jackson McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood"--a haunting and intricate portrait of Southernisms gone horribly wrong. And the third is this spectacular read--"The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love." These three, you simply can't do without. All are great, but by all means, buy and read TSPQBOL first! The humor, depth, sadness, insight, and wonderful writing of Browne makes this a great time. Why this book isn't better known is beyond me. Finding something this good, off the beaten path, makes me want to ask, "Where has this writer been?"
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