Just finished readingSarah Addison Allen's Sugar Queen.
Since this is about books I like/liked, let me say that it's an example of magical realism, which may or may not be to your taste. I liked it, though, but I lovelovelove Alice Hoffman's books which really rely on magical realism.
Not scary, but a bit atmospheric, Sugar Queen downplays the supernatural element in favor of a kind of sweetness, I'd guess you'd say. I like what she does with her heroine's secret obsession with food and what enables Joesy to move away from filling up the emptiness in her life with food. It's not heavy--sorry, no pun intended--on putting out a message, which was good.
Instead, the food references are sensory and part of the fabric of the story as Joesy becomes free enough to open herself to love and relationships and move on to a bigger--sorry, again!--life.
It also has a southern setting which is woven in nicely as almost a character, too.
It's a pleasant, non-threatening story of finding one's true self and told in a light, charming manner.
Am I sounding sort of lukewarm about it? Maybe that's how it struck me. But it was a nice Memorial Day read.
