Ain't She Sweet?
Ain't She Sweet? book cover

Ain't She Sweet?

Hardcover – February 17, 2004

by
Price
$14.93
Format
Hardcover
Pages
400
Publisher
Avon
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0066211244
Dimensions
6 x 1.25 x 9 inches
Weight
14.4 ounces

Description

From Publishers Weekly A small town's prodigal daughter returns to face her past in bestseller Phillips's latest cheeky, diverting fairy tale. Sugar Beth Carey, "the wild child of Parrish, Mississippi," was once the queen of all she surveyed, but after 15 years and three marriages, she's a broken (and broke) husk of her former self. Who's loving the schadenfreude? The Seawillows, for starters-the gaggle of Southern belles Sugar dumped years ago, plus Winnie Davis, the half-sister she treated like dirt. And there's more: not only did Sugar stomp on gorgeous Ryan Galantine's heart (luckily, Winnie caught him on the rebound), she also got Colin Byrne, the sexy British high school teacher, fired for ostensibly coming on to her. Colin now owns her family's manse, and she's inherited the carriage house on his property-along with a highly valuable painting, location unknown (might it be hiding in Colin's attic? Or is it right under her nose?). Phillips keeps the tension high, with Colin (now a successful writer and member of the town's "in" crowd) and all of the rest of Parrish looking to make Sugar pay for past misdeeds. Colin hires her to be his housekeeper, and soon their days are filled with bickering, backstabbing and lots of orgasmic sex. A subplot involving Gigi, Winnie and Ryan's rebellious teenage daughter, who somewhat improbably turns to Sugar Beth for advice, detracts from the primary drama. The novel is at its best when Phillips sticks with what she does best-fast-paced romps featuring two headstrong people who finally realize that they're soul mates.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Fifteen years ago, Sugar Beth Carey reigned supreme over the small Mississippi town of Parrish, but now she's returning home a little bit shabby around the edges to claim a valuable painting left to her by her disapproving aunt. Fifteen years ago, Colin Byrne arrived in Parrish from England as a new teacher only to have his career destroyed by a spiteful young Sugar Beth. Fifteen years ago, Sugar Beth had everything Winnie Davis ever wanted, but because Winnie had the one thing Sugar Beth could never have, she turned Winnie's life into a perpetual hell. So now Colin, a best-selling author, and Winnie, Parrish's richest citizen, are determined to exact revenge for Sugar Beth's past sins, but much to their surprise, neither one finds revenge to taste quite as sweet as they expected once they get to know the new Sugar Beth. A hero who wouldn't be out of place in the pages of a Regency romance, a heroine who is equal parts grit and class, and a basset hound with a personality disorder are just a few of the memorable characters in Phillips' sassy, sexy contemporary romance. The simple perfection of her writing in this splendid tale will charm readers. John Charles Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes a story that wraps around your heart and doesn’t let go.” — Oakland Press “A considerable talent.” — Detroit Free Press “An unforgettable read.” — Library Journal Ain't She Sweet?Not exactly . . . The girl everybody loves to hate has returned to the town she'd sworn to leave behind forever. As the rich, spoiled princess of Parrish, Mississippi, Sugar Beth Carey had broken hearts, ruined friendships, and destroyed reputations. But fifteen years have passed, and life has taught Sugar Beth its toughest lessons. Now she's come home -- broke, desperate, and too proud to show it. The people of Parrish don't believe in forgive and forget. When the Seawillows, Sugar Beth's former girlfriends, get the chance to turn the tables on her, they don't hesitate. And Winnie Davis, Sugar Beth's most bitter enemy, intends to humiliate her in the worst possible way. Then there's Colin Byrne. . . . Fifteen years earlier, Sugar Beth had tried to ruin his career. Now he's rich, powerful, and the owner of her old home. Even worse, this modern-day dark prince is planning exactly the sort of revenge best designed to bring a beautiful princess to her knees. But none of them have reckoned on the unexpected strength of a woman who's learned survival the hard way. While Sugar Beth's battered heart struggles to overcome old mistakes, Colin must choose between payback and love. Does the baddest girl in town deserve a second chance, or are some things beyond forgiving? Ain't She Sweet? is a story of courage and redemption. . . of friendship and laughter. . . of love and the possibility of happily-ever-after. Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a New York Times , Publisher’s Weekly , and USA Today bestselling author, known for her lighthearted, sparkling, and addictive contemporary romance novels which include the Chicago Stars series, the Wynette, Texas series, and multiple stand-alone books. She has published more than twenty books including It had to be You , First Star I See Tonight, and Dance Away with Me . Her novels have been published in more than 30 languages and appear on bestseller lists worldwide. Visit Susan’s website at www.susanelizabethphillips.com. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • The girl everybody loves to hate has returned to the town she'd sworn to leave behind forever. As the rich, spoiled princess of Parrish, Mississippi, Sugar Beth Carey had broken hearts, ruined friendships, and destroyed reputations. But fifteen years have passed, now she's come home -- broke, desperate, and too proud to show it.
  • The people of Parrish don't believe in forgive and forget. When the Seawillows, Sugar Beth's former girlfriends, get the chance to turn the tables on her, they don't hesitate. And Winnie Davis, Sugar Beth's most bitter enemy, intends to humiliate her in the worst possible way.
  • Then there's Colin Byrne...Fifteen years earlier, Sugar Beth had tried to ruin his career. Now he's rich, powerful, and the owner of her old home. Even worse, this modern-day dark prince is planning exactly the sort of revenge best designed to bring a beautiful princess to her knees.
  • But none of them have reckoned on the unexpected strength of a woman who's learned survival the hard way.
  • Ain't She Sweet?
  • is a story of courage and redemption...of friendship and laughter...of love and the possibility of happily-ever-after.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(993)
★★★★
25%
(414)
★★★
15%
(248)
★★
7%
(116)
★
-7%
(-116)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Excellent Southern fried fable of redemption

Thrice married Sugar Beth Carey was once the town golden girl of Parrish, Mississippi, but all her past misdeeds have caught up with her as she returns to her hometown for the first time in 15 years, in the role of town pariah. Disinherited by the father whose love she always sought but never achieved, she returns to collect an inheritance from her aunt. Instead of the family estate, she's relegated to the carriage house where she searches for a hidden valuable work of art.

Just about everyone in town is looking forward to her return to even old scores. No one is happier to see her squirm than her former teacher, Colin. Fifteen years earlier, Sugar Beth accused Colin of making a pass at her in order to deflect blame for an embarrassing incident she instigated against her arch nemesis, Winnie Davis. Colin, now a successful writer, resides in her former estate. With no one willing to give her a job, she's stuck working as Colin's maid (which makes for some of the most humorous passages in the novel, particularly when she calls him a prissy Brit and questions his sexuality), and in a turn of events, it's Winnie who is the belle of the town. While Colin entertains revenge fantasies as payback, she disappoints him by rising above it all and swallowing her pride, thereby taking the joy from him. Colin finds himself smitten with this new Sugar Beth, and her former home town finally realizes that she actually may have grown up and deserves to be forgiven for her past sins.

SEP cannot be beaten in creating endearing, flawed, and charismatic characters. Her realistic dialogue and gift for plotting make her a standout among her peers. She left the comfort zone of her Chicago Stars series, and yet has created endearing characters that for the most part, you'd want to know. I never expected to like this book as much as I did, which makes it all the more refreshing. I found it to be captivating and was glued to the final page.
14 people found this helpful
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Ridiculously simple

This is the first SEP book I've read and it will definitely be the last. The story was ridiculous, ridiculously simple, and not at all believable, but what really irritated me was writing a story about people in a town in Mississippi whose personalities all arrested at 15. If this is any reflection on the people of Mississippi, I'll make it a point to stay far far away. This book is such a waste of time when there are so many authors who deserve real praise.
13 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Not so Sweet

After a year of waiting, I opened my Amazon box and dove into SEP's latest. Reading the reviews, blurbs, book jacket, I was ready to indulge in a good few hours of heart-tugging, laughter filled hours with yet another new bunch of characters I felt like I knew.
Boy was I surprised. There's nothing funny about Ain't She Sweet. It's a fantastic book, and the characterization is as good as ever, but this book is heart-wrenching. More Dream a Little Dream than Breathing Room. I don't mind reading a book with a powerful punch, but I want fair warning when it's going to happen. Every bit of publicity on this book promised comedy. By the end, the humor is there, but it's almost bitter-sweet. Reading this book reminded me of when I went to see Step Mom expecting to laugh my way through the movie and left needing a box of Kleenex. With SEP's latest, I was blindsided by a poor publicity job on all parts: SEP's, the publisher and the advance reviews.
10 people found this helpful
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Not as good as her others

I was really disappointed in this book. Sugar Beth wasn't very likable and I didn't really care for Colin, either. Their romance fell flat. I was more interested in Winnie and Ryan's love life then the main characters! I will say the dialogue was very good though. Nice and snappy at times.
8 people found this helpful
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Absolutely Wonderful!!!!!

I was a little unsure of this book at first, but being an SEP fan I decided to give it a try. Not only was I pleasantly surprised, I was so in love with it that I stayed up till 3 a.m. reading it. This book has everything, and you'll nevr want it to end. A definite accomplishment for Ms. Phillips!!
7 people found this helpful
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Captivating and Witty Romance

Sugar Beth Carey is back in town. After a fifteen-year absence and three husbands later, Sugar Beth returns to the small town of Parrish, Mississippi, to claim her inheritance from Aunt Tallulah, the carriage house belonging to Sugar Beth's childhood home, Frenchman's Bride. Desperately seeking funds to help support her mentally disabled adult step-daughter, Sugar Beth searches the carriage house for a precious painting hidden by her deceased aunt. But there is hell to pay, as Sugar Beth has nary a friend in Parrish, and Frenchman's Bride is now owned by Colin Byrne, her former English teacher that was bounced after she accused him of sexual misconduct. Even her long ago friends, the Seawillows, have deserted Sugar Beth in favor of her step-sister Winnie, after Sugar Beth abandoned them years ago.
In this complex study of small town relationships, Sugar Beth must learn to co-exist in a town that has abandoned her as its golden girl, even as she faces Winnie, the woman she humiliated as a girl who married Ryan Galantine, the man Sugar Beth discarded years ago. While the sparks fly between Sugar Beth and Colin, he is determined to exact his revenge for her role in getting him fired years ago. Hiring Sugar Beth as his housekeeper seems to be the perfect humiliation, but underneath Sugar Beth's witty banter, Colin is surprised to find a woman as desirable for her looks as her strength of character. Ms. Phillips latest never ceases to entertain in this novel that creatively combines steamy romance with a captivating plot line.
6 people found this helpful
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Great book with some problems

I too am a long time SEP fan and think she is a genius and a godess. "Ain't She Sweet" was a nice surprise over her previous bombs: "This Heart of Mine" and the other book where the girl goes to Italy. What I loved about Ain't She Sweet was not so much the plot but the characters. Winnie and Ryan have a genuine love for one another that was heartwarming. Colin was sexy! "Honeybell" was a nice touch at the end. I loved it.
There were some things I was disappointed in. I thought Sugar Beth having a mentally disabled "stepdaughter" was a stretch and totally unbelievable. It did not make me feel sympathy toward her. SEP seemed to mention Delilah only when it was convenient as opposed to making her a real force in Sugar's life. Also I wish SEP focused more on the attraction between Colin and SB, not so much the sex but all the stuff that leads up to it.
All in all, Ain't She Sweet has earned a spot on my bookcase. I closed the book with a smile on my face. How many more months til SEP's next one!!!??
5 people found this helpful
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S.E.P.'s best book since It Had to Be You!

I loved this book! The heroine is the sort of women 99% of people on the planet love to hate: Rich, beautiful, priveledged, arrogant, mean, irresponsible, and heartless. So SEP had a real challenge in making us care about this woman. The author doesn't take the easy way out.... Sugar Beth really IS all those vile things, but after about 50 pages or so, you are completely rooting for her. SEP manages to explain how Sugar Beth got the way she is, and the reader can not help but root for her.

The hero is also very unique. No more sports heros.... SEP has given us a somewhat effeminate but devastatingly attractive hero. Again, a real challenge to make a guy who waltzes around in a smoking jacket seem manly, but she pulls it off.

I'm often disappointed in SEP books when she tries too hard to do zany, madcap humor (Heaven Texas, First Lady, etc.) Sometimes it falls flat for me and I never really care about the characters or identify with them. But she is in fine form with this book.... it had wonderful humor but is rich with emotion at the same time.
4 people found this helpful
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My favorite book this summer!!

I just finshed the audio version of this book, and I have to say it is one of the best books Philips has ever written. I laughed so hard I cried, and I cried at times too.
Sugarbeth is not quite what she appears to be, and I will not spoil the book for any new reader by saying much about the plot, but Sugarbeth truly is a "woman for the ages." There is a lot of wisdon buried in the pages of this book, and Philips does not cheat her readers by ending the story too soon, or taking the easy way out.
I spend a lot of time and money on books, in particular audio books which cost a lot more than a paperback, and I appreciate an author who gives me 110%. That is rare today when a lot of best selling authors pump out books by the dozen and feed us recycled junk in order to get us to buy another book. That is not true with Philips, and this book is a great example of the writings of an author who loves her audience and her characters.
4 people found this helpful
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Humorous Read Full of Drama and Sexy Romps

Sugar Beth Carey once reigned over the townspeople of Parrish, Mississippi. The small town girl with big city dreams left behind her life in Parrish to embark on bigger and better things and vowed never to return to the mess she left behind.
Fifteen years later, with three marriages under her belt and nothing to show for it but a mangy hound with a bad attitude, Sugar Beth is forced to return to Parrish. She is no longer the beauty queen that everyone adored.
Sugar Beth returns looking more like a high end hooker without a cent to her name in search of a famous painting she inherited and is in desperate need of finding in order to regain her financial footing. She must now face all the skeletons in her closet and the people whose lives she ruined.
Colin Byrne, once a school teacher of Sugar Beth, is now a famous writer. He seeks revenge on Sugar Beth for ruining his life with the lie that he tried to get her into bed while she was his student. Now Colin owns Frenchmen's Bride, the mansion that once belonged to Sugar Beth's family.
Without a penny to her name, Sugar Beth is forced to stay in the carriage house of Frenchmen's Bride while she searches for her painting. She must also face her half sister Winnie who is her father's love child whom she spent her childhood fighting for the love and attention of her father over.
Winnie now has the upper hand on Sugar Beth. Their father's estate was left to her and when Sugar Beth ran off to marry another man, she also left behind Ryan Galantine for Winnie to snatch up and marry.
There are many of Sugar Beth's other childhood friends whom she betrayed and they all vow to make her pay upon her return to Parrish. Colin and Sugar Beth wrestle with a passionate, yet hateful relationship. Colin tries hard to concentrate more on his revenge and less on Sugar Beth's beauty and she tries to ignore the attraction between them to concentrate more on finding her famous painting.
The pace of the book will keep readers enthralled with all of its secrets and steamy romps between Colin and Sugar Beth.
4 people found this helpful

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