Product Description

In high school Sugar Carey had reigned supreme. She alone had decided what or who was cool. Her spiral perm had been the perm against which all others were measured, and her opinion on which boys were acceptable to date the only one that counted. A beautiful, blonde - if not always benevolent - dictator, she had a reputation for being the wild child in her home town, the girl most likely to set the world on fire, and leave a trail of destruction in her wake. When she left home she swore she'd never return. Only now, fifteen years and several husbands later, she's run out of money, luck and options. But Sugar arrives back home to discover that everyone else is living her life. Her half sister is married to Sugar's high school sweetheart, the teacher she schemed to get fired is now a successful novelist and owns her old house. She also discovers that people have long memories - especially where Sugar is concerned

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #145745 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Susan Elizabeth Philips has found fans all over the world with her warm and wonderful contemporary love stories that manage to touch hearts as well as funny bones. She lives in the Chicago suburbs and is the mother of two sons.

Customer Reviews

Ain't She Sweet?
This is the first book by SEP, as she is called by her many long time fans, that I have had the pleasure of reading. "AIN'T SHE SWEET" is an interesting tale about what happens when a small southern towns bad girl returns home.
Sugar Beth Carey was the most hated girl in Parish, Mississippi. She was beautiful, rich and came from one of the town's most prominent families and now 15 years later she is forced to return home to Parish after a string of bad luck. But don't think that this is the story of a woman who has been humbled by the hardships befallen her and has returned home to make amends. Sugar Beth has lost none of her edge and is simply in need of some fast cash so she can hightail it right back out of her small Mississippi town. Unfortunately this is not as easy as she may have hope and she is force to come face to face with old enemies who still hold old grudges.
"AIN'T SHE SWEET" is not the funny romp that I expected when I purchased it, it does have it's more serious moments. I, however, enjoyed it nonetheless. I will definitely be purchasing more of SEP's works in the future!

Good for a laugh, and a cry.
This book shows that SEP can do more. Sugar Beth is not a thirty year old homely virgin waiting for her true love. Sugar Beth is over thirty and, although she still has her looks, it shows through her worn-out outlet T-shirt. She is anything but homely; serving on other people is not her nature, but simply a way to make money to survive. And a virgin? After three husbands, not likely.

Sugar Beth Carey was the queen of Parrish, Mississippi. She was the most beautiful, the most popular, the most powerful, and, of course, the richest girl in school. She was wild and raised to think she was the best; even her teachers had nothing to see over her. She could make you or break you, she made the rules, and when she left Parrish, it was left in a state of bewilderment over this whirlwind of a girl.

Now Sugar Beth Carey Tharp Zagurski Hooper is back in Parrish. And this Sugar Beth is dirt-poor, has no friends except for her latest husband's 51 year old retarded daughter, and is generally the least wanted person in all of Parrish. And all of her former friends, and her former teacher, Collin Byrne, try their hardest to make her feel it.

This book is a daring example of how to keep your head up high when you've done things wrong, really, really wrong. Sugar Beth doesn't grovel or ask for forgiveness. Instead, she takes what is coming to her with her head held high, and admits that she has been wrong without losing any of her pride. She accepts, even creates situations in which other people can get back at her. So what if she puts her faults on display to prevent anyone else taking a turn at her? Still, the book is light-hearted enough to enjoy on a summer holiday.

This is not a Chicago Stars story, but still, SEP manages to lace some of her earlier work through this book: Molly Summers and her children's books (This Heart of Mine) briefly appear.

Good for a laugh, and a cry.

Great read
This is the 1st book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different because the "heroine" is not the type of woman you usually read about. Normally this type of character is given a secondary role by an author. But Sugar Beth(a name I found difficult getting my tongue around) has serious flaws and you are quite horrified at her behaviour as a teenager. But as you read on she grows on you and you realise that she's a strong woman who is genuinely repentant about her past. She's not perfect but then no one is. What interested me most about this book was the dialogue, especially the conversations between Sugar Beth and Colin. Very entertaining. As the book progresses you find yourself rooting for Sugar Beth to come out the winner. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable book and I will definitely be reading this author again!