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Archive for the ‘Author Spotlight’ Category

It’s not often that I read a book, and then feel compelled to immediately read every other book that author has written. But once I read The Sugar Queen by Best Selling Author Sarah Addison Allen, I knew I had to get my hands on all of her other books. At the time, only two other titles were available (Garden Spells and The Girl Who Chased the Moon), and I read them both within three days. I marked my calendar for the release date of the fourth (something else I rarely do), and got it the day it came out. I didn’t rush out at midnight (like I did to buy the last five Harry Potter books), but don’t think I wasn’t tempted. To date, she has released the following four books:

The Peach Keeper
The Girl Who Chased the Moon
The Sugar Queen
Garden Spells

One of my favorite characteristics of these books is the way Allen sprinkles a little bit of magic into the book, and it never seems completely impossible. In fact, she makes it seem quite probable. Being someone who has always adored fairy tales, I highly enjoy this magical, fairy tale quality. Food is another dimension present in most of her books that keeps me coming back. In Garden Spells, baking is integral to the plot. And, in The Sugar Queen, candy and sweet snacks are very essential to the story. I love food (eating it and making it!), so it is only natural I would love reading about it. The descriptions of all the food make it all sound so delectable. Lavender bread, hummingbird cake, espresso brownies, even Gobstoppers!

While my favorite of the four novels is Garden Spells, the remaining three are all close 2nds. The stories are so creative, and the characters very memorable. Each of these books prominently feature romance, mystery, and (of course) magic! They are all fairly quick reads, and I believe they would make fantastic book club selections. There is even a section of her website specifically for book club meetings. This section features discussion questions, and even recipes from the book to make for the get together!

http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/book_clubs.html.

If you are familiar with this author’s work (or you intelligently take my recommendation and read her books), then you will probably also enjoy Kate Morton. I recently finished her novel, The Forgotten Garden, and her writing is very similar. But I will save that for another time!