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Sugar
SUGAR SORENSON'S LIFE HAS JUST GONE UP IN FLAMES...
...Literally.
Struggling to make ends meet, Sugar has invested everything into Cake Dreams by Sugar with hopes of becoming the most sought-after designer of event desserts in Seattle.
Working - and baking - night and day to perfect her business and her chances of winning a large bake-off prize, she's not prepared for disaster. Within a few hours she's got no place to live and no business, not even a bag of flour or a measuring cup.
Support arrives in the form of an empathetic Victim's Advocate social worker named Tree, a hunky, charming firefighter named Charlie, and a dynamic, ambitious local TV producer. She's Emily, and the first of the trio to make a serious play for Sugar in the morning, Sugar in the evening, and Sugar in the afternoon.
After years as a single lesbian who couldn't get a heartbeat from any woman anywhere, all this attention has Sugar's head spinning. Forced to live with her ailing, homophobic grandmother, she has no idea how she'll get to know any of these new women in her life. They all offer changed circumstances, stability and a hope at forever. But which one will she choose?
FINDING MS. RIGHT IS NO PIECE OF CAKE.
209 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
About the author
Karin Kallmaker
92 books707 followersKarin Kallmaker has been exclusively devoted to lesbian fiction since the publication of her first novel in 1989. As an author published by the storied Naiad Press, she worked with Barbara Grier and Donna McBride, and has been fortunate to be mentored by a number of editors, including Katherine V. Forrest.
In addition to multiple Lambda Literary Awards, she has been featured as a Stonewall Library and Archives Distinguished Author. Other accolades include the Ann Bannon Popular Choice and other awards for her writing, as well as the selection as a Trailblazer by the Golden Crown Literary Society. She is best known for novels such as Painted Moon, Simply the Best, Touchwood, The Kiss that Counted and Captain of Industry.
The California native is the mother of two and lives with her wife in the Bay Area. You can catch her blogs at Romance and Chocolate: https://kallmaker.com/blog/. Find her on social media by searching for "Kallmaker" - there's only one.
In addition to multiple Lambda Literary Awards, she has been featured as a Stonewall Library and Archives Distinguished Author. Other accolades include the Ann Bannon Popular Choice and other awards for her writing, as well as the selection as a Trailblazer by the Golden Crown Literary Society. She is best known for novels such as Painted Moon, Simply the Best, Touchwood, The Kiss that Counted and Captain of Industry.
The California native is the mother of two and lives with her wife in the Bay Area. You can catch her blogs at Romance and Chocolate: https://kallmaker.com/blog/. Find her on social media by searching for "Kallmaker" - there's only one.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 11, 2012
I read this as an "in-between Game of Thrones palate cleanser," as Karin Kallmaker can usually be counted on for some fluffy, quick and easy reads. However, I didn't care for this as much as I do her other books. She really didn't go into depth with the character of Charlie, and their getting together at the end seemed a bit rushed and awkward to me. Partly because I wasn't really invested in the Charlie character, and partly because they really didn't spend very much time together. Also, Kallmaker had so many relationships going on in this book (between Sugar and her sisters, her grandmother, the two side love interests [yes two!], Charlie and her dad/mom, Charlie and Gantry), it was just too much for such a short book. Also, Sugar had a lot of self esteem issues that never really got explained, which I found to be a bit irritating.
October 29, 2017
I liked it, but didn't love it. It was a nice change of pace after reading some angsty stuff. Nikki already covered all the issues I had with it in her review.
December 17, 2019
This is very funny because I didn't like the blurp and I had a hard time picking this one ... and it had ended up being one of the book I preferred by far XD
There are sexy love scenes (yup plural), lot of attraction, quirky secondary characters, and a main character in shock (almost dying does that to you), in denial (nope, cooking books are more important!), bewildered by the sudden appearance of 3 interesting women, while her family has changed without her noticing, being overworked as she is. And behind all that, there is a very slow pace and sweet love story.
And a lot of culinary artistry that made me google "3d cake sculpting" and wooh, some of those are out of the world!
There are sexy love scenes (yup plural), lot of attraction, quirky secondary characters, and a main character in shock (almost dying does that to you), in denial (nope, cooking books are more important!), bewildered by the sudden appearance of 3 interesting women, while her family has changed without her noticing, being overworked as she is. And behind all that, there is a very slow pace and sweet love story.
And a lot of culinary artistry that made me google "3d cake sculpting" and wooh, some of those are out of the world!
May 24, 2010
Overall, I liked this book. It was my first lesbian fiction book and it was short and easy to read. I thought that it seemed very similar to all the hetero romances I've read. My favorite romance author is Susan Elizabeth Phillips and I found that I still preferred her novels more but due more so to her writing style and ability then because of the sexual preference. In Sugar, I didn't love the characters or feel terribly invested in the outcome of the book like I often do with SEP's books. SEP also normally includes a few secondary plots / romances, which is nice. The sex scenes in Sugar were pretty steamy though!
The one thing that I was surprised about was how much the focus was on being a lesbian. They seemed to talk about it a lot. I'm not sure how to explain this, but in straight romances the sexual preferences is just assumed I guess. There's little focus on it, and it isn't really ever something I think about, and that is how I assumed it would be in this book. But in Sugar the fact that they were lesbians seemed to be mentioned a lot, as if I would somehow forget I was reading a lesbian romance novel if the word lesbian wasn't mentioned every page. It was a little bit distracting, I thought. Even most of the secondary characters were lesbians, and it was brought up all the time even in casual things like the main character read "dyke mysteries" with her "favorite dyke detective."
I did have two wtf moments reading this book: 1) the main character wears a purple scrunchie and that kept reminding me of the Sex and the City episode 2) at the party the drunk behavior by one of the guests is explained (briefly) by saying that she was upset because she had to go to a wedding that day of an ex lover who was her 2nd cousin![:|] This was just a random sentence dropped in out of no where. There was no real follow up or explanation and I kept thinking, "Holy Hell, her cousin? Is no one going to explain that?" Weird.
The one thing that I was surprised about was how much the focus was on being a lesbian. They seemed to talk about it a lot. I'm not sure how to explain this, but in straight romances the sexual preferences is just assumed I guess. There's little focus on it, and it isn't really ever something I think about, and that is how I assumed it would be in this book. But in Sugar the fact that they were lesbians seemed to be mentioned a lot, as if I would somehow forget I was reading a lesbian romance novel if the word lesbian wasn't mentioned every page. It was a little bit distracting, I thought. Even most of the secondary characters were lesbians, and it was brought up all the time even in casual things like the main character read "dyke mysteries" with her "favorite dyke detective."
I did have two wtf moments reading this book: 1) the main character wears a purple scrunchie and that kept reminding me of the Sex and the City episode 2) at the party the drunk behavior by one of the guests is explained (briefly) by saying that she was upset because she had to go to a wedding that day of an ex lover who was her 2nd cousin![:|] This was just a random sentence dropped in out of no where. There was no real follow up or explanation and I kept thinking, "Holy Hell, her cousin? Is no one going to explain that?" Weird.
January 20, 2013
I really pity lesbians if this is the best chic-lit they have on offer. Admittedly this is the first lesbian chic-lit I've read so maybe others are better. First, this book is half the length of a standard chic-lit, weighing in at a measly 209 pages. Yet the author feels the need to drop in as many meaty issues as possible but then simply discards them without exploring any of them. Many of them were not story critical and just seemed forced to me. Lets see how many I can list off the top of my head:
- sister married Jew. Ok kinda builds the pretense that Gran is a closed minded old bat. But don't worry everyone she magically becomes tolerant after a life time of prejudices in the space of a day.
- Muslim ex-girlfriend gets artificially inseminated, has 1 paragraph dedicated to her in the whole book. Why bring up that she fears her family will disown her only to cut her out of the book entirely other than being referred to as someone who bought outfits for the main character in the past?
- ok a quicker list of other emotive topics not actually developed - Wiccan beliefs, didn't add anything to the story. - heart attack on retirement day, cliche anyone? - dead parents in a car crash - broken families - low self esteem (very irritating in the story and unresolved why?) - divorces - All this in only 200 pages! Not to mention gran borrows clothes from lesbian at church for main character, is the author implying that all lesbians are the same size? Or perhaps only lesbians can lend other lesbians clothes? And how did the lesbian even get through the doors of her church without being lynched by religious zealots like Gran prior to her becoming 'Ok with Gays'? I would have just popped down to Target and bought myself some new gear in less time than it would have taken to get the donated clothes. So not sure why the author bothered with this line of half story either.
Then there's the fact that the main character goes from prude to slut in 3 pages. And the fact that every lesbian in the book is able to double as a model and the highly unlikely scenario of all 3 of them falling for what comes across as an insecure, not overly attractive hermit. And the fact that despite never having been on a single date or had a conversation longer than 2 minutes the main character and the fire fighter suddenly start weeping and declaring that they Love each other! WTF. These aren't 16 year olds, they are 35 year old women for Gods (or Goddesses) sake!
The book could have worked if the author had bothered with any character development at all, dropped some of the excessive hot topics and delved deeper into others - eg the fire fighters back story with her mother and her relationship with the Wiccan.
I wanted to give the author the benefit of the doubt and thought perhaps this was her first book - but Oh! No! She's cracked out easily a dozen others. Probably at a rate of 3 a week if the length and depth of this story is anything to go by.
- sister married Jew. Ok kinda builds the pretense that Gran is a closed minded old bat. But don't worry everyone she magically becomes tolerant after a life time of prejudices in the space of a day.
- Muslim ex-girlfriend gets artificially inseminated, has 1 paragraph dedicated to her in the whole book. Why bring up that she fears her family will disown her only to cut her out of the book entirely other than being referred to as someone who bought outfits for the main character in the past?
- ok a quicker list of other emotive topics not actually developed - Wiccan beliefs, didn't add anything to the story. - heart attack on retirement day, cliche anyone? - dead parents in a car crash - broken families - low self esteem (very irritating in the story and unresolved why?) - divorces - All this in only 200 pages! Not to mention gran borrows clothes from lesbian at church for main character, is the author implying that all lesbians are the same size? Or perhaps only lesbians can lend other lesbians clothes? And how did the lesbian even get through the doors of her church without being lynched by religious zealots like Gran prior to her becoming 'Ok with Gays'? I would have just popped down to Target and bought myself some new gear in less time than it would have taken to get the donated clothes. So not sure why the author bothered with this line of half story either.
Then there's the fact that the main character goes from prude to slut in 3 pages. And the fact that every lesbian in the book is able to double as a model and the highly unlikely scenario of all 3 of them falling for what comes across as an insecure, not overly attractive hermit. And the fact that despite never having been on a single date or had a conversation longer than 2 minutes the main character and the fire fighter suddenly start weeping and declaring that they Love each other! WTF. These aren't 16 year olds, they are 35 year old women for Gods (or Goddesses) sake!
The book could have worked if the author had bothered with any character development at all, dropped some of the excessive hot topics and delved deeper into others - eg the fire fighters back story with her mother and her relationship with the Wiccan.
I wanted to give the author the benefit of the doubt and thought perhaps this was her first book - but Oh! No! She's cracked out easily a dozen others. Probably at a rate of 3 a week if the length and depth of this story is anything to go by.
July 19, 2013
Sugar is the name of the protagonist of this sweet romance. When her kitchen catches fire, she unexpectedly meets 3 attractive women. The novel follows Sugar's exploration of relationships with each of the women, as well as those with her self, friends, and family.
The characters in this book are very well-developed. I've read the book a number of times, and didn't mind reading it one more time. The characters really stayed with me; they are truly the heart of the story.
Growing writers can learn from this type of character development, as it is highly effective in reaching the reader.
The characters in this book are very well-developed. I've read the book a number of times, and didn't mind reading it one more time. The characters really stayed with me; they are truly the heart of the story.
Growing writers can learn from this type of character development, as it is highly effective in reaching the reader.
August 15, 2007
No tragic endings, no horrible angst - this is a bubble-gum romance perfect for beach reading (if you like that sort of thing), or anytime reading when you are just in the mood for fluff and happy endings.
October 26, 2012
If you just want a fun little book to enjoy, this is it. This book just makes me laugh and relax from a long day.
October 15, 2018
I won't bother with a summary as other reviews are likely to have that covered and, if not, there's always the blurb.
After skimming the other reviews for this book I think it's important to clear up a few general issues:
1) This isn't chic-lit. This is a lesbian romance - and a light one at that.
2) This isn't Dostoyevski. As mentioned above, this is a light read. It pairs well with both chilling at the beach and chilling in your favorite over-stuffed chair.
3) 200-ish pages is pretty standard for lesbian novels. I've no idea why that's just the way of it.
4) Leaving a one- or two-star rating because this novel wasn't the genre you expected it to be is petty. It's not the author's fault you pulled the trigger without first doing a wee bit of research or reading a few reviews. You can leave a review warning folk of how very not a het chic-lit (or whatever) this book is without leaving a rating.
5) If, on the other hand, you're a lesfic fan and you think the author has seriously dropped the ball in some way, then, by all means, rate it as you see fit.
Now, on to my review of Sugar by Karin Kallmaker.
I enjoyed it. It's a likable bit of fluff that I've read two or three times and will probably read again at some point.
That's it. Off you go now.
After skimming the other reviews for this book I think it's important to clear up a few general issues:
1) This isn't chic-lit. This is a lesbian romance - and a light one at that.
2) This isn't Dostoyevski. As mentioned above, this is a light read. It pairs well with both chilling at the beach and chilling in your favorite over-stuffed chair.
3) 200-ish pages is pretty standard for lesbian novels. I've no idea why that's just the way of it.
4) Leaving a one- or two-star rating because this novel wasn't the genre you expected it to be is petty. It's not the author's fault you pulled the trigger without first doing a wee bit of research or reading a few reviews. You can leave a review warning folk of how very not a het chic-lit (or whatever) this book is without leaving a rating.
5) If, on the other hand, you're a lesfic fan and you think the author has seriously dropped the ball in some way, then, by all means, rate it as you see fit.
Now, on to my review of Sugar by Karin Kallmaker.
I enjoyed it. It's a likable bit of fluff that I've read two or three times and will probably read again at some point.
That's it. Off you go now.
January 3, 2021
A quick fluffy lesbian cooking romance read. Non stressful and low stakes which is perfect for our reality.
I liked Sugar and especially enjoyed reading about her relationship with her religious grandmother and her three sisters. The family relationships definitely made me think of my own family.
I do wish, however, that there had been another two or three chapters to close out the book. The end with Charlie was so rushed compared to the build up with Tree and Emily. Plus I wanted to see Sugar succeed in the cooking contest that had to get put off and for her to run into Emily after she started dating Charlie.
So three stars to start out the year, I just think this book needed a bit more to round it out.
I liked Sugar and especially enjoyed reading about her relationship with her religious grandmother and her three sisters. The family relationships definitely made me think of my own family.
I do wish, however, that there had been another two or three chapters to close out the book. The end with Charlie was so rushed compared to the build up with Tree and Emily. Plus I wanted to see Sugar succeed in the cooking contest that had to get put off and for her to run into Emily after she started dating Charlie.
So three stars to start out the year, I just think this book needed a bit more to round it out.
September 11, 2017
Really interesting at first, then it got really boring.
Her "homophobic" grandmother is not homophobic at all; she has significantly changed since Sugar last saw her. I was actually rather disappointed at that. I wanted to see how Sugar dealt with secrecy and finally confronting her grandmother or coming out to her.
Putting her coming out in the first chapter was interesting at the time, but it really deflated the sense of suspense for the rest of the book. She came out and...absolutely nothing happened.
I think I won't stray from fantasy and science fiction, preferably with queer characters, again anytime soon.
Her "homophobic" grandmother is not homophobic at all; she has significantly changed since Sugar last saw her. I was actually rather disappointed at that. I wanted to see how Sugar dealt with secrecy and finally confronting her grandmother or coming out to her.
Putting her coming out in the first chapter was interesting at the time, but it really deflated the sense of suspense for the rest of the book. She came out and...absolutely nothing happened.
I think I won't stray from fantasy and science fiction, preferably with queer characters, again anytime soon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2018
There is just no story here. There are 3 love interests and there is no chemistry between any of them. Nothing happens. She has minimal contact with the person she falls in love with. Where is the story???*** minor spoilers: Her apartment catches on fire. She sleeps with someone. She bakes a cake. Her gran has surgery. Shes magically in love. The End. I just saved you a few hours. 2 stars for lack of chemistry, plot, and entertainment.
June 2, 2024
4 stars. Very light and fluffy read from Kallmaker here. I really enjoyed it. The characters are likable and charming, the plot is fun and there’s no angst. My one and only complaint is that the romance between Sugar and Charlie at the end was lackluster. Sugar had much more chemistry with Tree and Emily. Why did she end up with Charlie? Made no sense to me personally but other than that this was good and it was just what I wanted from it.
July 27, 2025
A lovely little story about a baker whose life is turned upside down. In the process of building it back together she finds new love and new connections to her family. There is spice, a charming god-fearing grandma, and firefighters (oh my!!).
Entertaining and easy read. Recommended for a flight or on the beach, when you need something light and comforting.
Trigger alert: plenty of baked goods mentioned throughout the book, prepare yourself to get hungry.
Rating: 4 stars
Entertaining and easy read. Recommended for a flight or on the beach, when you need something light and comforting.
Trigger alert: plenty of baked goods mentioned throughout the book, prepare yourself to get hungry.
Rating: 4 stars
July 25, 2022
4.75 Muy bueno, quería que se quedara con tal chica y no me decepcionó! el romance fue muy tierno y, aunque terminó en un buen momento, hubiera querido ver más. Considero sí que fue muy corto, no cubrió muchas cosas ni vimos mucha profundidad en sus personajes. Pero aún así lo disfruté, se lee rápido y es divertido.
August 16, 2017
simple, beautiful, engaging and sweet. it didn't try to hard. gave us a beautiful love story with nice background characters
July 9, 2018
Love this book
Love this book probably read it 3 or 4 times. Karin is a master storyteller. Continue to look forward to new things she has written and to revisit old friends.
Love this book probably read it 3 or 4 times. Karin is a master storyteller. Continue to look forward to new things she has written and to revisit old friends.
November 9, 2018
Fun read
This was a cute story and i really liked the characters. I enjoyed reading about the chemistry between them all.
This was a cute story and i really liked the characters. I enjoyed reading about the chemistry between them all.
May 16, 2016
Definitely not as good as Roller Coaster, the first Kallmaker book I read.
Bothersome qualities: the main character's low self-esteem, the fact that everyone is a lesbian who looks like they could be a model, the idea that three modelesque lesbians would be attracted to someone with such low self-esteem, and the love-heavy ending. I like my lesbian fantasy to include some obvious alternative universe qualities, like dragons or something. The whole super-sexy women being into someone so messy, insecure, and average just makes me cringe, like when I read OOC fanfic.
Winsome qualities: dang good pacing, titillating tension, and humour. Sugar is a pretty funny narrator, even if she comes across as too self-deprecating for me to really root for her as a romantic option for anyone else in the book. The sex scenes are in the winsome and the bothersome categories for me, as the sex is pretty hot, but the terminology used made me laugh out loud. I think the phrase "soaking folds" was used. No. Just, no.
I'll definitely be looking at Kallmaker's later work for my next lezzie romance read. Her style (and the words she uses in sex scenes--very important!) seems to have improved over the years.
Bothersome qualities: the main character's low self-esteem, the fact that everyone is a lesbian who looks like they could be a model, the idea that three modelesque lesbians would be attracted to someone with such low self-esteem, and the love-heavy ending. I like my lesbian fantasy to include some obvious alternative universe qualities, like dragons or something. The whole super-sexy women being into someone so messy, insecure, and average just makes me cringe, like when I read OOC fanfic.
Winsome qualities: dang good pacing, titillating tension, and humour. Sugar is a pretty funny narrator, even if she comes across as too self-deprecating for me to really root for her as a romantic option for anyone else in the book. The sex scenes are in the winsome and the bothersome categories for me, as the sex is pretty hot, but the terminology used made me laugh out loud. I think the phrase "soaking folds" was used. No. Just, no.
I'll definitely be looking at Kallmaker's later work for my next lezzie romance read. Her style (and the words she uses in sex scenes--very important!) seems to have improved over the years.
May 6, 2010
i really liked this book. im so hesitant to read lesbian books because they just get so cheezy and...lesbionic. lol. but i found myself not wanting to put this down. since i love baking and am so interested in cake decorating, this really held my interest. i also liked the characters, and thought sugar was adorable and relatable. i could do without the sappy, weird, cheezy conversations towards the end between sugar and charlie, but im glad i read it and will probably read more of kallmaker's books.
June 28, 2013
I really liked this story. I just finished a training in pastries so it reminded me of stuff (both good and bad). I've liked the characters. I didn't like the way Sugar obviously thought bad of herself (her appearance and beauty). But everything else I've liked. I liked the three women 'courting' her and their different personalities (qualities AND flaws). Liked the ending too. And obviously Karin's writing, as always.
June 26, 2012
I thought this was a chick lit book, but it was a romance. i really don't enjoy romances. if you do, maybe you'll like it. i did finish it all the way through because it was short anyway, and the main character is a fancy cake baker who was starting her own business and it was interesting to see how those 3d special cakes are baked, plus how someone gets their name out as a business. however, that was VERY background to the main romance. Just not my thing.
July 1, 2016
This was sweet, both the romance and the way what could have been a disaster at the beginning of the book leads to Sugar being able to re-establish a closer relationship with her grandmother and sisters. The characters were all engaging and well written and I enjoyed the growing relationships with the three very different women that Sugar meets. Lovely.
July 25, 2011
Sokerileipuri, tv-tuottaja, sosiaalityöntekijä ja palomies. Lesboromanssi ihanan höttöisimmästä päästä.
November 26, 2014
loved it
October 20, 2009
I love Charlie SO MUCH. Even more than the baking stuff.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews