The Sugar Palace

by Fiona McIntosh

Under the clamour of the Sydney Harbour Bridge being built nearby, Grace Fairweather is working in her father’s grocery shop in The Rocks when she begins making her own confectionery. Her colourful creations of toffees, lollies and chocolates soon become crowd favourites, and Grace begins to dream of one day opening her own sweetshop.

When the roguish but irresistible Londoner Alfie Sweeting comes to work for the Fairweathers, his ambition for her success thrills her – so much so that she begins to question her engagement to Norman. Perhaps the ‘safe’ option in life isn’t the right thing for her after all. Alfie encourages her to open not just a sweetshop, but a delightful destination for young and old – a sugar palace!

With Grace’s natural business acumen and Alfie’s creative sales skills, it seems like they could be the perfect pairing – in work and in love – but when Alfie’s criminal past catches up with him, both their lives come under threat and Grace is forced to make the most difficult decision of all.

Moving between the colourful world of a carnival-like confectionery store and Sydney’s organised crime world of brothel madams, gambling dens and cocaine dealers, this is a thrilling romantic adventure that shows not everyone is to be trusted, and life isn’t always as sweet as it seems.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Book Club, Chick Lit

382 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2023

About the author

Fiona writes best selling historical adventure-romance alongside the heroic-romantic, often brutal, fantasy she built her career upon. She lives in Australia but frequently roams the world meticulously researching the locations and gathering material for her historical novels that have international settings. Her books are published worldwide and in various languages.
Her most recent historical fiction has gathered such a following that she is now hosting a tour in 2014 to Paris and Provence so eager readers can walk in the footsteps of her characters.


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing better than a sugar fix and a good book, Fiona McIntosh has given her readers both with another fabulous story with this one, set around Sydney and The Rocks in the 1920’s while the building of The Sydney Harbour Bridge was going on we meet Grace Fairweather and learn of her dreams to open a confectionary shop and I loved it.

Grace is working in her parent’s grocery store in The Rocks but her dream is of making her own confectionary, lollipops, toffee, fudge you name it Grace wants to make it and make it available to everyone. Her mother is keen for Grace to settle down and marry police officer Norman Jenkins, but Grace is holding back, she wants to make her own decisions not be told what to do. Then along comes cheeky Londoner Alfie Sweeting and there is an instant spark between them and Alfie is keen to encourage and help Grace to aim and see success with her dream.

Grace’s mother Mary and Norman are not happy when Grace speaks up about getting married but soon they can all see that Alfie may be the one for Grace, Alfie is keen to help get the Grace’s shop The Sugar Palace open, Alfie also has a past that tends to run towards the criminal side and soon there are some not so nice people hanging around and causing lots of problems. Brothel owners and gambling and drug dealing criminals play a big part in this story, and keep you turning the pages to see what happens.

This is a wonderful story with wonderful characters who come to life on the pages, this time is Sydney was a hard time and MS McIntosh made me feel like I was there, I loved Grace’s strength and determination and Alfie might have had a tough life earlier on but he is smart and eager to please the woman he loves.

This is a story that I highly recommend, the excitement of opening the shop and the confectionary described had my mouth watering, so many fabulous characters to come along and meet, don’t miss this one.

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4.5 Stars⭐️
‘𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑤𝑒’𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑦𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑢𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑎𝑟’

A tantalising and sugary treat that will have you wanting more! I loved reading The Sugar Palace by Fiona McIntosh and found it a fast and gripping read.

The Sugar Palace take us to The Rocks, Sydney in the 1920’s, a time during the noisy construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the existence of the dark criminal underworld of the Razor Gangs.

Young Grace Fairweather is the daughter of a well regarded grocery store owner, she makes her own handmade confectionery and has a dream to open her own sweetshop one day. When she meets endearing Londoner Alfie Sweeting she breaks off her engagement to local policeman Norman Jenkins and her life takes an exciting and dangerous turn.

Alfie Sweeting is a handsome man with a shady past, he’s charismatic, cunning, can spin a lie like spun sugar and wants to win Grace’s heart. With Alfie’s enthusiasm, good intentions and creative selling skills they are perfect together and partner to create the sugar palace - the perfect destination for a sugar treat experience!

The descriptions of the chocolates and confectionary being created in this story will send you over the edge and had me craving those sweet treats. I adored Grace, Alfie and Holly’s characters and the situations they all got themselves into were adventurous and intriguing.

An exciting tale of adventure, romance, ambition and crime. I’m hoping there’s a sequel to come!

See if you can notice who in the book makes a guest appearance from a previous novel.

Publication Date 17 October 2023
Publisher Penguin Books Australia

A huge thank you to Penguin Books Australia for a copy of the book!

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this Historical Fiction, set in the 1920's, by prolific Australian author Fiona McIntosh.
I think that the setting of Sydney CBD enhanced the story for me and gave me an added connection to the characters, as being my home town, all scenes were easily imagined.

Grace Fairweather works in her parents' grocery store however she has dreams of one day owning her own confectionery store.
When she meets the charismatic Alfie Sweeting she is immediately smitten. Alfie encourages her to reach for the stars and pushes her to realise her dreams but all is not easy going as Alfie has ties to the dark underbelly of Sydney and those ties are not easily broken.

I loved all the mentions of the sweets that Grace was making and how they came up with names and marketed the business.
There is lots of tension as the seedier side of Sydney is prevalent in Alfie's life and McIntosh adds an element of reality by including some of the more infamous characters from that era.

I was barracking for Grace to succeed. She was strong and determined. She spoke her mind and didn't judge people less fortunate than herself. 

The Sugar Palace was an engaging tale of double crossing, crime, drug dealing and extortion wrapped around toffee apples, fairy floss and chocolates.

I am so glad that The Global Girls Online Book Club picked The Sugar Palace as their monthly read.

[Beccabeccabooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

1920's Sydney. A modern world is emerging, with the construction of the Harbour Bridge underway, and women being given the right to vote. However, in inner city The Rocks, it's the same old life for grocer's daughter, Grace Fairweather.

Day in and day out, she works in her father's store, dreaming of opportunity and change. There's no way that she's going to succumb to society's expectations of marriage and children, even if she is 'engaged' to local constable, Norman Jenkins. Instead, her head is full of ownership of a bright and colourful shop, where one can lose themselves in the simple pleasure of biting into a confectionery.

Sadly, her parents don't entertain this notion and are rather bemused by it. Sure, they 'allow' Grace to sell her treats amongst other stock, but as soon as she's married off, that's the end of her venture.

Despite being fiercely independent and extremely vocal, Grace doesn't have the confidence to stand up to her parents nor her bullish 'fiancee'. This all changes when she meets, quite by chance, cheeky Alfie Sweeting. The English born lad is bit of con artist, who uses his wit and street smartness to charm (and gamble) his way through the city. But, as soon as he locks eyes with Grace, he knows that life is all but forgotten.

Alfie's used to people looking down at him and he wants that to change. However, with Grace, he's free to be his charming self and his confidence is catching. There's also nothing he wouldn't do for Grace, starting by financing the grand opening of The Sugar Palace. Unfortunately, he's led more by his heart than head, and wanting to raise funds as quickly as possible, a deal is struck within one of Sydney's madames of organised crime gangs.

Soon, Alfie's past becomes his present once more. The more favours he asks for and deals made, the deeper he falls into trouble. Meanwhile, Grace is unbeknownst of her loves actions and defends his every move. But what happens when an impossible choice has to be made and everything you believed in is shattered into pieces?

Fiona McIntosh transported me to a extremely different Sydney that I'm used to. Way before it became the world's stage, the city was gritty, grimy and led by criminals. Their preferred way of making a quick buck were drug circulating, and if you didn't pay up, you paid by swimming with the fishes. It was also a time of prostution, forcing adolescent girls into the business as soon as possible. Thank goodness kind hearted people like Grace and Alfie existed. They immediately spotted hidden, worthwhile potential and gave those girls like Holly a second chance, never once regretting their decision.

All those sweets made my mouth water. I wish that The Sugar Palace was a real institution because I'd be there on a regular basis. Individually, our trio of business owners/ manager are brilliant minded, but combined, are a genius force that just kept fighting to reach their full potential.

Such a carefully plotted and incredibly well researched story, one that explodes with colour and flavour at every opportunity.

5 🌟

[J Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don't understand what people like about this book. It's written like it's for, generously 8 year olds. Everything is so over explained and at such a basic level I felt like I was reading how to start a business for dummies. Any word over 2 syllables was defined after it was used just in case I didn't know it. She defined the word logistics twice in a single chapter! It makes all the dialogue incredibly clunky and unnatural, it's awkward to read.

Honestly, it feels like the author was just phoning this one in. Everything takes the easy route, it's cliche and boring plot wise, the characters are one dimensional and everything is shown not told. At one point the author introduces a cat purely so she can shoehorn in dialogue explaining why the parents are behaving the way they are. You can't tell me how they express love and expect me to believe it, just write the characters so they act like that!

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully sweet and roguish return to Sydney in the 1920’s, including the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, which is brilliantly narrated by Ainslie McGlynn.

I will definitely be reading more historical tales from Fiona McIntosh in future.

[Craig and Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Penguin for sending us a copy to read and review.
A master storyteller, vivid locations, plot perfection, strong characters and exceptional research is just the beginning of excellence that is, The Sugar Palace.
A story that’s sweet, colourful and full of flavour.
Historical fiction boss Fiona McIntosh does it again with another unforgettable epic tale.
In 1920’s Sydney and the city is busy with the structure of the Harbour Bridge being built, Grace Fairweather works at her parent’s grocery store and is engaged to local policeman, Norman.
Making the sweet treats she dreams of owning her own sweet store, one day.
When rascal but charming Alfie Sweeting arrives, his charismatic ways have her intrigued and questioning her engagement.
With Grace’s cooking skills and business savvy and Alfie’s street smarts and sale techniques, they decide to open a store and the beginnings of love blossoms.
But Alfie can’t escape his criminal past and soon both are in danger and menace.
A mouthwatering and delicious delight that has romance, corruption, revenge, friendship, crime, adventure, passion, betrayal and success.
Well structured, beautifully written and tightly plotted.
Fiona has the great ability to bring the ideal combination of descriptive setting, character development and a powerful and memorable narrative.
She maintains her high profile presence in the chosen genre.
A tumultuous journey from the streets of The Rocks to the underground of organised crime to the smells and eye candy of the confectionery world this is one book not to be missed.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sugar Palace is undeniably the 'sweetest story' ever written by Fiona McIntosh.

It's a colourful fairytale spun from sugar! Or, it certainly feels and tastes like this...

Set in the time of the Sydney Harbour Bridge being built where Grace Fairweather works in her father's grocery shop in The Rocks, Grace starts making her own colourful creations; toffees, the best toffee apples, lollies 🍭 and chocolates!

It's the opening of The Sugar Palace itself where the story starts to take shape after a great beginning.

Set in the Queen Victoria Building where Alfie swoons Grace off her feet into a turmoil of romance and the deepest sweetest love but there is a dark side to every story ~ the sinister activities of Sydney's underworld.

* My favourite part of the story is the creation of fairy floss where it is described as 'sugar that is spun with air'.

'Fairy floss is usually pink but Grace decides to make their fairy floss 'blue' to match the Australian sky on a summer morning'.

I really loved this brand, new story by Fiona McIntosh ~ it is one of my favourite books of the year.

[Karen Donnellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book from my favourite authors was on my list to get, and I snapped it up when I saw it at my library! I was put off by the names of the characters - Grace Fair-weather and Alfie Sweeting - they couldn't be more twee or saccharine sweet (pun intended). More believable names would have been less annoying. I know names are meant to describe character, but it was a bit much. That aside, it was nice to read a story of my hometown with suburbs I recognised - even The Fortune of War pub at the Rocks, which I went to a couple of times in my younger days. I was aware of the history of the razor gangs and the women who were in charge, but I didn't realise coccaine was such a popular drug in the 1920's, I thought it was more about alcohol and gambling. I was a bit unsure as to whether the Sugar Palace shop was inside the glamorous Queen Victoria Building or not. Sorry, one more thing, there was a reference to every millimeter of the counter being clean - it would have been inches in those days. Despite these picky things, I did enjoy the read.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in Sydney in the 1920s this is the story of Grace Fairweather, her shopkeeper parents and the love of her life, Alfie. Grace, with the help and hinderance of Alfie, establishes a sweet shop.

An easy read with a very predictable, somewhat cheesy, plot. I always want to enjoy McIntosh’s historical fiction more than I do. Her research is generally good, she has a loyal following, and is amazing at being in touch with her readership, but I’m afraid I’m always left a little ho hum!

An easy read, entertaining at times.

[Kerri Bee · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot was weak and lacked a likeness to the real world. Characters were shallow and not overly likeable.
How many times can the word ‘cocaine’ be mentioned?!
I only finished this book to see if there was any point to it, I was disappointed to find out there wasn’t.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I sometimes struggle to get into Fiona McIntosh’s novels, but not this time, I was hooked from the very first page! A must read.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

As Fiona put it in her acknowledgements, this book is certainly a fun read. I of course loved the little bits of interesting history sprinkled throughout the novel like the building of the sydney harbour bridge and the police complex. The attitude and outlook of Grace towards her life was certainly understandable for the time period with the rise in womens rights and the idea of what a woman was supposed to do changing. It wasn’t overly feminist however but rather simply reflected the social attitudes at that point in time in australia, which I appreciated.

As for Alfie, he regularly caused me angst and frustration because of his poor choices and situations he found himself in. There was a very clear disparity between Grace’s innocent, safe world and that of Alfie’s (both past and present) and I found this quite fascinating. I loved how the book was set in Sydney and I could recognise some of the places mentioned in the novel.

Alfie’s cheeky banter was quite amusing, complementing Grace’s personality - I could really see how Alfie thought whenever in potentially dangerous situations even whilst I was shouting “No Alfie, don’t do it!” in my head. I really loved Holly’s character as well. It’s very clear how her life has shaped who she’s become but it’s beautiful to see how she still retains some childish joy.

I would definitely recommend this book to others - just another of Fiona McIntosh’s excellent novels.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travel back to Sydney in the 1920s with The Sugar Palace. The Harbour Bridge is being built and there is a sense of change in the air. Grace has big dreams, she wants to open her own sweet shop in Sydney. But her family want her to marry the local police officer, settle down and start a family. Enter Alfie, the Englishman who doesn’t always stay on the right side of the law. Grace Is smitten 😍

I loved this story, set in my hometown in the past, I always love learning history through historical fiction. I was in the mood for something different and Fiona McIntosh is an author that ai have read and enjoyed before. This was the first of her historical fiction books I have read, I shall be looking for more.

Thanks so much to my friend Rachel for sending me this book for Christmas.

[Pauline Reid · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story didn't grab me at all.

Although the Prologue was alluring that was about it, once I got past that I found it quite depressing and thought what was the point of it all.

All in all the female protagonist realises she wants to start a business of baking sugary things, so in other words opening up a shop. All well in good if you are into lots of sugary stuff. Once I was, but not now, so I didn't find it uplifting, infact I found it quite uninteresting, the plot fell flat for me, not enough structure, very "flowery" writing.

Giving it a 1 star review, dnf it at 97 pages in, infact I haven't read for two days straight so that's telling you something.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the Sydney history sprinkled amongst this tale!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, but not amongst my favourites by this author.

[Aryani Siti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thrilling romantic adventure that shows not everyone is to be trusted, and life isn't always as sweet as it seems. Fantastic read!

[Mercedes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The streets of Sydney and the Rocks come to life in McIntosh’s latest book set in the turbulent 1920s under the shadow of the building of the Harbour Bridge.

For the second time, McIntosh has set one of her books in Australia, compelled by the pandemic to conduct her on-the-ground research closer to home. The result is a story about a fictional woman, Grace Fairweather, who steps out from the safety of her parent’s Rocks grocery store to start her own confectionary emporium, loosely based on the Darrel Lea story of making sweets and chocolates available to the masses.

But it’s not an easy path as Grace’s love interest, petty crim Alfie Sweeting, brings Sydney’s criminal underbelly to her door.

I love a historical fiction novel that so deftly blends fictional characters with real life ones. In this book, you’ll find crime personalities Kate Leigh, Tilly Devine and her brutish husband Big Jim, as well as the lesser know cocaine queen, May Smith, interacting with Grace and Alfie.

I also love how McIntosh was inspired by the real story Darrel Lea to recreate Grace’s shop, based on thorough research and McIntosh’s strict rule to only write about places after she has physically walked in them, no easy feat during the pandemic.

The result is a sweeping saga filled with memorable characters that brings to life a bygone era in a truly evocative way.

[Sarah Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

With The Sugar Palace, Fiona McIntosh has delivered another incredibly entertaining and absorbing historical novel set against the backdrop of 1920’s Sydney. Grace Fairweather works alongside her parents in their grocery shop in The Rocks but she has a passion for making her own sweet tasting treats and chocolates. Grace dreams of one day opening her very own sweet. When she meets petty criminal Alfie Sweeting she is swept off her feet but he encourages her to think big and pursue her dream. Will Alfie’s continued involvement with the Sydney’s underworld be Grace’s undoing? Highly recommended.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Fiona McIntosh, but this book fell a bit short for me. I could see what she was trying to achieve in looking into crime, drugs and the confectionery trade, but for me the characters felt a little cliched. I got sick of Grace's Mum in the early chapters and even Grace herself was just a little too good to be true, and her amazing luck in making so much money out of her ideas. It was all just a bit sweet and marvellous.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Fiona Mackintosh’s books but somehow I felt this one wasn’t up to standard. I see most people have given the book four or five stars but for me I could only justify three stars. The story seemed predictable and very saccharine all round. Again historically well researched. Maybe there is too much pressure on Fiona by publishers now to come up with too many books each year. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous story by Fiona! I could taste the sweets as she described Grace's creations. Also being a new resident to Sydney, the location of the sweet shop and goings on in this story felt so familiar. It's nice to understand and explore and area that a story takes place within. I felt the same way about 'The Orphans'. I am so grateful for Fionas style of writing, I never wish to put her books down and find myself making extra time in the day, to read. There is never enough pages, I always want to know more!
I loved the protagonist Grace and her family and I would say a great number of people can relate to falling in love with a town rebel. I found particular enjoyment in references to gang related culture in Sydney's 1920s era, although questioned Tillys sensitivity at times. I almost hoped that Grace would become a huge sweet treat gang boss lady by the end of it all! But I appreciated she stuck to her values and created a life she wanted. It's motivated me to continue on my personal journey discovering sweet treats, improving on my baking etc. Looking forward to Fionas next shared recipe in her newsletter, those treats always look scrumptious! 😋

[Jülie ☼♄  · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this book! First I was ready to rush out and buy apples to desperately make toffee apples, then it was Hilliers chocolate! And now it’s high tea with the works!!! And all I have at hand is half a block of dairy milk chocolate…half melted in this Australian summer heat!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it has so much action and character, and illustrative prose…it pulls you right into the picture! More like a reading experience.

Also a fascinating insight into the intriguing history of Sydney, The Rocks, and some of the more notorious criminal residents of the time, 1920’s.

This is a good wet weekend book to just settle down with.
*A tip…do yourself a favour and have some treats at the ready before starting 😉

5⭐️s

[Martinette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started out really enjoying this EXCEPT for all the crime/gangster stuff revolving around Alfie. I didn't care for it and detracted from Grace and setting up her business which was much more interesting.
The end was poorly executed and I kept finding typos which I wouldn't expect from a book published by Penguin.
Would have given the book 4 stars if it wasn't for all the typos.

[Katrina Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly enjoyable read. So well researched. As you get drawn jnto the lives of the characters, some chapters are challenging to read. But do not DNF this book. Keep going. It's worth it.

Also, read the acknowledgements at the end.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book club read. Was ok, nothing too exciting, was fairly predictable, enjoyable easy read.

[coramon23 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I truly don’t understand the hype. It was so boring and it felt like I was reading a recount written by someone trying to hit a word count that they were nowhere near. It was so over-explanative and dry. It was just…basic. Also I feel like she has no idea about Sydney’s underworld and idk why she tried to include that as a premise. I’ve listened to the author speak and she honestly speaks in a way that is so much more interesting and descriptive than she writes. I would like her novels a lot more if she wrote in her voice rather than whatever this is. Maybe she’d be better at essays? Idk but I’m almost sad I read this instead of something else. Life is short.

[Rafaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful!!

[Jendy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful story! Highly recommended 🙂