"Southern-flavored, humor-filled good time!"

Any story who has a character named Sugar Beth is sure to be a rip-roarer and Southern to the core. "Ain't She Sweet" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one such book, and it fulfills the promise as stated above to a T.

Sugar Beth Carey was the darling of Parish, Mississippi. That is, until her daddy decided to favor her half-sister, Winnie, instead of her. So Sugar Beth did what all good Southern belles do, they go off searching for adoration in other places, but not before she wrecked a few lives along the way.

One life that was almost wrecked by Hurricane Sugar Beth was her high school English teacher Colin Byrne. When Sugar Beth accused Colin of inappropriate behavior, he lost his job and was forced to move back home to England. But Colin overcame the damage to his reputation to become a best- selling author, writing about the history of the town where he met his arch-nemisis, Sugar Beth. In the ultimate revenge, he bought Sugar Beth's ancestral home and made it his own.

Now, years past, Sugar Beth has come back to Parish, to take up residence in the carriage house her aunt left to her and to find the inheritance that will finance her way out of the town that sucked her back in. Meeting up with ghosts of her past, Sugar Beth is shocked to find her half- sister Winnie wearing Sugar Beth's mother's pearls and heading up the town society. She is even more shocked to find Colin ensconced in her childhood home, and when she is reduced to becoming Colin's housekeeper in order to afford to stay in Parish, Sugar Beth's humiliation is complete -- or is it?

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is the master of romantic story- telling and this latest novel, "Ain't She Sweet," is indicative of her talent at writing Southern flavored, humor filled romantic fiction. This is a perfect book for the beach this summer!

Reviewed by Sharon Galligar Chance
Posted May 28, 2005

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Summary

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?