Title: Sugar Daddy
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Genre: Contemporary Woman’s Fiction
Source: Library
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; First Edition edition (March 6, 2007)
Rating: 4 out of 5
My Thoughts:
I avoided this book for some time now because it’s contemporary Woman’s fiction and all the other Lisa Kleypas books I’ve read have been historical romances. I loved them and I didn’t want to be disappointment even a little as Kleypas is my favorite romance author. But I shouldn’t have worried. I loved Sugar Daddy although I wish the name of the book was different.
Liberty Jones moves to a small town, Welcome in Texas, with her mother and her mothers new boyfriend. They move in a trailer park where she makes new friends including one particular guy called Hardy. Liberty is 14 and Hardy is 17 at that time. They are attracted to each other right from the beginning. But Hardy has big dreams, he wants to escape the dreary life of the small town and he doesn’t want anyone to hold him down, least of all a serious girlfriend. So off he goes but Liberty is unable to forget him, she tries to match every guy she meets with Hardy and all of them fall short.
Meanwhile, Liberty’s mom, who has had her fair share of boyfriends gives birth to a baby girl, Corrington. Liberty ends up taking care of her most of the time. In a way she is more of a mother to her than a sister. Later in her life she meets Churchill, a rich old man, whom she develops a friendship with and eventually gets involved with his eldest son Gage. And then Hardy comes back in her life. There is a lot more to the basic story but I won’t tell you all even though it’s there at the back of the book. Suffice to say it’s all good.
The first half of the book is like a Young Adult novel, a very good one at that. Kleypas explores the mother daughter relationship, the struggles of a mother trying to raise a daughter alone and a daughter who accepts responsibilities way beyond her age. Liberty makes a wonderful heroine, sweet, charming, intelligent, hardworking, at times too perfect but I loved her anyway. Hardy and Gage are excellent heroes, the kind that are in romances. I loved Hardy more because he is the one we come to know first.
Although this is woman’s fiction, Lisa Kleypas has been a romance author for so long that I guess she could not help but include a few cliché’s of the romance genre in Sugar Daddy. But I’m not complaining, I love romances so it only made me happy. Sugar Daddy gave me immense satisfaction, one that comes with loving the book more than you expected.
VIOLET CRUSH 
I’m glad you enjoyed this book, Violet! I don’t think I’ve read a contemporary by Lisa Kleypas and IMO I think her historical romances are one of the best out there! I will read this in the near future since I’ve it in my pile.
I think so too, hope you like the book when you get the time to read it.
Good romance stories make me happy too. I just did a review on Nora Roberts’ Savor the Moment. I’m waiting for the final book in the series. 😀
I’ve been avoiding this book for the exact same reasons. It just doesn’t sound as interesting as her historical novels.
True, it doesn’t. But I still liked the book. It’s very good for a contemporary.
I didn’t realize Kleypas wrote anything but romance. This one sounds like it’s worth looking into.
Sounds like a cute book!
That title would turn me off from the book. I think the YA aspect would appeal more to me since I’m not a big fan of romance novels.
I have not read her books, but it is good to hear that this one is good. I will check her historical books sometime soon!
I hate that book title too.
Hi Violet,
I must admit that I have never heard of this author before, but it’s not a book I would naturally select, in a bookshop, as I am not a lover of contemporary women’s fiction as a rule.
It’s another of those books where you could be seduced by the great looking cover though.
Glad you enjoyed it.
The title turned me off from reading the book, but your review tweaks my interest. I’ll have to give it a read.