leighbriarbooks's review
5.0
Thank you so much to the author for a complimentary ARC for review! ♡
After reading this wholesome indie YA romance, I can say with absolute certainty that I could never be let down by Sarah Epstein. I am so thrilled that Sarah's seemingy effortless style and skill have transferred without a hitch into a new genre. I expected nothing less and I have not been disappointed. There's so much I want to say about this book but for now I'll be brief.
Sophie is totally lovable and I was instantly connected with her. It's difficult not to love her terrible quips just for the sake of sarcasm. Her voice and relationships with others feel very natural and real for teens this age. I especially loved Sophie's relationship with her sister Eloise. Sarah has so effectively conveyed the ride or die relationship they have. Beautiful.
While Sugarcoated is a very sweet read, it does deal with some very real themes in a very gentle way that I appreciated. I really felt the discomfort of Sophie's interactions with her boss, the betrayals and family dramas, the adorable competitive tension between Sophie and Simon.
I cannot wait for the next Leftovers book! I loved Sophie's story and I'm looking forward to learning more about the characters from [b:Piece of Cake|59652406|Piece of Cake (Leftovers, #0.5)|Sarah Epstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637291827l/59652406._SY75_.jpg|93937994]!
Extended review and others like it up on my blog! ♡
After reading this wholesome indie YA romance, I can say with absolute certainty that I could never be let down by Sarah Epstein. I am so thrilled that Sarah's seemingy effortless style and skill have transferred without a hitch into a new genre. I expected nothing less and I have not been disappointed. There's so much I want to say about this book but for now I'll be brief.
Sophie is totally lovable and I was instantly connected with her. It's difficult not to love her terrible quips just for the sake of sarcasm. Her voice and relationships with others feel very natural and real for teens this age. I especially loved Sophie's relationship with her sister Eloise. Sarah has so effectively conveyed the ride or die relationship they have. Beautiful.
While Sugarcoated is a very sweet read, it does deal with some very real themes in a very gentle way that I appreciated. I really felt the discomfort of Sophie's interactions with her boss, the betrayals and family dramas, the adorable competitive tension between Sophie and Simon.
I cannot wait for the next Leftovers book! I loved Sophie's story and I'm looking forward to learning more about the characters from [b:Piece of Cake|59652406|Piece of Cake (Leftovers, #0.5)|Sarah Epstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637291827l/59652406._SY75_.jpg|93937994]!
Extended review and others like it up on my blog! ♡
jeanettegtf's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
helenfarch's review
5.0
Sophie's life has crashed and burned. Her dad has left to live in New Zealand, her boyfriend has dumped her for her (now ex. best friend), and her creative spark has gone out.
To save money to more to New Zealand to live with her dad, she gets a job at Seaside Candy Co.
But there life begins to get more complicated than she every thought possible, as well as providing new friends, reconnecting with old friends, and long buried secrets about to surface.
If you have read any of Sarah Epstein's books, you know her to be an amazing author of Australian YA Thrillers. Small spaces, her debut novel, scared the #$*&^% out of me. That was followed up by Deep Water, another thriller set in a small Australian town.
Now, Sarah has started a new contemporary YA series, The Leftovers, with book 1 being Sugarcoated.
What? I hear you ask. Contemporary fiction? Sugary and sweet?
Whatever you do, don't let the change in genre stop you from reading this amazing, funny, sad and at times confronting book.
And I know the rest of the series will be just as good.
In fact, you can visit Sarah's webpage and download a free prequel novella, which I loved at least as much as this first novel.
The dedication to Piece of Cake, the prequel novella is...
"For anyone who has ever felt like a leftover on the 'dud' table. I want to sit with you."
I want to sit with you too Sarah!
Thanks to the author for the review copy of this book.
To save money to more to New Zealand to live with her dad, she gets a job at Seaside Candy Co.
But there life begins to get more complicated than she every thought possible, as well as providing new friends, reconnecting with old friends, and long buried secrets about to surface.
If you have read any of Sarah Epstein's books, you know her to be an amazing author of Australian YA Thrillers. Small spaces, her debut novel, scared the #$*&^% out of me. That was followed up by Deep Water, another thriller set in a small Australian town.
Now, Sarah has started a new contemporary YA series, The Leftovers, with book 1 being Sugarcoated.
What? I hear you ask. Contemporary fiction? Sugary and sweet?
Whatever you do, don't let the change in genre stop you from reading this amazing, funny, sad and at times confronting book.
And I know the rest of the series will be just as good.
In fact, you can visit Sarah's webpage and download a free prequel novella, which I loved at least as much as this first novel.
The dedication to Piece of Cake, the prequel novella is...
"For anyone who has ever felt like a leftover on the 'dud' table. I want to sit with you."
I want to sit with you too Sarah!
Thanks to the author for the review copy of this book.
lattes_lipstick_literature's review
4.0
*A Thank you to BookSirens and the author for allowing me to read this. This is my honest and unbiased review*
Hello Fellow Readers,
I was in the mood for a little contemporary young adult and Sugarcoated immediately caught my eye. Honestly, I wanted a quick little book to lighten my mood and bring me back from a reading slump I had. Well this book, while a quick read, dealt with harder topics than I thought it had and that is not a bad thing. Epstein has a way of writing a story that, even with heavy hitting topics, it draws you in but doesn't emotionally drain you.
I really liked Sophie, she's a typically teenager whose life isn't doing so well right now, so she takes the initiative (albeit in a somewhat drastic way) to change it for the best. I've mentioned before that I don't really like enemies to lovers, I didn't mind Simon and Sophie's interactions. Maybe because they are teenagers and act like it? There are times where I felt a bit frustrated, this mostly had to do with Sophie's family drama and her family basically keeping her in the dark. I did see where the plot was heading and I just knew things would go awful when Sophie found out. I do like the resolution, even though it is a bit open ended and it makes me curious for the second book in the series.
Overall, a pretty great YA novel.
Hello Fellow Readers,
I was in the mood for a little contemporary young adult and Sugarcoated immediately caught my eye. Honestly, I wanted a quick little book to lighten my mood and bring me back from a reading slump I had. Well this book, while a quick read, dealt with harder topics than I thought it had and that is not a bad thing. Epstein has a way of writing a story that, even with heavy hitting topics, it draws you in but doesn't emotionally drain you.
I really liked Sophie, she's a typically teenager whose life isn't doing so well right now, so she takes the initiative (albeit in a somewhat drastic way) to change it for the best. I've mentioned before that I don't really like enemies to lovers, I didn't mind Simon and Sophie's interactions. Maybe because they are teenagers and act like it? There are times where I felt a bit frustrated, this mostly had to do with Sophie's family drama and her family basically keeping her in the dark. I did see where the plot was heading and I just knew things would go awful when Sophie found out. I do like the resolution, even though it is a bit open ended and it makes me curious for the second book in the series.
Overall, a pretty great YA novel.
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