This was very much adorable and so different from what I expected! I really liked the two main characters, especially because they complimented each other so well and I could tell they had chemistry! Though, I wish we would've gotten more of them just- talking. Or spending quality time together.
All in all it was a great book! I would definitely recommend it to others :)

I really liked the sex work premise to this story, as well as the way it's discussed in the novel. Sugar Girl focuses around Ciara and Charlie's romance. Ciara is a 'sugar girl', typically working with men. The topic is so unique within lesfic, and a big hats off to the author for tackling this subject. I liked learning more about this type of work, and Ciara's character was intriguing. She felt like a well-rounded character.

Unfortunately, the romance between Charlie and Ciara didn't work for me. I think this is due to their initial dates, which felt awkward and not very collegial to develop feelings for each other. There were moments where it felt like they both didn't really like each other, or were clearly pulling away. It was hard to then root for them as a couple.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Wow!
sweet book
great chemistry
fun characters
page turning adventures
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Sugar Girl was a huge surprise to me and I was so happy for it! I thought this was going to be a fluffy, steamy rom-com, but it turned out to have much more emotional depth and backstory that really made the characters more lovable and relatable. I'll definitely be reading more for McGeown in the future!

2.5 stars. Ciara Reilly has given up on relationships and is just out to make money as a sugar girl. She goes our to events with dates and sleeps with them for a price. She is not ready to meet anymore and just needs to save money to help her family. That is until she meets, Charlie Keller who is an entrepreneur. Charlie and Ciara have an instant connection neither of them could avoid. Ciara and Charlie start to spend time together and it starts to become clear that they both want to see each other more and more. Ciara is unsure is she should come clean about her profession of keep Charlie in the closet.

Truthfully, I am writing this review about a month after reading this book. I have forgotten a lot of the details about this book and it was pretty forgettable. I did not like Ciara and Charlie spent enough time together in the book and I wish they spend more time together. The concept of Ciara being a sugar girl, was not my favorite. I am not sure I would recommend this one, it was an okay read but nothing special.

The first book I've read by Emma L McGeown and it certainly won't be my last. I think this author will be one to watch out for in future books.

Sugar Girl was brilliant. I really did enjoy this page-turner book which develops into a sweet romance.

I've given Emma L McGeown a 4 out of 5.

the storyline is flat and uninspiring, as are the characters. I understand it's supposed to be a spicy novel, but there's a lack of chemistry and tension between the individuals who interact in a romantic context. I expect more from sapphic books. the dialogue is cringey, as is the cover.

This was a well-written book and had much more depth than I had expected by reading the blurb. The chemistry between Charlie and Ciara was evident from the start and jumped off the pages in the initial chapters, however, it did dwindle a little later in the book. Charlie was an intriguing character and I would have liked to have more insight into her point of view, which we didn't have because the story was told from Ciara's POV. There were some elements that could have been improved - much was made of Charlie being a player in the beginning but this storyline just died, and Ciara's reaction to Charlie's big reveal towards the end was a bit of an overreaction in my view to something that was not necessarily a major issue. I really enjoyed the leads' chemistry though and this author has promise.

I'd probably give this book 3.5 stars if I could, but I'll round up since I did want to keep reading it to see how it ended.

Basic premises is Ciara is a Sugar Girl to help pay for her Dad's Alzheimer's care. When she's not on the job, she meets Charlie, a very rich tech CEO. She can't tell Charlie what her real job is because of disclosure agreements, so as they date, she feels more and more guilty as feelings arise. Mix in Ciara's bff who's also a Sugar Girl, their shared acquaintances, Ciara's sister with a serious backstory and another mystery secret - you've got the story.

The story is mainly told through Ciara's POV, until one random chapter that I really didn't think was necessary. My biggest disconnect was that I wasn't a huge fan of Ciara. One of the first convo's between herself and Tracy was essentially making fun of a Sugar Daddy for not being able to last during sex and I just got a stuck up vibe right away. It didn't help when the "big secret" was reveled that she acted like this big victim. Like she didn't lie the whole book??

Writing was good, premises was interesting, just didn't connect to the characters. Overall it was an ok book that I wouldn't recommend over a lot of other books, but still worthy of finishing to see how it all played out.

A WLW "Pretty Woman" for the 21st century. Ciara and Charlie have great chemistry, but start their relationship under false pretenses. Shout out for the childfree rep!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶

Well well Emma Mcgeown,
You have done an amazing job with this one! First off, I love that you didn't write the typical uhaul lesbian story! Thank you for that!

Second, this was an adorablely romantic love story. It was exactly what I was looking for.

My only thing, I think it needed a bit more spice! What little spice there was it was great!

Want a quick read that is LGBTQ? This is it!!

What an interesting read by an author I plan to put on my radar. The read was a pleasant surprise. Having read the debut book, Aurora, I did not want to pass this one up, although the description, would not have been a pull for me. What a pleasant and wonderful surprise. This was not a fluff read. There was definitely depth. Ciara Reilly, barista, platinum sugar girl, and feeling weighed by the family issues. Charlie Keller, talented and successful entrepreneur, not necessarily looking for a relationship. As the read unfolds, there is drama all around especially between Ciara and her friend Tracey. All of the supporting characters are important and provide excellent richness and depth to the main characters. All around, wonderful read.

Overall this was an okay book. I unfortunately could not connect well with Ciara and the story just seemed boring to me. The writing wasn’t bad, I personally just could not connect. It has great potential and I’m sure someone else would love this book, On the other hand, I did love Ciara’s relationship with her family. It’s my favorite part about the book.

‘’Sugar Girl’ was my first read by Emma L. McGeown and honestly I was hooked after the first chapter! She writes brilliantly modern and layered characters that I couldn’t help but to become invested in almost straight away.
The premise of the book starts with Ciara, who is a successful ‘Sugar Girl’, having risen to the highest level she manages her own clients and has built up a highly regarded position within the business. What all started when she was a student looking to support her family through some tough times, has ended up being a long term career for Ciara. I love the way Ciara has a very strong sense of where she begins and her sugar girl persona ends; she keeps so much inside of herself when it comes to her family and her personal heartaches.
I also love how McGeown sets it up that Charlie Keller appears in her life when Ciara is just being herself, displaying all the qualities of a typical client trying to charm Ciara. But there’s more to both women and even though they live in entirely different worlds they are far more similar than they could imagine.
Ciara and Charlie have work personas; they don’t show vulnerabilities because they understand them to be weaknesses. They have both been hurt before and the last thing they ever expected was to meet someone they have such an instant connection with. The way in which both characters have these flaws that at times make them awkward and sometimes mean made me love them so much more. I loved the setting, I loved the banter between characters. And most of all I really loved the sincerity in the way the two MCs work as independent women who choose to want more for their lives.

This was such a wonderful read. I felt instantly drawn to Ciara, the MC in this book. She is the oldest sibling trying to take care of her family by working as a Sugar Girl with her best friend. By chance she meets Charlie and it makes her question everything.

I read this in one go because I simply could not put it down. I really enjoyed the interactions between Ciaria and her LI, with her sister and her best friend.

I can only recommend this if you like conflicting main characters who are not flawless but mean well.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the unique story and felt it was a book unlike any I've read before. It was heartfelt and captivating. Would recommend.

This was an amazing read. It wasn't your typical sugar baby story. I thought the story was well written and I enjoyed Ciara's growth, Well Done.


Thank You NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

Emma McGeown's Sugar Girl had the potential to be a very sexy and thrilling WLW story centred around Ciara's career as a sugar baby and its implications as she embarked on a relationship with Charlie, clearly living a double life. Instead, I felt like neither sides of the plot--Ciara's sugaring and her relationship with Charlie--were ever fully developed thus leaving a lot to be desired.

I cannot say I particularly liked Ciara. I found the writing choppy and stunted, and the author's focus on telling rather than showing made Ciara unlikeable to me. For someone who was so popular on the platform Sugar Girl, I expected her to be a more mysterious, confident, and even sexy character. I expected her life to be a little more luxurious, even with her familial expenses and trauma, considering how often the author mentioned her status as a platinum sugar girl. Ciara's life as a sugar baby was almost immediately ignored following her first encounter with Charlie, so the times it was brought up again, I did not believe she was anywhere near as successful or on high demand as the author described.

Similarly, I found her relationship with Charlie quite superficial. While I loved Charlie as a character, nothing about her felt too three dimensional for me to believe that she exuded glamour and power. Ciara's constant monologues over feeling guilty were more annoying than anything because, again, I expected Ciara to have lead a double life where her relationship could easily have been affected by her status as a sugar baby.

While the writing was not bad, it was not for me. Again, the author's style focused heavily on telling rather than showing which meant I was not invested in either character's feelings or even their relationship to be honest. I found their sex scene quite underwhelming--not because it was not graphic--but because I did not really believe they had any chemistry.

The use of the work "tummy" and the shift in the point of view 89% of the way through cemented my feelings towards the book: I wish it had been more developed. More intense. More sensual and thrilling.

Overall I think most WLW will enjoy this book as it was a quick read and it does not follow the bury your gays trope, giving is a happy ending! Thank you Bold Strokes Books, NetGalley, and Emma L. McGeown for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Solid 4. Refreshing read that I finished in a couple of hours. Was not the typical sugar baby story. Both MCs had more depth than a rich girl/poor girl troupe. The switching of the POV was strange for one chapter at the end of the story but, other than that it read nicely.

This was such a good read, it is so much more than a simple Sugar Girl/baby story but a real heartfelt romance between two strong women. Totally surprised me how much I would like this book and would definitely recommend for an easy, quick, heartwarming (and a little spicy) read.