Narrated by Amanda Ronconi

I’ve enjoyed the earlier books in the Southern Eclectic series and was very much looking forward to Duffy’s story. Gimme Some Sugar is narrated, as usual, by Amanda Ronconi so I knew I was going to get a fabulous listen. Plus, there’s red velvet cake on the cover and anyone who knows me knows I’m all about cake.

McDuff McCready (aka Duffy) is the only
male sibling/cousin in the McCready family. Throughout the series he’s been the
one with the toxic relationship with his ex-wife, Lana. Lana cheated on him and
then divorced him when she thought she had a chance with a wealthy lover. That
fell through however and ever since the divorce, when Lana is between men or in
need of some cheering up, she ends up in Duffy’s bed for the night. It’s a very
unhealthy situation. Duffy feels sorry for her and can’t seem to say no. At
least, up until now. But he’s finally had enough. Plus, Lucy Bowman is back in
town. My sense was that the two things were not entirely related; Duffy was
making changes anyway.

Lucy Bowman was Duffy’s best friend when
they were growing up. Duffy loved her but as teenagers there was never an
opportunity to make the move from friendship into romance. Lucy started dating
Wayne Garten and Duffy took up with Lana. Lucy and Wayne moved from Lake
Sackett, Georgia to Dallas, Texas and she and Duffy lost touch.

Now, Lucy is back. Wayne died about six
months earlier in an accident involving a faulty jack and an F150 truck. Lucy
wanted to come home to Lake Sackett to raise her son Sam (aged four) and open a
bakery. Before Wayne died, their marriage had not been going well (Wayne was a
serial cheater), so Lucy isn’t exactly grieving, though her heart breaks for
Sam’s loss.

Duffy and Lucy love each other. They always
did and never stopped. And the rest of the McCreadys are very enthusiastic
about them getting together, both because it’s clear they belong together and
also because it will finally mean that Lana is out of the picture for good.

Gimme
Some Sugar is contemporary romance but there’s a
side of women’s fiction too. The lion’s share of the POV is from Lucy. She has
more challenges as she copes with a meddling mother-in-law, opening a new
business and raising her son in a new place (new to him at least). The romance
is charming and, in many ways, gentle. Duffy and Lucy talk to one another and
have grown up conversations – something I love in romance. There’s not a lot of
conflict between them though. The biggest barrier between them for most of the
book is simply that Lucy doesn’t want to rush into a new relationship and wants
to be careful with Sam, not wanting to overwhelm him or make him feel like his
father is being replaced. So; hardly a barrier really. Without the meddling and
other shenanigans from Evie, Wayne’s mother, the book would be very short
actually. (None of that is a complaint by the way.)

Gimme
Some Sugar is a delight because Lucy is such a
wonderful character. I love Duffy too but the story is really more about Lucy.
Lucy is brave and forthright and determined and I loved how she stood up for
herself, especially when it came to navigating the relationship with Evie.

The other McCreadys all make their
appearances and it’s always fun to check in with Marianne and Carl, Margot and
Kyle and Frankie and Eric. There are big changes too for the elder McCreadys
and possibly also for Lake Sackett. I do hope there are further books in the
series, even though the McCreadys are all paired up now. The town and the
characters are such fun I’d happily spend more time there.

Amanda Ronconi is very sympatico with Molly
Harper’s style of writing. She always nails the humour and delivers the story
with warm-hearted appeal. Her accents are also great, with a variety of what
I’m going to call “Southern” for the various cast members.

I’ve said before that Ronconi/Harper are a
perfect narrator/author pairing and this remains true. I know I’m going to get laughs
and charm in the story and a polished and entertaining narration performance,
no matter whether the book is a contemporary or a paranormal.

The production values are high as usual.
There was only one error I noticed – it was unusual it made it into the
released book actually. The health inspector’s name is Herb Brewster but for a
couple of paragraphs his name changed to Herb Webster. Not that big a deal but
a little surprising.

I’m not usually a fan of the evil ex trope
or even the terrible mother-in-law trope but there are so many sympathetic
female characters in the series and in this book that it didn’t feel misogynistic.
At one point Duffy even tells Marianne off for calling Lana “easy”. He’s always
respectful of Lana even though he wants to be finished with their toxic
relationship. And, Evie is not entirely terrible; she has her reasons, even
though her behaviour is pretty ordinary for most of the book.

Despite those not-my-favourite tropes, Gimme Some Sugar is my favourite in the
series so far. It was just so damn charming. Plus; cake.