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The Travis Family #1
Sugar Daddy
She's from the wrong side of the tracks... Liberty Jones has dreams and determination that will take her far away from Welcome, Texas—if she can keep her wild heart from ruling her mind. Hardy Cates sees Liberty as completely off-limits. His own ambitions are bigger than Welcome, and Liberty Jones is a complication he doesn’t need. But something magical and potent draws them to each other, in a dangerous attraction that is stronger than both of them. He's the one man she can't have... When Hardy leaves town to pursue his plans, Liberty finds herself alone with a young sister to raise. Soon Liberty finds herself under the spell of a billionaire tycoon—a Sugar Daddy, one might say. But the relationship goes deeper than people think, and Liberty begins to discover secrets about her own family’s past. Will they find their hearts' desires or will heartbreak tear them apart? Two men. One woman. A choice that can make her or break her. A woman you’ll root for every step of the way. A love story you’ll never forget.
MP3
First published March 6, 2007
About the author
Lisa Kleypas
108 books28.4k followersLISA KLEYPAS is the RITA award-winning author of 21 novels. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,548 reviews
August 4, 2022
Listened to audiobook version Aug'2022:
What else to say? I just love this book so much. It's one of my all-time favorite treasured keepers. Infinity stars!
Re-read 2/17/19 (Ten years after my first/original read):
5++++ stars – Contemporary Romance
This still remains one of my absolute, all-time favorite books. I especially love the last third of the story (from page 274-418), which I've read countless times. The romance between Liberty and Gage never fails to make me swoon and cry!
I really hope Lisa Kleypas writes Carrington's book one day. And I would love to see this made into a movie!
Edited 8/24/13:
5++++ stars – Contemporary Romance
Sugar Daddy is the book that initially made me a Lisa Kleypas fan, but I love everything she’s written. I’ve reread this several times now and it’s still one of my top all-time favorite beloved romances. I can’t wait for Joe’s story!
I really wish this series would get made into a movie!
Original Review 4/24/09:
This is the first novel I have read by Lisa Kleypas, and I mainly read it in order to have the necessary background to read “Blue-Eyed Devil” and “Smooth Talking Stranger”, both of which had sparked my interest. I honestly didn’t have very high expectations of “Sugar Daddy” based on the mediocre book jacket description, after reading some of the mixed reviews referring to it as chick-lit rather than romance, and that it’s written solely in first person point of view, which isn’t my preference.
Needless to say, I was very pleasantly surprised and completely blown-away by this book. I read it on a plane and made an utter embarrassment of myself because I cried and laughed out loud through the entire book, often feeling both emotions on the same page! It’s extremely funny, touching, and emotionally moving.
I simply adored Liberty’s character and found myself rooting for her like a bubbly cheerleader. She goes through so much pain, turmoil, and hardship and yet maintains such a positive outlook on life. Witnessing her transition from an awkward, shy, self-conscious adolescent to a strong, independent, courageous, beautiful woman is heartwarming, especially since she always remains true to herself and her roots and puts her sister Carrington’s needs before her own. Liberty is funny, brave, selfless (almost too much so), caring, loyal, and innocent yet wise. She’s one of the most lovable heroines of any book I have ever read.
I agree that “Sugar Daddy” is perhaps more chick-lit than romance considering that the romance element doesn’t pick up pace until about a third of the way through the book, but I loved sharing Liberty’s life journey so much that I really didn’t mind it. Once the romance factor does heat up, it takes center stage in the story, and although it’s PG-13 and I usually prefer my romance to be a little (okay a lot) steamier, it’s absolutely engaging and beautifully written. There were moments when I would have liked for some of the narrative to come from Hardy's and Gage’s points of view, but the bottom line is that it’s Liberty’s tale and her life struggle and perspective are what drive the story.
As far as romantic interests for Liberty, there are two main hunks in the story, Hardy and Gage, and initially I thought I would be a Hardy fan, but I found myself being Team Gage all the way (at least as the best love interest for Liberty). Hardy might be sinfully sexy and devilishly charming, but I found myself rooting for steadfast Gage. He treats Liberty with so much respect and tenderness that it melted my heart like butter. He’s an absolute dreamboat once she manages to get past his tough exterior and defenses. The romance between Liberty and Gage is syrupy sweet...I couldn’t get enough of it!
Here are some random/favorite things that I loved and/or laughed about in “Sugar Daddy”: the emu story, Liberty giving her mom’s delivery nurse a folder with birthing instructions and preferences, the tender sister moments, references to how Texans love to deep fry everything (very true) and southern cooking and recipes (including my own sister’s favorite red velvet cake), accurate depictions of the differences between people from Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the sign “property of Liberty Jones” moment when Liberty gets custody of her sister (serious tears shed there), the relationship development between Liberty and Gage, and there are so many great life quotes and valuable life lessons in this book that it’s impossible to mention them all.
I grew up in Fort Worth/Dallas, have spent time in Houston for work, have lived in Austin for the past 8 years, and have family from/in various parts of Texas, and I can tell you that Kleypas’s portrayal of Texans and Texas culture in all three of her Travis’s series books (“Sugar Daddy”, “Blue-Eyed Devil”, and “Smooth Talking Stranger”) is quite fair and accurate.
Tammy’s review here on GR is great and includes a spot on story background, so I highly recommend checking it out.
“Sugar Daddy” is an utter delight, full of laughs and heartwarming moments, with characters to love and cheer for and terrific writing. I absolutely loooved it, and I would give it much more than 5 stars if I could...so big 5++ Texas stars!
The Travis’s series has turned me into a big Lisa Kleypas fan, and I plan on reading all of her historical romances now as well.
What else to say? I just love this book so much. It's one of my all-time favorite treasured keepers. Infinity stars!
Re-read 2/17/19 (Ten years after my first/original read):
5++++ stars – Contemporary Romance
This still remains one of my absolute, all-time favorite books. I especially love the last third of the story (from page 274-418), which I've read countless times. The romance between Liberty and Gage never fails to make me swoon and cry!
I really hope Lisa Kleypas writes Carrington's book one day. And I would love to see this made into a movie!
Edited 8/24/13:
5++++ stars – Contemporary Romance
Sugar Daddy is the book that initially made me a Lisa Kleypas fan, but I love everything she’s written. I’ve reread this several times now and it’s still one of my top all-time favorite beloved romances. I can’t wait for Joe’s story!
I really wish this series would get made into a movie!
Original Review 4/24/09:
This is the first novel I have read by Lisa Kleypas, and I mainly read it in order to have the necessary background to read “Blue-Eyed Devil” and “Smooth Talking Stranger”, both of which had sparked my interest. I honestly didn’t have very high expectations of “Sugar Daddy” based on the mediocre book jacket description, after reading some of the mixed reviews referring to it as chick-lit rather than romance, and that it’s written solely in first person point of view, which isn’t my preference.
Needless to say, I was very pleasantly surprised and completely blown-away by this book. I read it on a plane and made an utter embarrassment of myself because I cried and laughed out loud through the entire book, often feeling both emotions on the same page! It’s extremely funny, touching, and emotionally moving.
I simply adored Liberty’s character and found myself rooting for her like a bubbly cheerleader. She goes through so much pain, turmoil, and hardship and yet maintains such a positive outlook on life. Witnessing her transition from an awkward, shy, self-conscious adolescent to a strong, independent, courageous, beautiful woman is heartwarming, especially since she always remains true to herself and her roots and puts her sister Carrington’s needs before her own. Liberty is funny, brave, selfless (almost too much so), caring, loyal, and innocent yet wise. She’s one of the most lovable heroines of any book I have ever read.
I agree that “Sugar Daddy” is perhaps more chick-lit than romance considering that the romance element doesn’t pick up pace until about a third of the way through the book, but I loved sharing Liberty’s life journey so much that I really didn’t mind it. Once the romance factor does heat up, it takes center stage in the story, and although it’s PG-13 and I usually prefer my romance to be a little (okay a lot) steamier, it’s absolutely engaging and beautifully written. There were moments when I would have liked for some of the narrative to come from Hardy's and Gage’s points of view, but the bottom line is that it’s Liberty’s tale and her life struggle and perspective are what drive the story.
As far as romantic interests for Liberty, there are two main hunks in the story, Hardy and Gage, and initially I thought I would be a Hardy fan, but I found myself being Team Gage all the way (at least as the best love interest for Liberty). Hardy might be sinfully sexy and devilishly charming, but I found myself rooting for steadfast Gage. He treats Liberty with so much respect and tenderness that it melted my heart like butter. He’s an absolute dreamboat once she manages to get past his tough exterior and defenses. The romance between Liberty and Gage is syrupy sweet...I couldn’t get enough of it!
Here are some random/favorite things that I loved and/or laughed about in “Sugar Daddy”: the emu story, Liberty giving her mom’s delivery nurse a folder with birthing instructions and preferences, the tender sister moments, references to how Texans love to deep fry everything (very true) and southern cooking and recipes (including my own sister’s favorite red velvet cake), accurate depictions of the differences between people from Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the sign “property of Liberty Jones” moment when Liberty gets custody of her sister (serious tears shed there), the relationship development between Liberty and Gage, and there are so many great life quotes and valuable life lessons in this book that it’s impossible to mention them all.
I grew up in Fort Worth/Dallas, have spent time in Houston for work, have lived in Austin for the past 8 years, and have family from/in various parts of Texas, and I can tell you that Kleypas’s portrayal of Texans and Texas culture in all three of her Travis’s series books (“Sugar Daddy”, “Blue-Eyed Devil”, and “Smooth Talking Stranger”) is quite fair and accurate.
Tammy’s review here on GR is great and includes a spot on story background, so I highly recommend checking it out.
“Sugar Daddy” is an utter delight, full of laughs and heartwarming moments, with characters to love and cheer for and terrific writing. I absolutely loooved it, and I would give it much more than 5 stars if I could...so big 5++ Texas stars!
The Travis’s series has turned me into a big Lisa Kleypas fan, and I plan on reading all of her historical romances now as well.
January 22, 2019
4.25 stars
This was once again, a book I would have never picked up had my favorite book pusher not recommend it to me. Thanks, Rachel! When she heard I had never read Lisa Kleypas, she demanded I read this one as soon as possible. I picked up the audio shortly after and was so happy I did! I fell in love with the writing and with Liberty Jones story.
Liberty Jones is a teenager living in a Texas trailer park with her momma. Life takes her through a lot. A baby sister, her momma passing, becoming guardian of said sister. All Liberty wants is for her sister to have a good life and she is great to her. She meets the Travis family and things really start to turn around in her life. Especially when she becomes romantically involved with the oldest Travis son, Gage.
Once it finally feels like all is coming back into place, her first love comes back into her life and she’s got a huge choice to make. I was very happy with how it all turned out!
After reading this, I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author, especially the other Travis brothers and Hardy! I’ve already gotten book 2 loaded on my audible and am going to get to it as soon as I can! A wonderful contemporary romance I highly recommend!
This was once again, a book I would have never picked up had my favorite book pusher not recommend it to me. Thanks, Rachel! When she heard I had never read Lisa Kleypas, she demanded I read this one as soon as possible. I picked up the audio shortly after and was so happy I did! I fell in love with the writing and with Liberty Jones story.
Liberty Jones is a teenager living in a Texas trailer park with her momma. Life takes her through a lot. A baby sister, her momma passing, becoming guardian of said sister. All Liberty wants is for her sister to have a good life and she is great to her. She meets the Travis family and things really start to turn around in her life. Especially when she becomes romantically involved with the oldest Travis son, Gage.
Sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor, giving you the thing you always wanted at the worst time possible.
Once it finally feels like all is coming back into place, her first love comes back into her life and she’s got a huge choice to make. I was very happy with how it all turned out!
After reading this, I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author, especially the other Travis brothers and Hardy! I’ve already gotten book 2 loaded on my audible and am going to get to it as soon as I can! A wonderful contemporary romance I highly recommend!
October 15, 2011
With already 446 reviews of this book, I'm sure everything's already been said..but I'll add in my 2 cents!
I've had this book on the TBR pile for years--and I don't know why. I love LK's historicals (she's one of the few historical authors I read), so I don't know what kept me from trying this one. Maybe I didn't have faith that Kleypas could weave her magic with a contemporary as well as a historical? Well was I ever wrong! I thought this book was just wonderful. Yes, there were just a few things I wish I could change, but for the most part, this book was perfection. It had me in its grip from the first page, and I enjoyed the sometimes sad, sometimes triumphant, but always compelling journey that our heroine, Liberty Jones (who aged from 14-25 in this book) took from an East Houston trailer park to a Houston mansion. I adored all the characters, but OMG...Hardy...words cannot describe how I loved this young man!
As usual, Kleypas's storytelling is first rate. Her characters, her dialogue, her descriptions, her plotting...well I felt I was there, right along with young Liberty, experiencing all her trials and tribulations right along with her. And her description of East Texas? Well, I've never been, but she made me feel like a native.
I don't know if I can add anything else, or convince someone who's at all hesitant about this book to give it a try. But if you already have it on your TBR pile---please pick it up! If you like LK's Wallflowers or Hathaways series---pick it up! I guarantee you'll admire Liberty Jones, you'll fall in love with Hardy Cates (is there a more mature, understanding, compassionate young man than him?), and you'll swoon for Gage Travis. You'll probably shed a few tears for Liberty and Hardy, and what could've been, and maybe even be a bit upset with the direction that LK steered this couple. But no worries, things had a way of working out the way they were supposed to, and I was satisfied. I will admit at one point I thought "How can she keep these two apart--how can she do that to me?" But then I met Gage (*sigh*) and it was almost "Hardy, who?" for me!
Gage...
If I had one thing (or things) to nitpick over, things that held this back from being a 5 star read, it was this: I thought Gage got a little short-changed on his back story, and I would've liked to read more about Gage and Liberty as a couple. They didn't actually meet until late in the book, and didn't get a whole lot of pages devoted to them (as Liberty and Hardy's early years did). I also thought the book wrapped up a bit too quickly. I'm guessing that with over 400 pages, something had to give--but I sure would've enjoyed about 50 more pages devoted to Liberty and Gage's story. So my complaints had nothing to do with the quality of the story, but rather the desire for more.
Another thing I should mention was that this story was told in first person, from Liberty's POV. This didn't bother me...much. But boy, I would've loved to hear what Hardy (or Gage) was thinking. Even a chapter here or there from their perspective...it would've made a great read even greater.
Any story that can entertain and keep me reading late into the night (losing sleep!) as well as this story did, is a winner in my book. It left me wanting more, more more, and luckily I am fortunate to have Hardy's story (Blue-Eyed Devil) all set to read. If it's as awesome as I suspect it will be, I will be one happy reader! 4 1/2 stars
I've had this book on the TBR pile for years--and I don't know why. I love LK's historicals (she's one of the few historical authors I read), so I don't know what kept me from trying this one. Maybe I didn't have faith that Kleypas could weave her magic with a contemporary as well as a historical? Well was I ever wrong! I thought this book was just wonderful. Yes, there were just a few things I wish I could change, but for the most part, this book was perfection. It had me in its grip from the first page, and I enjoyed the sometimes sad, sometimes triumphant, but always compelling journey that our heroine, Liberty Jones (who aged from 14-25 in this book) took from an East Houston trailer park to a Houston mansion. I adored all the characters, but OMG...Hardy...words cannot describe how I loved this young man!
As usual, Kleypas's storytelling is first rate. Her characters, her dialogue, her descriptions, her plotting...well I felt I was there, right along with young Liberty, experiencing all her trials and tribulations right along with her. And her description of East Texas? Well, I've never been, but she made me feel like a native.
I don't know if I can add anything else, or convince someone who's at all hesitant about this book to give it a try. But if you already have it on your TBR pile---please pick it up! If you like LK's Wallflowers or Hathaways series---pick it up! I guarantee you'll admire Liberty Jones, you'll fall in love with Hardy Cates (is there a more mature, understanding, compassionate young man than him?), and you'll swoon for Gage Travis. You'll probably shed a few tears for Liberty and Hardy, and what could've been, and maybe even be a bit upset with the direction that LK steered this couple. But no worries, things had a way of working out the way they were supposed to, and I was satisfied. I will admit at one point I thought "How can she keep these two apart--how can she do that to me?" But then I met Gage (*sigh*) and it was almost "Hardy, who?" for me!
Gage...
If I had one thing (or things) to nitpick over, things that held this back from being a 5 star read, it was this: I thought Gage got a little short-changed on his back story, and I would've liked to read more about Gage and Liberty as a couple. They didn't actually meet until late in the book, and didn't get a whole lot of pages devoted to them (as Liberty and Hardy's early years did). I also thought the book wrapped up a bit too quickly. I'm guessing that with over 400 pages, something had to give--but I sure would've enjoyed about 50 more pages devoted to Liberty and Gage's story. So my complaints had nothing to do with the quality of the story, but rather the desire for more.
Another thing I should mention was that this story was told in first person, from Liberty's POV. This didn't bother me...much. But boy, I would've loved to hear what Hardy (or Gage) was thinking. Even a chapter here or there from their perspective...it would've made a great read even greater.
Any story that can entertain and keep me reading late into the night (losing sleep!) as well as this story did, is a winner in my book. It left me wanting more, more more, and luckily I am fortunate to have Hardy's story (Blue-Eyed Devil) all set to read. If it's as awesome as I suspect it will be, I will be one happy reader! 4 1/2 stars
June 2, 2012
FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED
Sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor, giving you the thing you always wanted at the worst time possible. The irony of it split my heart open, setting loose more bitter regret than I could bear.
Be aware that my review is a little bit spoiler-ish; nothing major though
About my rating
When you read my review you will ask yourself why I rated this book so high. Well, even though I dislike chick lit I think it wouldn't be fair to give it a low rating. That's a personal preference and has nothing to do with the quality of Sugar Daddy. Ms. Kleypas is an excellent author and as a matter of fact, this story is very well-written. It's absolutely engaging and Sugar Daddy kept me turning the pages. Further, I adored Liberty and I LOVED the extremely charming Hardy. *dreamy sigh* Liberty is a very strong and determined heroine. She showed some spine. Kudos! On top of that, there are many interesting and complex secondary characters. You see many reasons to justify a more than average rating.
I LOVED Blue-Eyed Devil which is my absolute favorite, then Smooth Talking Stranger (loved it too) and far behind…Sugar Daddy. I'm sure that Joe's story will take third spot pretty easily. Conclusion: I don't like chick lit!
★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩
Jeez, I'm so very, very glad that I read this series out of order. If I'd've started with Sugar Daddy then I'm not sure if I'd've gone any further. At the moment my feelings are so ambivalent. On the one hand, I'm pleased for Gage and Liberty but on the other hand, I am incredibly disappointed for Hardy and Liberty. After reading the first few chapters I thought they'd be the perfect couple. I found myself thinking how sweet these two were together and they were supposed to end up together. Their chemistry was great and I wanted Hardy to be her first lover. Well, this was not going to happen. Unfortunately. Then again, I'm glad that Hardy found the perfect woman in Blue-Eyed Devil. I just can't help it but Sugar Daddy feels kinda wrong. I'm not really happy.
It didn't help either that Gage and Liberty didn't get enough page-time. By far not enough! The focus of the story is not on Gage and Liberty's evolving relationship (I wouldn't even call it an evolving relationship), and Sugar Daddy is not my usual romance. Well, Sugar Daddy is not a romance story. That's the moment to admit that I don't like chick lit. Even though I adored the heroine, I don't particularly like it when a story revolves MAINLY around the heroine and her family and friends. I want to see the heroine together with the hero, and that's the reason I love to read romance.
Gage made a bad first appearance after I hit the 57 % mark. In fact, when I was 59 % done he said:
"Look," he said curtly, "I don't give a damn if you're banging the old man. That's not my business." "You're right," I said. "But I draw the line when you bring it into this house." "It's not your house."
Seriously? Yeah, Baba, hold your horses…deep breath…I mean I have to wait a loooooong time to get to see him and then he is telling such crap and he acted stupidly. I agree, he is a first-class jerk. Gah! That said, I went from this I-wanna-tear-off-my-hair moment to….ah…yes…I-wanna-kiss-you-Gage moment. So, yes, he did redeem himself eventually. Gage doesn't like to talk about his feelings; he has a hard time to admit that he's vulnerable and he's got commitment issues. I liked him a lot, however, I didn't love him. Yet. Surprisingly, I found him extremely lovable from the get-go in Blue-Eyed Devil. He was Haven's perfect brother--very caring, protective and loving. Admittedly, I'd like to have such a brother any day. Let's see…here are some memorable Gage scenes:
The first kiss. Holy smokes--it was incredibly H.O.T., passionate and sensual.
Quotes that made me like him a lot--I put them in a spoiler to shorten my review
I had some issues with Liberty's mother. I found myself thinking that she was pretty selfish. Liberty's mom is going out, enjoying her life, while her daughter stays at home and is taking care of the baby. And when she senses that something is going on between Hardy and Liberty, she tells him that he shouldn't spend any more time alone with her daughter. There's more but I don't want to give away too much. Since Liberty is spending so much time with her sister, they have a special connection. The bond between Carrington and Liberty is closer than that of sisters; it's more like that of parent and child. After a particularly sad event, Liberty came to a conclusion:
And I finally understood what Miss Marva had said about living by your own lights. When you're walking through the darkness, you can't depend on anything or anyone else to light your way. You have to rely on whatever sparks you've got inside you. Or you're going to get lost.
Although I loved Hardy, he did something stupid but this quote here made me feel so much stronger for him. Hardy, you're THE man.
"Be happy, honey. No one deserves it more. But don't forget…I'm keeping one little piece of your heart for myself. And if you ever want it back…you know where to find it."
Sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor, giving you the thing you always wanted at the worst time possible. The irony of it split my heart open, setting loose more bitter regret than I could bear.
Be aware that my review is a little bit spoiler-ish; nothing major though
About my rating
When you read my review you will ask yourself why I rated this book so high. Well, even though I dislike chick lit I think it wouldn't be fair to give it a low rating. That's a personal preference and has nothing to do with the quality of Sugar Daddy. Ms. Kleypas is an excellent author and as a matter of fact, this story is very well-written. It's absolutely engaging and Sugar Daddy kept me turning the pages. Further, I adored Liberty and I LOVED the extremely charming Hardy. *dreamy sigh* Liberty is a very strong and determined heroine. She showed some spine. Kudos! On top of that, there are many interesting and complex secondary characters. You see many reasons to justify a more than average rating.
I LOVED Blue-Eyed Devil which is my absolute favorite, then Smooth Talking Stranger (loved it too) and far behind…Sugar Daddy. I'm sure that Joe's story will take third spot pretty easily. Conclusion: I don't like chick lit!
★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩★✩
Jeez, I'm so very, very glad that I read this series out of order. If I'd've started with Sugar Daddy then I'm not sure if I'd've gone any further. At the moment my feelings are so ambivalent. On the one hand, I'm pleased for Gage and Liberty but on the other hand, I am incredibly disappointed for Hardy and Liberty. After reading the first few chapters I thought they'd be the perfect couple. I found myself thinking how sweet these two were together and they were supposed to end up together. Their chemistry was great and I wanted Hardy to be her first lover. Well, this was not going to happen. Unfortunately. Then again, I'm glad that Hardy found the perfect woman in Blue-Eyed Devil. I just can't help it but Sugar Daddy feels kinda wrong. I'm not really happy.
It didn't help either that Gage and Liberty didn't get enough page-time. By far not enough! The focus of the story is not on Gage and Liberty's evolving relationship (I wouldn't even call it an evolving relationship), and Sugar Daddy is not my usual romance. Well, Sugar Daddy is not a romance story. That's the moment to admit that I don't like chick lit. Even though I adored the heroine, I don't particularly like it when a story revolves MAINLY around the heroine and her family and friends. I want to see the heroine together with the hero, and that's the reason I love to read romance.
Gage made a bad first appearance after I hit the 57 % mark. In fact, when I was 59 % done he said:
"Look," he said curtly, "I don't give a damn if you're banging the old man. That's not my business." "You're right," I said. "But I draw the line when you bring it into this house." "It's not your house."
Seriously? Yeah, Baba, hold your horses…deep breath…I mean I have to wait a loooooong time to get to see him and then he is telling such crap and he acted stupidly. I agree, he is a first-class jerk. Gah! That said, I went from this I-wanna-tear-off-my-hair moment to….ah…yes…I-wanna-kiss-you-Gage moment. So, yes, he did redeem himself eventually. Gage doesn't like to talk about his feelings; he has a hard time to admit that he's vulnerable and he's got commitment issues. I liked him a lot, however, I didn't love him. Yet. Surprisingly, I found him extremely lovable from the get-go in Blue-Eyed Devil. He was Haven's perfect brother--very caring, protective and loving. Admittedly, I'd like to have such a brother any day. Let's see…here are some memorable Gage scenes:
The first kiss. Holy smokes--it was incredibly H.O.T., passionate and sensual.
Quotes that made me like him a lot--I put them in a spoiler to shorten my review
I had some issues with Liberty's mother. I found myself thinking that she was pretty selfish. Liberty's mom is going out, enjoying her life, while her daughter stays at home and is taking care of the baby. And when she senses that something is going on between Hardy and Liberty, she tells him that he shouldn't spend any more time alone with her daughter. There's more but I don't want to give away too much. Since Liberty is spending so much time with her sister, they have a special connection. The bond between Carrington and Liberty is closer than that of sisters; it's more like that of parent and child. After a particularly sad event, Liberty came to a conclusion:
And I finally understood what Miss Marva had said about living by your own lights. When you're walking through the darkness, you can't depend on anything or anyone else to light your way. You have to rely on whatever sparks you've got inside you. Or you're going to get lost.
Although I loved Hardy, he did something stupid but this quote here made me feel so much stronger for him. Hardy, you're THE man.
"Be happy, honey. No one deserves it more. But don't forget…I'm keeping one little piece of your heart for myself. And if you ever want it back…you know where to find it."
April 24, 2020
This was a re-read – loved it the first time around….
Liberty Jones, living in a trailer, with her Mom, with no prospects …
She meets Hardy Gates, an older guy, living in the trailer park also. They become friends but he wants OUT of Welcome and he knows if he gets involved with her, that won’t happen.
He leaves town and Liberty has to grow up fast…. Her Mom has another child, Carrington, who Liberty loves, as if she were her own…
It takes place over a number of years…. Liberty takes control of her life and enrolls in Beauty School.
She meets an older man, Churchill Travis and they become fast friends. She goes to work for Churchill as a Personal Assistant. Churchill is a Widower with 4 grown up children.
Gage Travis is the oldest and sparks fly when he and Liberty meet – they do not like each other.
Won’t say much more but relationships develop, faces from the past show up, secrets are revealed. Very enjoyable read.
Liberty Jones, living in a trailer, with her Mom, with no prospects …
She meets Hardy Gates, an older guy, living in the trailer park also. They become friends but he wants OUT of Welcome and he knows if he gets involved with her, that won’t happen.
He leaves town and Liberty has to grow up fast…. Her Mom has another child, Carrington, who Liberty loves, as if she were her own…
It takes place over a number of years…. Liberty takes control of her life and enrolls in Beauty School.
She meets an older man, Churchill Travis and they become fast friends. She goes to work for Churchill as a Personal Assistant. Churchill is a Widower with 4 grown up children.
Gage Travis is the oldest and sparks fly when he and Liberty meet – they do not like each other.
Won’t say much more but relationships develop, faces from the past show up, secrets are revealed. Very enjoyable read.
February 9, 2017
Buddy Read with the lovely people at the Unapologetic Romance Readers in April 2016.
Last night I would have given Sugar Daddy more stars. This morning, refreshed and having thought about it, I'll settle for 2 Gage stars.
Seriously! Why was Hardy in this book to begin with? He was barely there for Liberty during her childhood. And he couldn't help scratch her itch. And don't give that I won't be able to leave if I have you nonsense because I don't buy it.
Also, the next book in the series, Blue-Eyed Devil, is about this Hardy person.
Right! Because I want to know him better! He just seems such a nice guy and all.
On the other hand, the guy who actually loves the girl gets barely anyscreen book time. And he always feels in a rush. After all that long crap about Liberty's childhood, we barely get a few pages that explain her adult life or her love choice.
In the spirit of this book, I'll rush the end of my review and say I choose not to read the next one.
Last night I would have given Sugar Daddy more stars. This morning, refreshed and having thought about it, I'll settle for 2 Gage stars.
Seriously! Why was Hardy in this book to begin with? He was barely there for Liberty during her childhood. And he couldn't help scratch her itch. And don't give that I won't be able to leave if I have you nonsense because I don't buy it.
Also, the next book in the series, Blue-Eyed Devil, is about this Hardy person.
Right! Because I want to know him better! He just seems such a nice guy and all.
On the other hand, the guy who actually loves the girl gets barely any
In the spirit of this book, I'll rush the end of my review and say I choose not to read the next one.
February 8, 2010
Sugar Daddy was one of those books that I dreaded reading, in all honesty. Let me tell you why.
1)I do not like chick lit or women's fiction. I like a story that has a defined beginning and a defined end, that has landmarks, and ends on a happy note. To my understanding, chick lit and women's fiction does not need to meet these expectations.
2)I was dismayed that one of my most beloved authors was leaving the historical romance scene (my most beloved subgenre within my favorite genre) to write contemporary novels. I feared that the amount of quality historical romances would be that much more diminished than before with her leaving it behind.
3)Because I am such a big fan of Kleypas, I was afraid I would read this book, and truly hate one of her books for the first time.
4)Let's be honest, I abhor love triangles. Whenever I pick up a book, and it has the phrase, 'torn between two lovers,' it goes back on the shelf. I won't buy it. I like my romance predictable in this sense. I want to know who the heroine ends up with before I start the book.
So, having said all these reasons I put off reading Sugar Daddy so long, I am very glad I read it, and I found it to be an excellent book. Was it perfect in meeting my expectations? To say yes would be a lie. I did have the following issues with Sugar Daddy:
1)The beginning seemed drastically different from the end. The book starts out as a coming of age story about a young woman, Liberty, and her journey through life, the good and the bad, and her all-encompassing, soul-defining love for her sister. The end becomes a romance story in which Liberty has to decide which man was right for her. The large shift was quite jarring for me as a reader. Although I dislike chick lit/women's fiction, I am a great big sucker for a great coming of age story. I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte last year, and that is probably one of the best I've ever read. I'd also put forward Where The Heart is by Billie Letts, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and of course, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee as my top list of coming of age stories. I loved this aspect of Sugar Daddy. I was transfixed by the story of this young girl, and how her life evolved. Then, all of a sudden, it became about which man would she end up with. One could argue that this was part of her story, and yes, it is. But I felt the focus had shifted from Liberty's journey to explaining which man was right for her, almost a bit of show and tell, to me as a reader. I would have liked to see more of Liberty putting the pieces together and coming to a more organic understanding of the man she belonged with. Also, there seemed to be less focus on Liberty's relationship with Carrington towards the end of the story. It was noticeable, because of how prominent a character Carrington is earlier in the book. It's not that I didn't want to see Liberty have a life and a love outside of her sister, but I thought the tone should have remained consistent. Fundamentally, I was left with the feeling that I didn't know what kind of book Ms. Kleypas was trying to write here.
2)This evolves out of my first issue. I felt that the romance aspects were slightly underdeveloped. In my opinion, more time should have been spent on developing the romance between Gage and Liberty. In my opinion, much more time was spent on the romance (or at least the evolution of Liberty's love for Hardy) between Hardy and Liberty. I could see in a general way, why Gage was right for Liberty, but I really needed more for my heart to accept on a deep level that he was the right choice. Part of this unsureness came from the fact that I think having Hardy betray Liberty was a bit of a cop-out. Yes, we know that Hardy was committed to getting ahead by any means necessary. But it didn't quite ring true for me. Hardy was shown as a very good, honorable person growing up (even if he didn't believe it about himself). Yes, he was a bit of a skirt-chaser, but he stuck with girls who were up for the game. His caring for his family and for Liberty and her family didn't match up with how he acted when he returned to Liberty's life. So I was left feeling that, perhaps Liberty would have chosen Hardy, if he hadn't betrayed her that way. That didn't convince me on the romance between Gage and Liberty. Don't get me wrong. Gage was definitely the right man. Although I didn't get quite as much of a fix on him as I did Hardy, I could see his appeal and why he was the man that Liberty would fall in love with as an adult. But more narrative on him, definitely would have been appreciated.
3)I really disliked the scenes in which Liberty was exploring her sexality with Luke, who was her high school boyfriend, and the guy she dated as an adult before Gage. Now, I will admit that this ties into my dislike of chick-lit. I like to see a romance between two people, the heroine and the hero. I don't want to see them having sex and being involved with other people. If they had other relationships before, then I'd like that to be in the past, and not revealed during the book, other than a couple of lines of exposition, or through something that is revealed in dialogue. I knew that Liberty didn't love those guys, and she was a woman who wanted love. So it felt wrong to me. I especially hated the scene when she lost her virginity. I was really mad at her for that decision, although I could understand the pain that drove her to it. This would have went over better with me, had the women's fiction aspect of the story been continued through to the end, without the shift to a romance. But since the last 1/4 of the book was written as a romance, this left a bad taste in my mouth. I really didn't like the way things unfolded when Hardy returns into her life. The passionate kiss with Hardy felt wrong. Could you do that with an ex if you were deeply in love with a new man? Liberty wasn't the flighty kind of person who would do that. It felt out of character to me. Also the part in which Liberty decides to spend time with Hardy to find out if there was anything there. In my mind, if her feelings for Gage were so strong, would she have felt right doing that, even if he was a good enough man to let her? I don't know the right answer, but it didn't feel right to me. I think this is something that I would expect in a chick lit novel and not a romance.
One aspect of the book that I didn't really love, but I could see why it was done, was the attention to detail on the accoutrements of the upscale life that the Travises and their associates had. I think Ms. Kleypas did a great job of describing this through Liberty's eyes, but I was kind of 'meh' about it. To some degree, those of us who grew up with modest surroundings, do have a wide-eyed awe at what those who 'have' possess. But it is only so interesting. I think I would have preferred more time spent on showing Liberty's emotional interactions with Gage and his family, to a greater degree. Maybe dropping a designer name here and there, and describing things as needed could have sufficed. Perhaps this is unfair of me to comment on this, considering that Ms. Kleypas's phenomenal ability as a writer of beautiful, vivid description, is one of her strong points for me as a reader. I think in this instant, it was too much of a distraction from the emotional focus of this story.
So you may ask, how this book garnered a five star rating. I have to give it five stars, because it's a really good novel. It really affected me emotionally as a reader. And that is one thing that will always have a writer coming out ahead, for me. I found the love story between Liberty and Carrington to be the most beautiful and profound aspect of this story. The scenes in which Liberty takes on this responsibility and shows her love for her sister excelled. I cried numerous times reading this book.
Other reasons I give this book a five star rating: The beginning is excellent. The way in which Ms. Kleypas describes Liberty's life in a small town in Texas really resonated with me. It took me back to my time at this age. Hot, lazy summers, kooky relatives and neighbors. Having a family that wasn't always perfect, but loving them hard and strong, regardless. The awkwardness of being a girl who is in that stage where she feels ugly and invisible. This book could have been about a girl I knew growing up. Maybe a little bit of me, as well. That identification factor was so powerful, that I was sucked in as a reader. I wasn't going anywhere and doing anything until I finished this story.
And then there's Liberty. She's an unforgettable character. She had grit and determination. She had a unique way of looking at the world. She approached situations with the tenacity that I could not help but admire. Her strength was the best kind of strength to me. Not cussing out people or fighting at the drop of the hat, but hanging in there, enduring, doing what had to be done to keep going, and to achieve one's goals. I loved Liberty being that kind of person. And I wanted her to be happy. I cheered when she did get her happy ending. That's what I read this books for, after all.
Also, there are few writers who can create such appealing heroes as Ms. Kleypas. Gage had a magnetism that reached out of the book and slapped me in the face, in a good way, for all the short time he had in this book. Although he was a jerk to Liberty, initially, you could still see his appeal. I wanted more of him. And then there's Hardy. Well, I fell in love with Hardy as a young man. I could see why Liberty loved him so hard and so long. That's why I had some issues with the way he was written when he returned, because he made such an impression on me initially in this book. I know that I definitely have to read Blue-Eyed Devil to get more of him, and to see him become the man he should be, not who he thinks he is.
Well, for all the rambling that I did in this review, I feel that I could not have possibly expressed my feelings for this book with the clarity that I wish I could. It's so hard to unravel something so complex in such a short time for a review. But I feel that I have captured the essence of my feelings about Sugar Daddy. I do have to say a few things to Ms. Kleypas to end this review:
*Thank you for having the courage to write this book.
*Thank you for stepping out of the box and pouring your heart into this book.
*I'm sorry that I doubted that you could write a contemporary romance with heavy chick-lit leanings that I could enjoy.
*Will you please continue to write excellent books that challenge me as a reader, make me cry, and keep me up late at night because I can't bear to put the book down?
Lastly, I say from one huge Lisa Kleypas fan to another: if you have not read Sugar Daddy, read it. I think you will find much of value in this book.
1)I do not like chick lit or women's fiction. I like a story that has a defined beginning and a defined end, that has landmarks, and ends on a happy note. To my understanding, chick lit and women's fiction does not need to meet these expectations.
2)I was dismayed that one of my most beloved authors was leaving the historical romance scene (my most beloved subgenre within my favorite genre) to write contemporary novels. I feared that the amount of quality historical romances would be that much more diminished than before with her leaving it behind.
3)Because I am such a big fan of Kleypas, I was afraid I would read this book, and truly hate one of her books for the first time.
4)Let's be honest, I abhor love triangles. Whenever I pick up a book, and it has the phrase, 'torn between two lovers,' it goes back on the shelf. I won't buy it. I like my romance predictable in this sense. I want to know who the heroine ends up with before I start the book.
So, having said all these reasons I put off reading Sugar Daddy so long, I am very glad I read it, and I found it to be an excellent book. Was it perfect in meeting my expectations? To say yes would be a lie. I did have the following issues with Sugar Daddy:
1)The beginning seemed drastically different from the end. The book starts out as a coming of age story about a young woman, Liberty, and her journey through life, the good and the bad, and her all-encompassing, soul-defining love for her sister. The end becomes a romance story in which Liberty has to decide which man was right for her. The large shift was quite jarring for me as a reader. Although I dislike chick lit/women's fiction, I am a great big sucker for a great coming of age story. I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte last year, and that is probably one of the best I've ever read. I'd also put forward Where The Heart is by Billie Letts, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and of course, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee as my top list of coming of age stories. I loved this aspect of Sugar Daddy. I was transfixed by the story of this young girl, and how her life evolved. Then, all of a sudden, it became about which man would she end up with. One could argue that this was part of her story, and yes, it is. But I felt the focus had shifted from Liberty's journey to explaining which man was right for her, almost a bit of show and tell, to me as a reader. I would have liked to see more of Liberty putting the pieces together and coming to a more organic understanding of the man she belonged with. Also, there seemed to be less focus on Liberty's relationship with Carrington towards the end of the story. It was noticeable, because of how prominent a character Carrington is earlier in the book. It's not that I didn't want to see Liberty have a life and a love outside of her sister, but I thought the tone should have remained consistent. Fundamentally, I was left with the feeling that I didn't know what kind of book Ms. Kleypas was trying to write here.
2)This evolves out of my first issue. I felt that the romance aspects were slightly underdeveloped. In my opinion, more time should have been spent on developing the romance between Gage and Liberty. In my opinion, much more time was spent on the romance (or at least the evolution of Liberty's love for Hardy) between Hardy and Liberty. I could see in a general way, why Gage was right for Liberty, but I really needed more for my heart to accept on a deep level that he was the right choice. Part of this unsureness came from the fact that I think having Hardy betray Liberty was a bit of a cop-out. Yes, we know that Hardy was committed to getting ahead by any means necessary. But it didn't quite ring true for me. Hardy was shown as a very good, honorable person growing up (even if he didn't believe it about himself). Yes, he was a bit of a skirt-chaser, but he stuck with girls who were up for the game. His caring for his family and for Liberty and her family didn't match up with how he acted when he returned to Liberty's life. So I was left feeling that, perhaps Liberty would have chosen Hardy, if he hadn't betrayed her that way. That didn't convince me on the romance between Gage and Liberty. Don't get me wrong. Gage was definitely the right man. Although I didn't get quite as much of a fix on him as I did Hardy, I could see his appeal and why he was the man that Liberty would fall in love with as an adult. But more narrative on him, definitely would have been appreciated.
3)I really disliked the scenes in which Liberty was exploring her sexality with Luke, who was her high school boyfriend, and the guy she dated as an adult before Gage. Now, I will admit that this ties into my dislike of chick-lit. I like to see a romance between two people, the heroine and the hero. I don't want to see them having sex and being involved with other people. If they had other relationships before, then I'd like that to be in the past, and not revealed during the book, other than a couple of lines of exposition, or through something that is revealed in dialogue. I knew that Liberty didn't love those guys, and she was a woman who wanted love. So it felt wrong to me. I especially hated the scene when she lost her virginity. I was really mad at her for that decision, although I could understand the pain that drove her to it. This would have went over better with me, had the women's fiction aspect of the story been continued through to the end, without the shift to a romance. But since the last 1/4 of the book was written as a romance, this left a bad taste in my mouth. I really didn't like the way things unfolded when Hardy returns into her life. The passionate kiss with Hardy felt wrong. Could you do that with an ex if you were deeply in love with a new man? Liberty wasn't the flighty kind of person who would do that. It felt out of character to me. Also the part in which Liberty decides to spend time with Hardy to find out if there was anything there. In my mind, if her feelings for Gage were so strong, would she have felt right doing that, even if he was a good enough man to let her? I don't know the right answer, but it didn't feel right to me. I think this is something that I would expect in a chick lit novel and not a romance.
One aspect of the book that I didn't really love, but I could see why it was done, was the attention to detail on the accoutrements of the upscale life that the Travises and their associates had. I think Ms. Kleypas did a great job of describing this through Liberty's eyes, but I was kind of 'meh' about it. To some degree, those of us who grew up with modest surroundings, do have a wide-eyed awe at what those who 'have' possess. But it is only so interesting. I think I would have preferred more time spent on showing Liberty's emotional interactions with Gage and his family, to a greater degree. Maybe dropping a designer name here and there, and describing things as needed could have sufficed. Perhaps this is unfair of me to comment on this, considering that Ms. Kleypas's phenomenal ability as a writer of beautiful, vivid description, is one of her strong points for me as a reader. I think in this instant, it was too much of a distraction from the emotional focus of this story.
So you may ask, how this book garnered a five star rating. I have to give it five stars, because it's a really good novel. It really affected me emotionally as a reader. And that is one thing that will always have a writer coming out ahead, for me. I found the love story between Liberty and Carrington to be the most beautiful and profound aspect of this story. The scenes in which Liberty takes on this responsibility and shows her love for her sister excelled. I cried numerous times reading this book.
Other reasons I give this book a five star rating: The beginning is excellent. The way in which Ms. Kleypas describes Liberty's life in a small town in Texas really resonated with me. It took me back to my time at this age. Hot, lazy summers, kooky relatives and neighbors. Having a family that wasn't always perfect, but loving them hard and strong, regardless. The awkwardness of being a girl who is in that stage where she feels ugly and invisible. This book could have been about a girl I knew growing up. Maybe a little bit of me, as well. That identification factor was so powerful, that I was sucked in as a reader. I wasn't going anywhere and doing anything until I finished this story.
And then there's Liberty. She's an unforgettable character. She had grit and determination. She had a unique way of looking at the world. She approached situations with the tenacity that I could not help but admire. Her strength was the best kind of strength to me. Not cussing out people or fighting at the drop of the hat, but hanging in there, enduring, doing what had to be done to keep going, and to achieve one's goals. I loved Liberty being that kind of person. And I wanted her to be happy. I cheered when she did get her happy ending. That's what I read this books for, after all.
Also, there are few writers who can create such appealing heroes as Ms. Kleypas. Gage had a magnetism that reached out of the book and slapped me in the face, in a good way, for all the short time he had in this book. Although he was a jerk to Liberty, initially, you could still see his appeal. I wanted more of him. And then there's Hardy. Well, I fell in love with Hardy as a young man. I could see why Liberty loved him so hard and so long. That's why I had some issues with the way he was written when he returned, because he made such an impression on me initially in this book. I know that I definitely have to read Blue-Eyed Devil to get more of him, and to see him become the man he should be, not who he thinks he is.
Well, for all the rambling that I did in this review, I feel that I could not have possibly expressed my feelings for this book with the clarity that I wish I could. It's so hard to unravel something so complex in such a short time for a review. But I feel that I have captured the essence of my feelings about Sugar Daddy. I do have to say a few things to Ms. Kleypas to end this review:
*Thank you for having the courage to write this book.
*Thank you for stepping out of the box and pouring your heart into this book.
*I'm sorry that I doubted that you could write a contemporary romance with heavy chick-lit leanings that I could enjoy.
*Will you please continue to write excellent books that challenge me as a reader, make me cry, and keep me up late at night because I can't bear to put the book down?
Lastly, I say from one huge Lisa Kleypas fan to another: if you have not read Sugar Daddy, read it. I think you will find much of value in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2015
The first time I read this book, I wasn't too enamored by it. First of all, the hero and heroine didn't meet until halfway through the book. Second, I thought another guy was going to be the hero and I was rooting for him. Turns out, he wasn't the hero. The latter turned out to be a blessing in disguise since this guy became the hero in the second book, which is my favorite in the series. So it's not surprising that I liked this better the second time around because I've gained some perspective on a few things especially with the author's decision to pair Liberty and Gage instead of Liberty and Hardy.
That said, I would suggest that to enjoy this book more, you have to throw aside a few expectations. For one, this isn't a romance book. Not really. It does have romance in it but it's not really the central theme. I'd say this book is more like women's fiction or chick lit. Sugar Daddy is all about Liberty's journey of finding her identity, her strength and ultimately, finding her one true love. Two, this book -- like I said -- is heroine-centric. Gage and Hardy still stood out to me but this is Liberty's story. To expect anything more than that would invite disappointment.
That said, I would suggest that to enjoy this book more, you have to throw aside a few expectations. For one, this isn't a romance book. Not really. It does have romance in it but it's not really the central theme. I'd say this book is more like women's fiction or chick lit. Sugar Daddy is all about Liberty's journey of finding her identity, her strength and ultimately, finding her one true love. Two, this book -- like I said -- is heroine-centric. Gage and Hardy still stood out to me but this is Liberty's story. To expect anything more than that would invite disappointment.
March 23, 2015
This is my first book by Lisa Kleypas. I stumbled upon it a few days ago and when I realized a lot of my GR friends loved it I decided to give it a go.
When Sugar Daddy starts out we meet a young Liberty Jones. She is living with her mom, trying to find her spot in world, dreaming about her future and falling in love like any other teenager. She doesn’t have much but she surrounds herself with people that matter knowing that someday her life would be different.
While fluttering through her young life she meets Hardy Cates. There really wasn’t anything not to love about Hardy. He was sweet, sexy in his own right and he stole Liberty’s heart. It may have been innocent love but Hardy held a big piece of Liberty’s heart that she wouldn’t get back until much later in her life.
Liberty would soon find out that the life she was living wasn’t going to get any easier. But she was a fighter and a dreamer. When she finds herself becoming the sole care giver to her younger sister Carrington, Liberty has no other choice to grown up fast.
Liberty’s struggles would only shape her into the strong and independent woman that she becomes and when her life changes yet again she meets Churchill Travis. He was her Sugar Daddy. Churchill wasn’t your typical Sugar Daddy. Their relationship was never sexual. He filled a part in her life that she always missed. He was the father she never had. But there was more to Churchill that Liberty would soon find out.
With Churchill in her life she is also connected with his family. Gage Travis was the oldest of his boys. When their paths crossed things were a bit stormy. Gage was a bit surly you could say. He had his reasons. Liberty wasn’t about to let him rattle her though and soon enough she would get under his skin. A place Gage didn’t allow many to be.
Sugar Daddy was definitely a great read. I loved watching Liberty grow and change. I loved watching her falling in love, get her heart broken and fall in love again. And ladies, Gage is AMAZING. I just love a guy that calls his girl darlin. It just melts my heart every single time.
I really enjoyed it. I’ll be starting Blue-Eyed Devil book #2 right away. I need a little more Hardy. ❤
When Sugar Daddy starts out we meet a young Liberty Jones. She is living with her mom, trying to find her spot in world, dreaming about her future and falling in love like any other teenager. She doesn’t have much but she surrounds herself with people that matter knowing that someday her life would be different.
While fluttering through her young life she meets Hardy Cates. There really wasn’t anything not to love about Hardy. He was sweet, sexy in his own right and he stole Liberty’s heart. It may have been innocent love but Hardy held a big piece of Liberty’s heart that she wouldn’t get back until much later in her life.
Liberty would soon find out that the life she was living wasn’t going to get any easier. But she was a fighter and a dreamer. When she finds herself becoming the sole care giver to her younger sister Carrington, Liberty has no other choice to grown up fast.
Liberty’s struggles would only shape her into the strong and independent woman that she becomes and when her life changes yet again she meets Churchill Travis. He was her Sugar Daddy. Churchill wasn’t your typical Sugar Daddy. Their relationship was never sexual. He filled a part in her life that she always missed. He was the father she never had. But there was more to Churchill that Liberty would soon find out.
With Churchill in her life she is also connected with his family. Gage Travis was the oldest of his boys. When their paths crossed things were a bit stormy. Gage was a bit surly you could say. He had his reasons. Liberty wasn’t about to let him rattle her though and soon enough she would get under his skin. A place Gage didn’t allow many to be.
Sugar Daddy was definitely a great read. I loved watching Liberty grow and change. I loved watching her falling in love, get her heart broken and fall in love again. And ladies, Gage is AMAZING. I just love a guy that calls his girl darlin. It just melts my heart every single time.
I really enjoyed it. I’ll be starting Blue-Eyed Devil book #2 right away. I need a little more Hardy. ❤
October 23, 2011
This is my favorite LK series. Yes, I know, I know. I'm mainly a historical romance reader. Plus, I've never really been thrilled over first-person POV*, but these books sold me. This book leading the series is truly wonderful.
I still remember when I first saw the paperback was finally out in the bookstore and being so disappointed because yet another one of my favorite HR authors was bowing to pressure and going mainstream. I wasn't reading contemporary romances at the time, so I actually hesitated over the purchase of Sugar Daddy. In addition, I really loathed the title. Ugh! I started reading it standing there, eventually grouped blindly for a chair while I kept my eyes glued to the pages, then went running to the cash-register, my heart pumping erratically with adrenaline coursing to unmentionable pulse points for poor Liberty, the pit bulls, and Hardy. Man-oh-man! Don’t you love finding aworthy new book by a great author? I'm having the "Big O" just recalling it.
BTW, at the risk of sharing too much, I was right there with Liberty and the whole 68 thing and started reviewing my past loves. Oh, and the part about the emu? Absolutely killed me I was laughing so hard.
SPOILER added 4/10/11
*My GR friend, Sans, calls first person POV "a flaming pile of crap in printed format". This expression worked nicely for me until this book.
I still remember when I first saw the paperback was finally out in the bookstore and being so disappointed because yet another one of my favorite HR authors was bowing to pressure and going mainstream. I wasn't reading contemporary romances at the time, so I actually hesitated over the purchase of Sugar Daddy. In addition, I really loathed the title. Ugh! I started reading it standing there, eventually grouped blindly for a chair while I kept my eyes glued to the pages, then went running to the cash-register, my heart pumping erratically with adrenaline coursing to unmentionable pulse points for poor Liberty, the pit bulls, and Hardy. Man-oh-man! Don’t you love finding a
BTW, at the risk of sharing too much, I was right there with Liberty and the whole 68 thing and started reviewing my past loves. Oh, and the part about the emu? Absolutely killed me I was laughing so hard.
SPOILER added 4/10/11
*My GR friend, Sans, calls first person POV "a flaming pile of crap in printed format". This expression worked nicely for me until this book.
December 15, 2016
Me encantó conocer a Liberty. ¡La adoré! ❤️
A medida que ella me contaba su historia, sentí que iba caminando a su lado y creciendo con ella. Sentí su dolor y su frustración hasta el punto de querer abrazarla y contenerla. La admiré por la valentía de asumir responsabilidades que no se correspondían con su edad, y el coraje de luchar frente a cualquier adversidad sin perder la esperanza. Fui deseando que pudiera cumplir todos sus sueños y sus anhelos, y celebrando sus logros como si fueran propios. Sentí ternura por su primer amor adolescente, que despertó en ella sensaciones y emociones nuevas. Y me enamoré de su amor adulto, dulce, paciente, pasional y poderoso, de su amor real.
Si Lisa Kleypas me conquistó con sus novelas históricas, con esta, se ganó mi admiración absoluta, y mi corazón. ❤️
A medida que ella me contaba su historia, sentí que iba caminando a su lado y creciendo con ella. Sentí su dolor y su frustración hasta el punto de querer abrazarla y contenerla. La admiré por la valentía de asumir responsabilidades que no se correspondían con su edad, y el coraje de luchar frente a cualquier adversidad sin perder la esperanza. Fui deseando que pudiera cumplir todos sus sueños y sus anhelos, y celebrando sus logros como si fueran propios. Sentí ternura por su primer amor adolescente, que despertó en ella sensaciones y emociones nuevas. Y me enamoré de su amor adulto, dulce, paciente, pasional y poderoso, de su amor real.
Si Lisa Kleypas me conquistó con sus novelas históricas, con esta, se ganó mi admiración absoluta, y mi corazón. ❤️
August 8, 2018
Find all of my reviews at: https://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Lisa Kleypas definitely doesn’t need my crappy little review in order to sell books, so I’ll make this short and sweet and then tell y’all how I ended up arriving terribly late to this party.
Liberty wound up in Welcome, Texas as a kid with her momma and momma’s deadbeat boyfriend. It was in Welcome that she met Hardy – boy next door (and on the wrong side of the tracks) who placed Liberty firmly in the friendzone due to their age difference. Fast-forward a few years and you find a Hardy who still maintains his distance in order to make sure nothing will stop him from blowing the dust off this one horse town, deadbeat boyfriend kicked to the curb, momma dead and Liberty trying her best to raise her baby sister. While working as an apprentice at a high-end salon, Liberty meets Churchill Travis – known around town as a “Sugar Daddy.” You’ll have to read the rest for yourself . . . . .
Oh yes. I did.
I seriously ATE. THIS. THING. UP. Really my only gripe????
Terms of endearment make me want to stab my own eyeholes.
Now let’s talk about how I discovered Sugar Daddy eleven years after it was first published.
I work in a large office and pretty much maintain the status that . . . . .
Therefore, I sit in my hole, do my best to make sure I take more than my fair share of work to counteract the fact that . . . .
And read during my downtime.
Occasionally I get approached by a fearless co-worker who is willing to invade my personal bubble in order to talk books. Usually those people are asking for a suggestion because they know how many books I read and what type of variety I’m interested in. I rarely have anyone brazen enough to suggest what I should read next (because seriously NO I DON’T WANT TO READ YOUR FANFIC OR CHURCH LADY GROUP’S BOOK OF THE MONTH SO GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE). Where was I? Oh yeah the ballsy little lady who told me about Kleypas. I explained that historical romance was not my bag and pretty much that . . . .
And read for pleasure so I actively avoid picking up things I already know I won’t like. But little lady was super persistent and pointed out that Kleypas also writes some contemporary stuff and then went on to explain how they are real-life friends and that she’s simply a wonderful human and I should really give her a shot. So I put my name on the waiting list fully prepared to be a wrongreader and 1 Star this thing and get some rabid fanbase trolling me up the ass on a book I didn’t even WANT to read in the first place and being pretty much like . . . . .
But I loved the G.D. thing. Color me shocked. I can’t wait to read the next one.
Lisa Kleypas definitely doesn’t need my crappy little review in order to sell books, so I’ll make this short and sweet and then tell y’all how I ended up arriving terribly late to this party.
Liberty wound up in Welcome, Texas as a kid with her momma and momma’s deadbeat boyfriend. It was in Welcome that she met Hardy – boy next door (and on the wrong side of the tracks) who placed Liberty firmly in the friendzone due to their age difference. Fast-forward a few years and you find a Hardy who still maintains his distance in order to make sure nothing will stop him from blowing the dust off this one horse town, deadbeat boyfriend kicked to the curb, momma dead and Liberty trying her best to raise her baby sister. While working as an apprentice at a high-end salon, Liberty meets Churchill Travis – known around town as a “Sugar Daddy.” You’ll have to read the rest for yourself . . . . .
Oh yes. I did.
I seriously ATE. THIS. THING. UP. Really my only gripe????
Terms of endearment make me want to stab my own eyeholes.
Now let’s talk about how I discovered Sugar Daddy eleven years after it was first published.
I work in a large office and pretty much maintain the status that . . . . .
Therefore, I sit in my hole, do my best to make sure I take more than my fair share of work to counteract the fact that . . . .
And read during my downtime.
Occasionally I get approached by a fearless co-worker who is willing to invade my personal bubble in order to talk books. Usually those people are asking for a suggestion because they know how many books I read and what type of variety I’m interested in. I rarely have anyone brazen enough to suggest what I should read next (because seriously NO I DON’T WANT TO READ YOUR FANFIC OR CHURCH LADY GROUP’S BOOK OF THE MONTH SO GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE). Where was I? Oh yeah the ballsy little lady who told me about Kleypas. I explained that historical romance was not my bag and pretty much that . . . .
And read for pleasure so I actively avoid picking up things I already know I won’t like. But little lady was super persistent and pointed out that Kleypas also writes some contemporary stuff and then went on to explain how they are real-life friends and that she’s simply a wonderful human and I should really give her a shot. So I put my name on the waiting list fully prepared to be a wrongreader and 1 Star this thing and get some rabid fanbase trolling me up the ass on a book I didn’t even WANT to read in the first place and being pretty much like . . . . .
But I loved the G.D. thing. Color me shocked. I can’t wait to read the next one.
February 4, 2023
So, this wasn’t a ‘Sugar Daddy’ story in the traditional sense of what we know a sugar daddy to be.
We follow Liberty from the time she was a young child till her mid twenties, growing up in Texas. I loved the setting and the feel of the story gradually pulled me in.
You can’t say life has been kind to Liberty but she definitely pulled through. Her strength was beyond admirable. Her resilience is something I wish I had but I don’t think I’d want life to test me that way.
As if I have a say in this…
It’s a slow-moving story. It’s ordinary, but not in a boring way. We follow Liberty discovering life and going through the motions of everyday life and worries.
There were just so many themes Lisa Kleypas was able to include in this: complicated parental relationships, poverty, wealth, grief, and love in all its forms and I really enjoyed reading about all of it.
Her relationship with her sister was something too special and a standout. But Gage, Hardy, Churchill and Marve all contributed to her experience and I loved what they added.
Especially her sister Carrington and Gage. That man. 🥰
However, you can tell this was written in the 2000’s. There are some remarks/choices made that just haven’t aged well and you can definitely tell how white publishing was back then.
We follow Liberty from the time she was a young child till her mid twenties, growing up in Texas. I loved the setting and the feel of the story gradually pulled me in.
You can’t say life has been kind to Liberty but she definitely pulled through. Her strength was beyond admirable. Her resilience is something I wish I had but I don’t think I’d want life to test me that way.
As if I have a say in this…
It’s a slow-moving story. It’s ordinary, but not in a boring way. We follow Liberty discovering life and going through the motions of everyday life and worries.
There were just so many themes Lisa Kleypas was able to include in this: complicated parental relationships, poverty, wealth, grief, and love in all its forms and I really enjoyed reading about all of it.
Her relationship with her sister was something too special and a standout. But Gage, Hardy, Churchill and Marve all contributed to her experience and I loved what they added.
Especially her sister Carrington and Gage. That man. 🥰
However, you can tell this was written in the 2000’s. There are some remarks/choices made that just haven’t aged well and you can definitely tell how white publishing was back then.
April 19, 2009
What an utter disappointment this book was. I was tempted to give this two stars but then I changed my mind to three stars because it’s more like 2.5 seeing as it is generally well-written, but in no way is this a romance in my book. I’ve read mixed reviews from some saying it’s romance and others it’s women’s fiction. It’s 100% chick-lit which I dislike. I don’t care about the main character’s “journey” through hardship and angst, I want to see the romance, the emotional connection with the other person and all the additional “stuff” in the background. Apart from the chick-lit aspect, I found the story long, too drawn out and excessively boring.
In many ways this book reminded me of Judith McNaught’s Paradise the way it chronicles two people’s lives from their teenage years through to their 20s-30s. There’s a lot of build up and you keep wondering when are we getting to the “story”. Well the story here hits just after page 250 or so which is a long wait for a 400+ page novel in my opinion. I think all the history on the heroine could have been summed up in a few chapters and the present could have been more developed.
Being written in the first person didn’t bother me at the beginning but I really felt the one-sidedness of the story towards the end when she was describing the present. One of the heroes was short-changed I thought and could have been expanded on because he certainly had potential.
As for the romance, well there’s some but you’re left thirsty over and over again for the first 200-250 pages or so. Just when you think there’s going to be something between the h/h there’s really nothing and back we go to the bogged down story of Liberty’s hard life. After page 250 you start to get some romance but it reads like general fiction and not a true romance. A lot is glossed over and the emotion is subdued or just plain sedate.
So for me the book is blah. Kleypas writes a wicked historical romance, and maybe she writes good chick-lit too, but I for one don’t like it at all.
In many ways this book reminded me of Judith McNaught’s Paradise the way it chronicles two people’s lives from their teenage years through to their 20s-30s. There’s a lot of build up and you keep wondering when are we getting to the “story”. Well the story here hits just after page 250 or so which is a long wait for a 400+ page novel in my opinion. I think all the history on the heroine could have been summed up in a few chapters and the present could have been more developed.
Being written in the first person didn’t bother me at the beginning but I really felt the one-sidedness of the story towards the end when she was describing the present. One of the heroes was short-changed I thought and could have been expanded on because he certainly had potential.
As for the romance, well there’s some but you’re left thirsty over and over again for the first 200-250 pages or so. Just when you think there’s going to be something between the h/h there’s really nothing and back we go to the bogged down story of Liberty’s hard life. After page 250 you start to get some romance but it reads like general fiction and not a true romance. A lot is glossed over and the emotion is subdued or just plain sedate.
So for me the book is blah. Kleypas writes a wicked historical romance, and maybe she writes good chick-lit too, but I for one don’t like it at all.
August 14, 2018
5 stars!
“Sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor, giving you the thing you always wanted at the worst time possible.”
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I'm so shocked, I put off reading it for years because of the horrible title. It was so good!!!
First thing everyone needs to know or this book might piss them off, the hero isn't introduced until halfway into the book. Yes there is another man at the beginning and he's wonderful but he has his own book in this series.
Sugar Daddy is about Liberty Jones, a young pretty girl who grows up in a trailer park. Tragedy seems to strike her family often, and when it does she's left to pick up the pieces.
“Many times in life I've regretted the things I've said without thinking. But I've never regretted the things I said nearly as much as the words I left unspoken.”
This was a book that completely sucked me in, I never skimmed and I was so invested in what happened to Liberty. This book is a romance, but it's mostly her journey in her life and how she works through her problems. I loved all the characters in this and cannot wait to read more of the series. This is officially my favorite Kleypas novel I've read, to date.
“I'd sell my soul to have you. In my whole life, you'll always be what I wanted most."
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“Sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor, giving you the thing you always wanted at the worst time possible.”
I LOVED THIS BOOK! I'm so shocked, I put off reading it for years because of the horrible title. It was so good!!!
First thing everyone needs to know or this book might piss them off, the hero isn't introduced until halfway into the book. Yes there is another man at the beginning and he's wonderful but he has his own book in this series.
Sugar Daddy is about Liberty Jones, a young pretty girl who grows up in a trailer park. Tragedy seems to strike her family often, and when it does she's left to pick up the pieces.
“Many times in life I've regretted the things I've said without thinking. But I've never regretted the things I said nearly as much as the words I left unspoken.”
This was a book that completely sucked me in, I never skimmed and I was so invested in what happened to Liberty. This book is a romance, but it's mostly her journey in her life and how she works through her problems. I loved all the characters in this and cannot wait to read more of the series. This is officially my favorite Kleypas novel I've read, to date.
“I'd sell my soul to have you. In my whole life, you'll always be what I wanted most."
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July 18, 2023
3.5 stars
not quite the Sugar Daddy that i had in mind, but i’d still say yes to being the sugar baby of the Travis family. please adopt me! 🧎 Lisa Kleypas contemporary romance is somethin’ else (not that i know what/how any of her historical (HR) stuff is like 🙈). this series took me by surprise because i didnt expect it to be so marvelous, the characters to be so easy to love and root for, and their journeys to tug on my heartstrings. with this book in particular, i would say Sugar Daddy is leaning more towards literary or womens fiction with romance being only a small part of it.
we follow the FMC from her awkward, glasses wearing teenage years to her adulthood as she navigates through puberty/high school, poverty, loss and grief, and the different kinds of relationships she builds. i feel proud of the FMC for managing to survive after being forced by situation to strike out on her own at such a young age. well, she has help from a certain “guardian angel” unbeknownst to her, but i truly admire how she grows into her independence and becomes a self-respecting career woman while also being the sole parent figure to her baby sister whom i freakin’ adore.
the reason im rounding the rating down is because this book is very much a one woman show and focuses too heavily on the FMCs background history; hence, the romance has to take a backseat. its a first love vs true love type of narrative where the FMC has to pick between two love interests. unfortunately, she barely interacts with either of them. the Love Interest A appears for a few short times, and the Love Interest B isnt introduced until more than 60% through. ���� i feel like i dont know anything about the man she ends up with before the story concludes. btw, loved the audio narration because its in Dolly Partons accent. 🤌
(read as an audiobook)
not quite the Sugar Daddy that i had in mind, but i’d still say yes to being the sugar baby of the Travis family. please adopt me! 🧎 Lisa Kleypas contemporary romance is somethin’ else (not that i know what/how any of her historical (HR) stuff is like 🙈). this series took me by surprise because i didnt expect it to be so marvelous, the characters to be so easy to love and root for, and their journeys to tug on my heartstrings. with this book in particular, i would say Sugar Daddy is leaning more towards literary or womens fiction with romance being only a small part of it.
we follow the FMC from her awkward, glasses wearing teenage years to her adulthood as she navigates through puberty/high school, poverty, loss and grief, and the different kinds of relationships she builds. i feel proud of the FMC for managing to survive after being forced by situation to strike out on her own at such a young age. well, she has help from a certain “guardian angel” unbeknownst to her, but i truly admire how she grows into her independence and becomes a self-respecting career woman while also being the sole parent figure to her baby sister whom i freakin’ adore.
the reason im rounding the rating down is because this book is very much a one woman show and focuses too heavily on the FMCs background history; hence, the romance has to take a backseat. its a first love vs true love type of narrative where the FMC has to pick between two love interests. unfortunately, she barely interacts with either of them. the Love Interest A appears for a few short times, and the Love Interest B isnt introduced until more than 60% through. ���� i feel like i dont know anything about the man she ends up with before the story concludes. btw, loved the audio narration because its in Dolly Partons accent. 🤌
(read as an audiobook)
May 30, 2022
5 So Worth The Read Stars
* * * * * Spoiler Free
I read this in 2013 while going through a Huge Health issue. I had discovered Romance and Lisa Kleypas and fell hard for her crafting, her ability to capture you from the first page and wrap you up in a story that wouldn't let go. Her characters held my hand and made everything better- I came through the other side and Lisa Kleypas along with Tiffany Reisz, Alessandra Torre, C.D. Reiss, and many others contributed.
Kleypas has given me hours and hours of pleasure... the type where you are totally in the moment, living the life of the characters and never want to close the book.
When Kleypas wrote Sugar Daddy, she was taking a risk. It was her first Contemporary Romance as she was the Queen of Historical. It was a huge success and she continued with 3 other books in the series.
Sugar Daddy (Travises, #1)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Blue-Eyed Devil (Travises, #2)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises, #3)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Brown-Eyed Girl (Travises, #4)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
* * * * * Spoiler Free
I read this in 2013 while going through a Huge Health issue. I had discovered Romance and Lisa Kleypas and fell hard for her crafting, her ability to capture you from the first page and wrap you up in a story that wouldn't let go. Her characters held my hand and made everything better- I came through the other side and Lisa Kleypas along with Tiffany Reisz, Alessandra Torre, C.D. Reiss, and many others contributed.
Kleypas has given me hours and hours of pleasure... the type where you are totally in the moment, living the life of the characters and never want to close the book.
When Kleypas wrote Sugar Daddy, she was taking a risk. It was her first Contemporary Romance as she was the Queen of Historical. It was a huge success and she continued with 3 other books in the series.
Sugar Daddy (Travises, #1)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Blue-Eyed Devil (Travises, #2)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises, #3)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Brown-Eyed Girl (Travises, #4)https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
March 8, 2020
5 STARS
I loved this one! From start to finish, loved it all! No doubt it was a little far fetched. But there was actually, a plausible reason for bringing all of these people together. I really liked Liberty. I liked her candid nature and her grit. She was a fighter from the age of 4 on. And she never let her lack of money or privilege make her feel less deserving. She was a realist who had a clear vision of who she was and what she was capable of. I also fell hard for Hardy, just like she did. So when Gage came along, I didn't think he'd have a chance with me. Boy was I wrong. And what a sweet HEA it was... sigh.
I've got nothing bad to say about this one. And I'm jumping right into Book 2!
The span of three or four minutes is pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. People lose hundreds of minutes every day, squandering them on trivial things. But sometimes in those fragments of time, something can happen you’ll remember the rest of your life.
I loved this one! From start to finish, loved it all! No doubt it was a little far fetched. But there was actually, a plausible reason for bringing all of these people together. I really liked Liberty. I liked her candid nature and her grit. She was a fighter from the age of 4 on. And she never let her lack of money or privilege make her feel less deserving. She was a realist who had a clear vision of who she was and what she was capable of. I also fell hard for Hardy, just like she did. So when Gage came along, I didn't think he'd have a chance with me. Boy was I wrong. And what a sweet HEA it was... sigh.
I've got nothing bad to say about this one. And I'm jumping right into Book 2!
May 30, 2012
I initially gave this 3-stars but revised it to 4-Stars on second read.
Thoughts on first read (in 2009):
I am a huge fan of Kleypas’ historical romances and was somewhat disappointed in this contemporary story. It read like the life story of Liberty Jones as opposed to a contemporary romance. I did really love Liberty and really felt for her through her hardships, but felt a lot of the things that happened in the first half of the book could have been shorter. Based on the blurb at the back of the book I expected a love triangle type of story, and that didn’t come into play until…well…quite late in the book. I would have liked more interaction between Liberty and the men she loved - Hardy Cates and Gage Travis. Perhaps if I had different expectations going in, I might have enjoyed it more? *shrugs* Also, it was very different reading a Kleypas book that is written in the first person, but I really enjoyed it.
Further Thoughts:
Subsequent to writing this "review", I've read interviews done with Lisa Kleypas about this novel. Sugar Daddy is Lisa Kleypas' first contemporary and she was searching for an authentic "contemporary voice" in this, and hence, her decision of a first person narrative. She also wanted to explore a cinderella-like life journey of a woman from a trailer park, and thus, I've come to understand why it reads like the memoirs of Liberty Jones. I think if one manages their expectations before reading this to NOT expect a contemporary romance, as one has come to know and experience, or to compare it to other CRs, then one would enjoy this more. I think that this book needs to be viewed as a story of a woman's journey, with the romance only being an aspect of that.
I also wanted to say how much I LOVED the characters of Liberty, Hardy, Gage and Carrington. There are so many of Lisa Kleypas' characters who have stolen pieces of my hearts.
For those who may have skipped this book due to mixed reviews but loved Blue-Eyed Devil, this book gives the history of the relationship between Liberty and Hardy and how Liberty met the Travises.
It's just that the book dragged in parts, for me, after Hardy left and before Liberty met the Travises. I would have liked less time spent on that time so we could have gotten more Hardy, and definitely more Gage, which I felt this story really needed. *sighs* Those men are just yummilicious!
There are some beautifully written passages in this book. These are just some of my favourite quotes:
"Many times in life I've regretted the things I've said without thinking. But I've never regretted the things I said nearly as much as the words I left unspoken."
....
"Poor people have few choices in life, and most of the time you don't think too much about it. You get the best you can and do without when necessary, and hope to God you won't be wiped out by something you can't control. But there are moments it hurts, where there is something you want in the very marrow of your bones and you know there is no way you can have it."
(This scene made me cry.)
....
"As we talked, I had a sense of uncovering something precious and long-buried, fully formed. Our conversation was a process of removing layers, some of them easily dusted away. Other layers, requiring chisels or axes, were left alone for now."
....
“The span of three or four minutes is pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. People lose hundreds of minutes everyday, squandering them on trivial things. But sometimes in those fragments of time, something can happen you'll remember the rest of your life.”
....
“Our gazes met. It seemed an entire conversation took place in that one glance. Each of us saw what we needed to know."
....
“And I wonder how Gage knew this is what my soul has craved. He turns me to face him, his eyes searching. He turns me to face him, his eyes searching. It occurs to me that no one in my life has ever concerned himself so thoroughly with my happiness."
My images of the characters...
Liberty Jones (Odette Yustman)
Gage Travis (Rob Estes)
Young Hardy Cates
(Great find by Karla of an unknown cowboy of her image of Hardy. Niiiicceee!!! As great a Hardy as I've seen. I've yet to find my perfect Hardy, but it's super hard to fill such sizzling shoes. ^_^ )
February 24, 2012
A keeper, a favorite and just love, love, love it!
Gage Travis
You've won a fan here Lisa Kleypas.
Gage Travis
You've won a fan here Lisa Kleypas.
March 4, 2015
EDIT! I just read a bunch of the lower starred reviews, and NO ONE seems to be upset about the stuff that I'm upset about. So I guess it's official - I'm just a weirdo.
I don't know how to rate this book! I hated the last 15%. HATE.
But I really loved most of it up till then. I loved the way Liberty's life was chronicled from the time she was 14 years old all the way through her 20's. I loved the way Kleypas captured the essence of the small town of Welcome, Texas, and the artful way she painted the dynamics of a single parent family. Her writing was descriptive and flowed well and the dialogue was great. I loved it.
I even loved how she had set up the love triangle.
I was on board with BOTH dudes, for different reasons.
In my book, this is a great setup for a love triangle: two likeable men, and no clear picture of who she will be with at the end because she has real, solid connections with both of them.
My problem came with how it played out. No, I'm not sour about the guy she ends up (I was actually Team Either Guy Is Fine With Me). THIS is what I had a problem with:
3 stars. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO RATE THIS, SO 3 STARS!
I don't know how to rate this book! I hated the last 15%. HATE.
But I really loved most of it up till then. I loved the way Liberty's life was chronicled from the time she was 14 years old all the way through her 20's. I loved the way Kleypas captured the essence of the small town of Welcome, Texas, and the artful way she painted the dynamics of a single parent family. Her writing was descriptive and flowed well and the dialogue was great. I loved it.
I even loved how she had set up the love triangle.
I was on board with BOTH dudes, for different reasons.
In my book, this is a great setup for a love triangle: two likeable men, and no clear picture of who she will be with at the end because she has real, solid connections with both of them.
My problem came with how it played out. No, I'm not sour about the guy she ends up (I was actually Team Either Guy Is Fine With Me). THIS is what I had a problem with:
3 stars. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO RATE THIS, SO 3 STARS!
July 26, 2020
3.5 Stars
So close and yet so far from being awesome.
I can't understand why the author made us read half of things while depriving us of details that were relevant to the story. I did like the storytelling, even the story itself wasn't bad. But I was never really emotionally invested - both heroes and both of their relationships with the heroine were portrayed super superficially. In the end, the heroine picked the right guy (though I can't say for sure because not enough details). He's a saint, I would have shut the door in her face if I'd been in his place.
All in all, kinda disappointing. And yet, something sticks with me from this book, I can't entirely explain what, so I'm going with 3.5 stars but rounding it up to 4.
So close and yet so far from being awesome.
I can't understand why the author made us read half of things while depriving us of details that were relevant to the story. I did like the storytelling, even the story itself wasn't bad. But I was never really emotionally invested - both heroes and both of their relationships with the heroine were portrayed super superficially. In the end, the heroine picked the right guy (though I can't say for sure because not enough details). He's a saint, I would have shut the door in her face if I'd been in his place.
All in all, kinda disappointing. And yet, something sticks with me from this book, I can't entirely explain what, so I'm going with 3.5 stars but rounding it up to 4.
February 14, 2015
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.
5 Stars!
This was the second time I experienced this wonderful story and I still like it as much as I did the first time and maybe even a little more. I still remember picking this book up the first time at my local library shortly after its release. I remember looking for something new to read and the bright colors on the cover of this book called to me. I had never heard of Lisa Kleypas but I decided to take that book home with me and give it a try. I fell in love. Liberty's story grabbed me and I was soon telling all of my friends to read this book. I have now read a good portion of the books that Kleypas has written and have enjoyed every one of them but I have a soft spot in my heart for this story - maybe because it was my first.
Since it has been years since I read this book, I decided it was time to listen to the audiobook that I have had sitting in my audible account for quite some time. I must admit that I was not in the love with the narration right away but in the end I really enjoyed Jeannie Stith's narration of the story. She did a fantastic job of giving each character a different voice and I think she was able to show Liberty's voice maturing through the story. I was pulled in the story just as completely during this audiobook listen as I was when I read the book.
This is Liberty's story. I really think that this is a coming of age story more than a romance. Yes, there is romance but the focus of this story is Liberty. The book starts out with Liberty as a young awkward teenager living in a trailer park in Welcome, Texas. She experiences many of the things a typical teenager does - crushes, boyfriends, school, and spending time with friends. Liberty is forced to grow up quickly when tragedy strikes. Instead of giving up, Liberty works hard to find a career and takes her responsibilities seriously. Through her work, Liberty meets Churchill and a friendship quickly forms. She eventually takes a job as Churchill's assistant and moves into his home.
The romance in this book is different in many ways. As you may be able to guess from the cover, there is a love triangle (see there is 2 cowboys and only 1 cowgirl - big clue right there). The romance really comes at the very end of the book and it is intense. The big difference is that Liberty dates others during the course of the story. She doesn't have a lot of boyfriends but she does have a few. She also spends a lot of time thinking about the boy she met back in the trailer park, Hardy Cates. I must admit that I have spent a lot of time thinking about that boy myself. There is just something that I love about Hardy - where was this kind of teenage boy when I was a teenager? Then we finally get to see Liberty fall in love and try to figure things out and I couldn't help but be happy for her. I absolutely love how this story ends.
Lisa Kleypas does a lot of things right in this book. I fell head over heels in love with her characters. The only character that I didn't like in this story was her mother's boyfriends and a couple of the losers that Liberty dated. The pacing of the story was perfect and I found that I had a really hard time putting the story aside. I actually sat on my bed with my headphones one evening because I had to know what happened next, despite the fact that I have read the book before and already knew. This says a lot both about the story and about the narration.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good coming of age story. This story of Liberty Jones is really hard to put down because everything is so vivid. I know that this is a book that I will come back to read again many times in the future.
5 Stars!
This was the second time I experienced this wonderful story and I still like it as much as I did the first time and maybe even a little more. I still remember picking this book up the first time at my local library shortly after its release. I remember looking for something new to read and the bright colors on the cover of this book called to me. I had never heard of Lisa Kleypas but I decided to take that book home with me and give it a try. I fell in love. Liberty's story grabbed me and I was soon telling all of my friends to read this book. I have now read a good portion of the books that Kleypas has written and have enjoyed every one of them but I have a soft spot in my heart for this story - maybe because it was my first.
Since it has been years since I read this book, I decided it was time to listen to the audiobook that I have had sitting in my audible account for quite some time. I must admit that I was not in the love with the narration right away but in the end I really enjoyed Jeannie Stith's narration of the story. She did a fantastic job of giving each character a different voice and I think she was able to show Liberty's voice maturing through the story. I was pulled in the story just as completely during this audiobook listen as I was when I read the book.
This is Liberty's story. I really think that this is a coming of age story more than a romance. Yes, there is romance but the focus of this story is Liberty. The book starts out with Liberty as a young awkward teenager living in a trailer park in Welcome, Texas. She experiences many of the things a typical teenager does - crushes, boyfriends, school, and spending time with friends. Liberty is forced to grow up quickly when tragedy strikes. Instead of giving up, Liberty works hard to find a career and takes her responsibilities seriously. Through her work, Liberty meets Churchill and a friendship quickly forms. She eventually takes a job as Churchill's assistant and moves into his home.
The romance in this book is different in many ways. As you may be able to guess from the cover, there is a love triangle (see there is 2 cowboys and only 1 cowgirl - big clue right there). The romance really comes at the very end of the book and it is intense. The big difference is that Liberty dates others during the course of the story. She doesn't have a lot of boyfriends but she does have a few. She also spends a lot of time thinking about the boy she met back in the trailer park, Hardy Cates. I must admit that I have spent a lot of time thinking about that boy myself. There is just something that I love about Hardy - where was this kind of teenage boy when I was a teenager? Then we finally get to see Liberty fall in love and try to figure things out and I couldn't help but be happy for her. I absolutely love how this story ends.
Lisa Kleypas does a lot of things right in this book. I fell head over heels in love with her characters. The only character that I didn't like in this story was her mother's boyfriends and a couple of the losers that Liberty dated. The pacing of the story was perfect and I found that I had a really hard time putting the story aside. I actually sat on my bed with my headphones one evening because I had to know what happened next, despite the fact that I have read the book before and already knew. This says a lot both about the story and about the narration.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good coming of age story. This story of Liberty Jones is really hard to put down because everything is so vivid. I know that this is a book that I will come back to read again many times in the future.
July 30, 2020
At this moment, I am angry. Hand-shakingly, stomach-achingly furious. I am appalled by this. Absolutely appalled. This is my first Lisa Kleypas novel, and right now I’m having a hard time imagining a circumstance that would compel me to touch anything she’s written in the future. I am enraged, horrified, and really just saddened by Sugar Daddy.
Before I get to the really nasty part of the review, I’ll touch on the story and characters, etc. Our main character is Liberty Jones, a girl from the trailer park who’s been sole guardian of her half-sister since she was 18. She harbors feelings for her childhood crush, Hardy, but he disappeared from her life years ago. She falls in with the well-to-do Travis family, and things happen, particularly concerning Gage Travis.
So, the first thing I didn’t like about Sugar Daddy was the way Kleypas approached Texas/Texans. Basically, every action done by a character was because they were Texan. If the author fleshed out a character’s personality, those elements were because they were Texan. The book is full of stereotypes and generalizations. “All Texans behave this way” and “Because s/he was a Texan, s/he did this…” and the like. Now, I’m not from Texas, but I think it’s safe to say that Texans aren’t all the same, that they don’t all behave in the same way or hold the same belief system. You can’t just say “Texan men are like this and Texan woman are like this” and expect it to be true of every person. And it happened so often. In case you ever thought you were going to forget that the book takes place in Texas, Kleypas would be shoving her characters’ apparent “Texan” characteristics in readers’ faces. I don’t know if the author is from Texas, but it doesn’t matter. If anyone were to write about me and just chalk up all my behavior to being from a certain place, I would be extremely offended. People in the United States are kind of, you know…DIVERSE. We’re not all the same, not even close. Suggesting that all 26 million Texans behave uniformly is just ridiculous.
So there’s that. But the meat of my complaints has to do with the romance. There is a love triangle, and it was ultimately pointless because it was introduced in like the last few chapters and resolved surprisingly quickly.
Love interest #1: Hardy Cates. He’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill asshole. Self-centered, ambitious to the point of alienating everyone, selfish, arrogant, blah blah blah. I didn’t like him at any point in the story, and imagining Liberty with him was a painful thought.
Love interest #2: Gage Travis, AKA the guy about whom I have many castration-centered fantasies Like, I literally cannot express how enraged this man and his behavior made me. He’s pretty much a textbook alpha male type. Wealthy, possessive, dominant, controlling, over-confident, used to getting what he wants. I hate him already. Add in the fact that he is a RAPIST and a STALKER and we have a recipe for the most Righteously Horrified Renae the reading world has seen (to date). Seriously, Gage made me so mad I was shaking and sick to my stomach.
Consensual sex IS A WONDERFUL THING. This is a concept Gage seems to have not grasped. Of course, the situation could potentially be waved aside as “sex with dubious consent,” something that’s generally accepted by romance readers in Ye Olden Times, but the bottom line is: Gage forced Liberty to have sex with him in a situation where she did not want it and had made it clear that she didn’t want it. That she liked it and he apologized after the fact does not change the fact that IT WAS RAPE. And if there’s a relationship where rape is the romantic ideal, it’s not a good relationship.
Here’s the scenario: Gage sees Liberty with Hardy and his alpha-male jealousy is ruffled. They leave and start arguing in the limo, then Gage just decides to pin her down on the seat and just go at it. Even though two seconds before Liberty said she needed to take a break from their relationship.
…you don’t even want to know how hard it is for me to be coherent right now.
THIS SITUATION is perpetuating modern rape culture. Kleypas pretty much says that it’s okay to force a woman to have sex with you, because she’ll probably end up liking it in the end. Anyway, girls don’t really know what they want, so you have to show them—and preferably the showing will be rough and cause bruises. NO. NO NO NO. No to the ten billionth power. Absolutely freaking unacceptable behavior. Gage, right there, needed to get sent to the butcher for a little gelding operation.
But of course he apologizes and does this touching scene where he’s so sorry and needy and just wants to love Liberty the way she deserves and blah blah. Classic behavior from an abuser, right?
And then there is the stalking. Oh boy. The dubious consent I could deal with (not really), but the stalking is just…there is no excuse for that. Basically, Gage hires some surveillance team to follow Liberty while she’s on a date with Hardy, to make sure she doesn’t have sex with him. Um, NO. Personal boundaries, Gage? Do you know about those? I mean, the guy is a rapist, so it’s hard to know where exactly his morals lie. But, let’s just say that if you don’t trust the woman you love to be faithful to you, and instead hire people to enforce fidelity instead, SOMETHING IS DEEPLY WRONG WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP.
Oh, and Gage’s response/excuse for this little stalking adventure? “Sorry Liberty…will you just hold me for a little while?”
(At this point, imagine me having some sort of explosively angry outburst with many expletives and much fist-shaking.)
So, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here it is: RAPE IS WRONG and STALKING IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Sugar Daddy favorably portrays a relationship where those things happen. In this book, Lisa Kleypas perpetuates harmful ideas about what is acceptable in a relationship, and it just so far from okay. Rape culture is a real thing, and here’s proof. I am beyond disgusted by this book. I’m appalled by this novel, and just sad that this kind of relationship is being held up as the ideal for women everywhere.
Liberty could have done so much better than Gage, and so can every woman in the world. We shouldn’t have to settle for men who don’t trust us to keep our promises or make our own decisions.
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Before I get to the really nasty part of the review, I’ll touch on the story and characters, etc. Our main character is Liberty Jones, a girl from the trailer park who’s been sole guardian of her half-sister since she was 18. She harbors feelings for her childhood crush, Hardy, but he disappeared from her life years ago. She falls in with the well-to-do Travis family, and things happen, particularly concerning Gage Travis.
So, the first thing I didn’t like about Sugar Daddy was the way Kleypas approached Texas/Texans. Basically, every action done by a character was because they were Texan. If the author fleshed out a character’s personality, those elements were because they were Texan. The book is full of stereotypes and generalizations. “All Texans behave this way” and “Because s/he was a Texan, s/he did this…” and the like. Now, I’m not from Texas, but I think it’s safe to say that Texans aren’t all the same, that they don’t all behave in the same way or hold the same belief system. You can’t just say “Texan men are like this and Texan woman are like this” and expect it to be true of every person. And it happened so often. In case you ever thought you were going to forget that the book takes place in Texas, Kleypas would be shoving her characters’ apparent “Texan” characteristics in readers’ faces. I don’t know if the author is from Texas, but it doesn’t matter. If anyone were to write about me and just chalk up all my behavior to being from a certain place, I would be extremely offended. People in the United States are kind of, you know…DIVERSE. We’re not all the same, not even close. Suggesting that all 26 million Texans behave uniformly is just ridiculous.
So there’s that. But the meat of my complaints has to do with the romance. There is a love triangle, and it was ultimately pointless because it was introduced in like the last few chapters and resolved surprisingly quickly.
Love interest #1: Hardy Cates. He’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill asshole. Self-centered, ambitious to the point of alienating everyone, selfish, arrogant, blah blah blah. I didn’t like him at any point in the story, and imagining Liberty with him was a painful thought.
Love interest #2: Gage Travis, AKA the guy about whom I have many castration-centered fantasies Like, I literally cannot express how enraged this man and his behavior made me. He’s pretty much a textbook alpha male type. Wealthy, possessive, dominant, controlling, over-confident, used to getting what he wants. I hate him already. Add in the fact that he is a RAPIST and a STALKER and we have a recipe for the most Righteously Horrified Renae the reading world has seen (to date). Seriously, Gage made me so mad I was shaking and sick to my stomach.
Consensual sex IS A WONDERFUL THING. This is a concept Gage seems to have not grasped. Of course, the situation could potentially be waved aside as “sex with dubious consent,” something that’s generally accepted by romance readers in Ye Olden Times, but the bottom line is: Gage forced Liberty to have sex with him in a situation where she did not want it and had made it clear that she didn’t want it. That she liked it and he apologized after the fact does not change the fact that IT WAS RAPE. And if there’s a relationship where rape is the romantic ideal, it’s not a good relationship.
Here’s the scenario: Gage sees Liberty with Hardy and his alpha-male jealousy is ruffled. They leave and start arguing in the limo, then Gage just decides to pin her down on the seat and just go at it. Even though two seconds before Liberty said she needed to take a break from their relationship.
…you don’t even want to know how hard it is for me to be coherent right now.
THIS SITUATION is perpetuating modern rape culture. Kleypas pretty much says that it’s okay to force a woman to have sex with you, because she’ll probably end up liking it in the end. Anyway, girls don’t really know what they want, so you have to show them—and preferably the showing will be rough and cause bruises. NO. NO NO NO. No to the ten billionth power. Absolutely freaking unacceptable behavior. Gage, right there, needed to get sent to the butcher for a little gelding operation.
But of course he apologizes and does this touching scene where he’s so sorry and needy and just wants to love Liberty the way she deserves and blah blah. Classic behavior from an abuser, right?
And then there is the stalking. Oh boy. The dubious consent I could deal with (not really), but the stalking is just…there is no excuse for that. Basically, Gage hires some surveillance team to follow Liberty while she’s on a date with Hardy, to make sure she doesn’t have sex with him. Um, NO. Personal boundaries, Gage? Do you know about those? I mean, the guy is a rapist, so it’s hard to know where exactly his morals lie. But, let’s just say that if you don’t trust the woman you love to be faithful to you, and instead hire people to enforce fidelity instead, SOMETHING IS DEEPLY WRONG WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP.
Oh, and Gage’s response/excuse for this little stalking adventure? “Sorry Liberty…will you just hold me for a little while?”
(At this point, imagine me having some sort of explosively angry outburst with many expletives and much fist-shaking.)
So, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here it is: RAPE IS WRONG and STALKING IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Sugar Daddy favorably portrays a relationship where those things happen. In this book, Lisa Kleypas perpetuates harmful ideas about what is acceptable in a relationship, and it just so far from okay. Rape culture is a real thing, and here’s proof. I am beyond disgusted by this book. I’m appalled by this novel, and just sad that this kind of relationship is being held up as the ideal for women everywhere.
Liberty could have done so much better than Gage, and so can every woman in the world. We shouldn’t have to settle for men who don’t trust us to keep our promises or make our own decisions.
📌 . Blog | Review Database | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
December 10, 2013
Sugar Daddy is Liberty's story from childhood to adulthood. She experiences everything from love to heartache. In her teen years she's forced to become an adult after tragedy strikes. Growing up poor and not wanting to take handouts she's determined not to end up with a Sugar Daddy like some of her co-workers have done.
Liberty has decided she is destined to be an old maid. Her life changes when two men want her affection.
Love Triangle?
200th book of 2013
›Buddy read with Anna who I am a fanna‹
SERIES:
Continuing story where secondary characters from the first book become the main focus in subsequent books.
Book 1 - Gage Travis | Book 2 - Haven Travis | Book 3 - Jack Travis | Book 4 - Joe Travis
Liberty has decided she is destined to be an old maid. Her life changes when two men want her affection.
"I'm thinking how thankful I am for everything even the bad stuff. Every sleepless night, every second of being lonely, every time the car broke down, every wad of gum on my shoe, every late bill and losing lottery ticket and bruise and broken dish and piece of burnt toast.
BECAUSE IT ALL LED ME HERE TO YOU."
Love Triangle?
200th book of 2013
›Buddy read with Anna who I am a fanna‹
SERIES:
Continuing story where secondary characters from the first book become the main focus in subsequent books.
Book 1 - Gage Travis | Book 2 - Haven Travis | Book 3 - Jack Travis | Book 4 - Joe Travis
July 25, 2015
Amazing! :D Kleypas really knows how to do it.
I know without a doubt this man loves me for exactly who I am. No conditions, no limits. That’s a miracle too. In fact, every day is filled with ordinary miracles. You don’t have to look far to find them.
You know how sometimes you look back at simpler times and realize how all the shit in your life was actually necessary and good? How all those things that you went through were part of this bigger plan and brought you to this moment and maybe for a second, you feel grateful? No? Never happened to you? That's probably because we're not Kleypas' characters and life is incredibly dumb but this book has the power to plant a big smile upon your face after finishing it because, my dear fellows, Lisa Kleypas believes in HEAs, god bless her soul.
The first half of this book is perfection. And by that, I mean tragedy, ingenuity and attraction. And a kiss that could stop your heart from beating. Liberty's early years are filled of innocence and loneliness, the ferocity of the first love and the pieces of a broken heart.
One of the things I really loved about this book is Kleypas' ability to capture the essence of Welcome and the texan humor. And honey, how I love Texas. Never been there but Texas forever, man <3
The second half is good enough. Liberty is a woman now and I understood the fierceness of her feelings toward Carrington, her little sister. The way she put on hold her life just to make sure Carrington had everything she needed was if not inspiring at least meritorious for everything that will happen later. And the love scenes were steamy as hell, so points for that.
While I adored her new love interest and I was completely rooting for him, I didn't like how this girl took her goddamn time to clear her mind and make the freaking choice. However, I was satisfied with the ending, specially happy with the Epilogue.
I'm a little worried about book #2 because I'm not a fan of the love interest but I can't wait to see him redeem himself!
November 3, 2011
I love, love, loved this book. It was so much more than I expected! Much different and more involved than her other historical novels. This is, I think, her first attempt at contemporary romance, but its more than your typical romance book. Highly recommend this one, and the next two in the series are just as wonderful!
December 9, 2013
Buddy read with the foxiest of all Foxy's ❤️❤️❤️
August 2, 2021
▪️5 αστεράκια γεμάτα ελπίδα▪️
Έκλαψα, γέλασα, ερωτεύτηκα μαζί με τους χαρακτήρες. Λάτρεψα αυτό το βιβλίο!
Έκλαψα, γέλασα, ερωτεύτηκα μαζί με τους χαρακτήρες. Λάτρεψα αυτό το βιβλίο!
December 12, 2020
Hmmm.... after reading Blue Eyed Devil, I was looking forward for Sugar Daddy. Turns out I do not like it so much. The story of Liberty is.... boring and dragging.
Yes I know this book has many moral story about so called sugar daddy. I think Miss Kleypas focusing too much on how Liberty growing up to be who she is and her view about money or to be exact a rich men.
In my opinion this book is too long/dragging.
3 stars
Yes I know this book has many moral story about so called sugar daddy. I think Miss Kleypas focusing too much on how Liberty growing up to be who she is and her view about money or to be exact a rich men.
In my opinion this book is too long/dragging.
3 stars
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