I am not going to lie, this was not what I was expecting it to be. It was a pretty good way ( from what ive been told) being a sugar baby is like.
Avery to be a good amount of complex for the type of book it was. I also appreciated Noah as a character; he is the definition of a boy. It was very endearing how dumb he was sometimes.
Avery and Noah interactions and how their encounters evolved over time was great to see.
Super enjoyable and surprisingly spicy.

This book was a really fascinating read. It gave (from what I understand) a good glimpse into what being a sugar baby is like and how it affects your life. I found Avery to be a good amount of complex for the type of book it was. I also appreciated Noah as a character; he is such a boy. He says ridiculously stupid stuff at the WORST times and is territorial and sweet and assertive; it is really amusing to witness. Seeing how Avery and Noah interact and how their encounters evolved over time was fulfilling, as well. Obviously, this book is what people would call smutty, but it really was entertaining and eye-opening.

2.5/5 (I think?)

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this free epub!

This book develops the relationship between two neighbors, Avery and Noah. Avery, however, is a sugar baby, using the money to pay for college. Audrey and Noah meet, become friends, and try for something more despite Avery’s job and their stubborn personalities.

I think maybe I just wasn’t the target audience for this book. Avery was very insecure and unsure about starting anything with Noah because of her situation and I felt that Noah pushed her too hard into it. Yes, she did want him but some of the scenes just didn’t sit well with me. It felt like the trope of the man refusing to stop giving up on the woman until she finally relents and that’s such a meh trope.

And then both of them are so stubborn, including in bed, and so bad at communication that I often felt like pulling my hair out. Like why would you make assumptions about what the other person is doing and just go completely silent on them for weeks???? Why are they trying to communicate???? So frustrating.

Everything wrapped up a little too neatly and perfectly, especially after all the issues they had throughout the book but I can’t really expect differently in a stand-alone romance novel.

I just had high hopes for this story and was let down by the execution.

Definitely not a favorite book of mine. The characters were likeable but the story was just okay. I finished the book anyway. The book was kind of slow for me.

I honesty couldn't get into this book, I love BDSM books and the lifestyle; but something about reading how the main character was a sugar baby made me feel cheap. Nothing to do with the writing which I thought was great! Good details and character development between her and the main male character. I read a couple of chapters and just had to stop. I really did enjoy the spiciness of where their thoughts went and the actual feeling towards one another, but I didn't read far enough to really progress forward.

The premise sounded interesting and very up my alley but the delivery for some reason did not work for me. I just wasn't invested in the two protagonists after the first few chapters. I had to force myself to continue reading. At the end I had to Dnf it.

NetGalley ARC
4 stars

A spicy quick read that had me binging pages to the very end.

Avery is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks that is trying her best to pull herself out of that situation. She does this by earning a scholarship with the help of a childhood friend but to make ends meet she becomes a sugar baby to wealthy men in the area. Everything is going fine until she experiences an instant spark with her neighbor, Noah. Noah honestly comes off as a bit of a jerk in the beginning but by the end his defenses are down and the sparks between Avery and Noah set their world ablaze.

I appreciated the fact that while this book had a high level of spice there was also a believable storyline and backstory for the characters. And of course, there was a happy ending which tied a bow on Avery and Noah's story.

All in all a satisfying and fun read with a bit of holiday glitter thrown in.

Frankly, the story was fine, just not memorable. Despite a good amount of backstory, the characters for me just did not resonate. I kept reading, but it wasn't my favorite.

I have been meaning to give Lydia Michaels a try for awhile now, so this is the first full novel I have read by her. Overall this novel is alright, I did not love or hate this in anyway. It was an enjoyable, fairly quick read but not something I will remember or wish to visit again. I did find Michaels' writing to be well executed, her tone is easy to read and be drawn into, the pacing of this novel is moderate in my opinion, the story is much more day to day a less of a big driving plot force to ramp us to the conclusion. I am definitely interested in continuing exploring Michaels back list and do plan to do so with her McCullough Mountain series and I just think that this book was not my perfect cup of tea.

I think the main reason I was not fully invested in this story was I just never really fully connected with the heroine or the hero and their budding romance. Avery works as a sugar baby in order to work her way through college and live comfortably, her sugar baby personification is night and day to her interior. The men she works for are perfect to help her work her way through college and learn what she wants for the future but she is truly looking for a strong and submissive man so she can have full control in the bedroom. Noah, is her neighbor and as soon as he sets eyes on her he knows she will be his. Both Avery and Noah are very dominate minded, so much of their interactions are based around them going toe to toe to be top dog. Because so much of their relationship felt like a push and pull and a surrender I never really felt the true depth of feelings I was being told that they have. So while this was a high steam novel it was lacking heart for me to really endear me to the couple and their journey of understanding and compromise.

I think if you are interested in a high heat novel with two hard headed people you will probably like this, if you like Lydia Michaels you might as well read this. I am looking forward to discovering different works by her and hoping I find something I can truly jell with.

Avery is not a “sugar baby,” she is an escort.

An escort is paid companionship—not necessarily sex. This includes accompanying clients to events or even just spending time with them (which Avery did). I’m not really sure why Avery is referred to as a sugar baby, since a sugar baby implies a more personal relationship, usually with intimacy, gifts, and general spoiling. Avery was paid for her time, not spoiled for it. I disliked the shaming of sex workers that was consistently present in the novel, from both Noah and Avery.

Noah and Avery seemed to have more “expected” romantic pairings outside of each other. Noah with Lucy, his assistant, and Avery with Micah, her first client. They never expressed <i>real</i> interest in these people, but it is what I would have predicted as a reader. I liked that they were kind of mismatched as a couple—in the sense that they were exactly the same (dominant and prideful). I especially liked the femdom aspect, but it was wasted on Noah. Riddle me this: why does Avery need a reason to like having control in the bedroom, but Noah doesn’t?

Noah was a piece of garbage. He consistently manipulated, insulted, and disrespected Avery. He claimed he didn’t look down on her, yet he belittled her for her work—refusing to even consider it work. He called her names, controlled her lifestyle, and ignored her boundaries. I was screaming for Avery to run away to no avail. Noah was irredeemable.

This book contained disparaging and insulting moments that summed to an uncomfortable read. The technical writing skills and elements for an entertaining story were there, but I couldn’t look past the red flags and my personal icks to enjoy it.

⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Bailey Brown Publishing for this copy of <i>Sugar</i> by Lydia Michaels.

This one started out pretty well but as the story got going I just really started hating the main character. She took the hero for granted so many times and I really wanted to like her. This book with the girl being the dominate was a twist on most books like this that I have read but this one just ended up being ugh.

This was probably just a me thing, since this is rated decently high overall. But, I could not stand a single one of these characters, which made it extremely difficult to like this book at all.

Sugar by Lydia Michaels is a stand alone book. This book has equal parts steamy, dirty and angst rolled into an interesting look at finding your place in the world.
Avery Johansson is adept at creating an image for the world to see. She's changed herself from that poor girl growing up. Had she done things she's not proud of us, but living her life as a sugar baby has allowed her to live debt free. Her goal is almost attained with graduation coming soon. Yet her carefully crafted life is about to be hit by a bomb in the form of one hot neighbor.

Noah Wolfe cannot get the new neighbor out of his head. She's perfect and he's drawn to her like a mouth to a flame. And he's about to get singed by the flame. She is perplexing and as they spend time together he finds his way to her hidden self, not the show she puts on for everyone else. But can they be good for each other when they are so different? Avery is determined to leave her current existence behind, but can risk opening herself up to the possibility of a future with Noah?

This was a bit of a struggle for me to finish. I found it hard to connect to either Avery or Noah, the 2 main characters. This was definitely a stretch but it was fairly well written. Just not my cup of tea...

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a mixed bag for me. I didn't particularly like the main characters; I wish they were a bit more complex, dimensional, more to balance out their shallowness. The writing was fine, but had some overworked metaphors that were distracting. However, it was engaging enough to want to continue reading.

While I typically love romance books, this was a little dirtier than I expected. With that said, "Sugar" was a quick read with a great blossoming romance (and of course, a nice HEA).

There were some excellent moments of banter between the main couple that made me laugh out loud and are to be commended for being accurately amusing slice of life conversations, and the side characters certainly sparked interest throughout the story. However, I was frequently waiting to be satisfied by the leading characters.

I questioned the relationship between the two main characters and felt like I was constantly battling to like and root for them. While I wanted to crank the stakes in hopes that I would see a side of them that I could relate to, I never felt completely satisfied in that department. There were moments when I was more interested in/related to side characters (Team Lucy!) and wished it was their story.

When the book eventually found its pace and the characters found their individual voices, I was disappointed by an abrupt ending. While a happy ending (which I do appreciate; we need more of those in the world), it felt like we fast forwarded too quickly through the following years and it provided, if possible, too much closure.

While there were overall some challenges for me as a reader, I didn’t necessarily not enjoy the ride.

Avery is strong willed and determined to have a better life. Nothing and no one will change the course that she is following. She has sacrificed too much to get where she is.

Noah Wolfe is a complication, a distraction, and… her new neighbor. A successful business man. He is confident, arrogant, intense and attractive. He sets his sights on Avery and he will stop at nothing to have her.

Overall Sugar was an enjoyable read. It’s a hard sell for me when I can’t feel or root for the couple in the end. I liked how empowered Avery was and that made the story a really interesting read to me. I am curious to know if we will get a book for Noah’s assistant. I was intrigued by her interaction with Avery’s former Sugar daddy.

I would recommend this one if you are looking for something a little different.