Sugar Street

4* Sugar and Spice Stars

This was a heart-warming story about four women trying to spice up and resurrect their marriages by using the services of Parker, who is the hot Tennis Coach at the country club but is in actual fact a male escort.

The story is told from the POV’s of the four friends. The chapters alternated and were relatively short which made for interesting and quick reading. There were many laugh out loud moments as well as heartbreaking moments.

The girls were very likeable, each with their own baggage to deal with in their marriages. You felt their insecurities and concerns. The story had some sweet romance and some mystery to it too.

I enjoyed this smart and funny read, perfect for a summer beach read.

Many thanks to M.J. Pullen, Freshwater Ink and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Sugar Street to read and review.

5 Sugary Stars
Review by Lisa
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog

Sugar and Spice and everything nice is how the saying goes, but on Sugar Street by M. J. Pullen everything is not so nice. In book one of the Sugar Street series, we get the start of things to come and I can't wait. At first I thought this story to be "long", but I was oh so wrong About a quarter way in and I was hooked taking my nook everywhere with me so that if I had a chance to read I was prepared. There is so much to this book.

Four women living in the same community, all at different stages of their lives. All have their own marriage issues. All have secrets. But after time, their marriages have stalled, things are just not the way they use to be:

Jess, whose husband travels alot, just wants the personal attention of her husband.

Delia who has an open marriage, has come to realize this may not be what she wants anymore.

Carras, who is struggling with being powerless to give her husband what he wishes for, a baby.

Maizy, who just wants to be accepted by the community and her husband.

Parker, the hot tennis pro that is also a male escort.

So when these four ladies hire Parker (not to sleep with him) but to help bring that spark back with their husbands, make their men a little jealous, nothing can go wrong? Right? Nobody is going to get hurt, just show the husbands that their wives are still desirable. What do they have to lose?....Everything!!!!!

What was great about this novel is the multiple points of view. You get to feel everyone's side of the story, it's not just one sided. All the details, all the different reasons as to why they are doing what they are doing.

Hitting the true to life situations and the daily feelings that every woman experiences at one time or another, Ms. Pullen has done an amazing job pulling this story off.

**ARC provided by author for honest review**

Sugar Street, written by M.J. Pullen , is about the lives of four women who are friends who get invited out to lunch at the club by Belinda, the lady to know in their suburb. Before they know it, the four ladies are persuaded to spice things up a bit to get their husbands to notice them. The idea of hiring an escort (male prostitute) is a big idea to get used to but the ladies all agree they won't sleep with him... just use him to make their husband's jealous and change their dull marriages. The idea seems outrageous, but it isn't long before the women find Parker's charm hard to resist and they start handing over their cash.

There are a few plot twists coming up that will have your head spinning, and the men wind up involved as well...which turns up the heat in more than one relationship. Will their marriages survive the changes in these women?

Parker- the dream come true hunky tennis coach who offers "premium" escort services, is more than he seems. He has the charm down and easily manages the four women one on one as well as he does in pairs. The women are all different yet he manages to form a connection with each woman. Its like the author put every woman's dream man in one man....or did they? Is their dream come true about to turn into a nightmare? What could possibly go wrong?

Overall, I believe this book is well written. Pullen manages to create four in depth characters with these women...and we feel their insecurities and longing.I believe the author shows the reader rather than tells, and that is evident to me in the loneliness of Della, Carras, Delia, Jess and a few other women that we are introduced to.. The ending felt like the beginning of the next chapter and I am curious to see what changes in the lives of these strong women, and honestly in Parker's life too. Hoping the author continues the series...

Thank you to NetGalley and Freshwater Ink for the advanced reader copy to read. As always, my opinions are my own.

I enjoyed elements of this book, I really liked the fully developed characters and different viewpoints, I really liked the actual story and how it unfolded. I didn’t really enjoy the premise though, four women in middle class suburbia who’s marriages are struggling so they collectively and individually decide to make their husbands jealous by hiring a tennis pro, or “tennis pro”. I really like the way the author writes and will try other books but this one just didn’t quite absorb me like I thought I would

3.5
M.J. Pullen’s novels always change your mood for the better - light hearted fun reads...Sugar Street is no exception. This group of suburban women who are looking to change their lives and the way they validate their decisions is great fun. The underlying message is pretty great too...

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

This book is a well-written, glitzy, fun summer book. It's the heart-warming story of four desperate women who want to spice up their marriages by utilizing the services of Parker, a male escort.

If you're in the mood to read something racy, romantic, and sweet, I would definitely recommend this book! It's a guaranteed enjoyable beach read.

This book is begging to be turned into a movie script. While reading it I found myself picturing the action and dialogue on a screen. Even though I’m not much of a movie goer, I couldn’t help assigning actors to the characters. And what great characters there are. While the world seems to like to lump suburban housewives, especially southern ones, into a stereotype, each of the women in this book is interesting and multidimensional. While their spouses are not quite as sharply drawn, they are equally intriguing.

The book centers around a group of women in the same neighborhood who love their spouses but are worried that the spark and passion has left their marriages. All of them have done the usual things we think of to fix that, to no avail. When they decide to take a drastic step, because their marriages are that important to them, things go south in an unexpected way.

After the women's plan backfires spectacularly, it is tempting to think it all could have been avoided if they simply communicated their feelings to their spouses, and to judge them accordingly. But the author also makes us see that each had tried in subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways to let thir partners know they needed to feel desirable, valued and interesting. And the plan they set in motion seemed simple, wasn’t immoral, and didn’t have any downside - until it did. No less important than the women's relationship to their husbands is their relationship to each other, and the mores of their suburban community.

This is a book I’ll read again since I flew through it the first time to find out what happened! I usually just want a good story. But in this book, as in her others, the nuances of the characters' relationships are as intriguing as the plot. I can’t wait to see the movie.

I really enjoyed the book. It had the right balance of love. Wonderful beach read! I look forward to reading more by the author.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm still thinking about all the craziness in this book. First off, this is a story every married woman with kids should read. I can relate to each of the four women, their thoughts about husbands, friends and even kids are not foreign to me. We get stuck in a bubble of reality and schedules and whatever we think our normal should be. Second, I respect what these women did to gain the attention of their husbands. Although a bit pricey and risky it was successful. Thirdly, I hope there will be at least one more book because there were a few loose ends that need closure. Great read and definitely an author I want to read more. I received an early copy through Netgalley; wrote my review voluntarily.

Sugar Street is my first M.J. Pullen novel and i have to say i loved this one!!!!!!!!! All the suburbia drama is right up my soap opera loving alley!!!! Definitely looking forward to the next installment in this deliciously written series!!!! This is the story of four suburban wives who feel the spark has gone out of their marriage and the totally wrong but with good intentions way that they try to bring it back. They hire a tennis instructor/male escort to make their husband's jealous and they all get alot more than they bargained for . I will definitely recommend this book to everyone I know. Thank you to Netgalley and Freshwater Ink for the oppurtunity to read this book.

Sexy summer read that will have all the neighbors talking! M.J. has done it again with a hot read about 4 women trying to keep their marriages together.


Jess wants to liven up her marriage, Delia has an open marriage with options, Carras doesn't know who will want to be with her and Maizy is part of the PTA and wants nothing more than to be accepted.


Throw into the mix Belinda and Orson (they seem to have all the money all the others could ever want) and things getting a little spicy. Did I mention Belinda having "private" lessons with a tennis pro names Parker? Not sure how much tennis technique is being taught if you know what I mean?


I don't want to giveaway too much of the sauciness. You will have to read it for yourself.


This book has it all - sexiness, desire, and the quest for love.

An entertaining tale in to the lives of four different women in the same neighborhood. While not a perfect novel, I enjoyed this read. It was a little slow in the beginning and it took awhile for me to really get into it, but by the end I was very much invested in the women. I feel readers will be able to relate the emotions and feelings of the various women. I definitely liked Jess and Mauzy's stories the most. I felt like Carras needed more development and Delia is a little obnoxious in the beginning, but you start liking her as the novel progresses. The ending of the book is somewhat open-ended as this appears to be the first in a series and I would continue on with the series. This is a good summer, beach read.

It took me a chapter or two to really get into it, but after that I powered through. These ladies are something else.. I liked them a lot! Well written and entertaining. Enjoyed it a lot. I voluntarily read an advanced Netgally copy of this book.

Linda Zagon's review Jul 26, 2018 · edit
really liked it

My Review of “Sugar Street” by M.J. Pullen Freshwater Ink Publishing Aug. 2018

Can you imagine the havoc a handsome tennis teacher/ male escort for hire can do to a group of friends with problems in their marriages? Of course there is a discount for friends to utilize his services. M.J. Pullen, Author of “Sugar Street” has written a unique, satirical, enthralling novel with this premise. The Genres for this novel are Fiction and Women’s Fiction. The story takes place in the present , and only goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The setting for this story centers around an affluent town, and club. The author discusses the institution of marriage, marriage crisis, friendship, jealousy, betrayals, and unrealistic expectations and hopes.

The author describes her characters as complicated, and complicated. This novel is about four women in troubled marriages, each with their problems, and an extremely handsome tennis pro , who is also a male escort. The women are friends and frenemies and agree that the idea is to make their husbands pay attention, and get jealous. No one can envision the consequences , the danger and risk that happens. I recommend this novel to those readers who appreciate dark humor and women’s fiction. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my review.

I enjoyed this book! There were some laugh out loud moments, there are some crazy cringing moments, and there are some realistic moments. There was a bit of unevenness in the middle.. the book was chugging along and then the tone kind of changes abruptly. I look forward to the next book in the series, because there's a few plotlines that the author definitely needs to follow through with!

Solid 3.5.

This is the first book in this series and the first time I’ve read a book by this author. This book was definitely a good read and filled with insane ideas, ridiculous, behavior, and humor. What I loved about this book is that the issues were commonly addressed (and even sometimes not addressed) issues in real marriages and how people overcome these obstacles.

The characters in this book, while a bit quirky, were believable and kept you intrested in reading the story. The story lagged a little in the beginning but it picked up and kept you interested throughout. I think anyone interested in sweet romances with a twist of suspense and mystery will enjoy this book. Can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out in 2019.

* I received a free sample of this book by NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review..*