Actual rating: 3,5 stars

Sugar was a story as addictive as its cover. The entertaining plot and fast pace kept me hooked from the first page until an unexpected but rushed ending. With only one chapter of exposition and an epilogue, it left a few plot holes.

The book is set in the 70s, a fact that is not so easy to guess since the setting unfortunately contained very little that immersed us in that period.

The main character, Satara, is not an easy character to love. Although we can sympathize with her at times, she is also quite unhinged and often makes stupid decisions that make her more infuriating than compelling.

Sugar was overall a very enjoyable and quick read that kept me entertained from beginning to end!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Sugar is a dark, twisted tale that expertly blends love, betrayal, and witchcraft themes into a gripping story. Mia Ballard takes readers on a wild, psychedelic journey through 1970s suburban chaos, where secrets and manipulations run rampant. Satara Stratton is a fascinating protagonist—a femme fatale with a penchant for deadly games and a thirst for power that keeps you hooked from the first page. How her fate intertwines with the Love Witch adds an intriguing supernatural twist, making this more than a revenge story.

Ballard’s writing is sharp, and the 70s setting is vivid, full of strange charm and dark undertones. Satara’s descent into love-fueled madness is compelling, though the pacing can sometimes feel a bit uneven as the plot ramps up. However, the tension and psychological complexity more than makeup for it.

Sugar will deliver if you’re a fan of femme fatale stories or enjoy a mix of witchcraft and dark drama. It’s a deliciously wicked ride, leaving you questioning just how far Satara will go to get what she wants—and whether she can genuinely escape her desires. A thrilling read!

It's not really a review, as I didn't finish.
The first thing that attracted my attention was its striking cover. It started really well, mainly because of the neat and engaging writing style. But then it got repetitive, and I eventually lost interest. Moreover, this book is categorized as horror, but I didn't find any elements of that genre.


I must admit that I am a very impatient reader. You might enjoy this if you are a patient reader.

Wow—a knockout debut. Sugar is so delicious, funny, and unique. I love a good feminine rage book just like the next person and this one hit the nail on the head.

"Step into the twisted, psychedelic world of SUGAR, a story about a femme fatale hooked on love and acid in this gripping tale of 1970's suburban chaos where nothing is as it seems." (copy)

Satara is only looking for love. It's not her fault that men keep wronging her. Is she just supposed to sit back and not do anything about it? When her husband Dean has an affair with her best friend Lilah, she returns to her old ways and Dean... disappears. Now Lilah is becoming suspicious and the police have gotten involved. Will Satara be able to pull off the manipulation and deceit required to move on with her life?

This book was such a wild ride. I love an unlikeable, unreliable FMC and this PROVIDED. At some points I even felt for Satara. The ending was a little wild and maybe unrealistic but I loved that it left things open. Hoping for more from this author soon!

This was so good! I loved the whole premise and story line. Satara's character was developed so good and honestly there were so many good quotes from this book I kept saying omg this line. I liked how we got snippets of her past and her previous kills. What was crazy to me was the way her and Dean met and how their relationship came about. Once I got to the end I was shocked, I did not see that was how the ending would be but I loved it. I highly recommend this book!

when 35-year old satara discovers her husband is cheating on her with her best friend, she murders him in cold blood (not a spoiler as this happens in the first few pages). while her husband's sudden disappearance grows increasingly more suspicious and lilah, her best friend, becomes more distrustful, we follow satara already on a path to conquer a new lover - a married man with very little interest in her, much to satara's chagrin. that is until her path crosses that of the love witch, who has a tempting spell that may be the answer to satara's problems. however, through flashbacks that tell us the story of satara's life, perhaps the new object of her affection should be very worried..

while going through the book at first, i was surprised by all the storylines and how they felt a bit mismatched and too much going on at times. the suspect of murder closing in on satara, the seduction of a married man, her violent past AND a tinge of the unnatural through a love witch's spell? i thought the book was trying to cram all kinds of different subjects and genres into one, and worried it may be a bit all over the place. i was very pleasantly surprised when the book managed to tie all these storylines together in a cohesive way!

there was, however, some confusion on my end about how certain things worked out very easy and convenient for satara, and this was a slight point of annoyance throughout the book for me. even knowing what i know having finished it, the way some events unfolded do not feel completely believable. a few important plot points felt a bit rushed and not properly worked out - i almost wish some parts would have been longer and discussed in more detail, because i still had questions.

i did however really enjoy the fact that satara was a genuinely unlikable character (for me), yet still fun to read; not one of those "the acts you commit are heinous but as a woman i see where you're coming from", but a real spiralling into craziness where she lost my sympathies at some point (but in a good way!). overall, it was something really refreshing and different in the female rage genre for me.

Satara is a psychopath. But all she really wants is to be loved. Just don't break her heart.
Ever.
After discovering her husband's affair with her best friend, Satara becomes unhinged... again. Because Satara is a serial killer. But all those men deserved what they got, didn't they?

This book was a fast moving thriller. Satara is the kind of character that you hate for what she's doing but also love and sympathise with her for the reasons she's doing it.
Satara is going to be stuck in my head for awhile.
And that ending! Absolutely did not see that coming!
I will definitely be checking out more of this author's books.

This is one of those reads that will stick with you. I love an "unhinged"/female rage read... but this was fresh and new. It starts off quick but never really felt predictable. And don't even get me started on that wild ending that was full of twists. One of the easiest five star reads. Loved it.

A fantastic and crazy fun read. The FMC finds out her partner is cheating on her with her best friend and the only solution is to end him… literally.

This book definitely showcased female rage. I found that Satara (fmc) really just wanted to be loved but found herself with a partner who couldn’t give that to her.

All in all I loved this book and our unreliable narrator Satara.

I didn't get a chance to read this completely, but what I did read of it was so good that I have gone and purchased it for my kindle.

This book was utter chaos! But I loved every second of it. The female main chapter has a life altering this happen. Then spirals into oblivion. It is a must read!! Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this.

"It was about staring into the abyss of my own despair and choosing, instead, to rewrite the ending."

Mia Ballard's novel is about based on Satara, a 35 year old woman who finds out her husband Dean has been having an affair with her best friend and neighbour Lilah. This sets her down a path of revenge. Thing is this isn't the first time Satara has done something evil and calculated. She makes all those around her bend to her manipulations. Satara is on a mission to portray a "normal" life while dealing with her demons.

Well this was quite a read. I ended up flying through this in one sitting. To say this main character is unhinged would be an understatement.

There is a lot to going on in this story. But it's so easy to follow. It is gripping and immersive to the point the reader will not be able to rest until they reach the end.

I could not put this book down, the way in which the author reveals the delusions of this character Satara and blurs the lines between reality and fantasy were brilliant. Page after page there are suprises and twists including the end.

This was a fun, disturbing and addictive psychological horror novel I won't be forgetting anytime soon.

I am SO, SO happy that I had an opportunity to read this one! Two things for sure, one thing is for certain - I LOVE a woman scorned / unhinged female lead in any and all media. And when I tell you that 'Sugar' took off like a shot in the first five pages to secure itself a top spot on that list of reads, I really do mean it.

Twisty and dark, throughout the book I found myself going back and forth on my feelings for Satara, and Mia Ballard did a knockout job of landing that perfect cocktail of "villain" and also woman you can empathize / root for (at times). The choices in setting and timeline just feel right? Like it doesn't feel shoehorned into a certain time period, it feels perfectly placed.

I'll be keeping my eyes out for any additional works by Mia Ballard and will no doubt be yowling about this one to anyone who even passingly mentions loving a strong female lead in anything even remotely horror adjacent. Thank you so much for the opportunity / ARC!

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”

This was a fun book! Satara has found out that her husband is cheating on her. Not only cheating but with her best friend. The only solution is to kill him…

This book is so fast paced with what is going on in Satara’s mind and let me tell you, she is crazy!! She is the perfect unreliable narrator definitely as the book keeps going.

We get a little spooky with meeting The Love Witch who is trying to help Satara.

The only issues I had is that I did not read the blurb all the way so every time it said “Present” I thought it was 2024 present and not 1970s present. I thought Satara had figure out how not to age.

Overall I loved this book. The plot was fantastic. The twists were twisting and the epilogue 👩🏼‍🍳💋

Genre: Horror (Girly Horror)
APK: Ebook
Pages: 266
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book as an arc
Well this was so so fast paced, I completely binged it in two sittings. This is more of a fun thriller and I'm here for it
There were a lot of twists and the ending was so good
Sugar comes out next week and I recommend everyone to go pick it up, specially if you are in a reading slump... this is the perfect cure

A big thank you to Galaxy Press and NetGalley for this arc.

One night during dinner, Satara Stratton discovers that her husband is having an affair with her best friend. Having been betrayed and wronged by man all her life, Satara explodes and kills her husband. Satara’s quest to find love doesn’t end after the death of her husband, but continues when she meets “The Love Witch,” a woman able to make any men fall in love with you. During Satara’s journey to find love, pieces of her past are unveiled and we learn it is much darker than it seems.

Sugar is such a page-turner. In this fast pace novel, the author introduces a unique female serial killer. I loved to see the roles reversed in this book, and witness rage and alienation in a female character. While the premise and story were entertaining, the writing sometimes fell short and the ending was questionable. There were also some typos and overused expressions. However, those aspects didn’t stop me from wanting to finish this book. I was very intrigued! Congratulations to the author for this great debut novel.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is a solid thriller, lots of twists and turns and a strong lead character. Definitely a book for fans of the subgenre "unhinged women". It lost me a little in the second half, but overall I had a good time reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Galaxy Press for this ARC!

The twists at the end were really awesome, and I wasn't expecting them! It's definitely a great book to pick up for spooky season!

This was... Well, it was something. I was fully on board at the beginning and then it spiraled into something that I'm not quite sure how I feel about. The twist-on-twist-on-twist felt a bit forced and quite honestly most of it didn't make sense and I could not suspend my disbelief that much. Overall, this wasn't horrible, but it did not have the "wow" factor I was anticipating considering how great the first half was. *Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the e-ARC of this book*