•*¨☆¸.•*´Carmen Jenner Sugartown Series Spotlight and Reviews

For the last week, I have been immersed in the little town of Sugartown.  My good friends Erin and Lexy, who is also my blog partner, love Carmen Jenner so I knew I had to read her.  I was not prepared for how much I would fall in love with her writing. 

Below you will find my spot light on the Sugartown series.  It is 4 books, set in the rural town of Sugartown in Australia following a quirky and unconventional family. 

If any of you have not read this amazing series, I strongly urge you to click the links and buy.  The first book is free, what’s better than that?

Welcome To Sugartown

Carmen Jenner 

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Ana Belle never wanted anything more than to hang up her apron, jump on her Vespa and ride off into the sunset, leaving Sugartown in the dust. 

Elijah Cade never wanted anything more than a hot meal, a side of hot arse and a soft place to lay his head at night where he could forget about his past. 

But you know what they say about wanting: you always want what you can’t have. 

Nineteen year-old virgin Ana is about to discover that’s not quite true because a six foot three, hotter than hell, tattooed, Aussie sex god just rode into town. He’s had a taste of her pie and he wants more–no really, Ana bakes pies for a living, get your mind out of the gutter. 

She’d be willing to hand over everything tied up in a big red bow, there’s just one problem; Elijah has secrets dirtier than last week’s underwear. Secrets that won't just break Ana’s heart, but put her life at risk, too. When those secrets come to light, their relationship is pushed to breaking point. 

Add to that a psychotic nympho best friend, an overbearing father, a cuter than humanly possible kid brother, a wanton womanizing cousin, the ex from hell, and more pies than you could poke a ... err ... stick ... at. 

And you thought small towns were boring. 

I have had Carmen Jenner on my list of authors to read for a long time, and finally I just decided that it was time to make the time to read her books.  I wanted to start at the beginning where it all began with the Sugartown series, and quite honestly thinking it was going to be a light breezy read.  I mean, with a name like Sugartown, you expect sweet, right?  Ha!  I obviously didn’t do my homework, I just knew my friends loved her so I would as well. 

Carmen Jenner is one of those that sneaks up on you, and man does she pack a punch.  She drags you through everything in this book and she hit every mental check mark I have in my brain on my own personal list of requirements that makes for a great story.

Love.  P

Angst.  P

Mysterious Plot Line.  P

Lots of conflict.  P

Badass Hero.  P

Loveable Heroine.  P

Ana Belle is 19, living in Sugartown and praying for the day to arrive that she can split.  Sugartown is the epitome of small town culture, where everyone talks about everybody; and quite often that talk has landed on Ana.

Ana runs the family pie shop, which she has practically done in the years since her mother died of cancer, across the street from the motorcycle shop her father runs.  While she spends her days at Belle’s Pies, daydreaming of leaving Sugartown, with her best friend Holly and keeping track of her little brother Sam, Elijah Cade rides in to town. Tall, sexy, biker, Elijah Cade.

With Elijah, comes his past.  The one he is running from, and keeping secret for good reason.  He has had a rough life, with no family to speak of it’s hard for him to let anyone in; it’s easier that way with the secrets he needs to keep.  Fresh from his release of prison, Elijah starts working with Ana’s father.

Of course with these two the chemistry is insane, and with a chemistry that hot, there is no way to come away from it without being burned. Their relationship comes with a lot of problems.  They can’t seem to stop hurting each other, but can’t stay away either.  When the unthinkable happens, it’s Elijah picking up the pieces, even when Ana can’t even think about forgiveness.  This is a story of perseverance, redemption, and an unstoppable, sometimes unconventional, and definitely unconditional love.

Enjoy Your Stay

Carmen Jenner

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

The last thing Holly Harris expected was to wind up nineteen, knocked-up, and all alone. When Coop left to pursue his dreams of becoming a rock god, he left a tiny piece of him behind. 

Holly wishes he hadn’t. 

Jackson wishes he hadn’t. 

Jackson Rowe tried filling the void his family left by drinking, screwing around, and leaving a string of heartbroken women in his wake. Moving back to Sugartown should have been easy, but he hadn’t counted on the fact his sometimes attraction to Holly would still be alive and kicking—and he sure as hell hadn’t counted on her being pregnant with another man’s baby. 

They drive one another crazy, and yet they can’t stay away. 

When old flames resurface, and even older wounds are torn open, can two people so similar make it work? Or will their stubbornness only drive them further apart? 

*Content Warning. Intended for a mature 18+ audience. Contains angst, a crap-tonne of profanity, short-tempered Australian wildlife, and some very pregnant sex.

I absolutely fell in love with Ana’s best friend Holly in Greetings From Sugartown.  She is snarky and sassy.  An all-round spitfire.  She and her best friend could not be more different.  Where Ana is quiet, Holly is loud.  Where Ana is reserved, Holly is anything but.

Holly sent her rock star boyfriend Cooper packing back to Sydney to chase his dreams.  He wanted her to return with him, giving her an ultimatum, and Holly refused to leave Sugartown and the family that has always been there for her.

Now pregnant and living in a house with Ana, and Ana’s Cousin Jackson – a very delectable Jackson, whom Holly has a past, she cannot break free of those insane pregnancy hormones that tell her to jump on Jack as often as possible.  And he is not helping.

These two’s worst enemies are themselves.  Both keeping their feelings away from the other, and not allowing happiness to seep in.  So when Jack pushes Holly away for like the hundredth time, she has no choice to let Cooper back in.  Pregnant and alone, she needs the help and support that Cooper gives her, and Jackson keeps denying her.

When these two finally get their act together, it might be too late.  Jack needs to decide if he can love Holly and a baby that does not belong to him, and Holly needs to trust that she really is enough for Jack.

The second installment of the Sugartown series had me all out laughing out loud, and yelling at my kindle, sometimes in the very same instant. I loved Holly.  (As I said above.)  At times I wanted to reach through my kindle and strangle her, but her feistiness is exactly what Jack needed to balance out his conceitedness.  

Greetings From Sugartown

Carmen Jenner

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Life in Sugartown hasn't always been easy, not for an ex-con like Elijah, and certainly not for Ana, who grew up desperate for a way out. 

Meeting Elijah changed all that; Elijah changed a lot of things. 

You’d think that after three years together and the worst behind them that life would be a walk in the park, but Sugartown’s sexiest couple may be about to face their biggest obstacles yet. 

Between failed marriage proposals, a trampy ex-lover and a tempting new biker, Sugartown is suddenly not so sweet. 

They’re head-over-heels in love. It should be simple—but it rarely is. 

Will they make it down the aisle to the happy ever after they deserve? Or are some relationships just destined to fail? 

Intended for an 18+ audience. Contains explicit sex, violence, a crap-tonne of profanity, and naked encounters with disastrous outcomes.

Ana Belle is one of the strongest Heroines that I have ever read.  She really and truly has been through hell, and persevered every. single. time.  Many others’ spirits would have been broken with every trial she has endured, and just when the road to happiness is cleared for her and Elijah, insecurities of the past come rushing right back in.

Elijah has done everything in his power to make up for past mistakes, showing Ana that there is no room for any other in his life.  She is it for him and he wants to make it official.  His attempts kind of get thwarted at every turn, and just when he starts thinking maybe he isn’t enough for Ana, she goes and flips the tables. 

With the whole cast of characters, that I have fell in love with, relationships in Sugartown are evolving.  Someone comes back into Elijah’s life and I was very skeptical when they came back, but Carmen has a way of smoothing things over so you feel as if everything is finally, FINALLY going to go right in a past full of wrongs. 

I am sure that I have said this in my previous reviews, but I love this series.  I love these characters, and Carmen Jenner’s writing is top notch!

Now Leaving Sugartown

Carmen Jenner

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

iBooks

Pepper Ryan grew up the troublesome, spoiled child of a rock god. With her less-than-stellar parentage, and the bipolar disorder that has plagued her existence, to say this little firecracker is a handful would be the understatement of the century. 

Sammy Belle spent more than half his life saving Pepper. He’d been her strength, her sanity, and the protective brotherly figure she never wanted to have. 

They were never meant to be together. 

They gave in anyway. 

And just when Sammy thought he had everything he wanted, Pepper ran. 

Now twenty-three, Pepper returns to Sugartown, a failed tattoo artist with one too many screws loose who’s down on her luck, wielding an ice cream van as beaten up as her heart. 

Sugartown’s most coveted bachelor has always been content with the quiet life he leads until Pepper, the hellion from his past, returns to test his strength, his patience, and perhaps even his sanity. But two can play at that game, and Pepper is about to learn that Sam can give as good as he gets. 

Can this good country boy survive Pepper’s cruel city world, or will the whole thing be put down to a bout of temporary insanity? 

One thing is for certain: 

He’s crazy about her. 

She’s just crazy. 

Warning: Intended for an 18+ audience. Contains sexual content, oodles of profanity, a firefighter so hot you may need a very cold shower, and one pink-haired crazy Harajuku girl. May also contain traces of nuts. Some scenes within this book may be a trigger for certain readers.

When I started the Sugartown series, I wasn’t sure what I was going to find.  I thought, however, that with a name like Sugartown, it would be a light series, and I am sure that my friends that have already read and fell in love with Carmen Jenner can attest that nothing could be further from the truth.  The characters from the beginning until to the very end have evolved into something else.  They feel like family, and I am so sad to see this series end.

If you have followed my reviews so far you know that we have followed the Sugartown gang through so much pain and hurt and finally to the happiness that they deserve.  Well, Now Leaving Sugartown is no different. 

Little Sammy Belle is grown up and in the 5 years since Pepper left him without a goodbye he has done very well for himself, with the exception of forgetting about his “Little”. 

Pepper Ryan-Harris-Rowe has always been Sam’s kryptonite.  He has been her anchor all of her life, often times saving her from herself.  The firecracker, herself, has returned home and even though she doesn’t want to admit it she comes back for Sam.

Sam and Pepper’s story is not easy, it is full of pain and hurt.  It is also one of love, and the unstoppable lengths that one will go to, to ensure loved one’s get the help needed in their times of darkness.

This book holds a very special place in my heart.  It took me to places that pushed me as a person, often times hitting so close to home that I couldn’t see through my own tears.  I wanted to stop reading.  It was too much, I couldn’t take it.  Now Leaving Sugartown took me to my limits, and stepped over that line. 

Delivered in a way that I have learned only Carmen Jenner can, there is quite often a little sweet with the sour, and a whole lot of happy with those tear inducing scenes.  This is a series that I will always hold close to my heart, and always recommend.  

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA TODAY and international bestselling author of the Sugartown, Savage Saints, and Taint series.

Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.

A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore MAC addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny north coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child. 


A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?