What do you think?
Rate this book
Colored Sugar Water: A Spiritual Tale
Despite their success, Lucy, the thirty-five-year-old fitness manager for a string of Texas health clubs, and Adel, vice president for human resources at American oil, struggle with the individual dissatisfaction, spiritual and emotional emptiness, and unhappiness of their lives and set out to search for true meaning and fulfillment. By the author of All of Me. 30,000 first printing.
259 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 28, 2012
I guess I would give this 3.5 stars. It is a solid story, consistent and flowing, but there was something missing and I think it has to do with the female characters.
Lucy: Very flaky. She is very judgmental and yet can't make up her own mind on how to live her life or what man she should love.
Adel: Hot mess. She thinks getting pregnant will change a trifling man and the author decided to let her have her dream but it was not realistic for me.
I have so many unanswered questions as well. Like, why as Lucy so religious in the beginning and then so questioning of Adel's religious choices in the end? If Madea was so powerful, why couldn't she sense what was really going on with Kuba?
I don't know what I think about this book. I was entertained enough to read it but kind of frustrating with the ending. Not one that I would read again.
Lucy: Very flaky. She is very judgmental and yet can't make up her own mind on how to live her life or what man she should love.
Adel: Hot mess. She thinks getting pregnant will change a trifling man and the author decided to let her have her dream but it was not realistic for me.
I have so many unanswered questions as well. Like, why as Lucy so religious in the beginning and then so questioning of Adel's religious choices in the end? If Madea was so powerful, why couldn't she sense what was really going on with Kuba?
I don't know what I think about this book. I was entertained enough to read it but kind of frustrating with the ending. Not one that I would read again.
January 8, 2020
Colored sugar water, which is actually tea with a little bit of sugar in it, is all about being happy with a normal, humble, living in faith kind of life. The main characters, Lucy and Adel, have to question and test everything about their lives in order to find out what brings them true happiness and the characters are given plenty of time to figure it out.
The first couple of chapters were hard and almost made me want to throw out the entire book completely because both accomplished successful business women only seemed to be able to have conversations about the men in their lives and it just made me think these women would have more to talk about. But it ended up that these men were the root cause of Lucy and Adel questioning their life, needs and wants. Figuring out what they were willing to accept and turn away.
People were hurt along the way and left behind during their self discoveries but those that stuck around were ultimately the best for them. The girls went back to the basics of wanting to love and be loved in return. Lucy figured out she didnt need the pants charmed off of her literally and chose honest Spencer who would question her character and make her a better person for it And Adel stepped down from her job to put the pressure on Thad to step up to more responsibility even though he was a total loser at the beginning of the book i guess the author allowed him to change.
My favorite part of the book was when Lucy took her 'heart' and control back from Kuba. Oh my goodness I literally jumped out of my seat and wanted to yell "You Go Girl!, You take back that control!" Its an amazing part with so many metaphors all over the place and that snake staring her in the face, intense.
The ending was confusing. Was everyone a ghost? Are those what all the auras were?
I liked how the characters were just as confused at the ending as I was. I think I would know if I were talking to a ghost. Maybe their entire past was a ghost now because they had changed so much? Anyways Im glad i didnt give up on this book right away after all.
The first couple of chapters were hard and almost made me want to throw out the entire book completely because both accomplished successful business women only seemed to be able to have conversations about the men in their lives and it just made me think these women would have more to talk about. But it ended up that these men were the root cause of Lucy and Adel questioning their life, needs and wants. Figuring out what they were willing to accept and turn away.
People were hurt along the way and left behind during their self discoveries but those that stuck around were ultimately the best for them. The girls went back to the basics of wanting to love and be loved in return. Lucy figured out she didnt need the pants charmed off of her literally and chose honest Spencer who would question her character and make her a better person for it And Adel stepped down from her job to put the pressure on Thad to step up to more responsibility even though he was a total loser at the beginning of the book i guess the author allowed him to change.
My favorite part of the book was when Lucy took her 'heart' and control back from Kuba. Oh my goodness I literally jumped out of my seat and wanted to yell "You Go Girl!, You take back that control!" Its an amazing part with so many metaphors all over the place and that snake staring her in the face, intense.
The ending was confusing. Was everyone a ghost? Are those what all the auras were?
I liked how the characters were just as confused at the ending as I was. I think I would know if I were talking to a ghost. Maybe their entire past was a ghost now because they had changed so much? Anyways Im glad i didnt give up on this book right away after all.
November 24, 2022
My book copy doesn't have "A Spiritual Tale" in the title so If I had known I probably wouldn't have gotten this book since that really isn't my thing. Above average writing that explores healing with different spiritual beliefs if you like reading those types of stories. I thought the relationship between Lucy and Kuba seemed rushed but that could just be me. If anything it was a story about a spiritual journey and religion with a bit of modern fiction mixed in. The way the places in Houston were name-dropped I thought it was going to play a major role in the story but it didn't and seemed a bit unnecessary.
July 1, 2019
This was my second time reading this book in 5 years and I am always pleasantly entertained by it. It was artfully written, with the ending just as intriguing as the beginning. Makes for a sizzling summer read.
February 24, 2017
With a captivating beginning and middle, Colored Sugar Water ultimately ended up disappointing me in the end. As I flipped through the final pictures, I kept wondering to myself: when was it going to end? I have a handful of questions that were never even touched. Mostly, why does the last chapter exist? Similar to a movie that goes on 30 minutes too long, my review would have been higher had I stopped reading 3/4 of the way through. Fabulous voice, nonetheless.
December 3, 2008
Finished on the plane from Newark to Denver.
I didn't much like this concoction of New Orleans-style voodoo religion, Jehovah's Witness doorbell ringing, and classic Baptists. It was over the top, and I was pretty disappointed in it. Most likely, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it in other circumstances, but I only had one book left for the flight home, and I didn't want to run out of book!
Ironically, the one thing I marked to write about in this book is based on how my next book starts. The next book is Jennifer Weiner's Goodnight Nobody, where a suburban mom recently moved to the Connecticut suburbs from NYC and can't make/has no friends. The part I liked in this one? When Lucy & Adel have a falling out, and Lucy feels like she can't call Adell to talk about her boyfriend, she's reminded of her grandmother's words, "To be without a friend is a serious form of poverty."
Other than that, it was pretty blah. The cover of Goodnight Nobody quotes the Philadelphia Enquirer as saying "Hilarious ... begs to be read in one sitting." Well, I did read it in one sitting ...
I didn't much like this concoction of New Orleans-style voodoo religion, Jehovah's Witness doorbell ringing, and classic Baptists. It was over the top, and I was pretty disappointed in it. Most likely, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it in other circumstances, but I only had one book left for the flight home, and I didn't want to run out of book!
Ironically, the one thing I marked to write about in this book is based on how my next book starts. The next book is Jennifer Weiner's Goodnight Nobody, where a suburban mom recently moved to the Connecticut suburbs from NYC and can't make/has no friends. The part I liked in this one? When Lucy & Adel have a falling out, and Lucy feels like she can't call Adell to talk about her boyfriend, she's reminded of her grandmother's words, "To be without a friend is a serious form of poverty."
Other than that, it was pretty blah. The cover of Goodnight Nobody quotes the Philadelphia Enquirer as saying "Hilarious ... begs to be read in one sitting." Well, I did read it in one sitting ...
June 22, 2020
[2020 PopSugar Challenge - A book with a three-word title]
My copy didn't have "A Spiritual Tale" on the front of it and it doesn't mention religion in the descriptive categories at the beginnings, so I was definitely thrown by how religious the book was. I'm all about character growth through a book, but the religious bits were just very much over-the-top that I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit.
My copy didn't have "A Spiritual Tale" on the front of it and it doesn't mention religion in the descriptive categories at the beginnings, so I was definitely thrown by how religious the book was. I'm all about character growth through a book, but the religious bits were just very much over-the-top that I found myself rolling my eyes quite a bit.
December 31, 2013
My copy did not have the subtitle "A Spiritual Tale". I'm not much for spiritual tales so I didn't really care for this, but it was a fine way to pass the time while riding a stationary bike. Meh.
April 4, 2013
This is a great read if you're looking for something different. It touches on religion and voodoo. It's full of excitment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
April 25, 2017Lucy Merriweather and Adel Kelly have been best friends 20 years. Both are well-off career women with men in their lives. Their lives are routine and maybe a bit bland. After growing up with her grandmother, a backwoods Yoruba healer, Lucy believes in the power of magic and hoodoo. Part of her desires the freeing rush the Yoruba ways can provide. Adel is successfully climbing the corporate ladder, but hates using people to do so. She is also unsure of her husband's commitment to her. A late-night, half-in-jest phone call to Sexy Soul Psychics will shape up both of their lives. Lucy is drawn to psychic Kuba who can give her the passion and magic she craves. But after getting all what she wished for, is Lucy better off than when she had steady, constant love? Meanwhile, Adel find faith and with God's help starts to make sense of her professional and personal life. Both friends make decisions, change their lives, and finally, both feel whole.
May 8, 2017
Let's just say the only reason I completed this book is because I am a "compulsive finisher". What a life. This doesn't mean i don't procrastinate as much as the next guy - just that whatever the task, it'll churn and gnaw at my insides until I finish what I've started.
I've said all this to say,
I started this book in June 2016
It is May 2017
That is all.
I've said all this to say,
I started this book in June 2016
It is May 2017
That is all.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews