In Celine Saintclare's enticing debut novel, Sugar, Baby, 21-year-old Agnes pays a steep price for living rent-free at the home of her deeply religious Caribbean mother. Subject to participation in weekly prayer meetings, early curfews, and work at the same cleaning agency as her mother, Agnes feels stuck. Then her mother kicks her out when she catches her sneaking in from a late night. Agnes turns to Emily, the daughter of one of her cleaning clients.
Emily's invitation to stay in her London flat, which she shares with a group of models, ushers Agnes into their sugar-baby lifestyle. Emily assures her that it's "easy once you learn how. I could show you how to make a career out of lunches and champagne, Agnes." Still unsure if she really fits the role, Agnes is swept into the unfamiliar mayhem of free tables, endless champagne, and head turns from every man in the room. Soon enough, she is graduating from seemingly harmless lunch dates to paid-for vacations, designer gifts, and an increasingly guilty conscience.
Saintclare presents an intimate look into the lives of sex workers--those who are in it for the thrill and those who are in it to survive. Saintclare's risqué narrative exposes the thin line between a woman using her body as a commodity and losing control of it. Without the safety net that the rest of the girls have, Agnes's unfiltered feelings toward sugaring are vulnerable, desperate, and often humorously honest. Her discernible anxiety toward her new lifestyle begs the question: How far is too far? --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer