Don't Want No Sugar [Paperback]

J. D. Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2005

Everyone knew that Eula May had lost her mind over loving a married man. It was what drove her to kill herself and leave her only daughter, Roberta, in the care of the local midwife. So it was no wonder that Roberta became obsessed with Charles Harris the very first time she laid eyes on him. And she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she was the only woman in his life. So when he is forced to marry her because of her unexpected pregnancy, Roberta feels that she has everything she ever wanted.
Women have always come easy to Charles, so he's wondering how he got saddled with a wife he doesn't love, two beautiful children, and a longing for something grander. Then he meets the stunning Sara Tate and discovers a love almost as consuming as the one Roberta feels for him. This deadly love triangle will result in deception and murder, leaving a legacy for generations to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Big passions lead to deadly romantic triangles for two generations of African-Americans in Mason's latest (after 2003's One Day I Saw a Black King). The story begins in the 1930s, when 14-year-old Roberta Adams sets her sights on handsome mill worker Charles Brooks, even though he's passionately involved with Nadine, a married woman. But Roberta is crafty: when love potions don't work on Charles, she tries poison on Nadine. One night, as Nadine lies dying, Roberta pounces on Charles. The seduction works; Roberta gets pregnant and Charles must marry her, a union that turns out quite well considering its provenance. But Charles eventually goes astray when his side job as a handyman brings him in contact with pretty young Sara Tate, whom he handily seduces and impregnates. And, oh, the lurid lives of smalltown Texans! Roberta, inflamed by jealousy, tries to kill Sara's child and then wakes her husband up and stabs him, nearly slicing off his head. The plotting turns even more cartoonish when Mason leaps ahead to the 1960s. Roberta has just been released after years of incarceration, and Sara's mentally handicapped son, Adam (people call him "Fool"), is accused of rape when the girl he loves gets pregnant. Mason's flair for fast-moving narration makes this an easy read, but readers may find there's far too much meanness, deceit and violence.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In this novel, generations of black Texas families struggle to survive love, lust, and betrayal. Eula Mae Adams loses her senses over her affair with a married man. After her death, her daughter, Roberta, is taken in and raised by the local midwife, Martha Armstrong. Roberta wants to get away from Martha and sets her sights on the handsome Charles Harris, who is having an affair with Nadine Cooper. To get rid of their baby, Nadine buys some of Martha's abortion potion. Roberta takes advantage of Nadine and Charles' hiatus and seduces him. Recognizing that Roberta is pregnant, Martha demands that Charles marry her. Thus, Roberta sacrifices love for an illusion, and Charles sacrifices love for honor and duty. It isn't until he meets Sara Tate that he loves a woman with the intensity that Roberta loves him. Charles attempts to maintain two families until Roberta discovers him with Sara and seeks revenge. Mason's prequel to her novel One Day I Saw a Black King (2003) is full of surprises and answers. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (November 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312348991
• ISBN-13: 978-0312348991
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I started writing seriously in 1995 beginning with my first novel "Resurrecting Ruth" which eventually turned into "And on the Eighth Day She Rested", which was finally published in 2003 by St. Martin's Press. Since then, I've written several novels and short story contributions to anthologies. I'm currently working on my 6th novel, while waiting impatiently for the 4th and 5th books to hit the stands in 2007.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Obsessive Love...., October 19, 2004

By 

Michelle Henley (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Want No Sugar (Hardcover)

Don't Want No Sugar" is J.D. Mason's third powerhouse novel which gives us the family history of one of previous characters, John King from "One Day I Saw Black King."

We are introduced to Roberta Adams, who by virtue of her mother, Eula May's untimely suicide over the death of her lover Robert Lewis, goes to live with the town's midwife. Roberta seems to have been cursed from the very beginning; being the love child of Eula May and Bobby Lewis - a love that was forbidden and taboo from the start - and possessing the outright beauty of her mother. Roberta's life seems to travel down the same unfortunate paths as her parents.

J.D. Mason introduces some of the highest degrees of obsessive love that one can imagine. Roberta loves no man or any one person - including herself - more that Charles Brooks. Handsome, charming and with dimples, Charles could have any female he wanted.

Unbeknownst to him, Roberta has been secretly watching and pining over him since she was a young girl. Fantasizing what life would be like as his wife, she sets her trap when given the opportunity. So as fate would have it, she becomes Charles' wife and here the levels of obsessive love begin.


Her unabashed love for this man causes Roberta to obsess over her husband to the point of dementia. Being that she was raised by the town's midwife and resident "witchdoctor", she has been taught the tricks of the trade so to speak, something that allows her to first initiate her relationship and union with Charles and ultimately becoming the very thing that takes her over the edge. So obsessive is her need and desire for her husband, Roberta winds up doing the unimaginable, causing many lives to change in dramatic fashion.

Ms. Mason has truly done it again. With her easy prose and writing style, one can finish her book with such ease, leaving you gasping at the end with your mouth hanging open in surprise. There are very few new writers who have come on the scene who have made such an impact as Ms. Mason - characters rich and diverse spanning different walks of life - making it all believable while shaking your head in wonderment and awe. Much praise and kudos to J.D. for yes, doing it again with a fine contribution while giving avid readers something worthwhile to read.

Michelle Henley
APOOO BookClub

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo! This Prequel Delivers!!!, October 4, 2004

By 

Phyllis Rhodes (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Want No Sugar (Hardcover)

J.D. Mason continues to hone her craft with vigor and finesse. Rarely does a prequel deliver with such fervor and depth! To explain how One Day I Saw A Black King character, John King, came to be, Ms. Mason takes us back to 1931 Bueller, Texas to examine the intricate shenanigans of John's grandfather, the very good-looking and equally hard-working Charles. He is every woman's dream, including a conniving, teenaged beauty, Roberta, who upon her eccentric mother's suicide has resided with the local midwife for the past 10 years. Every man has a weakness and Charles has a penchant for pretty women - thus this story centers around the three beautiful women in his life: Nadine, Roberta, and Sara.

Without telling the entire story and giving away the page-turning secrets, let us just say that after Nadine's untimely death, the grieving Charles succumbs to one night of passion that results in a loveless marriage to Roberta. Charles accepts this miserable existence until he meets Sara Tate - and their instant attraction leads to scandal, another murder, and the conception of Adam (John King's father).

This is a story that had me turning pages until the very end - it was perfectly paced, contained full bodied characters with their own agendas (which usually involved sticking their noses in other people's business), and included just enough voodoo and old wives tales to keep a ethereal vibe flowing just beneath the surface as each of the main characters truly wrestled with their own demons through out the book.

I truly hope Ms. Mason keeps her creative juices flowing and gives us another wonderful story of how Connie Rogers came to be. Nonetheless, I'll be anxiously awaiting her next release (regardless of the topic)...as she has rightfully a place on my favorite author's list.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love can make you do some crazy things, September 26, 2006

By 

Jenny J.J.I. "A New Yorker" (That Lives in Carolinas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Don't Want No Sugar (Hardcover)

This was my first by J.D. Mason. She has written a spine-chilling tale of love, seduction, obsession and betrayal that haunted by mind days after I finished reading it. There are very few writers who make such an impact as Ms. Mason - characters rich and diverse spanning different walks of life - making it all believable while shaking your head in wonderment and awe.

This story has taken us to a small backwoods town of Bueller, a woman named Eula May had a daughter, Roberta, but no husband. He belonged to another. Still, she loved Roberta's father to death. She loved him so much that she couldn't bear to part with him after he died...in her bed. Years later, a teenaged Roberta sets her sights on a man of her own, a womanizer named Charles Brooks. When Roberta gets pregnant, Charles is forced to marry her, but Sara holds the key to his heart.

I was flooded with emotion at the revelation. It was a sweet ending to the sad life of a lovable man. Although I felt that some aspects of the story were a bit contrived, (i.e. the way it seems that every woman in the novel who has sex gets pregnant and the way that each pregnancy seems to be the impetus for something awful) I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the story as a whole. The cover on this book is rather sweet also.

I added it to my collection of favorites. I was captured by Morgan's writing style. The entire book was exhilarating. Morgan has definitely proven to possess exceptional writing skills. This book kept me on my toes from beginning to end. I cannot wait to read more on the family. She painted the picture so vividly, I felt like I was right there in Bueller and Clarksville (where the story takes place for all the prospective readers of the book). Very passionate and realistic....Outstanding book! Highly Recommended!