I am hooked on Kristy Woodson Harvey’s southern charm.     While reading I was actually hearing the characters with southern accents, picturing them in their houses with wraparound porches, and drinking sweet tea.

The Secret to Southern Charm is the second book in The Peachtree Bluff Series.    I think that the books are better read in order.   Book two starts off exactly where book one ended.    The storyline continues with Ansley, Caroline, Sloane, and Emerson all back in Georgia together.   

We learn about Sloane’s life as a military wife and the fears she had when she was first married.    I saw Sloane’s strength when dealing with her husband’s MIA status, while she needed a little push to get out of her own head and back into the real world I could see her figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other getting back to living.    She took care of her children, she painted again, and she found out what was missing of herself even before the MIA.  

While this is mostly Sloane’s story the spotlight is shared with the rest of her family.   I loved catching up with Ansley and her long ago love Jack, seeing Emerson and Mark being together, and watching Caroline figure out if James is who she is meant to be with.     These are storylines that are not quite done.   There is more in store for each of these characters. 

I am excited for more of Peachtree Bluff series and the amazing Southern Charm.  

Finally catching up on my review for this one. My apologies to the author and publisher for being waaaaaaay behind the 8-ball with this.

This was the only book in the series I read, and it worked well as a standalone, even though it includes characters from the previous books.

This was... nice. A little bland. A little non-exciting. Until the climax, which was out of left field and didn't make a whole lot of sense. Nice banter, nice MCs, nice story flow. Just a little on the bland side.

I liked that a character with a disability was featured. Jude, owner of the flower shop in town, has type 1 diabetes, and has recently developed epileptic seizures. Now partnered with a Medical Alert dog named Dawson, he happily runs his flower shop, preparing custom bouquets.

While at the local clinic, he meets the new doc, Elliott Sheffield, ex-military, suffering from PTSD. Their romance starts out slow, and Jude tries to hide his illness just as much as Elliott tries to hide his traumatic experiences overseas.

As I said, it was nice. The dialogue was stilted on occasion, but I liked their banter. The characters were nicely developed and believable. The story flowed well. The climactic scene toward the end was a little unexpected, though.

This was a nice way to spend a few hours.


** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **

I was offered a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been following the series of Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries from the first book and have enjoyed them enormously. The quirky characters, the fantastic local atmosphere, the dialect and Southern sayings, the imaginative stories and the heart-warming relationships between the inhabitants are a breath of fresh air. After reading the stories one wants to live there, or at least to visit for a long vacation. And I challenge any readers to not end up quoting the sayings.

This small volume collects some short stories, vignettes that give readers more insight into certain characters and events (like how Jack and Tess got engaged) with a longer novella about the new sheriff and a missing elderly lady (Lou’s sister).  There are further complications when somebody is impersonating one of the sheriff’s men, resulting in a less than warm welcome for the new man in the job. But with a bit of canine collaboration, everything ends up well.

The events taking place in this book fall between the two novels Murder & Mayhem and Heroes & Hooligans. It is filled with wisecracks and local expressions, and it’s a quick read that will leave you wanting more. I’m not sure it would be satisfying enough on its own right if you haven’t read the other books in the series, but it is a great addition to it. Ah, and don’t miss the delicious Apple Pie recipes at the end.

Just a couple of expressions I highlighted, to give you some idea:

‘Clive, if I was doing any better, I’d be twins.’

‘He’s so stupid, mind readers charge him half price.’

If you love good-humoured fun, a menagerie of odd but endearing characters, don’t hesitate and get the whole series.

My reviews for Pleating for Mercy, A Fitting End, Deadly Pattern, A Custom-Fit, and A Killing Notion.

Another decent continuation of the series. Harlow agrees to make aprons for the Red Hat Society's progressive dinner. Each woman will get a personalized one, starting with the leader - Harlow's conveniently created next door neighbor we've never heard of before.

But when our MC stumbles on her corpse lying in a just dug grave, could it be one of the group that got rid of the often abrasive woman or someone closer to home.