A Book Obsession..: Release Day Review: Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper

Release Day Review: Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper

, by Kt Clapsadl

Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper

Southern Eclectic #1

Nestled on the shore of Lake Sackett, Georgia is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. (What, you have a problem with one-stop shopping?) Two McCready brothers started two separate businesses in the same building back in 1928, and now it’s become one big family affair. And true to form in small Southern towns, family business becomes everybody’s business.

Margot Cary has spent her life immersed in everything Lake Sackett is not. As an elite event planner, Margot’s rubbed elbows with the cream of Chicago society, and made elegance and glamour her business. She’s riding high until one event goes tragically, spectacularly wrong. Now she’s blackballed by the gala set and in dire need of a fresh start—and apparently the McCreadys are in need of an event planner with a tarnished reputation.

As Margot finds her footing in a town where everybody knows not only your name, but what you had for dinner last Saturday night and what you’ll wear to church on Sunday morning, she grudgingly has to admit that there are some things Lake Sackett does better than Chicago—including the dating prospects. Elementary school principal Kyle Archer is a fellow fish-out-of-water who volunteers to show Margot the picture-postcard side of Southern living. The two of them hit it off, but not everybody is happy to see an outsider snapping up one of the town's most eligible gentleman. Will Margot reel in her handsome fish, or will she have to release her latest catch?

Generally I only review speculative fiction, but as Molly Harper is one of my favorite authors, I decided to review SWEET TEA AND SYMPATHY. There's just something so lighthearted, fun, and hilarious about her writing in her paranormal stories. So I was curious to see how that translated in this book, and I wasn't disappointed. Don't get me wrong I love romance novels as much as the next gal, but so much of Molly's humor centers around crazy paranormal happenings that I wasn't sure how it would translate to straight contemporary, or if something would get lost in "translation." However, much to my delight that wasn't the case with this book at all. The humor and
quirkiness that is Molly Harper's signature Half Moon Hollow, had no problem in a completely contemporary setting. I found myself laughing more often than not, and I didn't miss the lack of paranormal one bit, which was impressive in itself.

I really enjoyed this start to a new series. It definitely read like a set up book to a new series, so there's a lot of meeting the extended families and the whole small town info dumps at the beginning. But, despite so many names being thrown at the heroine (and the reader) it never stepped over into that too much category. In fact it was quite the opposite because now I want a story for every family member! But getting back to the couple at hand. This was a really good fish out of water story. Margot is a city slicker gal through and through who comes with not a small amount of baggage. Seeing her having to bumble about in this backwater town as well as dealing with the mounds of baggage piece by piece after being thrust back to her birth family was a fun treat. Add in a sweet, but sexy hero who has more than his own share of baggage but just really needs a spark in his life, and you have one heck of an enjoyable, hilarious and sweet read.

All in all if you are looking for an afternoon escape that will leave you with a huge grin on your face, look no further than SWEET TEA AND SYMPATHY.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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