Sweet Tea and Sympathy: A Book Club Recommendation!

Molly Harper

Nov 2017 · Southern Eclectic Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From beloved author Molly Harper comes the first novel in the contemporary romance series, Southern Eclectic, about a big-city party planner who finds true love in a small Georgia town.

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?

Ratings and reviews

Molly Harper is a new to me author and after reading this one, I'm wondering how I've missed her. Sweet Tea and Sympathy is packed full of the charm and wit that is so often associated with small-town Southern life. Margot's journey from working with the Chicago elite to a job in the family business is a completely engaging tale that I found impossible to out down. With quirky characters, a rumor mill that spreads news faster than any media source, and small town politics, I found myself laughing out loud, oohing and ahhing, and genuinely rooting for this sweet Southern family - sometimes all at the same time. This is an absolutely charming tale of life, love, family, and finding happiness and contentment in the most unlikely of places. This author has quickly become one to watch for this reader and Sweet Tea and Sympathy is a book that I highly recommend. On a personal note, living in a small, Southern town (not quite as far South as Lake Sackett) and connecting with my own father late in life, I found so many things in Margot's journey that touched me in more ways than just an entertaining story. And I have to agree with Aunt Tootie - if you add sugar to cornbread, it's cake! (Just sayin')😉

Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper is the first book in Southern Eclectic series. Margot Cary is an event planner with Elite Elegance in Chicago until her latest soiree is sabotaged by the chef (he put out a shrimp tower). Margot loses her job and is unable to find another one after the party fiasco is posted on You-tube. She is shocked when she receives a call from Tootie, her great aunt, in Lake Sackett, Georgia. Tootie is offering Margot a job at the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop (you can bury your loved one and then pick up bait for fishing). Margot accepts the position, but she insists it is just temporary. Margot soon discovers that life in Lake Sackett is very different from Chicago. Everyone knows your name, your family and your personal business. Margot delves into her new position and finds romance with elementary school principal, Kyle Archer. But what happens when Margot gets offered a position out-of-state? Sweet Tea and Sympathy is a quirky, zany over-the-top story. The author shoved too many characters into the story. There are numerous relatives and townspeople. I found it impossible to keep them all straight (I gave up after a while). The pace of the novel is slower than it needs to be (thanks to the numerous characters). It needed a snappier pace. I was not a fan of the humor. Instead of being funny, I just found it unbelievable (lots of eye rolling). The petty squabbling and backbiting got on my nerves. I did not like the main character. She thought she was better than her relatives (I found her annoying) and had the maturity level of a teenager (most of the time). Margot’s constant complaints about the town’s coffee got on my nerves (and wondering why she did go out and buy a coffee maker). Frankie, the mortician, was my favorite character. She is unique and embraces it (she also loves her job). The ending is expected and quickly wrapped up (with a nice big bow). It seemed like the author took every Southern stereotype and shoved them into this story. Moonshine, thick Southern accents, deep fried everything, and so on. I did not laugh once while reading the book (my mother thought it was hilarious and claims I have no sense of humor). Sweet Tea and Sympathy is a predictable Southern romance novel with the wacky factor ramped up. I will stick with Molly Harper’s vampire novels which I just love.

If I had to describe this story (and the fun) for fans of Molly Harper – it would be exactly the story you’d expect Jane Jameson to tell (with some input from Andrea on the wardrobe advisory end). Those who don’t know Jane and Andrea – bear with me – if you like ‘fish out of water’ stories set in a small southern town full of characters, drama manufactured and not and a touch of romantic spark – this may be just what you want. Focusing on Margot – a high end event planner in Chicago, until an event went pear shaped when flamingoes provided for ‘color and atmosphere’ went rogue all over a shrimp tower that was not on the brief. Now jobless, near homeless and embarrassed, Margot has to find a way to survive the professional humiliation until she can find another event planning company willing to take her on. Hoping against hope that her last big event wouldn’t be her last splashy event in a big city, hopes are soon dashed when social media turns her moment into a meme. At the point of no return, she is contacted by Tootie, a woman claiming to be an aunt, offering her a job, housing and the chance to get to know her family – family she didn’t remember as her mother spirited her from the small Georgia town when she was little. With no options and the attitude that a temporary job will be better than nothing as she waits for the fallout from her last event to die down, she flies to Lake Sackett Georgia, ready to take her place at the family business: the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. EXCERPTED FOR SPACE - FULL REVIEW AT I AM, INDEED When you add in Margot’s attitude and anger with her father, her discomfiture with the town’s news grapevine and her increasing affections for her family members, as well as a ‘something’ with Kyle that scares her to the bottom of her toes, with laughter, home truths and some utterly ridiculous moments Harper shows Margot’s slow-growing roots, searching for somewhere to land and take hold. When people can be described as “Loyal to a fault – that fault meaning they can’t see that he’s a jackass”, you have to love the poker-playing church ladies who gather at Tootie’s house, and the sheer exuberance of her family and their determination to provide her love and support because “that’s what family is.”. Surprisingly deep for a read that is ostensibly lighthearted, with plenty of laugh out loud moments – Harper manages to bring us a heroine who could have remained closed to the joy around her, but was also desperately in need of a pace and a place that would allow her to poke her head out of the very solid box she lives in. Take a chance on this one: the McCready family is a hoot, everyone knows your name, and as Margot told June “your ability to speak in all caps is astonishing”. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About the author

Molly Harper is the author of two popular series of paranormal romance, the Half-Moon Hollow series and the Naked Werewolf series. She also writes the Bluegrass ebook series of contemporary romance. A former humor columnist and newspaper reporter, she lives in Michigan with her family, where she is currently working on the next Southern Eclectic novel. Visit her on the web at MollyHarper.com.