Review: Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Published: April 25, 2017

Publisher: Gallery

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

 Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of high school, no less—back to that hick-infested rat trap where she'd spent her childhood summers. But now that her marriage to a New York high society heir has fallen apart in a very public, very embarrassing fashion, a pregnant Caroline decides to escape the gossipmongers with her nine-year-old daughter and head home to her mother, Ansley.

Ansley has always put her three daughters first, especially when she found out that her late husband, despite what he had always promised, left her with next to nothing. Now the proud owner of a charming waterfront design business and finally standing on her own two feet, Ansley welcomes Caroline and her brood back with open arms. But when her second daughter Sloane, whose military husband is overseas, and youngest daughter and successful actress Emerson join the fray, Ansley begins to feel like the piece of herself she had finally found might be slipping from her grasp. Even more discomfiting, when someone from her past reappears in Ansley's life, the secret she’s harbored from her daughters their entire lives might finally be forced into the open.

Exploring the powerful bonds between sisters and mothers and daughters, this engaging novel is filled with Southern charm, emotional drama, and plenty of heart.

My Thoughts

I love a good Southern read and Kristy Woodson Harvey brings it with each book she writes! In Slightly South of Simply, we Ansley and her three daughters. Just when Ansley has gotten into the groove of things all three of her daughters come back home and someone from her past threatens to mess everything up.

I love how each daughter is so different, which is perfect and interesting seeing how this is a series, and I hope we get to see each sister’s story play out. I found this book light, funny yet heartbreaking at times when we see Ansley’s past come to light. The person from her past is an old flame who has come back into town and Ansley can’t help to think if he will expose all her secrets. As much as she tries to keep him at a distance those old feelings are just too powerful to keep at bay.

While I love the characters and storyline what I enjoy and love the most in the author's books is the one thing that makes any book Southern or otherwise amazing…heart. Kristy Woodson Harvey always gives it her all in her reads and you can always feel that. The way she gives life to her characters and the way she brings the coastal South to life is utterly beautiful. If you want a great new series, one that will leave a little something after the last page as turned than Slightly South of Simple is the read for you.

         About Kristy

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the author of Dear Carolina (Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2015), Lies and Other Acts of Love(Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2016) and the Peachtree Bluff Series, beginning with Slightly South of Simple (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, 2017). Dear Carolina was long-listed for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, has been optioned for film and has appeared on numerous “must-read” lists. Lies and Other Acts of Love was a Romantic Times top pick, a Southern Booksellers Okra Pick and was chosen to be a part of the 2017 Trio display, an integration of story, art and song, which will spend the year traveling the country. Harvey is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism and holds a master’s in English from East Carolina University, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Southern Living, Domino, Houzz and Our State. She has been seen featured in Readers’ Digest, The Huffington Post, USA Today’s Happy Every After, North Carolina Bookwatch, PopSugar, Glitter Guide and The Sits Girls. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and five-year-old son where she is working on her next novel.