Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton

Genre: Fiction/ Chick-lit

Review: Leelee Satterfield sells her restaurant and inn in Vermont and returns to her home town in the south with her two little girls and divorced. Unfortunately, she leaves her heart in Vermont as she tries to make a new life in Tennessee. Her three best friends are incredibly meddlesome and lucky for Leelee that they are. As Leelee's life falls apart again they have to step in as the Gladys Kravitz Agency and help their friend find the second chance at love and life that she's been searching for.

This was such a refreshing story. I love, love, love Leelee's three friends and the way the four of them interact. The book was fun and it held my attention. My hubby gave me some strange looks when I would laugh out loud and when I tried to explain it to him... well, it just didn't make much sense out of context. :) It was a fun story though with many laugh out loud parts. There was some profanity in it. It mainly depended on the character so a few paragraphs would be heavy profanity and then there would be pages and pages of none. Overall, this was a very fun work.

This was the sequel to Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter but I followed along perfectly; there was enough backstory that I wasn't lost at all.

Author: Patton actually got the idea to write this series when she moved back to the south from Vermont and realized that it would make a good story. (Personally, I think she was right.) She works as a tour guide for Franklin on Foot in Franklin, Tennessee where the Battle of Franklin was waged. She is also the mother of two boys, Michael and Will, and a Havanese dog named Rosie. She manages to write in her "spare time". (As a mother myself, that spare time doesn't come easily so this is impressive to me.) She grew up in Memphis, TN and graduated from The University of Alabama.

Rating: **** Three Stars

This was a complimentary copy from the publisher through the Goodreads Advanced Readers Program given to me for my honest review.

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Flashback Friday: Christy by Catherine Marshall

Genre: Historical Fiction/ Women's

Review: This is the story of young Christy who leaves her home to teach school in the Smokey Mountains. She soon discovers a poverty greater than she has ever known and a group of people that she absolutely falls in love with. There are also two special men in her life that she must choose between-- the doctor or the man of God?

I loved this book. The first time I read it was back in 2008. I am not sure when the book was first published but the author died before I was born so I think it counts as a flashback. :) I fell in love with it and found out there were tv shows and movies. I still haven't been able to watch all the movies but the tv show was fun to get into. The book provided so much more info into the lives and emotions of the people though. This is a delightful clean read for one of those days that you just need a break from your life and delight in someone else's.

Author: Marshall was born in Sept of 1914. By the time she graduated high school the Depression had devastated the US and her dreams for going to college seemed just that, a dream. Somehow her family managed to save up the money to get her through Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. She married Peter Marshall in 1936 and they had their first and only child, Jon, in 1940. "Her most well-known writing, however, is the best-selling novel Christy, about her mother, Leonora Whitaker [Christy], who left her comfortable home in Asheville, North Carolina, to live and teach at the Presbyterian mission in Morgan Branch [Cutter Gap], Tennessee. Catherine Marshall died in 1983."

Rating: **** Four Stars

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No Time For Love by Nancy Campbell Allen

Genre: LDS Fiction/ Chick-Lit/ Mystery

Author: She has 10 published novels, 3 children, is a freelance editor, and has a degree in elementary education.

Synopsis: Connor O'Brian wants to end his relationship with his fiance but before he is able to she is killed in a car accident. After several break-ins to his home something is discovered that was left by his fiance but no one knows what it is. Liz Saxton, a P.I. and one of Connor's dear friends offers to help Connor solve this mystery. The two of them find themselves traveling all over the world in search of the evidence they need and hope they get it to the proper authorities before a bullet finds them.

Review: Really, I am not a fan of chick-lit, especially LDS Chick-lit. It's normally the same plot line. However, this one was different -- it still had it's fair amount of "cheese" but what chick-lit doesn't? I loved Liz's character. She wasn't wimpy and needy like most female protagonists tend to be. She was resourceful, independent, and knew what she was doing. I loved that! Connor was fun too. He was real and the author allowed the reader to see weaknesses in both of the main characters so they weren't these unrealistic people. It was great and completely clean! :) If anyone is in the mood for a quick, clean chick-lit with a bit of suspense then this is the one. Now, it is LDS but the only thing in it that is LDS is that the main characters are LDS. There are only a few references to it so if you're not LDS the book will still be enjoyable.  

Rating: *** Four Stars

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Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

Genre: Chick-Lit

Author: Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol, and writes full time. Actually that’s not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet marvelling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of displacement activities does she write.

Jill Mansell's books have sold over three million copies and her titles include: Rumour Has It, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Making your Mind up, Fast Friends, Good at Games, Sheer Mischief and Solo, among many others. (Info came from here.)

Synopsis: The book starts out with Millie getting asked to move in with her boyfriend when she sees Orla, a well-known author, contemplating suicide. By talking Orla out of it she gains a friend and looses a boyfriend. Orla realizes what a complex life Millie and her friends have so she hires Millie to allow her to write about her. A fictional story based on Millie's life. Orla wants romance so spends a lot of time trying to set Millie up with other men. She is secretly in love with someone she can't have.

Review: This book had me laughing out loud with the situations Millie and her friend Hester manage to get themselves into. There are several stories followed throughout this book. At times, I felt it dragged on a little bit but overall, it was very entertaining and fun. You must remember that the author is from the UK so there are terms that Americans aren't quite used to that I had to figure out. Like the book of a car is the trunk. hehe! Stuff like that. There was more language than I would have liked however. Other than that, a fun read! :)

Rating: *** Three Stars

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