Books and Wine are Lovely: Review - Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey

From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family.

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.

My Thoughts
I think that I have always been a southern girl at heart who just happens to live in the north. I LOVE all things southern. The laid back living, the strong sense of family, the lifestyle, the food - don't get me started! I could go on for DAYS! I have plans to retire in the south once I get all these crazy kids of mine graduated in the next few years.
Kristy is truly the best southern writer I have read to date. No matter the topic she draws you in - you want more and when the story ends you hope and pray that she has the next story written and you can get your hands on a copy!
Slightly South of Simple does not disappoint! It tugs at your heart strings, it makes you fall in love with each and every character, even grumpy ole Mr. Solomon. The trials and struggles each sister goes through will feel like your own and have you question yourself - "What would I do in their shoes?".
Ansley thought she would live her years alone in this quaint town till she gets the call that all of her daughters are on their way for an extended visit - along with all of their children! Terror first enters her mind and then she realizes that she wouldn't want them to be any place else then with her to take care of them.
I won't ruin all of the intricacies (love, honor, past loves, heartbreak) of the story but I will tell you that by the end you will want nothing more than to begin the next book in the series!

Drink Selection
We are going to go with the deliciousness of the south, the Southern Pomegranate Sparkler! Yum! (I don't think you will be able to have just one!)