Molly HarperSweet Tea and Sympathy

4.5Molly Harper begins a new series with Sweet Tea and Sympathy centering around the McCready family who have lived in Lake Sackett, Georgia for generations and somewhere along the way began operating a dual bait shop and funeral home.When she was three Margot Cary's parents divorced. Margot's mother took custody of her, and they moved to Chicago never hearing from her father again who, admittedly, was struggling with being an alcoholic.Fast-forward thirty years and Margot is an event planner, one of the best in the business. She works with one of the best firms in Chicago, that is, until one of the events she's coordinating goes terribly wrong. Now, fired from her job, a laughingstock within the business, and getting no responses back on her submitted resumes, Margot is at a loss for what to do next.She's given an answer when long-lost Aunt Tootie calls her and offers her a job in the family business. Having no other option Margot heads back to Lake Sackett, Georgia, a place that she barely remembers. As Margot grows close to the family she never got to know, and the father who she feels abandoned by, she'll start to question what exactly it is that makes her happy. Throw in an attraction to the school principal, a man still healing from heartbreak of his own, and Margot will find out what really matters in life.I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Margot's journey was definitely heartbreaking in some spots especially her initial dealings with a father that she barely remembers who hasn't spoken with her going on thirty years. That relationship was the crux of the story, overshadowing the sweet romance.Sweet Tea and Sympathy is about family. More specifically it's about fathers and daughters. As we see Margot and her father's relationship somewhat mirrored by the relationship between Margot's love interest Kyle, a widower, and his two young daughters. The latter's relationship is indicative of what could have been between Margot and her father had her mother not taken her away. At first it sounds really harsh, the idea of Margot's father not trying to reach out to her in all those years, and you somewhat see her mother in a not-so-pleasant light as well, you know, taking a child away from her father and not trying to bridge that gap between them. But as the story progresses it's clear that some perceptions are only surface deep, and sometimes you have to dig in order to discover the truth of the matter.The McCready family is wonderful. Full of colorful characters each with their own unique quirks. None of them give Margot grief for possibly not wanting to stay in Lake Sackett if another job opportunity comes along, but they all welcome her with open arms even with the potential leaving hanging in the air. It's through their embracing, that she learns what families are truly all about.There's a prequel novella Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck, that focuses on Margot's cousin Marianne. It takes place more than five years before Sweet Tea. Having read the novella previously, I was thrown by things that transpired off page, and the fact that so much time had passed between, but if you haven't read the novella there should be no problems getting into this full-length story. It would just enhance your reading.I can't wait to see which McCready family member will get their story told next. And since they are a pretty close group, I look forward to checking in with the rest of the clan and seeing what trouble they can cause next!

This was a charming book. I loved the story and the characters the author creates in a back roads southern town. This book centers around Margot a women who experiences so bad luck with her current job... Because of this luck she gets offered another job by a family member in Georgia.. When she travels from Chicago to Georgia, Margot gets such a shock... You will love watching her reconnect with her crazy family. I laughed and giggled my way through this book... You will fall in love with Lake Sakett's resident principle. His closed ways towards Margot was frustrating at time, but the obvious chemistry and budding romance was fun to be a part of.This book was everything I would want in a great contemporary romance. Girl down on her luck, girl gets help from unexpected source, girl discovers family and friends that she will grow to love, girl grows through this experience, and girl falls in love. This is definitely a book I will recommend to others. This one is a #MustRead for me!

I enjoyed this book well enough though I kept feeling as if the author was trying to decide if it was a romance or about family dynamics. Both lose out and feel "light" -- I needed more of one or the other to make this book satisfying.On the family dynamics side: they were interesting but needed more depth and by the time we got to the father-daughter reconciliation it wasn't really believable or emotionally satisfying. And when it came to the crucial decision of whether to stay in Georgia or go, I certainly didn't feel the "weight" of her final decision. I could have lived with her deciding either way, the stakes didn't seem high enough. On the romance side: it had potential but I really didn't like that the heroine made all the running. Also, while there were flashes where you could see a relationship developing, there wasn't enough interaction between H/h to make the romance have an emotional impact on the reader.The best thing about this book was the humor: the dialogue was tight and snappy and very entertaining. I wanted more of that! So much so that I will try the second book in the series. The fact that this is the first in a series has me hoping that this was just the set-up to get us introduced to the town and to the main characters -- maybe the next one will be less one dimensional.

So juvenile. So predictable. So many inconsistencies. For example, this is a small town where the businesses can barely survive yet the PTA and the town’s annual celebration fund have tens of thousands of dollars available to embezzle TWICE. And the tiny town’s funeral home has dozens! of funerals every week! There shouldn’t be anyone left! And the heroine has no money, but on her first day there needs to buy a basket full of tampons so she never has to buy them again even though she has no intention of staying in this little town. Yes, that took up an entire chapter! Not worth your time.

Sweet Tea and Sympathy really hot the spot for me. I live North of the Mason-Dixon, but I am Southern at heart! There were times when Margot would come across some Southern custom that one of her family members had to explain, but I could barely stop laughing long enough to see what they said!! Bless her heart being one of my most favorite Southern sayings ever!! But as much as I love Margot, Kyle and his girls, I can not wait for Frankie and then Duffy to get their books!! Molly Harper writes relatable, funny, easy to read books!! Thank you Ms Harper!!

Molly Harper does it yet again.If I ever go to a small American town at some point in the future and don't meet a tall handsome stranger I will personally sue Ms Harper.Sweet Team and Sympathy is a fun story of Margot, a thirty-something woman who is fired from her job so moves from Chicago to her family business in small town Georgia. Naturally, chaos ensues and youbetcha I will read all available books in this series asap.I'm actually embarrassed it took me this long to pick the series up.

Big fan of the world's created by Molly Harper I have not yet found a dud among her stories and this new series is no exception.

Funny, touching and full of fun characters. Just a lovely visit to a Small town. Liked knowing there were more.