Scan barcode
a_ab's review against another edition
2.0
The book is not terrible exactly, but there are way too many people who are using"family values" and family in general to excuse hurtful, manipulative, possessive and vindictive behavior towards others.
I downright despised the main character's "romantic interest": The power hungry piece of **** milks his widower status for all it's worth and treats others as disposable. Disgusting.
And he is far from being the most despicable character in the book.
Unfortunately, it's one of those books that reinforces the most negative stereotypes about the American South.
I downright despised the main character's "romantic interest": The power hungry piece of **** milks his widower status for all it's worth and treats others as disposable. Disgusting.
And he is far from being the most despicable character in the book.
Unfortunately, it's one of those books that reinforces the most negative stereotypes about the American South.
wellactjoally's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
Big-city girl and recovering widower. Pining. Forced proximity.
berls's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Sweet Tea and sympathy! It was different, to me, than a lot of Molly Harper reads - but in a good way. Still plenty of humor and small town hijinks, but it also felt somehow deeper to me. You've got our main character, Margot Carey, who starts the story off in typical Harper fashion - an party snafu involving flamingos that will leave you laughing so hard you cry. But it leads her down the road of desperation and reuniting with her long lost Georgia relatives and blundering through a strained relationship with her absentee, alcoholic father. That relationship dynamic, along with all the new family, went a bit deeper than I expect from a Harper book. And then, she meets this handsome lumberjack of a guy and... Again this is where dependable Harper (sexiness and hilarity combined) meets the unexpected. I don't want to spoil things, but that relationship has elements to it that were deeper than usual (but also allowed for some funny moments). I really enjoyed this one a lot and hope there are more to come from this small town! As always, Amanda Ronconi's narration was fantastic! I can't imagine not listening to a Harper book narrated by Ronconi!
bookgoonie's review against another edition
5.0
There is no greater joy than me listening to a Molly Harper tale told by Amanda Ronconi. Her new series doesn’t disappoint. It has zany backwood’s folks. It has sweet, endearing personalities all with their own flavor of sarcasm. It gives you the warm fuzzies rooting for the HEA to arrive.
katereads2much's review against another edition
3.0
Margot's career was flourishing... until it wasn't thanks to a chef who insisted on ignoring allergies and flamingos on the loose. The situation lands her seemingly unhireable in Chicago event planning.
Enter her father's estranged family, who, offer her a place job with them at the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. Margot decides that maybe she'll take them up on their offer--her savings is getting low, and she would like some sort of explanation of why her father never came to find her. Margot believes she'll be gone from Georgia and her nosey family in no time, but she finds herself more embroiled in the town than she expected.
I love Molly Harper's humor and wit. The cast of characters in this is extensive but also hilarious. Frankie is easily one of the best parts of this book (and the prequel), in my opinion. The family is a little overwhelming, both to Margot and to me as a reader trying to keep up with everyone. Reading "Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck" first did help some. In a lot of book series, you get an introduction to a handful of characters and then more get added to the mix as the series continues. Here, you and Margot are dunked into an entire town worth of family and the rest of the town too.
It took me a while to get into this book. It was only because of how much I adore Molly Harper's other books that I stuck with it. I think had this been an author I didn't love already that I likely would've quit. The book did grow on me, but I just had trouble connecting with Margot and Kyle until over halfway through the book. But I did enjoy the humor and the family connections. Overall, I'm glad I read it, but the first half of the book was a bit of a struggle for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Enter her father's estranged family, who, offer her a place job with them at the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. Margot decides that maybe she'll take them up on their offer--her savings is getting low, and she would like some sort of explanation of why her father never came to find her. Margot believes she'll be gone from Georgia and her nosey family in no time, but she finds herself more embroiled in the town than she expected.
I love Molly Harper's humor and wit. The cast of characters in this is extensive but also hilarious. Frankie is easily one of the best parts of this book (and the prequel), in my opinion. The family is a little overwhelming, both to Margot and to me as a reader trying to keep up with everyone. Reading "Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck" first did help some. In a lot of book series, you get an introduction to a handful of characters and then more get added to the mix as the series continues. Here, you and Margot are dunked into an entire town worth of family and the rest of the town too.
It took me a while to get into this book. It was only because of how much I adore Molly Harper's other books that I stuck with it. I think had this been an author I didn't love already that I likely would've quit. The book did grow on me, but I just had trouble connecting with Margot and Kyle until over halfway through the book. But I did enjoy the humor and the family connections. Overall, I'm glad I read it, but the first half of the book was a bit of a struggle for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
mx_manda's review against another edition
2.0
I have a small handful of authors who produce consistent "eh, good enough" content that I keep coming back, even though they never truly wow me. Molly Harper is one of them—as long as it's an audiobook with Amanda Ronconi narrating. (My one attempt at reading a Harper book was dreadful. The humor didn't come across when I read her versus listening. Never. Again.)
Sometimes the offerings are a bit better than others. This one was more on the less-so side of things.
It still has plenty of moments to laugh at. Harper is successful at staging absurd moments that are genuinely funny. And she's not too bad at writing "quirky" children, it turns out.
But.
This was one of the stories where her heroine—Margot—apparently is unable to think about anything but carbs 70% of the time. The other 30% of her thought process is equally as tedious.
Because who doesn't love a fatphobic heroine with serious daddy issues and an inability to connect to other human beings? UGH.
And being from the mostly-rural Midwest...we have a lot more in common with southern culture than huge cities like Chicago. So the "OMG THE SOUTH IS SO WEIRD! LIKE A FOREIGN COUNTRY!!" thing gets old really fast. About half of the US lives in larger cities, so I suppose y'all might experience culture shock, while the rest of us just stand by, confused, because, who doesn't try to deep fry literally everything or eat breakfast with all the potatoes and at least 2 types of meat product? Isn't this just a day ending in "y"?
So this one was underwhelming with enjoyable moments. The romance is pretty tepid and I wasn't feeling it. Especially the ONE near-fade-to-black scene we get in this story. The familial issues felt forced, and the reunions did not feel satisfying because Margot doesn't really seem to learn anything or gain new insight. I had really hoped there would be a better fleshed-out version of what happened on her dad's end—including clarifying if he did, in fact, sign away his parental rights, or if that was something Margot's "sociopathic" mother had made up to discourage her ever seeking him out. (Sociopathic is in quotation marks because it's never verified, but Margot's mother only seemed concerned about herself and Margot in relation to how Margot reflected on her. Ground work was laid to suggest her mother lied about things all the time, but then it was just dropped for a sloppy, quick tie-up? Lazy.)
The side cast are pretty colorful characters. It's a shame the same can not be said for the leads.
Real Rating: 2.5 stars
Sometimes the offerings are a bit better than others. This one was more on the less-so side of things.
It still has plenty of moments to laugh at. Harper is successful at staging absurd moments that are genuinely funny. And she's not too bad at writing "quirky" children, it turns out.
But.
This was one of the stories where her heroine—Margot—apparently is unable to think about anything but carbs 70% of the time. The other 30% of her thought process is equally as tedious.
Because who doesn't love a fatphobic heroine with serious daddy issues and an inability to connect to other human beings? UGH.
And being from the mostly-rural Midwest...we have a lot more in common with southern culture than huge cities like Chicago. So the "OMG THE SOUTH IS SO WEIRD! LIKE A FOREIGN COUNTRY!!" thing gets old really fast. About half of the US lives in larger cities, so I suppose y'all might experience culture shock, while the rest of us just stand by, confused, because, who doesn't try to deep fry literally everything or eat breakfast with all the potatoes and at least 2 types of meat product? Isn't this just a day ending in "y"?
So this one was underwhelming with enjoyable moments. The romance is pretty tepid and I wasn't feeling it. Especially the ONE near-fade-to-black scene we get in this story. The familial issues felt forced, and the reunions did not feel satisfying because Margot doesn't really seem to learn anything or gain new insight. I had really hoped there would be a better fleshed-out version of what happened on her dad's end—including clarifying if he did, in fact, sign away his parental rights, or if that was something Margot's "sociopathic" mother had made up to discourage her ever seeking him out. (Sociopathic is in quotation marks because it's never verified, but Margot's mother only seemed concerned about herself and Margot in relation to how Margot reflected on her. Ground work was laid to suggest her mother lied about things all the time, but then it was just dropped for a sloppy, quick tie-up? Lazy.)
The side cast are pretty colorful characters. It's a shame the same can not be said for the leads.
Real Rating: 2.5 stars
bibliobabe94's review against another edition
4.0
There is just something about this big ol' messy family that I love! Classic fish out of water tale, and so much fun!
mimicry's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5