Another fun if somewhat (pleasantly) predictable story from Harvey, who is assembling quite the catalog. As expected, this goes down easy, like a tall glass of sweetly Southern iced tea.

Note: clearing old books from before 2019

I read this way back in 2017 shortly after publication. The author was so kind as to send me a physical copy. I love her books and have continued to read this series. Looking forward to the latest one at Christmas 2021.

Great southern book about mothers, daughters, sisters and marriage! This is a great beach read. Full of great characters, family secrets, entertainment and easy reading.

Kristy Woodson Harvey does it again! Another fabulously entertaining book that needs to be in your beach bag!

This is a wonderful story of mothers and daughters and the things that hold them together, and sometimes threaten to push them apart. Like my family, they deal with the challenges of life with a good deal of humor, and that is one reason I enjoyed the story so much.

All of the characters make tough choices as they sort through the ramifications of those challenges, and the push-pull between choosing for oneself, or the greater good of the relationship, keeps the tension in the story high.

As a mother, I could relate to Ansley’s desire to fix things for her girls that warred with her understanding that she could not do that. They are adults who need to be the ones doing the fixing. “That feeling in the pit of your stomach never goes away, that dread when you are worried about one of your children. Right now, it was almost consuming. Between Sloane’s husband being deployed and Caroline’s life erupting and Emerson’s all-juice starvation plan, there were a lot of Tums and Tylenol PM consumed.”

This passage about love and marriage also resonated with me. “That was the moment I realized that what you read about in books, that isn’t the good part. Not at all. The butterflies make you feel giddy and alive, and that’s sweet. But it’s what happens after that really matters. It’s the time you realize that your love has grown exponentially since that first day, when you discover that being someone’s wife, being in it for the long haul, having someone there beside you day in and day out, is so much better than any roses on Valentine’s Day or any first-date jitters you could ever have.”

There were so many other places I highlighted throughout the book – bits of wisdom and bits of humor that I wanted to read again. And hang on for the wonderful April Fool’s joke. It was so good, it had me believing.

Slightly South of Simple is a true book about mothers, daughters, and grandchildren. Every grandmother or mother wants to spend time with their family but it can be overwhelming when everyone gets together at one time. That is what happens to Ansley. She is living her life in Peachtree Bluff, doing her thing, and WHAM her three grown daughters and 3 grandchildren all come to stay with her. I love how she just rolls with the different attitudes and outlooks on life each daughter has. She calls them out when she feels they need it but more than anything offers them the support they each need from her. What I really loved is how much the girls supported her. They pushed her to step out of her comfort zone and reconnect with Jack.

Slightly South of Simple is very much Caroline’s story. Her husband no longer loves her and has left her and their daughter for a beautiful young model while Caroline is very pregnant with their second child. Caroline runs from New York to her mother for support in what she knows will not be an easy change for her or her daughter. There are life decisions Caroline will be forced to make that will affect her family’s life forever.

My heart was tugged at by this southern story. I could picture the scenes, hear the characters voice, and was in a don’t bother me I’m reading frame of mind while reading Kristy Woodson Harvery’s story.

This was my first Kristy Woodson Harvey book and now I am rushing to get her others. I was completely drawn into the world she created here and fell in love with the characters - I will be recommending to my friends!

What would you do if you lived alone in a most happy environment, and suddenly your three grown daughters, their kids and emotional baggage wanted to move home? Like most of us, you'd open the doors wide despite your worries, misgivings and invasions of privacy. Author Kristy Woodson Harvey lets us inside while readers take up residence on the front porch in "Slightly South of Simple."

In the first of a trilogy about three sisters, mother Ansley opens her coastal home to daughters Caroline, Emerson and and Sloane. The home, passed down by Ansley's grandmother, was a safe place after Ansley's husband died in 9/11. Each daughter lived there, and then left for different reasons. Now they've returned for even more distinct reasons.

Caroline, a true-blue New Yorker, comes home with daughter Vivi after discovering her husband cheating with an acquaintance, super model and reality show star. Oh, and Caroline is pregnant. Emerson is there with her two young sons while her military husband serves overseas. Sloane is in town while she shoots a closely-guarded secret film that she hopes will be her big break.

While daintily dancing around the hormones, mounds of laundry and over-the-top grocery needs, Ansley finds her lonely self thrown up against her first love, the man she ditched to marry her now-dead husband. Sparks fly, then simmer and possible extinguish as they come to terms with their past and problematic future.

All the elements are there for a fun, emotion-filled novel that draws on love, loss and redemption. It's the kind of novel that deserves to read while you settle back, put your feet up and sip on a glass of sweet tea!

Usually I am lucky if I like at least one character, but I really loved the whole darn cast of characters!! The perfect "chick lit" for the beach, author Kristy Woodson Harvey introduces readers to mother, Ansley and her three grown daughters-Caroline, Sloane, and Emerson. The narration tasks for this story are alternated between Ansley and Caroline. A beautiful story of the bond between mothers, daughters, and sisters.

I would recommend this series for fans of Luanne Rice, Kristin Hannah, Diane Chamberlain, and Barbara Delinsky.

I officially have a new favorite author. Kristy Woodson Harvey is IT! Billed as a Southern writer and there is no doubt about it--she is the queen of telling a true southern tale that engages the reader from the first sentence.

Give me an ocean, family drama and strong characters and I am in and Slightly South of Simply has all of those and more. Each character that is introduced is like a close friend by the end of the book and I felt like I could sit down and have a glass of sweet tea on the porch with them and be right at home. Honestly--they are that real and fun.

Family can be wonderful but how often is there drama involved when it comes to family? When there are mothers and daughters involved it is sometimes the case and that is the case in Slightly South of Simple but the story is so fun to read, so well crafted and so engaging that once I started it I just had to finish reading.

I love when an author has a style that pulls me in. Kristy Woodson Harvey is that type of author. She is skilled at her craft and makes the reader feel a part of each story that she writes. I was gifted a copy of this book by the author but my review is all my own. I loved the book, I love Kristy Woodson Harvey and I love the fact that there are more books on the way. Run, don't walk, to get your copy of this one, folks. You won't regret it.

Three sisters are having three different difficult moments in their lives and all return home to small town in Georgia to get their lives put back together. Caroline is the oldest and after some drama in her marriage while pregnant she needs her mother and sisters to lean on. Sloane and Emerson her youngest sisters each have drama, but this book is mostly about Caroline and her mother. (Sloane will get her time in book 2)

I love a good family drama and this one was right up there with my favorites. With alternating narratives by Caroline and then her mother the story moves forward at just the right pace. I would challenge any reader to get into it and then try to put it down!

The sisters were just right. I loved how they interacted. I loved how you could see similarities and see that they were obviously raised in the same home, but still had personalities of their own. Caroline the main character of this book struck so close to home for me. There were quite a few moments where I took photos of the book and sent them to my mom and sister because Caroline said or did something that was so me! I love when I relate to a character it makes the reading so much better.

There was a great delay in my reading this book and I am so thankful I was prompted to read it before I read its sequel. I am reviewing the sequel so come back tomorrow to check out what I thought about it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Gallery/Threshold/Pocket Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Really enjoyed the first book in the Peachtree Bluff series and can't wait to read the next week. This book tells the story of what family ties mean and how you can always rely on the bond that mothers and daughters have, no matter how much time apart. Caroline swore she'd never return to Peachtree Bluff, the place where she spent most summers and the terrible time after her father passed away. She is more of a city girl, she revels in her role as society wife and mother. But after her life falls apart, she finds herself headed back to her mother and Peachtree Bluff.
Ansley has always put her three daughters ahead of herself, but she is finally enjoying life on her own. She has a successful business and is living life on her own terms. Suddenly she finds herself with a house full of all her daughters and grandkids, plus her first love has reappeared and their secret could destroy the life Ansley has built.
The book balances humor and drama very well and is full of Southern charm, heart and what it means to be a family most of all.

Kristy Woodson-Harvey has one of my favorite writing voices in contemporary southern fiction - or contemporary fiction at all, and Slightly South of Simple was no exception. Strong characters, vivid descriptions, and a plot that kept my attention, all the way through. Goes well with sweet tea and peach cobbler.

This was a delightful and warm novel! I really enjoyed the way the three sisters’ relationships were portrayed. The novel is set in the southern Peachtree Bluff, Georgia. Ansley lives there in her grandmother’s old house. Suddenly, Ansley’s three daughters all show up to stay with her for their own various reasons. The house becomes full with Ansley, her daughters, and their children. All of the characters have their own struggles in their lives and some have long hidden secrets. The novel explores the relationship between mothers and daughters and the bonds between sisters. It also explores marriage and love. Additionally, the novel explores the consequences of the decisions we make. Overall, the novel is warm and full of humorous moments, with a slight underlying sadness at times. This is the first novel in Kristy’s series and there are many things we can look forward to reading about her characters in her subsequent novels.

I am a big fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey. I enjoyed Slightly South of Simple. I'm not normally someone who reads books that fall into a series, but I love her work that much that I was open to giving this one a try.

As always, Woodson Harvey's ability to craft relationships is beyond compare. The women in Slightly South of Simple have so much going on and the way she walks us through their connections, as a family, as mother and daughters, as sisters, as mothers themselves - to their young children, it all falls together to represent a family dynamic you want to learn more about.

There are some family secrets in this novel that I felt were expected, though it's hard to tell throughout who knows what, exactly. Which leaves you wanting to know more. I look forward to finding out what comes next for Ansley and her daughters.

My normal review rate is 4-stars. It takes a lot to get 5 from me, so please don't look at 3 as bad (I know some people do!).

Peachtree’s motto is “A place to call home” and oh what a home it is! There is something about Southern literature that is so homey and comforting. I loved Kristy Woodson Harvey’s book, Lies and Other Acts of Love…..her books kind of have that sweet tea and a soft summer breeze feel to them. I can almost smell the magnolias from here!

In her latest book, we return to the South, this time to the town of Peachtree Bluff where, as I said it’s a ‘place to call home’ and that’s where we find Caroline Murphy.

Caroline 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 (summary from Goodreads).

Let’s just talk about the setting for a second….I think that the South really worked for this story. For some reason, when I think family dramas, I almost always think of books set in New York or Georgia. In this book, Woodson Harvey married the two. I loved the small coastal town of Peachtree Bluff. To me added so much charm to this novel and made it the perfect summer read. A beach setting in a small town, with an intriguing family dynamics and family secrets…..I just felt it was perfect!

One of the things I liked most about this novel (aside from the setting) was the alternating POVs between mom and daughter. I felt like I was getting the whole picture and understanding how the relationships between the characters worked and evolved. I personally related to Caroline more and enjoyed her POV the most, maybe because I am closer in age and maybe could relate to her situation a little more than Ansley’s, but Ansley’s POV was intriguing in it’s own way. Each character felt like a real and true person

This story had a lot of tongue and cheek moments and some great little lines that were funny but yet meaningful. I also loved some of circumstances that the characters found themselves in…without giving away too much, for example, Caroline’s husband is dating a supermodel on a reality TV show. I loved the absurdity of it all and it made me feel for Caroline more because it was so over the top and I just loved it!

For me, this was another winner! I loved the setting and the characters and Woodson Harvey’s has a way of creating a story with a hint of a Southern breeze to warm readers and hold their interest. I am excited to see that this is going to be a series, in this book Woodson Harvey built a lot of the foundations for the upcoming series which I am excited to read in the coming months! I wouldn’t call this novel just chick lit or just women’s fiction….it’s so much more than that. It’s a family drama, chick lit, women’s fiction, and contemporary literature all wrapped up into one!

And as a side note….I didn’t realize that Woodson Harvey is also an interior designer. I don’t know how I missed this but somehow I did. I checked out her design sight, Design Chic, that she runs with her mom and can I just say, her designs are on point! Their Instagram is like house goals for me right now! Fantastic work ladies!

I’ve been continually impressed with Woodson Harvey’s novels and I am so glad that I’ve been able to read them! This is one of the reasons I book blog, I wouldn’t normally pick up a novel like this since I read a lot of mysteries and historical fiction, but I was so glad that I said yes to Lies and Other Acts of Love and discovered what a talented writer she is. Now I look forward to her upcoming books!

Book blogging for the win!

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: Slightly South of Simple (Peachtree Bluff #1) by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kindle, 400 pages
Expected publication: April 25th 2017 by Gallery Books
ISBN 1501158058 (ISBN13: 9781501158056)
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 5 out of 5

Genre: Chick lit, contempo lit, family saga/drama, women’s fiction

Memorable lines/quotes:

"Slightly South of Simple" is the story of Ansley and her three daughters. During 9/11, Ansley lost her beloved husband and fled to her grandmother's house in Georgia that she inherited with her three daughters. It was a big change from New York City but the solace she found saved her. Her daughters are now grown with families and lives of their own. They are all fleeing back to Georgia after facing crises of their own. Will they be able to find the same solace?

This is the first book in a planned series. The story mainly focuses on Ansley, the mother, and Caroline, the oldest daughter of the Murphy family. The chapters are split between them so we can see both sides and get to know both characters. I instantly warmed up to Ansley. She has seen a lot in her years and she is trying to use her experience to help her daughters whether they want to admit it or not. Ansley is hiding her own secrets that begin to be unraveled throughout the book and only serve to endear her more to the reader.

Caroline was a harder sell for me. She spends the first part of the book being miserable, spoiled, and selfish. Yes, she is going through a very public divorce. Yes, the divorce happened when she was pregnant but she seems to drag herself into being negative at every turn at first. She is obsessed with how she looks even while pregnant and taking care of another daughter (who she seems to want to pass her own sensitivities to at every turn). Eventually we get to see some growth and realization that there is more to life than what life looks like from the outside of everything but it is a hard wrought lesson.

The relationship between mothers and daughters is an amazing relationship but it can be incredibly difficult as we see in this book. I love reading about these relationships and I love that we get to see the action in the story from both mother and daughter.

This is a light read and is perfect for when you're looking for a book with a lot of heart and a great small town setting!

This book was not my thing, so I decided not to review it on my site or on social media.

As I have written in my about page on my blog, I read many different genres of books, because I love diversity, sociology and culture. I don’t believe in just reading what is familiar, that’s a good way to miss out. I read genre’s of all kinds, even ones I am not familiar with, including Women’s fiction. Typing Women’s fiction drives me nuts, but that’s because I don’t believe gender belongs on inanimate objects. Everything should be unisex. But that’s a different rant for another day and I am digressing.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I give it 2 stars. It’s a good plot where 3 daughters return back to their mom’s home in Peachtree Georgia. I am one of 3 girls so I can somewhat relate to that. I also grew up in the south, and the story in relation to that is quite genuine. Each daughter is going through a personal crisis and they all, including their children return home to lick their wounds and start over. Their father was tragically killed on 9/11 and mom hasn’t dated since. Enter mom’s first love. Predictable after that.

The book read like an old Harlequin novel. I really didn’t like any of the characters and the story could have been so much more – more depth, more strength, more charisma.

This book is a trilogy but I can honestly say I won’t be reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Gallery Books for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a hard copy of this novel. Loved this novel which read like sipping sweet tea