I was fortunate to get an ARC of this book!

What happens when a big city journalist gets sent to a small Southern town on an assignment she's dreading? Chaos, surprises, hilarity and good ole Southern hospitality. I loved Julia from the start, she's my kind of gal - busy, disorganized and honest to a fault. Shug and the Jordan family struck me as the stereotypical Southern family and I am ready to go visit them.

This book makes this Yankee long for Southern hospitality. :)

Thank you, Ms. Clark for asking me to preview this book, I feel honored. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to see what you write next! ( )

This is the first Lauren Clark book I've read and I know for sure I'm going to add her on my auto-buy list. It's been a while since I had this much fun reading a book. I love chick lit and Dancing Naked in Dixie reminded me of why I fell in love with this genre in the first place. You get humor, romance, sad moments, happy moments, some really strong characters and some life lessons if you pay extra attention, all in one package. I really think this book had these and more.

There were some very funny moments where I laughed out loud (actually, I tried to muffle the giggles because it was really late and every sane person was asleep, but that's another story). The point is you will laugh a lot while reading this book!

But more than a humorous story, you get to read a story about self discovery. You get to see Julia, used to traveling the world, going to all these cool places like Bermuda, Spain, Italy, Belize, Hawaii, (but she's not actually seeing those places), discover herself and discover the little things in life that are amazing. And she does that in a very small town, Eufaula, Alabama, a town so rich with history.

Speaking of history. I loved those parts of the book, where you get to learn about the town and how if was built and when. I also loved the fact that it wasn't like a history lesson, boring and full of unnecessary details. On the contrary, it was fun and I was looking forward to learning more about the town.

I also loved the characters. You meet some interesting people in this book and I enjoyed getting to meet each and everyone of them.

I couldn't put this book down. It was one of those "I hope the world goes away until I finish reading" books. If you love chick lit and contemporary romance, do check this book out. You won't be disappointed!
( )

There is no doubt that Lauren Clark knows her setting and characters, and I may be partial to this read because of it, since I am about twenty minutes from Eufaula, Alabama.
The protagonist, Julia, enters a different world when she leaves New York and goes on assignment to Eufaula, Alabama. Talk about polar opposites. In Eufaula, everyone knows each other, knows everyone’s business, moves slow as molasses, stuck in the past and set in their ways. As a New York girl myself, I find Julia’s culture shock and experiences to be authentic, although her mishaps were over the top and did become repetitive for me.
Julia encounters a host of quirky characters who are nicely varied and unique, from the old school southern women to the more modern gentleman, all who hold a touch of humor.
Adding to the versatility is the touch of mystery when someone is sabotaging the historical renovation and tries to sell out to corporate America. There is also a dose of romance, however; it was a predictable, slow to come, and too rushed in the end.
The tantalizing title, the original characters, the setting and the touch of romance make this a nicely written, entertaining read for anyone who enjoys chic lit, but is a don’t miss if you are charmed by a southern setting. ( )

This book has two main characters Julia and Shug. Okay what a name Shug. Well if you are from the south then you know we have names or are give weird names at birth. Sometimes these names are acquired while we are growing up and they stick with us for life. Shug was suppose to be named after a coach at Auburn University.

Julia is a writer for a national travel magazine. Shug works at the historical commission in the city of Eufaula, Alabama. Yes, this is an actually city in Alabama. Even the event Pilgrimage is an real event that happens in Eufaula (pronounced you-fall-uhs). The words underlined will take the reader directly to the websites. After reading about these actual events I am planning on making one of these amazing tours just to enjoy this history.

Her new boss gives Julia an ultimatum. Either go to Eufaula or you no longer have a job at this magazine. Julia is furious. Of course she is furious, who would not be. However, Julia knows that she needs to change some things in her life she just does not know how. She keeps saying that if she would organize her life it would help but we all know what happens when we just talk about something and never act on what we think. Julia tells the new boss that she had rather dance naked…! Well she might not actually dance naked but she comes close to that while in Eufaula.

Poor Julia is a magnet for bad things. If it could go wrong or happen then it happens to Julia. To me, Julia is one of those people who everyone loves but would hate being. She is always missing an appointment, deadline or just cannot find what she is looking for. She cannot keep anything organized including her desk, life or just stick to a schedule. She is always on the go. Never stopping for a breath or to smell the roses.

When Julia meets up with some southern hospitality, she is in awe. After living in the north and traveling all her life, she does not know how to react to the open friendliness. Yes, in the south, we have never met a stranger and everyone is called sugar, hon, sweetie or something along those lines. I admit that I do that to everyone. I will be at work and say “Hey sweetie, will you…” to an associate or a temporary employee. The younger generation just laughs at me. When I have traveled for work and say something along those lines I will admit to receiving strange looks.

Needless to say, I loved this book. Then it was high in southern terminology. This book takes an on-the-go person who never stops for the small things in life and turns her into one who knows how to enjoy the little things that life offers.

If I have to write a quick short blurb about this book, it would be the following: “The best read for southern life and hospitality”.

The bunnies and I give this book carrots. ( )

From Lilac Wolf and Stuff

Before we have any misunderstandings, I did enjoy this story...for the most part. Julia did start getting on my nerves when she had accident after accident and whatever man happened to be around jumped in to take care of her.

The other issue that popped up were the numerous inconsistencies. I was honestly surprised to see the number of early readers she thanked. They really should have let her know about them. Take the boyfriend, for example. Early in the book she goes into how he hates traveling, really hates it and so they work out well because she is so exhausted from the traveling she does all the time so it doesn't bother her they never go anywhere. Then later on Julia thinks about how he took her to New Orleans for her birthday and on a sky diving trip...you see where I'm going here?

But around that, I did enjoy the story. Julia made great friends down south, even though she never wanted to go there. She learned more about her estranged father than she ever thought possible. And she met a man, although romance was not at the center of this story. She has a boyfriend nearly all the way through it, and I respect that Julia knew she wasn't a very good girlfriend.

Julia isn't a stagnant character either. She goes through a lot of changes, and likes who she is more at the end than at the beginning. I like her more too, although I didn't think she was that rude at the beginning. ( )