A cute summer-read romance rom-com. ( )

Molly Harper's writing makes me laugh, but I remember when I read her first Half-Moon Hollow book Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs, it took me a good part of the book to care about the MC, Jane; the book just started off slow and bumpy for me.

Sweet Tea and Sympathy was the same; I just wasn't feeling it for the first half of the book and I couldn't figure out why I was supposed to care about Margot or her very odd dynamic with Kyle. But things started to click about halfway through. The snappy dialog that Harper is so good at kicked in, especially when Margot was with her cousins, and her interaction with the book's 'villain', Sarah Lee, was satisfyingly catty without being too catty. After that midway point all the disparate pieces of the story started to come together, and more importantly, Margot became a sympathetic protagonist. I started to care about what happened to her and even though I really struggled to figure out the clunky progression of her romance with Kyle, I found myself sold on them by the end.

This is the first in a new series and, frankly, not Molly Harper at her finest, but it was a light, enjoyable read. I have every reason to believe future books will only get better as Harper finds her groove in this tiny eclectic Southern town.

This book could work for either
Pancha Ganapati: Read anything involving a need for forgiveness in the story line; a story about redemption (Margot's reunion with her estranged father, a recovering alcoholic whom she's never met, is a big part of the story), or
Thanksgiving Day: Books with a theme of coming together to help a community or family in need. ( )

Instead of continuing the series I recently started, I saw this at B&N and immediately had to start reading it - I blame the Hallmark Channel for this.
Sweet Tea and Sympathy was such a cute, fun read - and can I just say that cover is GORGEOUS? It's a beautiful story about second chances, not to mention taking chances, and I loved every second of it.

Margot is an event planner who loses her job after a very unfortunate accident involving flamingos and shrimp. When a relative of her father - who she hasn't seen since she was 3 years old and therefore doesn't remember - offers her a place to live and a job in Lake Sackett, Georgia, Margot has no choice but to accept. Her plan is to find a job and get back to her life as soon as possible.
Moving from the city to a small town is quite the culture shock and family drama aside, hilarity ensues.
Margot may not have wanted to form any attachments but after meeting elementary school Principal Kyle Archer - who I absolutely adored - and bonding with her cousins, she begins to find that maybe small town life isn't so bad after all.

I can not wait for the rest of this series. I need more of these characters!
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It was a good story but the romance was awful. ( )

4.5 stars.

The first full length novel in the Southern Eclectic series, Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper is an absolutely charming novel of new beginnings and coming to terms with the past.

Unable to find a job after her last event becomes famous for all the wrong reasons, Margot Cary very reluctantly accepts her Great-Aunt Tootie's offer to work in the family business. Grudgingly relocating to Lake Sackett, GA, she is out of her comfort zone in too many ways to count. Margot is surprisingly enchanted by her extended family but unsurprisingly, her estranged father, Stan, continues to be a disappointment. She is intrigued by Kyle Archer and although their attraction is mutual, are either of them ready for a relationship at this point in their lives?

Margot is a bit of a snob when she first moves to Lake Sackett and despite how out of place her fancy clothes and shoes are in the rural community, she clings to her big city ways. She tries to keep her distance from her numerous family members, but they have a way of sneaking past her defenses. Charmed by their eccentricities and their big hearts, Margot cannot deny how much their easy acceptance of her means to her. However, Stan continues to keep his distance from her and she remains unforgiving when he blows his chance to start mending their strained relationship. Despite slowly coming to appreciate and enjoy her close-knit family, Margot is still planning to leave town at the first opportunity.

Margot is absolutely delighted to meet someone who can commiserate with her adjustment to life in small town America. As a transplant to Lake Sackett, Kyle has a pretty good idea just how much of a culture shock she is experiencing. Their friendship is definitely a bright spot in her (hopefully) temporary relocation but will their unexpected attraction have any impact on her plans for her future? Well, considering just how ill-prepared she feels when confronted with the depth of Kyle's situation, Margot is not sure she is the right person for him.

Sweet Tea and Sympathy is a humorous and poignant novel that is fast-paced and engaging. Margot is initially a little off-putting but as she falls under the spell of her family, Kyle and Lake Sackett, she becomes much more sympathetic and likable. Despite a bit of a romantic element, Margot's character growth is what drives the story and it is an absolute joy watching her connect with her relatives and sort through her tangled relationship with her father. A heartwarming first installment in Molly Harper's Southern Eclectic series that readers of women's fiction are going to LOVE.
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