Today I am sharing Kristy Woodson Harvey's amazing Southern Charm books. She was unknown to me until I read Dear Carolina in 2015. I picked up her book and met the most amazing characters in the most beautiful setting and knew that she was a must-read author for me.
Since her first book, I have read 5 more of her books and am excited to share that she has her 6th books coming out in April 2020. Check out Kristy's beautiful covers and meet the amazing characters below.
Coming in April 2020...Feels Like Falling
Expected publication:
April 28th 2020 by Gallery Books
It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy.
Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her evangelical husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger fired from her job at the local pharmacy.
Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a busted Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.
With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn, but when the one that got away comes back, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.
In her warmest, wittiest, and wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.
Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her evangelical husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger fired from her job at the local pharmacy.
Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a busted Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.
With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn, but when the one that got away comes back, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.
In her warmest, wittiest, and wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
The Southern Side of Paradise
Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by Gallery Books
Meanwhile, youngest daughter and actress Emerson, who is recently engaged and has just landed the role of a lifetime, seemingly has the world by the tail. Only, something she can’t quite put her finger on is worrying her—and it has nothing to do with her recent health scare.
When two new women arrive in Peachtree Bluff—one who has the potential to wreck Ansley’s happiness and one who could tear Emerson’s world apart—everything is put in perspective. And after secrets that were never meant to be told come to light, the powerful bond between the Murphy sisters and their mother comes crumbling down, testing their devotion to each other and forcing them to evaluate the meaning of family.
My Thoughts…
The final
chapter to the Peachtree Bluff series and it is amazing. The Murphy family is wonderful. With each book we meet, learn, and fall in
love with them. This book is all about
Emerson who is an actress but has come home to marry her high school
sweetheart. Emerson is looking for
happiness and really loves James but something is still missing. She must take hard looks at her life, take
steps back to see where she left her heart, and take a big jump forward to find
her future. There are lessons to be
learned not only by Emerson but by her family and friends also. They are hard lessons but with the support
of her mother and sisters, she can accomplish anything.
The Southern
Side of Paradise pulls together all three daughters and their mother in a way
that families often are. There are
secrets that weren’t meant to be shared, love that shines through everything,
and proof that with family anything can be fixed. I love how these 4 can fight, argue, and get
mad at each other all while standing up for each other, supporting, and loving
each other. They share their feelings,
fight for what they each think is right but still come together as a family
unit.
Kristy Woodson
Harvey is one of the best at Southern Fiction. She brings to life the beautiful southern settings,
lets the readers taste the wonderful southern food but most of all show the
southern way of being a family and community.
The Secret to Southern Charm
Published April 3rd 2018 by Gallery Books
Published April 3rd 2018 by Gallery Books
Leaving
fans “practically [begging] for a sequel” (Bookpage), critically
acclaimed author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with the second novel in her
beloved Peachtree Bluff series, featuring a trio of sisters and their mother
who discover a truth that will change not only the way they see themselves, but
also how they fit together as a family.
After
finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane’s
world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of
bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve.
Her
mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on
hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken
lives. But between caring for her own aging mother, her daughters, and her
grandchildren, Ansley’s private worry is that secrets from her past will come
to light.
But
when Sloane’s sisters, Caroline and Emerson, remind Sloane that no matter what,
she promised her husband she would carry on for their young sons, Sloane finds
the support and courage she needs to chase her biggest dreams—and face her
deepest fears. Taking a cue from her middle daughter, Ansley takes her own leap
of faith and realizes that, after all this time, she might finally be able to
have it all.
Harvey’s
signature warmth and wit make this a charming and poignant story of first
loves, missed opportunities, and second chances and proves that she is
"the next major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York
Times bestselling author).
My Thoughts…
I am hooked on Kristy Woodson Harvey’s southern
charm. While reading I was actually
hearing the characters with southern accents, picturing them in their houses
with wraparound porches, and drinking sweet tea.
The Secret to Southern Charm is the second book in The
Peachtree Bluff Series. I think that
the books are better read in order.
Book two starts off exactly where book one ended. The storyline continues with Ansley,
Caroline, Sloane, and Emerson all back in Georgia together.
We learn about Sloane’s life as a military wife and the
fears she had when she was first married.
I saw Sloane’s strength when dealing with her husband’s MIA status,
while she needed a little push to get out of her own head and back into the
real world I could see her figuring out how to put one foot in front of the
other getting back to living. She took
care of her children, she painted again, and she found out what was missing of
herself even before the MIA.
While this is mostly Sloane’s story the spotlight is shared
with the rest of her family. I loved
catching up with Ansley and her long-ago love Jack, seeing Emerson and Mark
being together, and watching Caroline figure out if James is who she is meant
to be with. These are storylines that
are not quite done. There is more in
store for each of these characters.
I am excited for more of Peachtree Bluff series and the
amazing Southern Charm.
Slightly South of Simple
Expected publication: April 25th 2017 by Gallery Books
Caroline Murphy 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.
My Thoughts…
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.
Book Links
Lies and Other Acts of Love
publication: April 5th 2016 by Berkley
After sixty years of marriage and five daughters, Lynn
“Lovey” White knows that all of us, from time to time, need to use our little
white lies.
Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancĂ© and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through her grandfather’s declining health.
But when Annabelle’s world starts to collapse around her, she discovers that nothing about her picture-perfect family is as it seems. And Lovey has to decide whether one more lie will make or break the ones she loves . . .
Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancĂ© and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through her grandfather’s declining health.
But when Annabelle’s world starts to collapse around her, she discovers that nothing about her picture-perfect family is as it seems. And Lovey has to decide whether one more lie will make or break the ones she loves . . .
My Thoughts…
Lies and Other Acts of Love is the deepest, truest book I
have ever read of family loyalty, respect, and love.
While this is told by two women in different places in their lives their
stories are so similar. The love that they feel, the
reactions they have, and the trust they have is so
incredible. Annabelle marries that “love of her
life” after only knowing him for 3 days. Lovey is dealing with a
sick husband, who is the love of her life.
Sometimes when a story is told by two different characters
one story is strong or more prevalent than the other. This is
entirely untrue of this book. Both stories are wonderful with
tons of love and twists. There is the usual
family dramas and fights but it is evident that through it all they will
support each other no matter the outcomes. I love the family
dynamic the most. Aunts, grandparents, in-laws, husbands,
mothers, and sisters are all part of this huge and loving family.
There are some tough subjects within the story.
There is sickness, death, cheating, and adoption. While these could
change the tone of the book they do not. They add to the depth and
the fun of the story. There were way more fun and humorous
parts to Lies and Other Acts of Love. I found myself worried,
concerned, smiling, and even giggling a little bit.
I definitely recommend getting your copy of this southern
charm story. I cannot wait to read more from Kristy
Woodson Harvey.
Buy Links
IndieBound. Amazon. Barnes & Noble. Books A Million. Powell’s. Google Play. Walmart. Hudson Booksellers. Kobo.
Dear
Carolina
Published May 5th 2015 by Berkley
A moving debut novel about two mothers—one biological and one
adoptive—from a compelling new voice in Southern women’s fiction.
One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.
Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…
Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made…
One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.
Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…
Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made…
My Thoughts...
I am hooked on Kristy Woodson Harvey’s southern charm. While reading I was actually hearing the characters with southern accents, picturing them in their houses with wraparound porches, and drinking sweet tea. The Secret to Southern Charm is the second book in The Peachtree Bluff Series. I think that the books are better read in order. Book two starts off exactly where book one ended. The storyline continues with Ansley, Caroline, Sloane, and Emerson all back in Georgia together. We learn about Sloane’s life as a military wife and the fears she had when she was first married. I saw Sloane’s strength when dealing with her husband’s MIA status, while she needed a little push to get out of her own head and back into the real world I could see her figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other getting back to living. She took care of her children, she painted again, and she found out what was missing of herself even before the MIA. While this is mostly Sloane’s story the spotlight is shared with the rest of her family. I loved catching up with Ansley and her long ago love Jack, seeing Emerson and Mark being together, and watching Caroline figure out if James is who she is meant to be with. These are storylines that are not quite done. There is more in store for each of these characters. I am excited for more of Peachtree Bluff series and the amazing Southern Charm. |
About Kristy:
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the bestselling author of Dear Carolina (Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2015), Lies and Other Acts of Love (Berkley/Penguin Random House, 2016) and the Peachtree Bluff Series, beginning with Slightly South of Simple (Gallery/Simon & Schuster, 2017). Dear Carolina was long-listed for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, has been optioned for film and has appeared on numerous “must-read” lists. Lies and Other Acts of Love was a Romantic Times top pick, a Southern Booksellers Okra Pick and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. Slightly South of Simple was a Southern Bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Bestseller, one of PopSugar’s picks for “Ultimate Summer Reading” and one of Glitter Guide’s “Must-Reads for April.” The Secret to Southern Charm, the second book in the Peachtree Bluff series, releases April 3, 2018.
She blogs with her mom, Beth Woodson, daily on Design Chic, the inaugural member of the Design Blogger Hall of Fame sponsored by Traditional Home and winner of Amara’s Best Luxury Blog, sponsored by Roberto Cavalli, about how creating a beautiful home can be the catalyst for creating a beautiful life and loves connecting with readers at kristywoodsonharvey.com.
Harvey is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism and holds a master’s in English from East Carolina University, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Southern Living, Traditional Home, Parade, USA Today, Domino, Our State and O. Henry. She has been seen in Women’s Health, The Washington Post, US News and World Report, The Huffington Post, USA Today’s Happy Every After, Marie Claire’s The Fix, Woman’s World, Readers’ Digest and North Carolina Bookwatch, among others. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and six-year-old son where she is working on her next novel.
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