Slightly South of Simple: A Novel (The Peachtree Bluff Series)
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
*Glitter Guide’s “Must Reads for April”
*PopSugar’s “Ultimate Summer Reading”
*Bustle’s Books to Read and Discuss With Your Mom and Grandma
*New York Live’s “Ashley’s A-List” Pick
“One of the hottest new Southern writers.” —Parade
From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family.
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.
*Glitter Guide’s “Must Reads for April”
*PopSugar’s “Ultimate Summer Reading”
*Bustle’s Books to Read and Discuss With Your Mom and Grandma
*New York Live’s “Ashley’s A-List” Pick
“One of the hottest new Southern writers.” —Parade
From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family.
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.
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Community Reviews
YA'LL! It's been awhile since I picked up a book I couldn't put down - just a good solid story. No tricks. No ghosts. No gimmicks. No cliches. Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey is an amazing book. And it's set in Georgia - hence my "ya'll" opening.
Slightly South of Simple is the first novel in the Peachtree Bluff series by Kristy Woodson Harvey. It follows the story of the Murphy family and the tumultuous events life throws at them. The narration alternates points of view between Ansley (or Gramsley for the little ones) and Caroline, her oldest daughter as they map out the new lives for not only themselves, but for all members of the family: Sloane, the middle child; Emmy, the youngest daughter; and Vivi, Caroline's daughter.
Caroline is reeling from a pretty serious blow - her husband has just told her he doesn't love her anymore and that he's in love with a super model. Bonus - Caroline is six-months pregnant. Hurt and betrayed by the man she loved more than anything, she packs up her daughter and heads back home to her mother's house in Peachtree Bluff trading high society New York for the slower pace of down South. She's lived her before, for a semester in high school after her mother Ansley moved her and her two sisters away from the city, but she spent her college years getting back to New York again - her home city where she loved the electric feel, the lights, the chaos, only to once again find herself back in Georgia as her life falls apart.
Her mother did this seventeen years ago, too. After losing her husband she came home to Peachtree Bluff with her three girls in tow. Like mother, like daughter - albeit different circumstances for the big move.
Now with Caroline back, Emmy and Sloane follow suit and Ansley has all three of her children, along with their children, under her roof again. Throw in a love blast from the past, a sexy coffee delivery boy, a cranky next door neighbor, and a mid-wife named Hummus, and you have the makings of a fantastic book.
Slightly South of Simple probes into the bonds of children and their parents, sisterhood, and relationships against the backdrop of Southern charm. This novel is alive with empathy and sympathy, humor and happiness, witticism and woe. It will leave you feeling deeply connected with the characters and spent on the hubbub of their lives. A true must read!
And that's just the premise overview!
Harvey writes beautifully with a natural rhythm to her literary development. She tackles the essence of true love writing about how Ansley loved her husband - listing out of all his qualities that made him a man, and then stating:
"But none of that mattered to me. I, quite simply, was in love with him. Every day. All day. There was no explanation for how or why. And I think that's how I knew it was true...His job didn't matter. His money didn't matter. If he told he was quitting everything to move to a hut in Uruguay and minister to the sick, I would have packed my bag and bought a Bible."
I know this kind of love, I get this kind of love - it's how I love my husband.
She writes about how the choices in our lives are made up a series of moments and it reminded me of the quote from Benjamin Button, "Sometimes we’re on a collision course, and we just don’t know it. Whether it’s by accident or by design, there’s not a thing we can do about it..." (Roth, Screenplay). This novel takes this same leap, a series of moments for each of these women that take us on their journey. Each of them starting over in some way, reminiscing about the past and first loves and decisions made, only to all end up together again.
In some way I found myself in each of these characters and made personal connections - these women are real to me, their joy, their heartache, their fear, their redemption.
I give Slightly South of Simple an enthusiastic 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷And I'll be diving into book two, The Secret to Southern Charm tomorrow!
Harvey's books are available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, and Books-a-Million. She is also the author of two other novels (that I will be promptly putting on my wish list), Lies and Other Acts of Love and Dear Carolina. Visit her at her website: http://kristywoodsonharvey.com
Slightly South of Simple is the first novel in the Peachtree Bluff series by Kristy Woodson Harvey. It follows the story of the Murphy family and the tumultuous events life throws at them. The narration alternates points of view between Ansley (or Gramsley for the little ones) and Caroline, her oldest daughter as they map out the new lives for not only themselves, but for all members of the family: Sloane, the middle child; Emmy, the youngest daughter; and Vivi, Caroline's daughter.
Caroline is reeling from a pretty serious blow - her husband has just told her he doesn't love her anymore and that he's in love with a super model. Bonus - Caroline is six-months pregnant. Hurt and betrayed by the man she loved more than anything, she packs up her daughter and heads back home to her mother's house in Peachtree Bluff trading high society New York for the slower pace of down South. She's lived her before, for a semester in high school after her mother Ansley moved her and her two sisters away from the city, but she spent her college years getting back to New York again - her home city where she loved the electric feel, the lights, the chaos, only to once again find herself back in Georgia as her life falls apart.
Her mother did this seventeen years ago, too. After losing her husband she came home to Peachtree Bluff with her three girls in tow. Like mother, like daughter - albeit different circumstances for the big move.
Now with Caroline back, Emmy and Sloane follow suit and Ansley has all three of her children, along with their children, under her roof again. Throw in a love blast from the past, a sexy coffee delivery boy, a cranky next door neighbor, and a mid-wife named Hummus, and you have the makings of a fantastic book.
Slightly South of Simple probes into the bonds of children and their parents, sisterhood, and relationships against the backdrop of Southern charm. This novel is alive with empathy and sympathy, humor and happiness, witticism and woe. It will leave you feeling deeply connected with the characters and spent on the hubbub of their lives. A true must read!
And that's just the premise overview!
Harvey writes beautifully with a natural rhythm to her literary development. She tackles the essence of true love writing about how Ansley loved her husband - listing out of all his qualities that made him a man, and then stating:
"But none of that mattered to me. I, quite simply, was in love with him. Every day. All day. There was no explanation for how or why. And I think that's how I knew it was true...His job didn't matter. His money didn't matter. If he told he was quitting everything to move to a hut in Uruguay and minister to the sick, I would have packed my bag and bought a Bible."
I know this kind of love, I get this kind of love - it's how I love my husband.
She writes about how the choices in our lives are made up a series of moments and it reminded me of the quote from Benjamin Button, "Sometimes we’re on a collision course, and we just don’t know it. Whether it’s by accident or by design, there’s not a thing we can do about it..." (Roth, Screenplay). This novel takes this same leap, a series of moments for each of these women that take us on their journey. Each of them starting over in some way, reminiscing about the past and first loves and decisions made, only to all end up together again.
In some way I found myself in each of these characters and made personal connections - these women are real to me, their joy, their heartache, their fear, their redemption.
I give Slightly South of Simple an enthusiastic 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷And I'll be diving into book two, The Secret to Southern Charm tomorrow!
Harvey's books are available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, and Books-a-Million. She is also the author of two other novels (that I will be promptly putting on my wish list), Lies and Other Acts of Love and Dear Carolina. Visit her at her website: http://kristywoodsonharvey.com
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