Southern Lit., Pick of the Week: Gone With A Handsomer Man by Micheal Lee West

Mail time is sometimes an extra happy time around here, especially when I receive a package containing a new book to be read! Fortunately, for me, this particular package contained the book, Gone With A Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West. I had been anxious to read this one because I enjoyed the author’s previous work (Mermaids in the Basement)! Of course, knowing it was set in Charleston didn’t hurt either!

I was completely drawn in by page 3 when the heroine, Tenny Templeton, arrives home to discover her fiancé, Bing, playing naked badminton in the back yard with not 1, but 2 other women! Teeny stands stunned and out of sight, until one of the Trollopes kicks her dog, and then we start seeing the feisty side of our heroine. She springs into action, climbing a nearby peach tree and beginning an all out assault on the 3 badminton players with, yes…peaches! Unfortunately, for Teeny, this doesn’t end well and she finds herself on the receiving end of police charges and a conviction for assault. This peach throwing incident leads to more than a broken engagement and probation, as just a few days later Teeny discovers her ex-fiancé murdered and she is the prime suspect. The story has a variety of unforgettable characters and is sprinkled with some wonderful Southern foods and recipes. Teeny has a cookbook full of family recipes to which her Mother and Aunt added their own made-up funny and deadly recipes. These women coped by making up recipes to “fix” what or whoever ails you, the way some women use retail therapy! Some of the real (and safe) recipes are included in the back of the book as an extra bonus.

I enjoyed every twist and turn, as the mystery of who killed Bing and who will be next, unfolded. The descriptions of the South Carolina Low Country had me hankering to jump in the car for a road trip and even the descriptions of the interiors were wonderful. Throughout this book I found myself laughing at the good guys and the bad! This is a great book, which keeps its greatest surprise for the very end. Gone With A Handsomer Man is the 1st of series by West and I will be waiting, with great anticipation, for the 2nd installment because I have fallen head over heels in love with Teeny Templeton and her life.

Check out Teeny Templeton's Kitchen Diary:  Click here to download!

Gone With A Handsomer Man will be released on April 12, 2011.

This post was written as a member of the Southern Mommas Writers

Please come check out the Southern Sisterhood at Southern Mommas

and you don't have to be a Momma!

Southern Lit., Pick of the Week: Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West

My read for this week was Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West. West is a writer who lives in Tennessee and I had to appreciate that in addition to writing award winning novels, she also blogs at: Designs By Gollum. I love that she blogs about her life, her farmabilities (hey, it is my post and I can make up words if I like!) and her love of dishes and a beautiful home!


I happened upon Mermaids in the Basement last week while browsing around looking for something new to read. I wasn’t on the lookout for anything overly heavy but wanted my Chick-Lit-Fix and I really wanted a new author and West was just the ticket. How could I not like the leading character, Renata? She struggles with her career, weight, a seemingly horrible love life, and bad hair days and has Daddy issues! Oh, and not to mention her mother recently died and there are layers of secrets to be discovered concerning all the important and overlapping issues in her life and family. She has a Sassy Southern Grandmother on the coast of Alabama with a host of those lovely Southern women friends to keep things lively and her Daddy is engaged to marry someone we all know we would hate on sight!

Although, I got off to a slow start with this book, I warmed to it as Renata explored her Mother’s old trunk and opened herself up to the stories of her Grandmother, her Grandmother’s best friend and her lifelong Nanny. She learns who her parents are from more than one perspective and is able to view them from that of an adult, rather than the child who was limited in her vantage point. Sometimes healing comes only after further pain and that is exactly what had to happen to our leading lady in Mermaids in the Basement. But even with some painful themes, it was a fun book, full of Southern eccentricities. I loved how it closed out sharing recipes for some of the foods that were mentioned because we Southern girls know how important the food is in getting through the tough times! So now I am going to be watching for Michael Lee West’s upcoming trilogy. She is currently working on the first book in the series which is called, Gone with a Handsomer Man, which will revolve around a Charleston “cake lady”. I pretty much love anything set in Charleston so this should be fun!

This post was written as a member of the Southern Mommas Writers

Please come check out the Southern Sisterhood @

Southern Mommas