The Guests on South Battery (Book 5 from the Tradd Street Series) by Karen White - My Thoughst

I told you I have been reading again and completely understanding why I used to love it so very much.  It is the BEST escape from the world.  I can't watch a movie or television show and get the same escape.  Give me a good book and some time and I am truly in heaven.

This past week I dove back into the Tradd Street Series with the only book in the series I hadn't read.  Several years ago, when I was part of a book club, we read through this series up to the point there were no more books to read. So, imagine my excitement when I saw there was an addition to the series.

First, I should say I really like Karen White, as a writer, but I have liked some of the Tradd Series books more than others.  I liked ALL of them because they are set in the one city I have never lived in but have a great homesickness for....Charleston, South Carolina.  Normally I also don't read much that involves ghosts and spirits but these books have been an exception because I really like the history that is usually sprinkled in to spice the story lines up.  The Guest on South of Battery did not disappoint and actually finally, after four other books, began to warm my heart to the protagonist, Melanie Trenholm.

Though, Melanie is the main character of the series she was pretty much my least liked character and her peripheral characters, often in the form of ghosts or spirits who had lost their way, endeared the series to me. With this book Melanie was finally developed a with a bit more dimension and I think maybe I misjudged her.  IF you love the Low Country, beautiful, historic homes and, of course, Charleston and a ghost story or two...this just might be the series for you!

Southern Lit. Pick of the Week: Falling Home by Karen White

I finally read Karen White’s Falling Home this week! Really, I felt bad that I didn’t get to it sooner; because her publicist made sure I had the book in hand before the release. But actually reading it? That wasn’t happening with everything else piled on my desk. Although Karen White is a New York Times bestselling author and I have several friends who love her Tradd Street series (The House on Tradd Street, The Girl on Legare) which are set in Charleston, this was the first time I had read any of her work.

Honestly, Falling Home was really 2 books in one! The first part of the book follows Cassie Madison from her successful life in New York City back to her home town, which just happens to be a (fictionalized) small town in Georgia to deal with the impending death of her father and face her sister after a painful, 15 year separation. These once close sisters had a break in their bond after older sister, Harriet, eloped with Cassie’s first love 15 years earlier. Upon her arrival “back home” Cassie struggles to cope with not only her sister and brother in law but also with the adjustment to a place where little has changed but she feels she has changed so very much. There were several scenes in the book that have a similar vibe as the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” which I loved. Since I was a small town girl from Georgia, myself, who left the south for a while - only to return - I could relate to much of what the character struggled with while acclimating herself back to the red clay of her Georgia roots.

The second half of this book was truly a novel within itself and what drew me in. It showed a great deal of character growth as Cassie faces not only the loss of her father but also the possible loss of her sister just when she realizes that the bond, though deeply injured, still remained. Cassie learns more about herself than she ever thought possible as she discovers that even though she left home, it never left her.

Although, not released as a Christmas novel, quite a bit of the storyline revolves around the holidays and I did enjoy that because ‘tis the season for holiday reads! The author, who lives in Georgia, has truly experience the magic (and mayhem) that a rare snow storm in Georgia can bring! This would make a great read to escape the holiday madness or a wonderful gift for anyone who loves a good Southern read!

Don’t forget you can win a new copy of Falling Home from the Southern Mommas and Southern Somedays book giveaway.

Click here and enter: Win a copy of Falling Home

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

Please check out the Southern Sisterhood @ Southern Mommas



Don't Forget About The Book GiveAway!!!

Y'all don't forget about the Southern Mommas and Southern Somedays book giveaway.  It is for a brand, spanking new copy of Karen White's latest release, Falling Home!   It would be a perfect mental health get-away during the upcoming busy holiday season or a wonderful gift for a book lover on your list.  Hurry and enter!!!!

Enter Here:  Karen White's Falling Home Book Giveaway!

Southern Lit. Book GiveAway!

Guess what, girls? I have a book giveaway!!!

Last week I received a package from author Karen White’s publicist with a book just for Southern Mommas!!! Many of you may be familiar with Georgia author Karen White’s work. She is the New York Times and Southern Independent Book Sellers Alliance bestselling author of On Folly Beach, The Girl on Legare Street, The Lost Hours, The House on Tradd Street, The Memory of Water and several others. Tomorrow her latest book, Falling Home, will be released and I am so excited to be able to host my very first giveaway just for members of Southern Mommas and followers of Southern Somedays (you have to be both to win).

I am currently reading Falling Home and will post soon about my impressions of the book, but thought it would be fun to go ahead and get this giveaway rolling so a lucky Southern Momma will also get to join in the fun! So enter until through Monday, November 15, 2010!

To enter you must:

1. Be a member of Southern Mommas (so if you aren’t already - oh, and being a Momma is NOT a requirement -…hop over and join the Southern Sisterhood - it is  free, fun and you will meet some wonderful friends).

2. Leave a comment under the giveaway post (Southern Lit Giveaway, Karen White's Falling Home) on the Southern Mommas site.

3. Be a follower of Southern Somedays and leave me a comment letting me know you are a Southern Momma!

It is that easy!!!

I will announce the winner on Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

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

Please check out the Southern Sisterhood @

Southern Mommas