Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper

When up and coming superstar event planner Margot Cary loses control of a huge event in a disastrous way, she finds herself without a job and with dwindling options. No one wants to hire the star of the latest viral video. No one except Margot's long lost Southern family she can't even remember meeting.

Margot's mother whisked her daughter away after having had enough of her husband's drinking. And that was the last time Margot had anything to do with her father or his family in Lake Sackett, Georgia. In all the years since, no one's reached out to her and she's been fine with that.

But they're reaching out now, in the form of an offer of employment. And a place to live. As serendipitous as the offer is, Margot isn't sure she wants anything to do with these people. But with no other offers to speak of, she's willing to do it long enough to land a job elsewhere. The last thing Margot planned on, though, was getting attached!

This is the first book in the Southern Eclectic series. Considering these are quirky rom-coms set around a southern family who runs a bait shop and funeral home (that's one business—a bait shop on the lakeside and a funeral home in the back), with no fangs or fur, it's a bit of a change for Harper!

What isn't a change is Harper's signature humor and charm, which are both present in spades!

These were recommended to me when I asked for something lighthearted and happy—and this first in the series is certainly both.

I liked Margot. She's a bit high strung and also a bit of a snob but she comes by it honestly. As she and her family get to know one another, though, and she falls for a local, she begins to loosen up. And yet, her determination to leave the small town behind and return to the big city and a big job are always at the edges of the story. Which makes the will she won't she aspect much of the tension.

Sweet Tea and Sympathy is perfect if you're in the mood for something light and breezy. It's feel good to the extreme. And if you love it, as I do, there's more! Ain't She a Peach features Margot's cousin, the town coroner, and Gimme Some Sugar focuses on their other cousin, Duffy.