January Wrap-Up: Southern LIierature Challenge

I read one book in January that qualifies for the Southern Literature Challenge:

Lost Lake by: Sarah Addison Allen

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

Title: Lost Lake Author: Sarah Addison Allen Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pages: 294

I've been a huge fan of Sarah Addison Allen for a long while now, and Lost Lake does not disappoint. Allen's novels are at once magical, yet realistic - the real world mixed in with just enough of the supernatural to make it believable. I first met the  main character, Kate, in Waking Kate- Allen's novella which serves as a prequel of sorts to Lost Lake. Recently widowed, Kate finds herself being swept up into the world of her mother-in-law, a wealthy and ambitious real estate agent. As her mother-in-law slowly takes over her life, Kate finds herself packing up her belongings for the move when she runs across a letter from her great aunt Eby, which her mother had hidden. In the letter, Eby invites Kate to visit her at her South Georgia Lake resort, Lost Lake. The background for her most fond childhood memories, Lost Lake looms in Kate's mind as an oasis in the sea of confusion her life has become.  Suddenly, she and her daughter, Devin, pack all their belongings and head out for Lost Lake. Part adventure, part coming home, this story weaves the tale of not only Kate, but those who make Lost Lake their home, and those who return year after year. Not only is this a wonderful story, it is also a very interesting character study. I especially loved Selma. As the story begins, the reader finds her to be pretty unlikable- home-wrecker with a dour personality. However, as more and more of her life is revealed, Selma becomes not only likable, but thought-provoking. This is a great story and I highly recommend it.

Read this story if...

*you love Southern Fiction

*you love Sarah Addison Allen novels

*you love realistic fiction with a little magic mixed in

*you love stories of mothers and daughters

Lost Lake is Finally Here!!!

Finally! After months and months of waiting!! Lost Lake hit the shelves yesterday! I'm half way through mine so far and I love it as much as I knew I would! Is there anything so good as a Sarah Addison Allen book? IS there? NO. There isn't.
Her books are like being curled up under a fuzzy blanket by a warm fire on a snow day. Nothin' better. I stumbled upon The Sugar Queen a few years back and I have devoured all her books ever since. So far, my favorite has been The Girl Who Chased the Moon...(if I HAD to choose).
If you haven't grabbed your copy of Lost Lake yet, download Waking Kate- a free "pre-book" that tells the story-behind-the-story of Kate- the main character of Lost Lake.
OK, enough blogging. I'm back to my book!

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am eagerly awaiting

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

release date: January 21, 2014

From Amazon:

From the author of New York Times bestseller Garden Spells comes a beautiful, haunting story of old loves and new, and the power of the connections that bind us forever…

The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future.

That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby’s past. Her husband George is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that’s left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires.

It’s a lot, but not enough to keep Eby from relinquishing  Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand, and calling this her final summer at the lake. Until one last chance at family knocks on her door.

Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve,  before she learned of loneliness, and heartbreak, and loss. Now she’s all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope too, thanks to her resilient daughter Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer… and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago.

 One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren’t sure they needed in the first place:  love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended.  Can they find what they need before it’s too late? 

 At once atmospheric and enchanting, Lost Lake shows Sarah Addison Allen at her finest, illuminating the secret longings and the everyday magic that wait to be discovered in the unlikeliest of places.

I absolutely LOVE everything Sarah Addison Allen has written and I am eagerly awaiting this one. I read Waking Kate, which introduces Kate and her daughter. It has an excerpt from Lost Lake and it was wonderful! I can't wait for this one!!

Waking Kate

Title: Waking Kate Author: Sarah Addison Allen Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pages: 38

I own this book in Kindle format.

From Amazon:

From Sarah Addison Allen, the beloved author of Garden Spells, comes Waking Kate, a story about a woman who soon will face an unforeseen change in her life. One sticky summer day as Kate is waiting for her husband to come home from his bicycle shop, she spots her distinguished neighbor returning from his last day of work after eighty-six years at Atlanta’s oldest men’s clothing store. Over a cup of butter coffee, he tells Kate a story of love and heartbreak that makes her remember her past, question her present, and wonder what the future will bring.    

I devoured this novella as if it were made of chocolate. (This is my reaction to everything by Sarah Addison Allen.) I was immediately drawn into the Kate's story as she sees and oddly familiar man on a TV interview and then realizes he is actually her neighbor. As he reveals his own story to Kate she begins to question her own relationship and life choices.

It is hard for me to fully review this novella and the preview of the upcoming Lost Lake that follows without including spoilers. Let me say that it left me waiting on the edge of my seat for Lost Lake to arrive!

If you have never read a Sarah Addison Allen novel, you should really start today!

Read this novella if...

*you LOVE Sarah Addison Allen

*you love southern fiction

It's Top Ten Tuesday! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's Top Ten :

What are the top ten books you read before you became a blogger?

Oral History by: Lee Smith

This is the ultimate southern novel. I couldn't put it down, and everyone I've recommended it to says the same. Smith combines all of what makes Appalachia beautiful- part family saga, part supernatural- my all-time favorite book. Spanning over 100 years, it tells the story of how one Appalachian family's home place became haunted...

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

What can I say? This book is a classic. I think it would be hard to find anyone who hasn't read it. A must read for any woman. 

Their Eyes Were Watching God by: Zora Neale Hurston

From the first time I read Zora Neale Hurston, I fell in love with her writing. This is a beautiful story which was made into an awesome movie starring Halle Berry. If you haven't read this one, you need to find yourself some Zora.

Fair and Tender Ladies by: Lee Smith

Ivy Rowe captures the reader's heart from the beginning. Set in Appalachia, Ivy's story is told through letters she writes, which capture her life as young girl, wife, mother and grandmother. 

The Beulah Land Series by Lonnie Coleman

I was pretty young when I got hooked on this series. Set on a deep south plantation, these novels follow one family through several generations.

Jubilee  by: Margaret Walker

This is the true story of Vyry, the child of a white plantation owner and his black mistress. Written by her great-great granddaughter, this is a haunting novel is one you won't ever forget.

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by: Fannie Flagg

No one writes a southern novel like Fannie Flagg. Daisy Fay Harper is the sassy heroine of this novel set on the Gulf Coast in the early 1950's.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

This is the first book I read by Sarah Addison Allen. I've since read them all. Josey Cirrini hides sweets in her closet....along with romance novels. Imagine her surprise when she also finds a local waitress Della Lee Baker hiding there. Allen always adds a hint of the supernatural to her stories....just like real life in the south. If you've never read Sarah Addison Allen, this is a great place to start.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by: Sarah Addison Allen

Emily Benedict comes to Mullaby , North Carolina hoping to find out more about her mysterious mother and the childhood she never discussed. When Emily moves into her mother's childhood home with her grandfather (a real-life giant) she discovers a home where wallpaper changes to suit your moods, where more mysteries about than she bargained for...

How High the Moon by: Sandra Kring

OK- I love everything by Sandra Kring. (Who doesn't?) This story, set in 1955 & told through the eyes of Sandra "Teaspoon" Marlene, a ten-year-old girl being raised by Teddy- the man her mother left her with she ran off to California. If you haven't read Sandra Kring yet, it's time to start.