Book Review: The Sassy Belles

The Sassy Belles 

By: Beth Albright

Published By: Harlequin MIRA

Publication Date: May 28, 2013

Page Count: 304

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher via NetGalley

Audience: Adult - Chick Lit, Southern Fiction

This was such a fun read! It's also the perfect novel for the spring. I love novels set in the South that paint an accurate portrait of southern culture. Not everyone in the South lives like these women, but there is a lot of truth living within these pages. The dialog was reminiscent of my conversations with friends and family at times. I loved the emphasis on southern culture and values.

The story revolves around the Sassy Belles, a group of women that live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; they live for football, romance, sweet tea, and gossip. The main Sassy Belles are Blake and Vivi Ann - I adored both of these women!

Blake is a lawyer with ambitions as high as the southern sky. She's married to another lawyer, Harry, who is preparing to embark on a political career. While these two seem to have a picture perfect marriage, things are crumbling on the inside. Blake can't recall the last time she was truly happy in her marriage. She starts to realize that being Harry's wife means that she no longer gets to be Blake. While I felt for her, I did struggle with some of the decisions she makes concerning her marriage. I'll admit that I was ready to spit nails by the end of it and I heaped a lot of the blame on Harry, but Blake isn't entirely innocent. There were moments when I lost a lot of respect for her. In the end, Blake manages to redeem herself and become the person I wanted her to be all along.

In addition to Blake, Vivi Ann kept me in stitches. She is hilarious! From the opening chapter when she is caught in an embarrassing intimate situation, she held my attention. Vivi Ann is full of sass and she knows how to stir up trouble. So many of her tendencies remind me of one of my best friends. I adored her!

The characters are one of the biggest strengths of this novel. They are down to earth and realistic. I felt like I could easily be friends with Blake or Vivi Ann. Hanging out with these two ladies would be a hilarious and entertaining. You certainly could never get bored with them around!

I also adored Blake's grandmother, Meridee. I saw so much of my own grandmother in that character. 

In addition to the lovable characters, I also liked the complicated romance strands. Things weren't exactly straight forward for either of the main characters. I was uncertain on more than one occasion about how things would end up.

All in all, this was a fun chick lit read. It was nice to read something a little lighter after a series of darker novels. I'm certainly excited to see what sort of mischief the Belles will get up to next. 

One Last Gripe: I felt like there was a lot of repetition. For example, a character would say something in one chapter and repeat almost the same thing word for word in a later chapter.

My Favorite Thing About This Book: The humor

First Sentence: My name is Blake O'Hara Heart and, boy, do I have a story to tell!

Favorite Character: Blake

Least Favorite Character: Dallas

Summary:

Meet the Sassy Belles

They're strong as a mint julep, sweet as peach cobbler, and no matter what, they stick together.

There are only two seasons in Tuscaloosa—football and waiting-for-football. When Lewis Heart, football announcer and voice of the Crimson Tide, vanishes after an impromptu romp with Vivi Ann McFadden at the Fountain Mist Motel, Vivi does what any Southern woman would do: call her best friend, Blake O'Hara Heart, attorney-at-law.

With the town gossip swirling around them, Vivi and Blake are determined to find out what happened to Lewis and clear Vivi's reputation. Because after all, men may come and go, but the Sassy Belles are forever.

Not since Steel Magnolias have we fallen in love with such sexy, strong and hilarious Southern women. So grab your best girlfriends and join these Belles on the first of many joyrides through the Deep South….