Review: Southern Fried Blues

Title: Southern Fried Blues
Author: Jamie Farrell  
Publication: August 29, 2013
Reviewed by: Stephanie
Rating: 4 stars
Reason for Reading: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

A Yankee Lady Stuck in the South
Divorced wasn’t a label Anna Martin ever wanted. Now she’s a thousand miles from home, underemployed, and lonely, but she’s squeezing this lemon life gave her and turning it into lemon meringue pie. Never again will she let any man—especially another military man—get in the way of her career.

A Southern Gentleman Military Officer
Jackson Davis believes in family, football, and Uncle Sam. He treats ladies right, takes his uniform seriously, and he loves his dog, but he doesn’t reckon he’s built for true love. After all, if a man good as his daddy couldn’t do it right, what chance does Jackson have?

One Undeniable Attraction
These two vulnerable souls are as different as cornbread and ketchup, but they fit together like sweet butter on hot biscuits. Short-term, they’re exactly what the other needs. But when their hearts get involved, they’re both gonna end up with a big ol’ case of Southern Fried Blues.

After six years of marriage, Anna finds herself at a friend’s wedding while her husband Neil toasts to the happy couple and basically tells the room he wants a divorce. Yeah, things are just peachy in this Yankee’s life, who is now stuck in Georgia because her Air Force husband doesn’t love her anymore. As the world she has only ever known crumbles around her, Anna must pick up the pieces and start living this new life for herself. Yes it just might require many bottle cap shots of ketchup and a few firecracker explosions of the “jerkface’s stuff” to find her way, but by golly she is a determined woman. All she needs is her work, school, ex-wives club, and *enters handsome southern gentleman Jackson Davis* maybe some mindless feel-good lust.

This was a hilarious yet steamy story of two people who find themselves in what they never thought they wanted. Anna, the label makin’ yank from Minnesota, is so damaged in the beginning of the story. I almost wanted to reach through the pages and hand her a hanky and hug her. Although her love for labeling and organizing everything was a bit over the top, by the end of the book she definitely made up for this with her strength and warmth. I really saw Anna grow throughout the story and it made me crack a happy smile. I could definitely see her being a crazy organized friend of mine who enjoyed raising bottle caps of ketchup while saying “salude” and throwing them back like shots.

Now when I think of Jackson Davis my knees go weak. His southern charm and husky voice makes the pages steam up and if you wear glasses be prepared to wipe the steam away so you can keep reading. Nothing like a tall handsome southern military man who loves his momma and his old dog Radish. *swoon* I was rooting for Jackson and Anna the whole way through the story and was scared to death that they might never make it out together. With Anna never wanting to get mixed up with a man in the military again and Jackson not wanting anything serious, it really did seem hopeless. Just be prepared to laugh, smile, get frustrated, and tear up.

I know the premise of the book sounds like that old common tale about what happens to women and divorces, but this story will surprise you. Anna grows into her warm personality with the help of her friends which shines through the pages and creeps into your heart. By the end of the book you will find yourself missing all these crazy characters and wishing you’d get another peak into their lives sometime soon. This book surely oozed that southern charm us yanks sure love. And if you haven’t quite guessed, I truly enjoyed this book and it’s quirky characters. With that said, if you are into humorous contemporary romance novels, then definitely add Southern Fried Blues to your TBR pile. I look forward to reading more books by Jamie Farrell.