Review: The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright

The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright

Harlequin MIRA

May 2013

Format: ARC, e-copy, 304 pages

Source: Netgalley via Kaye Publicity

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….

My thoughts: This is the first book by former soap opera star Beth Albright and it’s quite a fun read. I enjoy a good book set in the south – there’s just something about that Southern charm that just oozes off the pages. I’ve never spent much time in the deep South, but felt at home reading this book.

In The Sassy Belles, we are introduced to Blake and Vivi, two of the Sassy Belles, a club they started way back in grade school. Blake is an ambitious lawyer and is married to Harry, who’s also a lawyer but has political aspirations. While it appears that they have a solid marriage, things are far from great at the homestead. Vivi is just a pip! She has found herself to be the main suspect in the disappearance of her boyfriend, Lewis. Vivi is sassy and fun and definitely needs Blake to keep her grounded. Then there’s Meridee – Blake’s grandmother, who is known to the town as ‘Mother.’ She’s been acting weird lately and Blake is trying to figure out why. Then she comes across a box of secret letters hidden in Meridee’s linen closet…very curious!

This book kept me hooked from the first page. Between the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Lewis, the secret letters Blake finds, the state of Blake and Harry’s marriage, and the odd behaviors of  Meridee, I couldn’t put the book down. Besides all the humor that’s interspersed throughout the book, there’s also a serious side as Blake struggles to figure out what her marriage to Harry is really costing her.  It doesn’t help that an old flame of Blake’s is back on the scene.

I loved this visit to Tuscaloosa, full of all it’s Southern charm and fun characters. I can’t wait to revisit it and those sassy belles in the next book, The Wedding Belles.

Books in this series:

1. The Sassy Belles
2. Wedding Belles – due out July 2013
3. Sleigh Belles – due out September 2013