Sweet Home Carolina

We have 14 women in our book club and everyone agreed that this novel was a delightful selection. Sometimes you just want to buy a book where you can escape into the story, enjoy the characters, and finish the final chapter with a smile on your face. Ocean's second book is exactly that type of read and most anyone will thoroughly enjoy it. The southern characters are quirky, but real and people you'd actually want to meet in person. The plot is a mystery with some intriguing pirate lore, but one that won't give you a headache trying to keep up. I just met Tracy Lynn at a book festival in Columbia, SC, and she was as warm and funny in person as I'd imagined her to be. If you are going on vacation, you want something fun for a rainy day, or your book club needs a break from depressing drama--then Sweet Home Carolina is the perfect choice. I think we'll see her on the bestseller list in a few more years. Kudos to this author and my book club is eagerly awaiting the next one, which she said will be titled Southern Fatality.

Jaxie Parker is a hard-driving, good-looking, superficial publicist living in Atlanta. She loves the urban life-style, avoids long-term relationships, and enjoys office gossip with her pal, Sheila. Jaxie is horrified when her boss sends her on a pro bono assignment to his former home-town, Rumton, near the South Carolina coast on highway 17. The town is definitely dying, populated by a handful of oldsters. Jaxie's (supposed) assignment is to launch a revitalization project to save the town, and to do it within the next couple of weeks. Needless to say, there's more to this than meets the eye. Lots of colorful quirky characters quietly win Jaxie over with their understated warmth. An out-of-town investor shows up, before Jaxie can really get started, with his own plans for a different kind of revitalization, maybe not good for the town at all. And a fellow worker, Justin, who was always annoying to Jaxie may have some unrecognized masculine potential. So, will Jaxie save the town? Will she get together with Justin? Will I tell you about the pet raccoon? Or the pirates? Or the ghost? Probably not. You'll just have to read it for yourself. You'll enjoy it. Author T. Lynn Ocean writes in a light-hearted breezy way, and the story moves right along. It's mostly fluff, but well-written fluff and very entertaining. You soon find yourself caring about these improbable characters and their improbable, quirky town. I was a little disturbed by the local dialect--not very South Carolina or even southern. But hey--who cares? Enjoy the book but watch the calories. I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

"Sweet Home Carolina" is T. Lynn Ocean's second novel, and it's even better than the first, which was excellent, especially for a debut novel. Jaxie Parker is a young career woman who thrives on the big city life from her ad agency perch in Atlanta. She's into shoe shopping, latte-sipping and a love 'em and dump 'em lifestyle. But then, her boss sends her to his slowly dying smalltown hometown of Rumton, S.C., and orders her to bring the town back to life as a pro bono venture. Jaxie is crestfallen and wonders how she will spend her time in Podunkville. She manages just fine, makes lots of new friends (eccentrics seem to abound in Rumton,but isn't that about right?) and develops an appreciation for a different kind of lifestyle. It's not all about Jaxie, though. There's a sunken ship, ghosts, family secrets, a murder, romance and intrigue, even a five-star hurricane. An investor arrives in Rumton in the nick of time to buy up the townspeople's land -- but can he be trusted to do what he says? Jaxie thinks not, and goes to work debunking his promises. After all, the town's future is in her hands. "Sweet Home Carolina" is an entertaining romp of a read with lots of Southern sassiness and charm and even a Chat 'n' Chew where you serve yourself about half the time. Who could ask for more? Read this book -- you won't be disappointed. And, if you live nearby, the author might come visit your book club!

Of course I'm giving it lots of stars, since I wrote it! But please note that professional reviewers overwhelmingly agree. BOOKLIST says, "Readers will cheer for these likeable characters as they rally to save their town," and ROMANTIC TIMES calls this book, "delightful and entertaining." Several newspapers have taken notice and given their endorsement, such as Charleston's POST AND COURIER, who calls the book, "charming" and Wilmington's STAR-NEWS, who says, "...this novel hit's the bull's-eye for an amusing read." Even some of your favorite authors such as Cassandra King, Carolyn Hart, and Mary Jane Clark read an advance copy and gave SWEET HOME CAROLINA an excellent blurb. I write to entertain, and here's the recipe for SWEET HOME CAROLINA: take a successful career woman who loves everything metropolitan, add a small quirky town that doesn't have dry martinis or day spas, mix in a murder, a treasure and some spicy pirate history. Laugh often and enjoy your visit to Rumton, South Carolina! Tracy T. Lynn Ocean

Shine Advertising and Public Relations senior accountant executive Jaxie Parker loves being single and working in Atlanta. Her focus is on her career with no interest beyond a casual date with the opposite sex. The firm's owner Aaron Ackworth assigns Jaxie to provide one month gratis PR work on his hometown's revitalization operation. Reluctantly Jaxie journeys to decaying Rumton, South Carolina where the ocean is near, but nothing else is. Jaxie learns that the local hang out is the Chat 'N Chew where she meets elderly widower "Pompous" Pop, who allows her to stay in his place for free. Of course her roommate is Pop's best friend Bandit the raccoon. From her Atlanta agency Vice President of Market Research and a former town resident Justin Connor arrives to assist Jaxie who he is very attracted to even though she seems unavailable. At the same time developer Lester Smoak and Mayor Riley work a deal to build a casino until someone kills the public official with an ex-con as the prime suspect. Jaxie believes otherwise and with Justin's help tries to prove otherwise even as a hurricane is coming. SWEET HOME CAROLINA is an interesting look at a town in trouble with the cavalry being sent by a successful former resident that in some way to the townies seem like invaders. The story line emphasis that it takes a village to nurture families, but it takes people doing the little things to nurture a village. Though Jaxie can act the snob with "little" things like her shoe selection, fans of sweet inspirational contemporary character studies will appreciate this upbeat cozy. Harriet Klausner