Peachy Flippin' Keen

Despite my having a TBR that is taller than I am, I couldn’t wait to dive into this book. Frankie is the undertaker for the McCready Funeral Home and Bait Shop in little Lake Sackett, as well as the county coroner. After surviving childhood leukemia, she spends her days living life exactly as she chooses: novelty t-shirts, inappropriate footwear, rabid loyalty to family and a determination to give every client in her downstairs office the best treatment possible. She’s also determined to live life on her own terms, which is why she travels to Atlanta to ‘let loose’ away from prying eyes. But, her last trip somehow followed her home in the form of the new police chief, a man she thought was left in Atlanta. As if having him here isn’t enough to cause her grief, his disbelief at her qualifications and his inability to interact with any sort of ‘human feeling’ she’s also got Jared Lewis causing trouble. Son of the county manager, he’s yet to ever receive any punishment and she’s going to remedy that. From having the ‘real’ impressions of Jared, which she shares with his parents “when Jared eventually gets caught doing something awful that lands him in a cell with a roommate named Big Larry, I want you to remember something. People blame the mother for a reason.” She could now honestly tell her family she’d tried. If you are a fan of Molly Harper – you’ll love Frankie – she’s gutsy, funny as hell and totally lovable – even in her most prickly moments. From her laughing at her mother and her “Disney Princess” approach to anger, to her quiet menace as she quietly explains “Mama always said that if you can’t say anything nice, it’s best to just smile until the murderous urges go away….Well, she doesn’t say it often, Ike. That’s how you end up with witnesses.” She’s also one of those people whose compliments, while well-intentioned are always funny, and her reactions are almost better. “Frankie tilted her head and stared at Landry for a moment, as if she’d just watched a turtle play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on a harmonica.” HOW can you not love that? I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

There is a prankster on the loose at the McCready Funeral Home and Bait Shop. Enter the new cop in town, Linden. And of course, he is tall, dark, handsome and completely devoid of manners. But sparks do fly! (In more ways than one!). I just adore this series. The characters are people in my town! I swear….they are real people. I can’t help but laugh at their antics and reactions. Plus….the electric charge between Frankie and Linden just add to this clever tale. If you need a quick, funny story, this whole series is for you! I read Sweet Tea and Sympathy last summer and fell in love with all the McCreadys. This novella is a perfect dose of southern charm and snarkiness. But! I am ready for a larger version of McCready Funeral Home and Bait Shop. Molly Harper has released two novellas since the release of Sweet Tea and Sympathy and I am ready for a full blown novel. I received this from Netgalley for a honest review.

What do you do when a one night stand from a vacation, turns up as the new sheriff in your small town hometown? This is what happens to Frankie McCready in Peachy Flippin’ Keen by Molly Harper. Frankie’s family owns a lot of businesses that are connected to each other. Businesses that shouldn’t necessarily have any connection to each other. Frankie is the town coroner. The funeral home that she works in is connected to a bait shop and a small eatery. She has been the town coroner for a small amount of time, but she does a good job. The McCready businesses have been experiencing small pranks lately, and being that it is the busy season, they are having customer issues. Frankie is determined to find the culprit. She is sure that she knows who it is, but she wants to investigate before she calls the person out. Sherriff Eric Linden shows up and sort of offsets Frankie. It is funny when they both realize who each other are. The animosity that comes from their connected past is great. Eric is very put off because Frankie snuck away after a one night stand. But can you blame the girl for not being clingy? I liked the book. I wish that there was more to it though. I do understand that this was just sort of an addition from two previous books and to sort of give a prequel to Frankie’s full-length novel. I would be interested in reading the full length novel. I want to see what happens between Frankie and Eric. And I am also interested in seeing what happens with the prankster. Four stars **Review by Nikki, Late Night Reviewer for Up All Night w/ Books**

Trigger warnings: childhood cancer survivor, description of a fatal boating accident “Junior had been one of the best men she ever knew, and Frankie was blessed enough to know a wealth of good men. She hadn’t dated one yet, because she was related to most of them, and even though this was Georgia, there were laws against that sort of thing.” This is the third book in the Southern Eclectic series, set in the small town of Lake Sackett, Georgia, and features possibly my favorite character, Frankie, the quirky coroner. However, I wouldn’t recommend starting the series with this book. Do yourself a favor and start with the first novella – Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck – because all these books are hilarious, quick reads and ever so much fun. “Are you unfamiliar with the one-night-stand procedure?” she asked. “It’s ‘I came, I saw, I got out with as little fuss as possible.’ Not ‘I came, I saw, I neglected to mention I’ll be followin’ you to your hometown and workin’ in a close professional capacity with you for the foreseeable future.’ ” Since the first book, I’ve been a fan of smart aleck Frankie, with her kaiju shirts and nerd cred. As a childhood cancer survivor who still lives at the family compound in a small Southern town, life can get a bit… stifling. Luckily, Frankie loves her job and the town, and it’s close enough to Atlanta that she can take off and blow off some steam on the weekends. Unfortunately, some of that follows her back to Lake Sackett when her latest one-night-stand turns out to be the new sheriff, and he’s prickly, standoffish, and complete immune to Frankie’s charm. Trying to work with him – while simultaneously trying to manage an escalating prank war from a spoiled brat teen – is enough to put Frankie off her momma’s deep fried food. Like Frankie, these books have a certain feel – they’re undeniably Southern (gently making fun while also being respectful), quirky, and just generally charming. So far, they’ve all been lighthearted, quick reads, perfect escapist reading material. They always put a smile on my face, no matter how short they are. And, unfortunately, that’s my main issue with this book – it reads more like a preview for the next novel rather than a standalone novella. It ends abruptly, with none of the issues resolved (except a minor boating death). I hadn’t been paying attention to how far into the book I was (it’s just so much fun, you don’t really notice the time flying by) so it was especially jarring to just turn the page and be at the end. Also, while the blurb mentions Fourth of July, but the novella actually takes place in late summer / early autumn. Overall, despite the fact that it didn’t feel like a complete story, I enjoyed reading about Frankie so much that I’d give it 3.5 llamas, rounded up to 4. I’m very much looking forward to Frankie’s book, which comes out in June! I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Despite my having a TBR that is taller than I am, I couldn’t wait to dive into this book. Frankie is the undertaker for the McCready Funeral Home and Bait Shop in little Lake Sackett, as well as the county coroner. After surviving childhood leukemia, she spends her days living life exactly as she chooses: novelty t-shirts, inappropriate footwear, rabid loyalty to family and a determination to give every client in her downstairs office the best treatment possible. She’s also determined to live life on her own terms, which is why she travels to Atlanta to ‘let loose’ away from prying eyes. But, her last trip somehow followed her home in the form of the new police chief, a man she thought was left in Atlanta. As if having him here isn’t enough to cause her grief, his disbelief at her qualifications and his inability to interact with any sort of ‘human feeling’ she’s also got Jared Lewis causing trouble. Son of the county manager, he’s yet to ever receive any punishment and she’s going to remedy that. From having the ‘real’ impressions of Jared, which she shares with his parents “when Jared eventually gets caught doing something awful that lands him in a cell with a roommate named Big Larry, I want you to remember something. People blame the mother for a reason.” She could now honestly tell her family she’d tried. If you are a fan of Molly Harper – you’ll love Frankie – she’s gutsy, funny as hell and totally lovable – even in her most prickly moments. From her laughing at her mother and her “Disney Princess” approach to anger, to her quiet menace as she quietly explains “Mama always said that if you can’t say anything nice, it’s best to just smile until the murderous urges go away….Well, she doesn’t say it often, Ike. That’s how you end up with witnesses.” She’s also one of those people whose compliments, while well-intentioned are always funny, and her reactions are almost better. “Frankie tilted her head and stared at Landry for a moment, as if she’d just watched a turtle play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on a harmonica.” HOW can you not love that? I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Despite my having a TBR that is taller than I am, I couldn’t wait to dive into this book. Frankie is the undertaker for the McCready Funeral Home and Bait Shop in little Lake Sackett, as well as the county coroner. After surviving childhood leukemia, she spends her days living life exactly as she chooses: novelty t-shirts, inappropriate footwear, rabid loyalty to family and a determination to give every client in her downstairs office the best treatment possible. She’s also determined to live life on her own terms, which is why she travels to Atlanta to ‘let loose’ away from prying eyes. But, her last trip somehow followed her home in the form of the new police chief, a man she thought was left in Atlanta. As if having him here isn’t enough to cause her grief, his disbelief at her qualifications and his inability to interact with any sort of ‘human feeling’ she’s also got Jared Lewis causing trouble. Son of the county manager, he’s yet to ever receive any punishment and she’s going to remedy that. From having the ‘real’ impressions of Jared, which she shares with his parents “when Jared eventually gets caught doing something awful that lands him in a cell with a roommate named Big Larry, I want you to remember something. People blame the mother for a reason.” She could now honestly tell her family she’d tried. If you are a fan of Molly Harper – you’ll love Frankie – she’s gutsy, funny as hell and totally lovable – even in her most prickly moments. From her laughing at her mother and her “Disney Princess” approach to anger, to her quiet menace as she quietly explains “Mama always said that if you can’t say anything nice, it’s best to just smile until the murderous urges go away….Well, she doesn’t say it often, Ike. That’s how you end up with witnesses.” She’s also one of those people whose compliments, while well-intentioned are always funny, and her reactions are almost better. “Frankie tilted her head and stared at Landry for a moment, as if she’d just watched a turtle play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on a harmonica.” HOW can you not love that? I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

In this return to Lake Sackett, Georgia we get a sneak peek at the kerfuffle that is Frankie McCready’s life. Frankie is dealing with a prankster in the form of a snot nosed teen, being the towns mortician and coroner and dealing with the sexy if taciturn new sheriff in town. This book sets up the next one in the series Ain't She a Peach? coming out in June. I enjoyed this novella but really wanted more. It will tide me over till June.