The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Southern

Colton Gentry’s Third Act by Jeff Zentner

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Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner
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I loved this story about second (and third) chances and rekindled young love in a small southern town. Themes of alcohol addiction and commentary on American gun violence give Colton Gentry’s Third Act depth that would make this romance a fabulous book club selection. And I loved the restaurant setting!

Colton Gentry’s Third Act by Jeff Zentner, (List Price: $30, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538756652, April 2024)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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Wedding Issues by Elle Evans

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Wedding Issues by Elle Evans
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Laugh out-loud funny book just in time for wedding season. This book engages family, friends, the wedding industry, and a fast-paced plot perfect for the beach. I gave this to my future daughter-in-law, hoping she can find the fun in the planning. A must-read for any bride.

Wedding Issues by Elle Evans, (List Price: $17.99, Zibby Books, 9781958506745, April 2024)

Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Spotlight On: When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart

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Donna Everhart, photo credit Maranda Walsh Photography

I set the story during a very familiar timeframe, that of the Civil War, but I feel like it is uniquley different from any other Civil War story.. For one thing, Joetta McBride and her husband Ennis live in Nash County, North Carolina, They are substinance farmers or “yeoman” farmers. That is where you grow your own food to feed yourself and your livestock. Yeoman farmers made up 65% of the population of North Carolina at that time. They did not own slaves, they were neutral and didn’t want anything to do with the war. The other thing about this book that makes it uniquely different is that it’s not about the War. Instead, I write about the families who are left behind women like Joetta McBride, who are required and compelled to keep food on the table, keep the farms running, keep their families together. The American Iraqi activist Zainab Salbi says if we are to understand War then we need to understand not not only what happens on the front lines but what happens on the back lines as well, where women are in charge of keeping the family going. And that is the essence of what this book is about.
― Donna Everhart, at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe

When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart

What booksellers are saying about When the Jessamine Grows

  • Good book! The Confederacy has been on my mind often recently, as there a monument near our bookstore when I bought it three years ago; my store was boycotted during the pandemic when a few folks on the internet determined I was a supporter of it’s removal from our town square, so I could relate to this character’s struggle to remain true to her values while worrying about survival. I hope this book will give many readers new insight into the complexities of Southern women’s existence during the Civil War. Little was recorded for posterity regarding those who did not support the Confederacy’s position on slavery, yet many people did live in the South who did not believe in secession – with some losing their lives to maintain their moral codes; this book helps shed some light on those important stories, which deserve telling.
      ― Alissa Redmond, South Main Book Company in Salisbury, North Carolina | BUY

  • Historical fiction at its absolute best! Everhart’s carefully crafted female protagonist shows strength, courage and resolve in the face of the many cruelties of the Civil War. Joetta McBride is not your usual demure Southern Belle. She refuses to take sides in a conflict she feels has nothing to do with her family, while her oldest son is eager to fight for the Southern cause. Once her son flees to fight for the Confederacy, Joetta’s husband also gets caught up in the fight while searching for their son leaving Joetta to care for the farm and remaining family on her own. Facing isolation and destruction from the townspeople for offering water to a Union soldier, Joetta deals with grief, starvation and ruin with grace and grit. Even though she could face dire consequences, she still shows compassion to a young Union soldier who is on the verge of death. Everhart has created a new hero with the unflinching, steadfast and ever-courageous Joetta McBride!
      ― Sharon Davis, Book Bound Bookstore in Blairsville, Georgia | BUY

  • Lovers of historical fiction will devour this Civil War-era story that takes place in North Carolina. When everyone is taking sides in the war, Joetta McBride and her husband choose to stay neutral, but when their oldest son leaves against their wishes to join the Confederacy, they are forced to get involved. Joetta is left to run their farm and house while Ennis goes off to hopefully find and bring back their 15-year-old son. Readers will love Joetta’s strong convictions and determination to keep things afloat in the midst of war and upheaval. A great read!
      ― Mary Patterson, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, Virginia | BUY

About Donna Everhart

Donna Everhart is a USA Today bestselling author known for vividly evoking the challenges of the heart and the complex heritage of the American South in her acclaimed novels When the Jessamine Grows, The Saints of Swallow Hill, The Moonshiner’s Daughter, The Forgiving Kind, The Road to Bittersweet, and The Education of Dixie Dupree. She is the recipient of the prestigious SELA Outstanding Southeastern Author Award from the Southeastern Library Association and her novels have received a SIBA Okra Pick, an Indie Next Pick, and two Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books selections. Born and raised in Raleigh, she has stayed close to her hometown for much of her life and now lives just an hour away in Dunn, North Carolina.

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The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman

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The Magic All Around by Moorman, Jennifer
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This book is a delight for both intellect and emotion. The characters are sensitive and believable. Family relationships resemble those in Practical Magic, but are more focused on understanding one’s place in life. Each individual has a specific purpose and intent… life happens the way it was intended (eventually). Highly recommend!

The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman, (List Price: $17.99, Harper Muse, 9781400240487, January 2024)

Reviewed by Liz Perkins, Blinking Owl Books in Fort Myers, Florida

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The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman

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The Magic All Around by Moorman, Jennifer
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Sometimes we just need a little magic like this! Mattie returns to the Russell family home for a brief stay at the sudden passing of her mom, Lilith. But Lilith’s will keeps Mattie in Ivy Ridge longer. In carrying out her mom’s wishes, Mattie and her aunt Penelope uncover secrets in the old Victorian house that unsettle them both and lead to new possibilities. I enjoyed this wonderful story of homecoming, family, and love!

The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman, (List Price: $17.99, Harper Muse, 9781400240487, January 2024)

Reviewed by Cathy Graham, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

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All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

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All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
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All The Sinners Bleed is crime fiction at its best. Cosby has created a genre all his own with this and his first two novels that I’d call “Virginia noir.” And I’m totally here for it. This one follows a small-town sheriff (with an FBI background) that’s chasing a serial killer that has an obsession with religious iconography and targeting very specific victims. This police procedural that sets a new standard for thrillers and it also highlights the overt/covert social tensions that are prevalent in rural communities.

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, (List Price: 27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250831910, June 2023)

Reviewed by Stuart McCommon, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

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The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene

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The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene
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I really enjoy books about secluded mountain towns and the people who live there. The traditions are so rich, the community and family connections so strong. Like any town, especially one somewhat isolated from the outside your fate and reputation might be established before you are born. Cheyenne was an Ashby and the Ashby’s held a relationship with the forest. Rituals were established to keep children safe from the forest, silver in your pockets and dirt in your shoes. The rituals became more extreme when more children continued to disappear. Cheyenne cannot take the constant stress and leaves home. Called back five years later to care for her Mother by the only man she trusts after another child goes missing. She arrives to a Mother she barely recognizes and the animosity of Natalie and Jackson, her two best friends she left behind. Old friendships are tested and many secrets are uncovered. Sometimes you learn you really can’t rely on those you have trusted forever.

The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene, (List Price: $28.99, Crooked Lane Books, 9781639103805, July 2023)

Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

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All Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
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A June 2023 Read This Next! Title

Mr. Cosby has upped the ante once again! Instead of down at the heel ne’er do wells searching for something better he has segued to a sheriff fighting the ills permeating the air of his small town. Bad air that wasn’t know until a school shooting that opens up a veritable Pandora’s box of evil and depravity. Written in his inimitable style, strong yet compassionate, he gets deep into the heart and soul of his characters and makes them come alive like no one else writing today.

All Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, (List Price: 27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250831910, June 2023)

Reviewed by Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina

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Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor

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Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor
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Mixing identity conflict and family secrecy with blood-ties and murder, Eli Cranor delivers a literary punch with his newest novel, Ozark Dogs. Set in the Ozarks, this story follows a true crime case involving drug-smuggling Klansmen turned evangelicals and a Vietnam War vet named Jeremiah, who is committed to saving his granddaughter from a dark path, even if it means getting himself into trouble. I absolutely could not put this one down. The prose is immersive, and the depth with which Cranor writes is beautifully nuanced.

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor, (List Price: 26.95, Soho Crime, 9781641294539, April 2023)

Reviewed by Leo Coffey, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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House of Cotton by Monica Brashears

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House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
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In this gritty, ghostly Affrilachian gothic debut, Magnolia, in the wake of her grandmother’s death and possibly pregnant, takes an offer to “model” as the late beloveds of the rich at a funeral home run by the strange Mr. Cotton. The voice and the VIBES are all there, and this book has a lot to say about grief, death, race, class, and sex in the Bible Belt South. The writing is strong and beautiful—a writer to watch.

House of Cotton by Monica Brashears, (List Price: 27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250851918, April 2023)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Spotlight on: Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

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De'Shawn Charles Winslow, photo credit Julie R. Keresztes

“So many of the characters in Decent People are on a quest for respectability–– their own and/or that of their children. I wanted to show what lengths people would go to just to conceal truths: a child’s queerness, an addiction, hypocrisy. I don’t know that I was going for nuance, exactly. I think I was just portraying people the way I’ve often encountered them. ” ―De’Shawn Charles Winslow, interview, PEN America

Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow

What booksellers are saying about Decent People

  • A complex, engaging story of a small Southern town grappling with racial justice, human rights, religion and murder in the mid 1970’s. Family ties and long-buried secrets are tested as a woman fights to clear the name of her beloved. An absolute page-turner filled with colorful characters in a rich setting.
      ―Jamie Fiocco from Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Bookmarks

  • Decent People is a compelling mystery that also deftly contends with racism, homophobia, classism and corruption. Charles De’Shawn Winslow’s fluid writing and pacing combine with wonderfully drawn characters–including the glorious busybody Josephine Wright–to make a truly marvelous novel.
      ―Stephanie Jones-Byrne from Malaprop’s in Asheville, NC | Buy from Malaprops

  • The shooting deaths of two sisters and their brother, prominent members of the African-American community, set tongues wagging in West Mills, NC. Except for those holding their voice over secrets. Told from alternating perspectives, the mystery unfolds amid lives threatened by the racism and homophobia of the 1960s and 1970s. This is a great read on so many levels, can’t wait to hand sell this one.
      ―Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books

About De’Shawn Charles Winslow

De’Shawn Charles Winslow is the author of In West Mills, a Center for Fiction First Novel Prize winner and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Lambda Literary Award, and Publishing Triangle Awards finalist. He was born and raised in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and now lives in New York.

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Spotlight on: Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

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De'Shawn Charles Winslow, photo credit Julie R. Keresztes

“So many of the characters in Decent People are on a quest for respectability–– their own and/or that of their children. I wanted to show what lengths people would go to just to conceal truths: a child’s queerness, an addiction, hypocrisy. I don’t know that I was going for nuance, exactly. I think I was just portraying people the way I’ve often encountered them. ” ―De’Shawn Charles Winslow, interview, PEN America

Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow

What booksellers are saying about Decent People

  • A complex, engaging story of a small Southern town grappling with racial justice, human rights, religion and murder in the mid 1970’s. Family ties and long-buried secrets are tested as a woman fights to clear the name of her beloved. An absolute page-turner filled with colorful characters in a rich setting.
      ―Jamie Fiocco from Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Bookmarks

  • Decent People is a compelling mystery that also deftly contends with racism, homophobia, classism and corruption. Charles De’Shawn Winslow’s fluid writing and pacing combine with wonderfully drawn characters–including the glorious busybody Josephine Wright–to make a truly marvelous novel.
      ―Stephanie Jones-Byrne from Malaprop’s in Asheville, NC | Buy from Malaprops

  • The shooting deaths of two sisters and their brother, prominent members of the African-American community, set tongues wagging in West Mills, NC. Except for those holding their voice over secrets. Told from alternating perspectives, the mystery unfolds amid lives threatened by the racism and homophobia of the 1960s and 1970s. This is a great read on so many levels, can’t wait to hand sell this one.
      ―Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books

About De’Shawn Charles Winslow

De’Shawn Charles Winslow is the author of In West Mills, a Center for Fiction First Novel Prize winner and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Lambda Literary Award, and Publishing Triangle Awards finalist. He was born and raised in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and now lives in New York.

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Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

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Decent People by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
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A March 2023 Read This Next! Title

Decent People is a compelling mystery that also deftly contends with racism, homophobia, classism and corruption. De’Shawn Charles Winslow’s fluid writing and pacing combine with wonderfully drawn characters–including the glorious busybody Josephine Wright–to make a truly marvelous novel.

Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow, (List Price: $28, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635575323, February 2023)

Reviewed by Stephanie Jones-Byrne, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina

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Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield

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Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield
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Culley Holderfield writes poetically about the magical mountain hollow where we meet Caroline Mc Alister as she mourns her father and her marriage. A college professor, Caroline has just discovered that her deceased father has bequeathed her the family cabin—the cabin which has always haunted her. While restoring the old cabin she finds a century-old journal written by Carson Quinn and the mystery it reveals about the death of his brother haunts her too. This novel has so many facets: Leprechauns and Emerson and Darwin and Socrates and religion and love and death are all found in its pages. The main character is an archaeoastronomy professor and is studying the Grand Octal! This is the most fascinating novel I have read all year and is perfect for a bookclub discussion. I can’t recommend it highly enough as a page-turner that will stay with and haunt the reader.

Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield (List Price: $18.95, Regal House Publishing, 9781646032860, December 2022)

Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green

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The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green
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A July 2022 Read This Next! Title

I loved The Kingdoms of Savannah. It read like a dark, gothic Conroy novel, concerned as much with the grit of the city as the moonlight and magnolias. The Musgrove family are some rare birds. I really hope Mr. Green is planning to bring them back for more.

The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green, (List Price: $27.99, Celadon Books, 9781250767448, July 2022)

Reviewed by Ashley Warlick from M Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, SC

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