Book Review...Dancing Naked in Dixie By Lauren Clark

Dancing Naked in Dixie by Lauren Clark, from amazon.com:

 

Travel writer Julia Sullivan lives life in fast-forward. She jet sets to Europe and the Caribbean with barely a moment to blink or sleep. But too many mishaps and missed deadlines have Julia on the verge of being fired.

With a stern warning, and unemployment looming, she's offered one last chance to rescue her career. Julia embarks on an unlikely journey to the ‘Heart of Dixie’—Eufaula, Alabama—home to magnificent mansions, sweet tea, and the annual Pilgrimage.

Julia arrives, soon charmed by the lovely city and her handsome host, but her stay is marred by a shocking discovery. Can Julia's story save her career, Eufaula, and the annual Pilgrimage?

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Contemporary romance isn't my usual glass of wine, but once in a while, a girl likes to change things up just a bit.  Add in a little southern hospitality and the holiday season?  I'm all in.

 

First person isn't always my favorite perspective to read. Getting a peak insidesomeone's inner thoughts can feel like the author has made the choice to tell you absolutely everything in a non-stop inner dialogue that can make any premise seem like a encyclopedia of information dumping instead of story telling.  Phew. Thankfully (and joyfully), Lauren Clark avoids this and allows Julia to develop through her own experience and the experiences of those she encounters in this seemingly sleepy southern town in such a charming way that it made me want to get off the beaten path and take a long deserved pilgrimage down south myself.

 

Quaint, a little sassy, and sweet like southern sweet tea (by the way, I always have to do half sweet tea and half water!), Dancing Naked In Dixie has everything a typical contemporary romance could want...the ruggedly handsome somewhat attached (though I never can get why these men can't see the true colors of the perfect girlfriend who secretly covets the money and power he provides while simultaneously and insecurely snapping at the nice girl who's new in town) good guy, the charming if not somewhat quirky family, the evil developer trying to change the town and ruin all the traditions that have made Eufala unique and full of southern hospitality, and the heroine who just can't see that her life would be that much better if only she would leave her crummy city life and take a chance on herself and love. 

 

Plus there's a Batman reference to make the fan girl in me squeal in delight.

 

If I had any complaints, it would be that it took me a few minutes to get over the weird feeling that maybe her new editor was a bit creepy.  And then we find out exactly who he is...and then some. That first feeling may have been justified. And Shug...loved him, but his name had to grow on me.  Bless his heart.  Or his name's heart, if possible.

 

I enjoyed my trip down to Eufala much more than I would have thought.  Maybe it's because the leaves are changing, and the air is crisper...or that I just love the holidays and secretly want my own historical house in the south, but I found Dancing Naked In Dixie to be the kind of sweet story you want to cuddle up under a comfy and cozy blanket.  And a good glass of wine...

 

(Provided for review...visit Lauren Clark's website here.)

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