Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper

Narrated by Amanda Ronconi

I must admit that I jumped this title a few spots ahead of other review copies on my queue because it fit the mood of listen I was looking for. And I’m happy to say that Sweet Tea & Sympathy was exactly what I had expected and been looking for: a humor-filled, character focused romance. In that regard, the focus of this book is on the heroine, more like women’s fiction, with the romance angle taking a bit of a backseat, but nonetheless sufficiently there to keep us romance lovers listening. Additionally, the splendid narration by Amanda Ronconi makes this title best experienced in audio format.

Sweet Tea & Sympathy is the first in a brand-new series by Molly Harper focused on finding love in a small southern town. Margot Cary is going through a bit of an unexpected detour in her career as a big city party planner, necessitated by a rather unfortunate planning event gone bad which ended with Margot being the least employable party planner in any major city.

Fortunately for Margot, she’s got family who are looking out for her, though she can’t remember any time she spent, as a toddler, in the small Georgia town from which her estranged father hails. However, out of sheer desperation (and a quickly declining bank account), she decides to accept the offer from an aunt she had never previously met to come to Lake Sackett, Georgia, and work for the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop.

Though Margot tells everyone who will listen that her stint at the McCready family business is merely temporary until she can return to a party planning job, that is, as soon as she can find a firm that hasn’t heard of her fiasco (an admittedly highly unlikely possibility), Margot’s time in Lake Sackett begins to reveal a whole new side of her family and eventually her father, who she thought abandoned her all those years ago. Adding to the storyline, and Margot’s inevitable attraction to the small town life, is the elementary school’s principal, Kyle Archer, who is going through a life changing event of his own, after losing his true love, and the mother of his two young daughters, to cancer.

Could Margot possibly fall in love with Lake Sackett, Georgia, her family, and Kyle during her unexpected time working at McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop?

Amanda Ronconi masterfully brought to life the sarcastic wit and lively personality of the various eclectic characters in the Sweet Tea & Sympathy cast. Perfectly suited to narrate Molly Harper’s writing style, Ms. Ronconi does a great job of capturing both the tone and emotion of every scene.

Ms. Ronconi is also great at delivering highly distinguishable dialogues by giving each character their own unique sound. From Southern accents to age differences (from the elderly to young children), Ms. Ronconi infuses her narration with subtle and in some cases bolder differences to really add authenticity to this sweet, Southern tale.

All in all, I recommend that you give Sweet Tea & Sympathy a listen when you’re looking for a funny, light-hearted women’s fiction tale and romance to fill your earbuds!

BJ