Release Blitz Tour
Southern Comfort
By: USA Today Bestselling Author Andrea Smith
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Book Description:
Welcome to Layton, Alabama. Population 11,000. Where the sweet tea runs through our veins, the air smells of cobbler, and the secrets lie so deep that not even the confessionals are safe anymore.
Our community was tight-knit, friendly, and comprised of God-fearing Christians, many of who attended Sunday services at Briar Ridge Southern Baptist Church. That is, until Avery Dawson appeared.
My name is Sunny Gardner, born and raised in Layton. I loved our small, quiet town. And then, one day, a man came into town and upended everything that I held dear to me. Shattered my life, really.
This is my story. A story of struggle and triumph and, ultimately, how I saved myself and my community from the devil himself.
Get ready to hold your breath in anticipation when you travel this dark tale of one girl's struggle to save a community in this Bible Belt town!
Buy Links:
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1ZW9SrT
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1XZeOyY
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“Standing alone proved fruitless
when fighting the righteous Southern Baptists of Layton, Alabama.”
So finally, Andrea Smith gets a well-earned five stars from
me. This was one of those books I went into totally blind, I didn’t even read
the synopsis and actually I was glad I didn’t. This book totally side swiped
me. Having been a seasoned Andrea Smith reader for many many years, I just read
because I know that I am more than likely to like/love it, no matter what she
turns her hand to. However, this was not the Andrea Smith I know and love, she
delivered so much more and way out her normal box and I applaud her for doing
so. I can easily say that this is my favourite Andrea Smith book thus far.
“I had a bad feeling about Avery
Dawson-and it just kept getting worse.”
Southern Comfort is set in the small town of Layton Alabama,
in the seventies, where everyone knows everyone and the community is brought
together predominantly through church, Layton is literally bible belt country.
Sunshine or Sunny as she is known is a teenage girl wanting to live a teenage life,
she is sixteen going on seventeen and lives with her mum and step-father. Her
mum, Donna is a bit of a doormat to be honest and after two failed marriages is
determined to make sure this one survives. Being married to a minister, she has
changed her whole personality befitting that of a minister’s wife even if it
means to the detriment of her relationship with her daughter. This was a mother
that put her husband before her daughter and I could have honestly slapped her
for it, but at least Sunny had her brother even though he did live thousands of
miles away.
“Because you see, Mama, I’m a
daughter worth having. At least that’s what he thinks.”
Avery Dawson is the Baptist minister. Reverend Dawson was as
evil as they come. Hiding behind the bible and twisting passages for his own personal
warped gain. He was a fantastic villain and Andrea Smith penned him perfectly.
He was the man that you instantly hated with a passion yet I found myself
frantically awaiting his next point of view. How sick am I? This book is taboo,
it covers abuse of power under the ruse of “counselling” and has every small
time mum eating out of Avery’s sick and twisted palms. Yet every scene of “counselling”
contained Andrea Smith’s trademark hot, intense sex scenes that you should
hate, you should feel sick, you shouldn’t feel anything…right?
Avery was a very complex character, he was charismatic,
charming and totally beguiling in his own vile, seedy way. He could pull the
wool over anybody’s eyes and had done so easily to a lot of the population in
Layton. He was an expert at manipulation, Machiavellian, deceitful, unscrupulous,
narcissistic yet for some reason he was totally addictive. Avery may have
pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, including his wife, but Sunny was a
totally different kettle of fish.
Sunny was an adorable character and her relationship with
her best friend added some much needed humour to this story. Sunny was
resilient though, she had been let down by most people in her life yet she hadn’t
let it define her. She was inherently strong, intelligent and perceptive and in
the beginning was the only person that could see Avery for the man he was and
not who he was perceived to be.
“…we hatched out a plan that
would not only save her marriage with Eddie, but take Avery down in the
community. Little did I know the ramifications would be farther reaching than
that for me.”
Sunny was determined to “out” Avery for the vile human that
he was, but at what cost? Andrea Smith penned a story that will have you
frantically turning the pages, angst, tension, suspense is prevalent throughout
and only adds to the addictiveness that is Southern Comfort. Where small minded
folk pull together to save themselves rather than face the truth, where hypocrisy
is rife and the life of a teenager is inconsequential. Will the see the light
or will Sunny be forced to live in the dark? I cannot recommend this read
highly enough, while religion for some may be off-putting this is so much more
than that. Yes, it plays its part, but the suspenseful ride is what carries
this story and one that I won’t be forgetting for a while.
“…I hope you remember this for a
long time to come. You may preach chapter and verse of the Bible, but by God, I’ve
not seen many of you living it!”
Excerpt:
“How have things been
at home between you and Eddie?” Avery asked Gloria, as he stood up from behind
his desk and closed the distance between them. “May I?” he asked, gesturing
towards the empty spot on the sofa in his office where she sat.
“Oh, of course,
Avery,” she replied, scooting over a bit to make more room for him. “Well, I’ve
done as you suggested. I’ve not given in to his lusty requests, but I have
talked to him about my discontent.”
“That’s good,
Gloria,” Avery replied, “But you were sensitive to his feelings when you
divulged your dissatisfaction with his performance?”
She nodded
vigorously, “Oh yes, of course. Just like you said, I told him that we needed
to examine the flaws in our emotional relationship before we moved on to
perfecting the physical part of it.”
“Excellent,” Avery
said, giving her a supportive smile. "Are you ready to move on to the next
step?"
Gloria blushed and
fidgeted with the hem of her flowered sundress. "Avery. I understand that
as a man of the cloth, your only goal is to help members of your congregation
heal and mend the things in their lives so as to live according to God’s word.
I reached out to you for guidance, and you’ve been very supportive and
understanding. I won’t lie, I struggled with this over the past few days, but I
now have put my total trust in you, because I know that it won’t work any other
way.”
“That is wonderful to
hear, Gloria,” Avery said softly. “I’ve always told you the main component for
success is mutual trust. The Lord answers our needs in mysterious ways. This is
a crucial component in making your marriage healthy and loving once again. Are
you ready?”
Gloria nodded, biting
her lower lip.
“Good then. On your
knees, please.”
Avery stood up and
watched as Gloria sank to her knees before him. “Look at me.”
She raised her eyes
to him, and his gaze locked with hers. “One of the key components to mutual
satisfaction is stated clearly in the Bible, Ephesians 5:33: Nevertheless let
every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife
see that she reverence her husband. Show me now how you will reverence Eddie in
the future.”
Avery unzipped his
fly, and pulled out his impressive member. Gloria watched as he stroked it
slowly with his own hand to full erection, and then he nodded for her to begin.
About the Author:
Andrea Smith is a USA
Today and Amazon Best-Selling Author of the G-Man Series! She has a wicked
sense of humor. No matter the genre, she is able to infuse laughter throughout.
She self-publishes
Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Sensual Romance with a paranormal
twist. She also writes New Adult Romance, and has recently collaborated with
Author Eva LeNoir on two M/M Romances, with the third in process!
Social Media Links
OTHER TITLES BY ANDREA
SMITH
Baby Series
(Contemporary
Romance/Suspense w/erotic tone)
These Books should be read in order
Maybe Baby (Book 1)
Baby Love (Book 2)
Be My Baby (Book 3)
Baby Come Back
(Novella) (Book 3.5)
G-Man Series
(Contemporary
Romance/Suspense w/erotic tone)
These Books do not have to be read in order, but they are most
enjoyable if done so.
Diamond Girl (Book 1)
Love Plus One (Book
2)
Night Moves (Book 3)
G-Men Holiday Wrap
(Novella) (Book 3.5)
These Men (Spin-off)
Part of the BEND anthology. (M/F/M)
My Men (Sequel to
"These Men") (M/F/M)
Taz (G-Man Book 4)
G-Man: Next Generation
(New Adult Romance)
Walk of Shame (Book 1)
WTF? Series
Jaded
Limbo Series
(Contemporary Steamy
Romance w/paranormal edge)
Silent Whisper
Clouds in my Coffee
September Series
(New Adult- Taboo)
Need to be read in
order
Until September (Book
1)
When September Ends
(Book 2)
M/M Romance
Black Balled
(Co-Authored with Eva LeNoir)
Guns Blazing
(Spin-Off from Black Balled)
Jumping up and down!! Thank you!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! It was a fantastic read!
DeleteLoved this book. 5 star read 💜
ReplyDelete