Deep Fried and Pickled

The Rachael O'Brien Chronicles #1

by Paisley Ray

Book one of THE RACHAEL O'BRIEN CHRONICLES begins with Rachael enrolled at a southern college intending to earn a degree, party, and meet cute guys--hopefully acing the latter two. She has barely had time to acquaint herself to the dorm food before finding herself threatened by a jealous She-Devil, fending off the advances of a thirty-something redneck, and stumbling upon an art fraud scheme. To top things off, her parents go their separate ways: her mom to follow a psychic calling; her dad adrift in his midlife crisis.

Bad decision-making, law-bending behavior, and surprise romances make freshman year memorable in Paisley Ray's DEEP FRIED AND PICKLED.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Chick Lit, Humor, Young Adult, Ebooks, Romance

415 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2012

About the author

The Rachael O'Brien Chronicles are not your typical fiction. A young woman's plan for an art history degree turns into an outrageous series of misadventures in this laugh-out-loud romp about a girl who enrolls in a southern college during the height of the crazy era that was the 1980's. This collection crosses genres of chick lit, mystery, romance, humor, and action with the possibility of a corpse or two.

You can visit Paisley Ray at:

Website: http://www.paisleyray.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heypaisleyray
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/heypaisleyray
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/heypaisleyray

Reviews

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh. My. I don't even know where to start with this one. I think I'll start with the positive. The story is a decent premise. College student navigates freshman year away from home, and happens to stumble upon counterfeit art ring. Far-fetched? Um, yes. But it's fiction, so I can go with it. I couldn't go with most everything else.

I struggled with the main character's... well... character. She's the moral compass (of sorts) for her group of friends, yet she's determined to sleep with most any male who is ready and willing. I understand that everyone has multiple facets to their personality, yet I just couldn't wrap my mind around this apparent dichotomy.

And what is up with her "friends"? Repeatedly the main character gets taken to a completely unfamiliar environment and then abandoned to fend for herself. Yes, I know, that happens in real life. And I wouldn't expect a person to curl up in the corner if they lost sight of their friends at a party (or whatever these events were). But the fact is that the main character keeps ending up in that position again, and again, and again. Sigh. These are NOT your friends, my dear.

Finally, there is the editing. Or lack thereof. I'm beginning to realize that free download loosely translates to "I published this myself. Lower your expectations." Loose and Lose are two different words, with two different meanings. Collectible and Collectable... see previous sentence. There were so many grammar and punctuation issues with this story, I just kept hoping it would end soon.

[Kathy Wasden · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book much. I considered not finishing it a few times, but there was a little bit of a mystery going on and I had to see how it turned out. Looking back, I'm not sure it was worth it.

The book is about a girl attending her freshman year in a North Carolina college. The problem is that most of what we hear about are the parties, attempts to get drunk, drugs, and her quest to have sex for the first time. The interesting bits involving the mystery might have made up about 10% of the book.

Add to that the not-so-good writing, weird metaphors, wrong words ("ode de cologne" was one of my favorites) and so many editing problems with apostrophes and commas that I stopped counting. I should have known it would be bad when there was a misused "it's" on the first page.

Give this one a miss.

[Calliope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Price: $4.99
Series: Rachel O'Brien Chronicles
Genre: College New Adult
Points: 92/100
Review: Great Summer Read. It's light and funny and perfect if you want to reminisce about your freshman year in college. Rachel is a northern girl that decides for reasons I don't think were ever made clear to go to school in the south. The story effortless combines culture shock with the freshman shock. I also captures with a realistic view of going to a smaller college in a small town. It is funny romp down college and the 80s memory lane.

Conclusion: Worth the price. It continues with Summer Flambe which isn't as fun mainly because it is back up north over the summer so you miss the supporting cast that made the books so entertaining. I can't wait for sophomore year!

[Jenyfer Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and kept reading it though it seemed to go on and on without a whole lot of action or drama or conflict. It was cozy and warm - like reading a letter from a friend. The only thing I didn't care for was the ending which seemed really abrupt. The main storylines were tied up and I suppose it was the sort of story that would be hard to end perfectly given the nature of the day-to-day sort of narrative but it still felt unsatisfying. Or perhaps it is just because I wanted to keep hearing more?

[MightyA · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A lighter version of Veronica Mars Young adult (college) thriller with college girls and wild college activities (you know!) - with great narrator who does awesome southern accents. I have fun listening.

[Zinnat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Linguistically this book fails to challenge. Having said that, I acquired a long list of slang American terms - a novelty for those who live across the big pond! One can be forgiving of a couple of errors but the novel is riddled with incorrect grammar and punctuation.

I was tempted to give up but persevered out of respect for the author's 'labour'. Apart from parties, revs, drinking binges, drug taking, having casual sex and the desire to lose one's virginity not much insight is given into the Freshman's year at college.

An attempt is made to bring mystery into the book but the story around the fake artwork and the solving of the mystery by Rachel is contrived, brief and not convincing. My interest was awakened only when references were made to southern cuisine....

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There was a lot of young college adventure and plenty of mystery with a pretty brave main character who didn't really see herself that way. It was really a fun and interesting ride. Although tense at times, I always felt sure Rachael would come out ok in the end...well, she is the main character. And the book is chock full of all kinds of southern charm. I was really disappointed when I finished this book because I didn't have a book 2 to pick up and delve into.

[Trudi Jorda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember that freshman year away at school? All the unusual people you meet? Wanting to grab life and taste it with gusto? I know you do! I sure as heck did! Throw in a bunch of males, booze, marijuana & n art mystery and give it southern flavor and you have a fun romp thru freshman year at college! This is a fun read-- will have to look for the next in the series! Sit back and enjoy the ride!

[DJ Sakata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sassy and full of witty and snappy comments. I would have loved to hang out with this odd group of characters when I was going to college! I laughed aloud many times as I was reading. I hope to see more of this talented author.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up during a recent vacation to Hilton Head Island because the author is local. Haven't I learned by now that this generally is not the best way to choose your next book? I have an aversion to "southern writers" who try so hard to force "southernisms" into their work, especially when those phrases are stuff that this Tennessean born and raised has NEVER heard: "You pickled chicken sh__." and "Your Crisco's gone rancid!" HOWEVER, if you enjoy reality TV with plots such as who is sleeping with whose boyfriend in the college dorm, you'll enjoy this beach read. There is a good mystery that is woven into the plot; I just wish there was more plot and less girlfriend drama.

[Cassandra Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute interesting read. Kept you guessing throughout . It is a series and I can’t wait to read more.

[Dayreader Reviews]

I loved this book! Like really, really, really loved it! The main character is Rachel and oh what can I say about Rachel. She’s adorably funny and sometimes totally clueless! She lived in Ohio where she was severely sheltered by her parents, but decided to get away and go to college in North Carolina. She has made it her college mission to complete a bucket list of things she’s never done before such as getting drunk and hooking up with someone. The move had to be a huge culture shock to her! My favorite thing she said was that as she walks to class her legs dragged like telephone poles, and her crevasses were like trees that leaked sap! I have never heard of someone describing the hot humid weather like that but I love it! This is almost Texas year round for me!

In her first week of college her father called to tell her that her mom had left him to go be a psychic in Arizona, a girl in her dorm had racial slurs painted on her door, and Rachel was feeling lost as ever. Rachel’s roommate is a hoot though. Her name is Katie Lee and she is southern through and through. All Rachel wants to do is rebel against all the rules that she had growing up and she wants to lose her virginity. Being roommates with Katie Lee is no easy thing, especially when her boyfriend, Nash, could possibly be a drug dealer or art smuggler. Rachel tries not to get involved in whatever scheme is going on with Nash but she just can’t help herself. When she finds a suitcase full of cash inside Katie Lee’s closet things start to get interesting! Her curiosity wins out in every situation she finds herself in, but it could all lead her to a world of trouble, and it does. Now the F.B.I. are involved and it’s up to Rachel to help solve the case and not get in too much over her head while doing so.

This book has every element you could want in a book. There’s drama, romance, mystery, and back-stabbing Southerners! There are some mistakes and typos but you just read right over them. This book is a must read, and I can't wait to find out what Rachel gets herself into in the next book in this series!

[Charlotte Cyprus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the characters, Macy especially, and the book captured the feeling of going to college really well. I felt like I want to go back to college and live in the dorms (and considering I just graduated, the fresh horror of the dorms should have been enough to stop that feeling). I liked that there was so much going on, what with her mom leaving and so much drama at school plus the art stuff, though I think that there should have been a little more focus on the crazy stalker thing at the end. I just personally thought it was amazing twist, but then it was over almost as soon as it started. Also, I wasn't as invested in the art thief story line, but that's just because I don't really care about art. If I found out some big scandal like that had happened in my hometown I'd just shrug, so that's kinda what I did in the story, but I did like the action and drama that went along with it.

Would I recommend it?
Yes! The author (who was really friendly, by the way) offered this book in exchange for an honest review and said that a lot of older women liked the story (as in, the women who had been young during the time this book is set in) but being 21 I think that this book is really good for anyone who is college-aged. Basically, if you're worried about starting college, nothing is going to be as bad as Rachel's first year.

[Arielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure if Paisley Ray is married to, related to, or sleeping with whoever is responsible for publishing this book, but Deep Fried and Pickled is so contrived and so poorly written that I find it hard to believe that someone who works with literature in a professional capacity decided that this book was worth publishing just by sheer merit alone. This is a book about college, drinking, sex and drugs and the depictions of each of these things are so ridiculously off base that it makes me question whether the author has actually ever experienced any of it. Oh, and let's not forget about the completely absurd art scandal, a plot point whose development is so weak that if not for a plethora of deus ex machina moments, it wouldn't have existed at all.

Finally, it feels like this book was edited by a cat walking across a keyboard. Some sentences were punctuated so incorrectly that I had to re-read them several times in order to figure out what they were supposed to convey. And the spelling errors! Bah.

I guess there was a reason this book was free.

[Lisa Godina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep Fried and Pickled by Paisley Ray can be called Comic Relief... A girl from the North decides to attend a college in the South and what does she encounter besides culture shock but an art forgery scam.
The characters are delightful. The culture shock goes over the top at times but it adds to the comedy. But what do you expect from a freshman away from home for the first time. Very enjoyable read.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character is a mess...seriously just a mess. She is trying very hard to lose her virginity her freshman year of college, gets lost numerous times away from her friends at parties and just puts herself in so many awful situations. I get that this story is fiction which is why it gets 3 stars because the story of the art scam is quite entertaining. I could have done without Rachael's needing to lose her virginity.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I expected. The title doesn't tell you that the book contains somewhat of a mystery, and is more of a coming-of-age story than anything else. It was a good read, though it felt like the author was trying to make the book fit into too many genres to be any one kind of story.

[Monika]

I downloaded this book as a free kindle read via BookBub. Needed a light causal read and this was just that. Nothing to speak home about greatly but a breezy flight kind of chicklit. The book happens in an art college and those girls made me wonder if indeed I am growing old ;)

And oh the tittle is because of the fact that the town she moves in likes to eat stuff "deep fried and pickled"

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book and didn't finish it. Then I picked it up to read it again and actually enjoyed it. Good enough that I want to read the sequel. I like that it was set in the late 80's, because it's different than all the other new books coming out.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! I am looking forward to reading more from this author!

[Marcel Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny in places.

[Lizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book set at a North Carolina college in the 80's. Cute enough to have me start book two of the series.

[Sage Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little mystery -- and one that anyone who's been to college can relate to at some point. :-)

[Fran Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could would give this a 3.5. It was a good light-hearted book. Would like to read the 2nd one.

[Kwoomac]

Gave up on this one at 22%, according to my Kindle. it's about a girl's freshman year at college. supposed to be full of fun and antics but I just wasn't feeling it. Too many books, not enough time!

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read. I thought about not finishing but trudged thru it. Glad I did. It did have some entertaining aspects.
Good summer beach book.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. It made me laugh a few times, but there were some typos that drove me a little nuts. The loose/lose errors are a pet peeve of mine and took some of the enjoyment out of the book.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun summer read!!

[Amber Harrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute, funny, light read which I am totally into lately. The typos got on my nerves a bit so I hope the editing gets better in the next book.