Southern Comforts

by JoAnn Ross

Chelsea, the official biographer of Roxanne, a fashion and etiquette expert, digs into her subject's past to find out who may be trying to kill her and finds herself in the middle of a potentially romantic and dangerous investigation when she encounters Cash Beaudine, the man Roxanne is after. Repri

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross has written over a hundred novels for a bunch of publishers. Two of her titles have been excerpted in Cosmo and her books have also been published by the Doubleday, Rhapsody, Literary Guild, and Mystery Guild book clubs.

A member of the Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll of best-selling authors, she's won several awards, including Romantic Times's Career Achievement Awards in both category and contemporary single title.

Currently writing a new Honeymoon Harbor series for HQN set on the Washington peninsula, that will launch in April, 2018, JoAnn lives with her husband (her high school sweetheart, who proposed at the sea wall where her Shelter Bay books are set), in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was attracted to this novel because of the setting. The south, small town country life. The murder mystery aspect also intrigued me.

This reads like a harlequin intrigue novel but the summary is deceiving. I thought that there would be more focus on the murder mystery and Roxanne's past. But the entire book is centered on Chelsea and her love life. The different persepectives was great and it leaned towards the "who done it" feel. Normally, I have an issue when there are many perspectives involved. But this was great. I like getting to know the characters. I love that the author gave little hints that said "hey maybe this is the killer to be!"

I love reading about the comforting feel of a small town in the mid west. That is why Nicholas Sparks novels have always pulled me in. The author made me fall in love with the country side, the culture and way of life. I love the scenery, the houses and beautiful civil war architecture.

Sorry to say but naming the hero Cash sounds very shallow and tacky. I keep calling him Chase. I was interested in his character being the typical bad boy turned into rich architect. That is not typical. Reading about his growth and his passion was enjoyable because it seemed genuine. Not to mention fun to learn more about what he does for a living. Cash is the typical alpha male bad boy though without being too possesive. He did exhibit possesiveness but not in an over the top way. I did not like that he keep kissing and touching Chelsea when she was not his. On the other hand he was very supportive of Chelsea and certainly knew what women want. The reassurances and constant touches. If only guys knew this...

I admired Chelsea's career and her rise to fame. It is nice to see a career driven female mc who breaks the stereotype of a society heiress. I like that the author made her job sound fun. I did not like that she got back with Nelson, even though she was not happy. She succumbed too easily to Cash. I admit that their chemistry was hot but Cash seemed too enamored with Chelsea. He seriously could not stop thinking of her. Every minute. Please stop! I think it added a little spice that he learnt tips and tricks to please a woman from a lady at a whore house. I do like that they did not jump into bed immediately but instead waited.

The scene where Chelsea walked in on Nelson sleeping with Heather seemed convenient for the plot. It felt like it happened so Chelsea had more incentive to run into Cash's arms. Mentally she chose Cash. Honestly, I think it was hard to expect Nelson to really want to be with Chelsea when she is not 100% with him when she is with him. After all, she thinks about Cash when they are sex. Alarm bells anyone? Obviously this was not a relationship so I do not know why Chelsea got so upset. You know what she should get upset about? The issue on her money. I like that there was a strain in her relationship with her mother and the changes made.

I think it is nice to focus on the romance but come on, after they got together there was no obstacles. It was too picture perfect. That said, the dates they went on like fishing with Jamie and lunches mid west style was really sweet.

Roxanne was an interesting character. So perfect on the outside but what is she hiding? I clung onto that and read eagerly. I was surprised that she has a husband, George and she was never always a rich girl. Ohh. Now that is juicy. I pictured George as Merril from The Walking Dead. Sleezy and not someone you want around. The sex scene with sixty year old Vernon was gross. It was disgusting that George put cameras in Roxanne's house and Chelsea's room in the inn. It certainly made him the prime suspect to be the killer mentioned.

I was very disappointed because in the summary it made me assume that someone would be out to kill Roxanne. However for 50% of the book. There was no attempt made, nor mysterious notes or weird people lurking around. In fact, Chelsea got a mysterious note and was in an accident. It was not what I expected but the baddie was a huge surprise. The mystery wrapped up too easily and was introduced very late into the book. Which was a bad thing because this story was more romance than mystery.

Overall. The premise of the book was deceiving but what I got was still enjoyable. I would not recommend this for those wanting an exciting mystery but instead for those who like a steamy romance with intrigue thrown in. Fans of Nicholas Sparks novels will like this as well.

[Willow Brook · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to give this two stars but I just can't. I almost always enjoy JoAnn Ross, including some of her earlier books, but this 1996 clunker was a big disappointment. The writing is so much poorer than I expect from this author, perhaps because it was an early work. The whole book felt "old school" and out of date. It didn't help that the h was a celebrity journalist so there were distracting references to Princess Di and JFK Jr.'s current adventures, not to mention couples like Bruce Willis and Demi Moore cavorting with their kids or Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman hanging out in Australia. The nice thing was at least I didn't need to read about Jennifer Hudson and her miraculous weight loss, LOL.

The biggest problem was I didn't like the characters. They were perfect and annoying. I really hated that the H thought it was some kind of failing that the h would put off marriage in order to meet the admittedly absurd requirements of not marrying before age 30 so she could access a $2 million trust fund. And his attitude that only a rich person would make the decision to not throw away a fortune made even less sense to me. It was the 90's, for Pete's sake. She could live with the man, have his babies, whatever and marry later. It isn't like either of them professed any deep religious beliefs or that they weren't already going at it like minks.

Oh, the writing. This has to be a really early or an early, rushed book because the writing was so poor and often cliched. Ross used the phrase "whiter shade of pale" which was a bit of a jolt and then put the darn song in my head. And I lost count of how often she used "literally," several times in one chapter even and even for things that you can easily imagine happening like "He literally trembled." Really? Literally? I literally rolled my eyes.

[Sweetie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Failed to hold my interest. Was supposed to be a murder mystery, but nothing happens till the last few chapters and even that is too rushed.

[Anne Tavares-Buker · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOTS of typos

Story was good, but they need to fix the multitude of typos in the ebook, especially spelling Joan Lunden’s name wrong at least 10 times! Get an editor!!!

[Erika Ann Palacios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Southern Comforts was introduced to me by myself. Honestly, there was an abandoned house that a lot of kids would break into because it was so grand and all that. My friends loved admiring the house and would hang out while I scavenged through their book shelf and picked out as much books as I could. This was one of my "diamonds in the rough" finds. Everything in the house had been ruined, ransacked, and all in all destroyed except for a corner in house that was just full of glorious books. Anyways, I was in high school when I had read this and it had stuck with me because of how beautiful JoAnn Ross's work has continued to be throughout the years. Her skills to craft such a beautiful story has always been something that struck with me. If you're looking for a timesy, classic, good old small town crush and coming back story, this is the one for you. You will never regret reading this book.

[penelopewanders]

It seems to me that the house to be restored is featured in another series by this author (this is touted as a Standalone)... so I was constantly trying to remember if Cash was featured in any of those. I didn't remember, but it did feel like familiar territory. Listening to a podcast about diversity in romance, I did note that there wasn't much of that present here, unless "poor white trash" (a pretty offensive label, actually) would count... It was nonetheless a good read, with enough red herrings for the surprise ending to be relatively surprising (although the potential suspects were being eliminated pretty swiftly...). The reconciliation with the mother was somewhat abrupt, especially over the phone, but nice to have. Holiday fare.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

do u ever wonder how or why the book cover changes so much ...does the author have any say so or is it just the publisher ...making all the choice?? curious. so curious. okay i read 6 books from this author from my local library leaning program ...this was one that was from a different series ... i read this one and Southern Comfort ...both fun ... but i am thinking this one was a bit more fun or exciting ...no reason not read book "Southern Comfort" ... chat later ... more to be read.

[Jina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending seemed half-assed to me and there was no real closure to everything that happened. Yeah, the killer was taken care of, but that ending was just meh, and then what about the other characters? Like I'd like to read that some changes happened in side characters life.

[Birdtrovert]

DNF @ page 35

Sorry. I just found this so boring. Plus in the beginning, the FMC just cheats on her partner at a wedding because she finds the other dude hot, I guess?

Just not something I'm going to waste my time on this year.

[Tomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rather enjoyable. A good suspense novel with surprisingly detailed and slightly rough sex scenes. No shrinking violets here.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish I didn't read that

[Annette Mardis · Rating 2 out of 5]

JoAnn Ross' novel, first published in 1996, introduces readers to a Southern Martha Stewart-esque character named Roxanne Scarborough, whose diva disposition is only eclipsed by her desire to hide her real identify from her legions of fans.
Her obsession to restore and renovate an aging Tara-like mansion brings together old flames Cash Beaudine, a sharecropper's son who has climbed the ladder from rebel to respectability as an architect to the monied set, and celebrity interviewer Chelsea Cassidy, whose blue blood was set to boiling by Cash seven years before but who opted for the safe route romantically -- or so she thought.
The love story sizzles, the mystery keeps readers guessing, and the villians are appropriately vile and unrepentant. But there are several things that bothered me about these folks and their behavior:
* If Roxanne is such a shark, why does she buckle under so easily when a sadistic son of a viper from her past reappears and blackmails her. Certainly, someone with her resources could find a way to silence the man and avoid his demeaning and demented behavior.
* Will Roxanne's overworked and underappreciated personal assistant, Dorothy Landis, ever get a life and get out from under the thumb of the two rhymes-with-witches who make her miserable? And why does she continue to put up with either one of them, especially her alcoholic mother.
* If Chelsea is such a writing star, how come she doesn't do background searches on her interview subjects as a matter of basic preparation? When she finally gets the gumption to look into Roxanne's background, her actions are lionized as though she's does something exemplary.
* If Cash is so intelligent, why does he allow himself to become a cliche` early in his career with his man-whoring escapades with clients' bored trophy wives?
* And when the mystery finally resolves itself, and Cash and Chelsea get their happily ever after, why does author Ross leave a central question unanswered: What's going to become of Roxanne and Chelsea's book now that the biographer knows Roxanne's salacious secrets?
Overall, "Southern Comforts" has enough sizzling sexual attraction and intrigue to keep readers entertained, as long as they don't think too hard about questions like those listed above.
A bit of advice to readers: If you've never read JoAnn Ross before, don't start with this novel.
A bit of advice to the author and her publisher: When this book is reissued in paperback form, please include an epilogue that fills the hole about Roxanne and her biography.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Celebrity journalist Chelsea Cassidy is hand picked by Roxanne Scarbrough to write her biography. This takes Chelsea to Raintree, GA where she is reunited with her college lover Cash Beaudine. Roxanne has several skeletons in her well-organized closet and as the skeletons come out lives are at risk.

I had such high expectations for this book. From the description I read on Amazon it sounded like a juicy read. A Martha Stewart-like Diva of Domesticity, a journalist hand picked to write the biography and your typical hotter than hot romance guy as the leading characters. Those already mentioned skeletons in the form of an "ex" husband who was fresh out of jail added in should have made this book hard to put down. Instead I found it hard to keep reading.

The characters seemed shallow and not well formed. I felt there was too many things going and some of those not really needed as they didn't add to the story. And the storyline...was this the juicy tale of a Southern Divas life as told to her biographer or the juicy tale of the biographer and her former lover? Add to this the renovation of the Tara-like mansion and it is just too much. I found there were times (and I hate to admit this) I was just skimming through not really paying attention to the words but just getting through them to get to the end.

And the ending....seems like the author had the climax of the story and then didn't know how to finish it from there. The book ended suddenly I thought. No epilogue which I was so expecting to wrap up loose ends and find out the happily ever after of Chelsea and her man.

I'm a little astonished at all the great reviews I read on Amazon when looking to purchase this book. Leaves me wondering if I read the same book as the reviewers. Not a book I would recommend.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Joann Ross is a real magician with words.

Chelsea Cassidy grew up in a privileged world in New York city. Now she is all grown up and writing celebrity stories for a magazine. She is offered a job writing an autobiography about a domestic diva with a temper. But when visiting the diva's home in Georgia, she runs into someone she didn't ever plan to see again, but couldn't really get out of her mind.

Cash Baulaine is a man come home after years away making a name for himself in the architectural world. When he accepts a job to renovate a home for the Martha Stewart type character, he doesn't plan on running into an old love from college. Chelsea is someone he tried hard to forget, but couldn't quite get the job done. Now that she is back in his life he can't let this opportunity pass, and plans to make the most of it. While Chelsea and Cash reconnect and try to figure out where their relationship might go, there is a killer tracking them.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

[Trudy Miner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chelsa Cassidy, freelance writer, has landed the assignment of a lifetime, writing the biography of Roxanne Scarbrough, a Southern answer to good taste and an empire built on it. Only Chelsea knows what Roxanne is like when the cameras aren't rolling and doesn't want to do it until, she's reunited with her college love Cash Beaudine, the architect on the project to restore Belle Terre to its former glory. Unfortunately, as the sparks fly between Chelsea and Cash, she discovers that someone wants Roxanne dead! Who is behind the threats and why?

This is a new-to-me author. Unfortunately I didn't like the book. The title is based on the name of the magazine that Roxanne Scarbrough produces and that's about the only thing genteel about the story. The story jumps all over geographically, back and forth, especially in the beginning. There is a lot of coarse language and, yes, I understand that it fits parts of the storyline. I hope that the next book I read by this author I'll enjoy more.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly loved this book. From the very beginning the story grabs you and you do not want to put the book down. This story is about Raintree, Georgia and the beauty and traditions of the South. Chelsea Cassidy was a Yankee from New York but When she was asked to write a biography about a icon of southern charm, she decided to meet Roxanne Scarbrough in person. It was this trip to Raintree that she was reconnected with an old love and this changed her life forever. This a full, robust, suspense, romance story that is great.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I read of this author, even going back and reading her older stuff like this one, I like. This one was really hard to put down. Though at times I felt I may have read it before years ago I don't really think so. There just may have been some similar elements to other books I have read. I find this happening every now and then the more books I read.

[Jagati Bagchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has all the ingredients of a good read. A thrilling romance, if one can call it. The romance of Cash and Chelsea is delightful but the book is more about success and failure of relationships.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was pretty good but was not satisfied at all with the way the author ended it. When everything was revealed at the end (which was good) the story ended without tying up any of it. Felt like I was left hanging out in left field.

[Jann Briesacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending took me totally by surprise! Really enjoyed Chelsea and Cash... would have enjoyed more "details" of their romance.

[Lori Baldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had likeable characters but I wasn't crazy about the plot or the setting. Not for me.

[B.T. Hoskins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good read. I'm not really a romance fan, so it says a lot that I could read the whole book. Nice book to sit back and relax the weekend away with.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don't care for a book where the man states, "We're going to be lovers" and the woman simply falls in line with that thinking. Where is her gumption?

[Harlequin Books]

Category: Suspense

[Olivia Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

easy to read, and nice story.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I am still reading and will finish this book (I think) it is really mental popcorn. Characters aren't very believable, except for the mean ones.

[Tammy Pickens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. I like Joann Ross.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sin, scandal and murder; perfect poolside reading.

[Carol Stanley-Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read!! Romance, mystery, intrigue and a crazy secret!! Enjoyed this one...