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The Southerlands #1

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Tired of living under the shadow of her mother's bad choices, Autumn Maddox left home the first chance she got. But when her carefully constructed life crumbles around her, Autumn's forced to return to the small southern town that never let her forget she came from the wrong side of the tracks.

Jude Southerland, the town doctor, is used to taking care of people and with a pedigree that has the Ladies Auxiliary reaching for their fans, he’s easily the town’s most eligible bachelor – a status he has no intention of changing. That is until he almost runs down the Maddox girl he never noticed in school and suddenly finds her lush curves, dark curls and blue eyes consuming his thoughts, day and night.

Autumn would like nothing more than to live happily ever after with Jude. But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won’t let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be. With the chance to finally find happiness, can she overcome her family history and find the confidence she needs to believe in herself or will she let love pass her by?

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2014

2206 people are currently reading
3014 people want to read

About the author

Evelyn Adams

53 books267 followers
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Evelyn Adams loves coffee, her kids, Netflix, and books. Not necessarily in that order. If she's not writing steamy romances, she's chasing kids, reading, or binging Mrs Maisel

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5 stars
1,551 (32%)
4 stars
1,651 (34%)
3 stars
1,192 (25%)
2 stars
303 (6%)
1 star
70 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 312 reviews
Profile Image for Laura.
1,040 reviews89 followers
September 15, 2019
Not a bad book but still, it felt a bit rushed at times, a little bit weird at others and even somewhat juvenile once in a while.
Profile Image for Books&Dreams.
575 reviews
June 9, 2014
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This is book one in the Southern Heart Series.
I gave this book 5 stars.
This is Jude and Autumn's story.


From the first page I read I was captured by this story. It is told in such a sweet way, but also has that steamy edge to it too. The sparks that fly when Jude and Autumn meet are off the charts! She has come home for her grandmother's funeral. She has had a hard life and was determined to make something of herself. She graduated and went to college and got a good job away from the small town she grew up in. When her grandmother dies and she goes back to attend the services. She sees that her brothers and sisters lives are falling apart. She decides to stay in this small town and live in her grandmother's house. This is where she meets Jude. She went to school with him, but he doesn't remember her. But he wants to get to know her. She is a breath of fresh air to him. He is from the right side of the tracks, she is from the wrong. Where they come from you don't mix those two up. But he doesn't care. The town is talking and they are falling in love. When it all finally comes out will she be able to handle the fact that he is from the Southerland family? Will she let the walls fall and keep them down? And will Jude listen to what the people say when they tell him that you don't mix families like that?


There was something special about this book, first off the writing flowed and was just amazingly written. Such a talented author. Secondly from the moment I started reading it I was captured not only by Autumn and Jude, but by all the people in this town. Her sister Summer and Niece Abby. Jude's best friend Andrew and his twin brothers. I wanted to know this town and all the people there. The love story is beautiful and at times Jude took my breath away with how he felt about Autumn. They felt real to me, like it wasn't just a story being told. I love those kind of books that just grab you and suck you in and don't let you go even after you are done reading them. It was a pure love, a real love and a love that was needed by both of these two characters.

I recommend that you read this book. You don't want to miss a moment of Evelyn's writing! Thank you for such an amazing story!!! I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!! !<3
Profile Image for Jamie  (The Kansan Reader).
686 reviews105 followers
June 7, 2017
What was turning out to be a good book fell flat at the end. The romance was good. The hero was awesome, the setting was so-so. What kill this book besides the ending was the heroine. She is the reason the ending suck.

Our dear hero comes from a wealthy Southern family. He is perfect in every golden boy way as the town doctor. When one of his patients past away, he sees the granddaughter at the funeral that the patient always talked about. He's attracted right away. Jude Southerland almost runs over Autumn Maddox the next morning. After that he can't get her out of his mind. 

Autumn Maddox comes from a family with a drunk mother who man hopped, where her oldest brother died in a car wreck with the youngest brother. She feels as if she is no good for Jude because of her family.

Now ladies and gentleman lets go and look at the blurb...
Autumn would like nothing more that to live happily ever after with Jude.But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won't let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be.

Sadly I did not get any of that. The only drama of this sort that happened was when she met his family and his best friend asked a couple questions. After that the story fell to utter ruin. The end was rushed out and I pretty much skimmed the rest of it. I didn't even bother reading the full epilogue which set up for book two.

This was a complete bust for me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a crock!!!

Full review to come.
Profile Image for Samaris Creech.
376 reviews7 followers
August 3, 2014
Autumn has been away from home for a longtime. What brings her back is not a happy occasion at all. She finally comes home to put her grandmother to rest and is saddened by so many things. Her siblings are something else. Theirs is not a typical family but it is a big one. Autumn has only wanted tow things out of life; to not be anything like her mother and to make her grandmother proud. That is part of the reason she stayed away she did not want to burden her Gran with her problems while she was fighting with her health.
Jude is a well-respected Doctor from a well-respected family. Though he has known the Maddox family a long time he has never really been close to any of them. He is intrigued by Autumn just simply from what he has heard about her from her Gran but seeing her definitely ramps his interest level up. These two families couldn’t be more different if they tried.
Their first encounter is memorable to say the least (lol). It doesn’t take long for Jude to realize that he wants something with Autumn he has never wanted before. Now he just has to convince her that they are worthy of each other. Will Autumn let the insecurities of who her family is stop her from experiencing a once in a life time love? Will Jude be able to break through the walls Autumn has up and convince her that they belong together?
Profile Image for Sania.
939 reviews
June 25, 2017
Standalone/Cliffhanger: Standalone
Ages of H and h: In their 20s
Multi-Luv'n/Ménages:
Was There Descriptive Sex:
Descriptive Sex &/Or Drama Between H/h With OW/OM:
>>If So, Before or After H/h Hookup:
Contains Cheating:
Amount of Sex In The Book:
HEA/HFN/etc Ending:
Will This Meet My 'Safety Gang' Buddies' Approval:
Any Triggers/Warnings: No
>>Detail: N/A
Do You Recommend This Book: Yes.
Will You Re-read This Book: Yes
Would You Read More Books By This Author: Yes
Profile Image for Janeiowa.
1,247 reviews
December 18, 2014
It was difficult in the beginning to know who the siblings and half-siblings were. Names just appeared, and I had no idea who Dwayne, Abby, Emory Smith, or Lindsey were. The plot was very predictable and easy to predict.

While the novel was fairly well-written, there were several instances of the wrong case of pronouns being used. The nominative was used (trying to sound learned, I guess) when the correct form for objectives ---singular or plural-- is the objective case.
Profile Image for Erika.
135 reviews10 followers
May 18, 2015
These sweet romances are just that sweet. I like a little more heat. This wasn't bad at all but there was no steam in it at all for me.
Profile Image for Rainelle.
2,195 reviews123 followers
March 6, 2020
Well, well,well. What can I say about this book?! I loved it! Oh my gosh, do this woman know how to write?! This book took me on a romantic ride and I never wanted to get off. First let me say, I wish that all my doctors were like the good Dr. Jude Southerland.
I would be making all kinds of illness just see him and have him touch me as he tells me to breath in and out. Oh lord, I’m having he vapors as I write about him. This man knows how to talk to a woman, take care of her and seduce her. Seduce me! Anyway Autumn was fantastic with Jude.
Her character showed a strong determined aunt who would not give on her family for the world. She didn’t hide and she didn’t coward. You go girl! And that my fellow book reader, I recommended this book with two snaps and a twist.
Profile Image for Jennie  Coull.
184 reviews14 followers
March 5, 2015
3 1/2 stars, this was a nice quick read and just what I needed after reading 2 highly emotional books in a row.

There were no great surprises, with in the first couple of chapters I had worked out the plot, and what was going to happen, but that was ok in fact it was kinda what I was looking for. I will be reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Nicky.
454 reviews49 followers
January 25, 2015
It's actually 2.5 stars.

It wasn't a bad book, it was slow. Simply too slow for me.
I'm sure you'll appreciate it better than me.

But I'm honestly curious about the sequels, especially Travis and Summer's story :)
3,114 reviews26 followers
April 12, 2016
Set in western VA, we meet Autumn who has returned home for her beloved grandmother's funeral. We learn that she's from a troubled family, and she's just lost her job. She's a good person from a crappy family.

She meets Jude Southerland, who is the town doctor and treated her grandmother before her death. Jude's from the wealthy founding family in town and she continually questions her relationship with Jude because their backgrounds are so different.

There's lots of chemistry between Jude and Autumn and plenty of steamy scenes.

I would have liked a better ending/better HEA for them. Perhaps we'll see this in other books since it's a series.
Profile Image for Elena Johansen.
Author 5 books30 followers
October 20, 2019
I said in a review of a book I read just a few days ago that I dislike family-based romances that introduce a million siblings right away to establish future protagonists, and I do. But that book wasn't nearly as bad about it as this one turned out to be. The opening chapter introduces the heroine, her sister, and her niece, all of whom end up being important to the plot, fair enough. It also talks about several other siblings, the issues with her parents, her dead grandmother, and half the town that's shown up to the house after the funeral. Way too many names, way too soon, especially when most of them aren't important at all. I was overwhelmed, almost to the point where I gave up then, because it was such a mess.

But I stuck it out, and honestly, I regret that decision. Meeting the hero didn't help much--he's so perfectly flawless he might as well have been set on a shelf for everyone to admire. Small-town doctor, doesn't care about the heroine's unstable family life or what his family/the town will think of them being together. Also, basically he loves her for no reason. There's physical attraction instantly, and that becomes interest in dating at a reasonable pace, but I don't understand why, from anything I read, he falls in love with her and goes to such great lengths to convince her to get over her self-imposed mentality of not being good enough.

The subplot about the heroine trying to "save" her sister and niece from a bad relationship/bad home life got old quickly. The niece was reasonably cute but the sister was a sad sack who had no personality and no character agency, just a walking plot device for the heroine to be worried about and shuffle from place to place as the plot demanded.

If I hadn't gotten this for free, I'd want my money back, and as it is, I want my time spent reading back.
Profile Image for Myndi .
1,544 reviews51 followers
November 13, 2021
I was disappointed with myself for reading the first book in the spin off series before I read this one. However, as it turns out, it's not necessary to read this first series before reading the spin off. Each series can stand alone.

I loved how this book showed how cruel some people can be, and at the same time showed how your background and circumstances don't get to determine the outcome of your life. It's powerful to me, when a main character can show the other how much they are worth in spite of their perceived flaws. We all think the worst of ourselves at times and reading a romance like this one can give us hope that the right person will see past what we hate about ourself.

There was on character, other than the one I'm sure we were meant to dislike, that I really despised and I'm wondering if there will be a redeeming point for him in the future of this series, as he seems to have a close connection with the main family. I was shocked and disappointed in his actions and even at the end of the book, I didn't like him much.

This being the second book I've read by this author, I can say with certainty that I will be reading more. I love the emotions she puts into the books and how much depth there is to her characters. Her writing style is engaging and I found myself drawn in from the very first page.
Profile Image for Vicki.
2,709 reviews112 followers
June 10, 2020
Autumn had a pretty tough life growing up. When the book opens, she's lost Gran and has inherited Gran's house. She reminisces about losing her brother and sister in a car accident previously and how her mother went off the deep end, so she took care of her siblings and they moved in with their grandma, so she really lost a lot when her grandmother did. Because her family has a bad name from some things in her family's past she feels unworthy.

Then she sees Dr. Jude Southerland one day, driving a Jag, and when he gets out of the car it's insta-hot-guy-desires! Jude sees inside Autumn's heart and he returns the desires to have her. There is some depth to the story and he comes to her defense when others try to put her down just at the recognition of her family name.

I liked it enough to continue the series and see what their next step is.
Profile Image for Carrie.
43 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2019
Sweet and fun

A sweet and fun story. This is a good read for a lazy afternoon or a snow day. One of the better contemporary romance stories I have read lately.
Profile Image for Pooja Peravali.
Author 2 books110 followers
January 17, 2021
A short, basic romance read. Well-written, but the length meant the main conflict and side plots were not fleshed out, and I truly never understood the special attraction between the leads.
Profile Image for Isabel Jolie.
Author 43 books520 followers
September 8, 2020
Small town romance at it's best. Made me want to, well, not move to the Blue Ridge mountains but definitely made me want to visit. Jude and Autumn's love story is heart-warming and has all the feels. Autumn is a strong heroine who wasn't born on the right side of the tracks but who worked hard and found her own version of success. Even so, she doesn't quite feel worthy of Dr. Jude Southerland. Loved it as he proved to her that the whole side of the track thing is all in her head.
Profile Image for Debbie.
2,694 reviews48 followers
October 26, 2015
Autumn grew up in a troubled family and never knew the identity of her father. It was common for her mother to date and bring home different men and her siblings were known for causing trouble around town. In the end, her mother became a drunk who drank herself to death. The only good person Autumn had in her life was her Gran. Autumn went to college, made good grades and left town to make something of herself and to make her Gran proud. When she passes away, Autumn is forced to come back home to small town where she believes everyone thinks she's trash.

Jude is the hot and single local doctor who took care of Gran while she was sick. The minute he sees Autumn, Jude feels a possessiveness and draw towards her that he can't shake. He's never been one to have a girlfriend so the feeling is unfamiliar but not unwanted. The problem is, Autumn doesn't think she's worth Jude's attention. He came from a good solid family with lots of money and Autumn believes he can do better than her. Jude is determined to prove to Autumn she's the woman he wants and that he knows what's best for him.

I really liked Jude. He's a great character. Nice and caring, possessive and alpha and so very sweet and tender. He treated Autumn as if she was the only woman in the world. Autumn drove me a little crazy with her I'm-not-good-enough mentality. I just wanted to reach into my Kindle and thump her on the head. Other than that, I liked Autumn well enough and enjoyed watching them get closer.

The epilogue sets up the next book in the series which is about Jude's sister Bailey.
Profile Image for Heather.
165 reviews3 followers
May 11, 2016
Autumn left her hometown with hopes of only returning after she had made something of herself. She came from a small town that seemed to remember where someone came from. Growing up in a dysfunctional family and finally landing in her Grandmother home has shown her how tough it can be. She lived a life feeling like she was being judged for her mother’s mistakes.

Autumn’s life in the city was falling apart and she didn’t want her grandmother to know she had failed but now, her grandmother has passed away and she didn’t get a chance to say good-bye because she was so busy trying to protect herself from disappointing her grandmother.

Jude is from a founding family. A family that has stability, town standing, and a great reputations. Jude has gone off to school and come back to be doctor taking care of all the local people he grew up with. Autumn’s grandmother was one of his patients. He feels like he’s come to know Autumn even though he really doesn’t have any memories of them growing up together. Autumn could never fit into his world. The thing is, Jude doesn’t care about her past or about the mistakes that her parents made. He finds himself drawn to her and finds himself crossing her path.

Can Autumn find it in herself to let him in and let go of all the guilt she holds on to? Can she make a life for herself in her hometown?

I’m looking forward to reading more of the Southerland series. The characters were easy to like and were real. Having grown up in a small town myself it was easy to relate to the small community social dynamics.
365 reviews4 followers
January 21, 2017
This was a freebie available from Amazon, so I decided to give it a shot. Overall, I found the entire story somewhat juvenile. The story started out promising, but Autumn and Jude got off to a really awkward start. First he almost runs her over and gets out of her car to glare at her? Then they run into each other because he's best friends with her lawyer and there's more awkwardness. (By the way, the guy's medical practice is overrun with patients, but he has time to stroll out for leisurely lunches at his friend's place of work?) She catches him gawking her through her bedroom window. Then she randomly shows up to his practice to thank him for taking care of her grandmother and she just... gets herself hired by his... assistant or nurse, I guess? She has no experience with medical records, but she tells her she's good with paperwork and suddenly has a job coding insurance stuff? Really? People go to school to learn how to do that. Autumn is an accountant. And I understand this is a small southern town, but does he really treat kids and the elderly in the same office? Are there no pediatricians around? I just found the entire premise hard to believe.

Once we're past that weirdness, their story is kinda cute and entertaining. I was more interested in Summer and Abby's struggles, to tell the truth, than Jude and Autumn's love story. Everything simply moved too quickly and I had a hard time connecting with them, but there were some nice moments. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess this wasn't it.
Profile Image for Delaney.
105 reviews18 followers
February 9, 2017
Not really a big fan of this. The characters where cute, and the overall story was cute, but it all felt very rushed and unrealistic. There wasn't much development and it was just so quick, it almost didn't seem like enough time to connect with the characters and it was pretty obvious to tell from the beginning what was going to happen with Dwayne and Summed and with Jude and Autumn. Overall I'm not too impressed. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read but it definitely isn't something to rave about and in my opinion could have used quite a bit more development!
Profile Image for Rosemary.
650 reviews
July 15, 2015
This was a freebie on Amazon. I felt like there were too many details missing or parts of the book that didn't really need to be there. Autumn comes from a not so distinguished family. Jude is the town doctor and his family is one of the better known ones. Basically, Autumn is trying to find her own place in this town. Her other siblings don't make it do easy. There's Summer and her daughter, Abby, and the bum boyfriend. Jude's friends don't think she's the right girl to introduce to your family. The story had lots of potential, but I feel as though the follow through was lacking. Why did Andrew have such a problem with Autumn? It was very obvious what Dwayne was doing in the trailer. And why Summer ALWAYS sleepy? I just think that if you mention these things, you need to answer them, too. This book just fell short for me.
Profile Image for Jean Oram.
Author 86 books948 followers
Read
May 10, 2014
This is a sweet southern romance with a bit of heat to keep the reader on their toes.

Autumn is the gal from the wrong side of the tracks and has siblings from several fathers. Jude is a doctor who grew up enjoying a privileged life.

When Autumn returns home after her life falls apart in the city, she thinks she'll never get the life she wants--especially when Jude just about runs her down with his car and snips at her. But things change for the two and they find they actually like each other! Gasp! The only problem are their families standing in their way--whether for real or only imagined.

A great contemporary romance about getting over your past and obstacles that might keep you from what you really want in life.
Profile Image for Stacey.
1,446 reviews1,127 followers
January 6, 2016
Small town romance...

This was a fairly quick read about a woman who's from a dysfunctional family and a man also known as Dr McHottie.

Autumn escaped from a small town with narrow-minded views and when she returns there opinions of her family are still negative. Jude is from a loving family and doesn't believe in judging people because of their family connections.

Autumn and Jude don't start off well, but definitely feel attracted to each other. Lots of busybodies try to keep them apart. Some dramas on both sides keep the story moving nicely.

Some sexy times between the couple show they have a good connection.

The storyline wasn't the most original, but I did still enjoy it.
Profile Image for Emily Goodman.
1,070 reviews39 followers
May 11, 2015
What an unexpected find! I added this book to my TBR list because it was free and found myself absolutely loving this story! Autumn Maddox has made something of herself and has done everything in her power to separate herself from the expectation the small town has given her. After a horrible end to her career and the death of the grandmother who raised her, she moves home to take care of her younger sister and niece. Jude Southerland is the town doctor and also one a member of one of the most established families in the area. He is instantly attracted to Autumn. If you love the storyline of the man chasing after the woman and sweeping her off her feet, you'll love this book. Great read and looking forward to more in the series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 312 reviews

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