Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter

Dixie #1

by Lisa Patton

Southern belle Leelee Satterfield leaves her beloved Memphis, Tennessee, to follow her husband's dream of managing a quaint Vermont inn. But when they arrive, young daughters and ancient Yorkie in tow, they discover pretty fast that there's a truckload of things nobody tells you about Vermont until you live there. When Leelee is left swindled and snowbound, she s forced to confront the true depth of her Southern grit in this foreign town.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Book Club, Southern, Humor, Contemporary

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2009

About the author

Lisa Patton, author of Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter, Yankee Doodle Dixie, Southern as a Second Language, and Rush, and Kissing The Sky is a Memphis, Tennessee native who spent time as a Vermont innkeeper until three sub-zero winters sent her speeding back down South. She has over 20 years experience working in the music and entertainment business, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to love this book. Truly I did. And it's not really deserving of just two stars, but the more I thought about it the more problems I had with it. I couldn't give it three stars.

As a heroine, I liked Leelee. Her surrounding cast of characters were fine, too. But no one was fully realized. You want stock southern belles? You got 'em. You want rude, taciturn yankees? You got them, too. End of character development.

The plot was okay, but there were a lot of holes for me. One minute money is scarce and the future of the inn is in doubt, the next minute the heroine has no problem spending $350 to bury her dead dog in the middle of a Vermont winter. The plucky single mother soap box was truly irritating. Leelee never has a babysitter cancel five minutes before the dinner rush. The children are always playing happily in another room. She always seems to get enough sleep, even though she's doing the job of two parents. Everything seems to work out perfectly for her.

Another problem for me is the inn itself. It's supposedly a popular B&B with a four star restaurant, but the smell of mildew, cigarette smoke and body odor is enough to make Leelee almost lose her lunch, not to mention the dust and grime that supposedly covers the place. How is this inn popular again? And I won't even get into the whole husband plotline because it just frustrated me so much.

I won't lie, the resolution was poorly thought out. I just didn't buy it- the way the situation with the inn was resolved, the situation with Peter, etc. I started rolling my eyes with about 20 pages to go, and I just decided to grit it out.

Finally, this author managed to hit one of my main writing pet peeves OVER and OVER again. When a character is from a foreign country and/or we are told they have an accent, it is NOT NECESSARY to write out that accent phonetically. The reader most likely *knows* what a German accent sounds like. Give them some credit and let them use their imaginations! There is no reason to write "Vat ees dis?" as opposed to "What is this?" This happened over and over in the book with all sorts of accents- German, French, Southern, New Jersey, Yankee. Truly, it's like nails on a blackboard for me.

At the end of the day I wanted charming, and instead I got boring.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

All right, I am putting my foot down and refusing to read one more word of this drivel. It was making me plain crabby. I was really looking forward to this book, and what I thought would be a sweet and fun fish-out-of-water story was quickly turning into a plot laden with misery and irritation: misery for the main character, irritation for me. First of all, I can’t stand a female character that cows to her husband’s every whim just because he’s the man. Even though Leelee, our main character, does not want to move to VT, she lists all her husband’s good traits that make her think she should move, just because he wants to: he "lets" her buy clothes, he “let” her have children…WHAT???? Again, WHAT???? And her husband pouts when he doesn’t get his way – also a big whoop-de-frickin’-do from yours truly. I mean, grow a pair already!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How many Southerners in this world can actually say that they moved 1,473 miles away from home, due north to Vermont to operate an inn? And survived."

This book was a pleasant surprise! I picked it up from my local library while I was waiting for some requested books to arrive. It tells the story of a thirty-one-year-old southern mother of two (Leelee) who follows her husband to Vermont to manage an inn. She quickly discovers that living in Vermont is very different than Tennessee.

The middle of the novel takes a completely different direction than what Patton sets up initially. I was definitely caught off guard. It wasn't a bad change though and kept me engaged the whole time.

Patton based this novel on her own experience with running a Vermont inn, so although this story is fiction, the factual occurrences of what happens in Vermont during the cold seasons are real. It was enough to keep me rooted in the southern states!

Very enjoyable read for me. This book is a series and listed as "Dixie #1", so the conclusion left readers with more story to tell about Leelee's next adventure.

Four stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 for my rating. 👍

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story I do have two issues. First, why are men (especially southern men) always such bums. Sheesh, a lot of southern women writers have a problem with men.

This is the story of a southern belle who moves to Vermont to run a bed and breakfast with her husband (this would be the bum I mentioned before). Needless to say things don't go all that well and our heroine learns a lot about herself and grows to be a strong woman(ain't that always the way).

My second issue is the ending, it seemed a little to quick and maybe not the most thought out. It was a case of "I know how I want it to end so let's just make it happen" kind of ending.

Oh and, I totally want book kids. This in one of those books where the kids are there for amusing anecdotes but then are conveniently "in the other room" when not part of the story. Their like soap opera babies. I think I've got to get me some of those.

Mostly, it was a fun read and move me along on my quest. But I don't feel the need to own this one.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

LeeLee Satterfield is Southern born and bred and when her husband announces he has dreams of running a quaint Vermont inn and restaurant she can't imagine how she'll survive. Being a good wife she hauls her Yorkie and two daughters across the country and gamely fights enormous drifts of snow, odd locals, and husband stealing hussies. The story highlights LeeLee's Southern grit, charm and humor.

Sadly, this book was not for me. I found the characters to be extreme caricatures all with features so exaggerated that they weren't very believable or likable. The plot was predictable and I flat out couldn't stand LeeLee. I'm sure this book has an appreciative audience, but it wasn't me!

[Ellen (more books, please) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I even thought I was coming close to liking it, but I never really got there. Lots of heavy issues were hit on, father uprooting family to allow him to be happy again; said father not really finding that happiness leaves family, but of course he leaves a note and scares loving spouse who doesn't receive the note for two days. Then there is the fact that they never discuss the issue face to face, or really at all. In fact, that happened with a number of issues/situations. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop on certain things and it never did. Situations would happen that would have ramifications and consequences in the real world but apparently not in this world.
Much more time was spent discussing how annoyingly different Vermont is than Tennessee than dealing with issues.
But for some reason I want to read the second one, hoping to see some closure So I am obviously still trying to like it.
It is a very clean book, no sex or drugs, a couple of four-letter words.

[Kelly]

This book was so not enjoyable for me I couldn't force myself to finish it so I won't actually rate it. The characters were so shallow that I couldn't stand any of them. It was hard for me to tell if the author was trying to make them like that on purpose or if she's just not my type (I'm thinking the latter). I'm sure the main character was supposed to become a better person by the end but after 75 pages I saw no signs of promise that she was going to become more bearable so I had to put it down. I only read this for a book club so I knew it wasn't exactly up my alley to begin with. The plot idea could have been cute but this was disappointing.

[Arctic · Rating 1 out of 5]

poorly written and entirely too predictable, complete with shallow, stereotypical characters whom you just want to slap. and I *like* fish-out-of-water scenarios. hello, northern exposure? even Joel Fleischman wasn't this tiresome to follow.

Not Recommended.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and easy read about a Memphis belle who moves north with her husband to run an inn. I enjoyed the references to places and things in Memphis. Although not a native of the North or the South, I have lived in both and got a kick out of the author's point of view. I too have endured a glorious New England summer that lasts only six weeks and the long, long winter that seems to last the rest of the year. And then here in the Memphis area, I just saw daffodils blooming and it's barely February, just as the authors describes. I also shared Leelee's mission to see a moose when I lived up north. Those little bits of common experiences made it a fun read for me.

[Michaela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Formulaic without the junk-food joy of a lovable protagonist.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I just grabbed off the recently returned shelf at the library.

I really enjoyed this book. The "fish out of water" twist was a lot of fun. Being a native New Englander I can only imaging how foreign Vermont (and all that snow!) would feel to a Southern Belle.

The first half of the book, LeeLee is a little whiny and spoiled, but it was totally justified. She did try to keep a smile on her face and mostly complained in her own head. This was a difficult transition to move from a big city where she had tons of support and a life she knew to a small town where she had to find her own way.

I'm so happy her girlfriends surprised her with a visit to Vermont. They were the tonic she needed to move forward and create her own life. I also liked watching LeeLee make friends in Vermont. The people she meets are unlike the lifelong friends she's had but she really makes the most of these new experiences.

I didn't like how she just avoided dealing with Baker after he left. She just lets him take the girls for dinner but doesn't formalize any support or schedule? She's so eager to get back to Memphis, so why doesn't she call an attorney from home to start serving papers to him in Vermont? He's also fine with her just taking the girls back to Memphis and he'll see them for a few weeks in the summer?

I also don't understand how Baker is fine just walking away from the inn and leaving it in LeeLee's hands. Is that because it was her father's money that funded most of the move so he doesn't feel invested? He set up the cockamamie agreement where the previous owners would hold the mortgage AND run the inn that caused so much of the strife to begin with. Why didn't they get a loan from a bank? Especially if they sold their $500K house and bought the inn for $385K, there shouldn't have been a need for a mortgage.

I did guess the twist at the end of the book. It was pretty obvious that it was coming.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the sequel. Because I did like LeeLee and hope to see her grow and become a successful inn owner in her hometown.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had vacillating emotions for many of the characters in this book. At first, I didn't like Leelee Satterfield. She seemed spoiled and whiney. I couldn't relate to her need for approval from her friends, especially regarding with her marriage matters. Then contrary, I liked Baker and his idea to be adventurous and try something new....until...that need for change and adventure brought out the jerk he really is.

As the story moved on, I found my emotions changing for the characters. I eventually grew to care very much for Leelee and despise Baker.

And then I was team Peter, even up until the last word of the book.

This book is a casual read with a few twists of unexpected events that kept me turning the pages and now has me eager to read the next in the series.

This book isn't a work of literature so I don't consider it a must read. But it's a fun read for both the Southern Belle and her Yankee opposite. You are entertained by the characters with their quirky, cultural personalities. You will enjoy spending time in a Vermont Bed and Breakfast surviving a Nor'easter then racing back to the Deep South to avoid another.

[Casey Darnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You are so selfish. How could I ever have been so blind?"

I love this book. A lot of the reviews are fairly bad, and I'll get into that, but I relate so much to so many parts of this book. Both as a southern expat living in the north and as someone who's gone through a nasty divorce.

A lot of the negativity towards this book come from the way that Leelee, the main character, does whatever her husband wants and seems to have no backbone. (She doesn't remain that way though.) Leelee, being raised in the south, has had it ingrained in her from practically birth that men make the decisions. It's even mentioned in an early chapter that Leelee's father always ordered for her at restaurants, and then her husband took it over. This is a woman who was raised to be helpless. But the incredible strength and growth she shows is a testament to her character and the woman that she can be.

[Bubba61909 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I thought it was a very cute story, with the way it was written. I am from the north and I have never thought about what us as northerners do that is different. This book pointed out a lot the quirks that we have. For example, burying a pet during the winter. For us it is nothing to leave a pet ferret or cat on your shed shelf until spring but a southerner would truly think we are nuts. Another example is the way we talk. The author called it aristocratic, northern accent. That is a pretty "spot on" statement about how we talk. I thought this was a good book for anyone who is looking for a good story. There is no violence or war but shows what someone can do with their back against the wall. I recommend this book to anyone.

[Lisa Leone-campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter is an adorable story in which a woman from Memphis, Tennessee finds herself transplanted to Vermont as the owner of an Inn. Not her idea, but her husbands. The story relays their time at the Inn, a bed and breakfast in a very small town with of course quirky townspeople and the difficulties which they incurred as they tried to establish themselves as the new owners of an Inn which has always been known for its German cooking, difficult employers and a terrible odor which permeates the building and cannot be fixed! It’s about a woman who loves her husband so much she would go to the ends of the earth for him…literally and finds herself not only in a different reality, but then alone, working in an Inn with her two young children and her dog, Princess Grace by her side.

Filled with hysterical tales of how her adjustment never quite succeeds, yet through it all she never loses her happy outlook on life and looks at each challenge she faces even though frightened out of her mind, as a victory.

Leelee, her husband Baker, their two children, and their dog have a wonderful life in Memphis, Tennessee. A stay-at-home mom who lunches with her best friends at the country club and has no worries about money, loves her life. Until her husband decides he hates his job and wants to try something different. And by different he means up and moving to Vermont and buying an inn run by a German brother and sister near ski resorts. Now, Leelee has never even seen snow, let alone Vermont! but she loves her husband and agrees. One thing for sure, she can’t wait to meet a moose up close and personal!

But when they arrive, she discovers she must actually work at this smelly, un-charming Inn with hippopotamus decor and the current owner Helga who hates her. She discovers very quickly she’s not in Tennessee anymore! Her poor Yorkie won’t even go to the bathroom outside first for fear they will never find her in the deep snow as well as she just plain refuses to go out, so their tiny apartment is covered in newspaper! Although Princess Grace does enjoy a particular room to do her business.

But when Baker decides he made a big mistake and just up and leaves her to tackle all the jobs, she at first goes into a deep depression. But for the eccentric employees, her friends back home and her stubbornness and wanting the best for her children she tackles all of the obstacles which she is faced as best she can with a bit of sneakiness.

And just as her bones begin to thaw and perhaps with a little crush developing, she gets the opportunity to go home again. But where is home now? Just when she thought she had it all worked out she must now make once again the most difficult decision of her life!

In Whistlin’ Dixie, you will laugh out loud at the state of affairs Leelee must grapple with, you will empathize as she finds herself a single mom in the land of the lost until she begins to realize she may perhaps know what she is doing…well, sort of… But most of all you will feel her transformation from a lady of leisure to a powerful intelligent working woman who must think quickly on her cold feet, even if there are snowshoes under them!

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this on the new Audible Plus package and didn't know what to expect. It was fantastic! I loved the story, the characters and the setting. Plus the book was completely free of graphic scenes or foul language. For anyone looking for clean women's fiction that is not faith-based, this is a series and author for you.

[Johnny Coody · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story line but some things not realistic enough for my taste.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a southern "princess" who moves to Vermont and has to face real life. Poor girl. She has to endure winter. You would think this is the worst hardship anyone has ever suffered. She and her husband buy a bed and breakfast / restaurant. The bed and breakfast seems to run itself, but she is involved with the restaurant. She whines about how the business is eating all of their savings, and they will soon use up most of the inheritance that daddy left her. But then she whines when her husband gives her snow boots for Christmas instead of the diamond earrings she wants. She belittles the appearance and accent of every Vermonter she meets. No wonder her husband leaves her halfway through the book!

The rest of the story is pretty predictable, so I won't go any further. It isn't a horrible book, but very light weight.

[Mike Shoop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Southern fried silliness transported from Tennessee to Vermont. While it had a few humorous parts here and there, I never once laughed out loud as I read through this tale of Memphis born and bred Baker and Leelee Satterfield uprooting their family to move to Vermont to own and operate an old inn, with all sorts of expected and unexpected issues. There are quirky characters and plenty of drama, a little romance, some heartbreak, learning to survive in strange places, etc., works fine as a lightweight, beach read. Some of the best funny bits occur when her three friends from Tennessee arrive for a visit. I think I expected something more witty and funny on the order of Fannie Flagg or Clyde Edgerton than what I got.

[Rosalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was reccommended to me by a parton. It is wonderful. I can't wait to finish it.
I finished this book... It was laugh out loud funny!... It's the story of a husband and wife who decide to move from Tennessee to Vermont to buy a bed and breakfast. This couple has lived in the South their entire lives. They have never experienced snow, black ice and winters that last until June! The wife owns a little Yorkshire Terrier named Princess Grace... When the first Nor'easter arrives the little dog refuses to do it's business outside and leaves litte surprises all over the inn. If you want a light hearted, humorous quick read; this is the one for you!

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Southern belle follows her manipulative husband to Vermont, where he has purchased a bed and breakfast, but then he disappears, or something, and she has to adjust and run the inn by herself. I'm sketchy on the details because I'm only on page whatever and I don't intend to finish it. The characters are unlikeable outlines, the plot seems to be based entirely on cliches and stereotypes, and life is too short.

I picked this up for a fun, you-go-girl kind of read, but it's just putting me in a bad mood. Why can't fiction about lighthearted scenarios ever be written well? Is there some kind of law against that?

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book! It was like the Ya Ya's meets Big Stone Gap meets Yankee Doodle. And I loved every second of it. As a Southern Girl myself, I loved the sayings, the feelings and the going-ons of all the characters, but most especially LeeLee and the other girls of the GK Agency. I couldn't stand that yellow-bellied husband of LeeLee's, Baker. I could stand, however, the great Peter, and can't wait to see what happens next in Lisa Patton's continuation, Yankee Doodle Dixie: A Novel. I know it'll be great!

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The characters are wonderful (except for the one you love to hate!) and the setting is great. My brother lives in New England also, in northern New Hampshire on the Vermont border, so I can verify that the winters are exactly like the one described in the book. He and my sister-in-law both talk a lot about Mud Season, so what you read in this book is very real. I had not read this author before, but am ordering the next book in this series because this one was so good. The theme of friendship no matter where the friends find themselves geographically comes through loud and clear. Definitely a good read!

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

RUN AWAY - This book has a fun premise, but little else to recommend it. It's horrible. I only finished by reading 10 pages, skipping 10 pages, etc. the plot is so weak that it wouldn't hold water. Character development is a little better, but only marginally. No one would ever behave as the main character does, even if they were a "genteel" southern lady. Really, I don't give out too many five star reviews, but this only the second one star review I've ever written, so do yourself a favor and just put this one down, or take it off your to read list, or whatever. If not just remember, I told you so.

[C.M. Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was first attracted to this novel because I've lived in New England and Tennessee, and the thought of the culture clash between the two made me smile. After finishing, I can say this novel did not disappoint. It was a delight.The pacing was spot on, and the characters a delight. I appreciated the way LeeLee grew over the course of the novel as circumstances challenged and forced her to decide what kind of woman she wanted to be. Can't wait for the sequel.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler alert: this review contains plot details.

This is a book I grabbed off the shelf at the library to listen to while driving. Totally random.

I had a lot of problems with the plot of this book. Southern businessman suddenly decides that it's his life-long dream (and he's never mention this to his wife since the day they met?) to own and operate and be a cook in a B&B. In Vermont. As a dutiful Southern wife, Leelee follows him to the frigid north, where it's winter about 9 months out of the year (I wonder how true Vermonters feel about that), where, within a few weeks, her husband meets a blonde bombshell 10 years his senior, and he walks out of his wife and children (on their anniversary, no less!) and goes off to be her business manager of a ski resort, leaving Leelee to run the B&B on her own. Oh, and he buys the place from an obviously slimy real estate agent and agrees to allow the previous owners hold the mortgage and stay on to show them the ropes. They are a hugely disagreeable couple who literally stink and their cuisine is horrible, and the woman is plotting to get her "inn" back. So why did they sell it in the first place? There are so many plot holes in this premise I don't even know where to begin. Nobody with that much money could possibly be that stupid.

Nevertheless, I hung in there (because there was nothing else to listen to) and resisted the urge to turn around and return the book to the library on the second or third CD. After a while, the plot didn't get any better, but the basic story line of Leelee's trials to overcome her situation, to get rid of the evil Helga, and a romance that blossoms, becomes interesting enough that I wanted to find out how it ends, and the ending was pretty good, at least the romantic part. The characters were okay, and I was dissatisfied with how things were left the new owners.

The writing was pretty good. I kind of disliked how spoiled Leelee was.

In spite of it all, though, I went right out to find out if there is a sequel (there is...written 4 years later, probably because people demanded to know the answers to all the questions I was having), and am now listening to it, so it must not have been all that bad. I would give it 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leelee Satterfield was raised to be the perfect southern lady, which is why she followed her husband's dream of opening an Inn in Vermont intending to make the best of it. Packing up her daughters, Isabella and Sarah, along with her beloved Princess Grace Kelly, she was determined to stand with Baker. But, Tennessee and Vermont are two very different places, and the adjustment was going to be very difficult at times.

Pick up this book and you will be transported to Vermont for all of the best and worst of times. Nor'easters, black flies, "stick season," "mud season," etc. Watch how this southern belle learns to stand on her own amidst truly devastating times. Come meet the "families" - Virginia, Mary Jule, and Alice; along with Peter, Roberta, Jeb, and Pierre. 

I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I have the other two in the "Dixie Series" on hold at the library. The reading was easy and quick, the story filled with wonderful details about life in Vermont. I recommend this to readers of all types. You won't be disappointed!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I strongly disliked the first few chapters set in Memphis. The friends and their conversations - so ridiculous. I became more interested once the setting moved to Vermont, and found myself turning pages to see what happens next. I'm not sure I will read the other books in the trilogy, but I am curious about what happens with some of the characters.

[Judi Asdell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this was a good read which kind of lagged right in the middle but all in all I enjoyed the book. Got the other two in the series and am now reading "Yankee Doodle Dixie" which continues right where the last book ended. Looking forward to "Southern as a second language" by same author. I do enjoy a book with a touch of "southern" wit.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost gave up on this book! 🍑🍑 But Leelee finally showed some grit and it was fun to see the character grow. Stereotypes aside, this is an entertaining and clean novel that I'm reading and discussing with my friends. It looks like I might put the second book on my to-read list.