I enjoyed this book! Karen White is a master at southern fiction and this is no exception. Engaging characters and a fun plot, highly recommended.

Every person should have a Sugar in their life. The stories she told were better than any history lesson I have ever had. They were stories of the world while she was growing up. The attitudes of people against blacks, the men going off to war, and the family dynamics are stories I have heard before but never tire of heading over and over again. I have also noticed that many people don’t really like to share their history as Sugar feels. She pretends to be closed off and not in need of friends but the truth is she just needs the right friends, which is what Merilee becomes.

The storyline is of Merilee getting a divorce and moving to a new house with her two children where the landlord is Sugar. The children go to a new school and Merilee gets pulled into the mom’s group and pushed to participate in the fundraiser gala. The mom’s are all led by Heather, who is beyond obnoxious. From the very first time Heather was introduced I didn’t like her. She is that mom in the school that has the perfect life and wants everyone know acknowledge how amazing she is. I could predict how Merilee and Heather’s friendship would be but I couldn’t see how it would end up.

The friendships are what really stuck with me during this book. Sugar and Merilee both have histories that they prefer not to talk about but with each other they find themselves opening up and trusting. Wade, the handy man, is a good friend to both Sugar and Merilee. He is willing to lend a helping hand, push for information when needed, and protect them without question. There are other friendships that Merilee forms that show that there are good people in the world and that everyone needs to have that friend they can trust without any doubts.

I recommend picking up your own copy of The Night the Lights Went Out.

What is it about books that feel all steeped in south and mystery that I'm loving lately? I'm not sure, but I'm not going to stop anytime soon because I AM LOVING THEM. The Night the Lights Went Out is a pretty prime example. Give it a read, and you will not be disappointed.

"From the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street series comes a stunning new novel about a young single mother who discovers that the nature of friendship is never what it seems....

Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It’s not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren’t helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail.

Merilee finds some measure of peace in the cottage she is renting from town matriarch Sugar Prescott. Though stubborn and irascible, Sugar sees something of herself in Merilee—something that allows her to open up about her own colorful past.

Sugar’s stories give Merilee a different perspective on the town and its wealthy school moms in their tennis whites and shiny SUVs, and even on her new friendship with Heather Blackford. Merilee is charmed by the glamorous young mother’s seemingly perfect life and finds herself drawn into Heather's world.

In a town like Sweet Apple, where sins and secrets are as likely to be found behind the walls of gated mansions as in the dark woods surrounding Merilee’s house, appearance is everything. But just how dangerous that deception can be will shock all three women...."

I seriously need to read some Karen White...

I’ll be honest: There are some significant problems with this book, mainly its reliance on too many coincidences, an uneven tone, an obvious villain, and too many flashbacks. However, I enjoyed the book so much, I looked past its faults even while I was categorizing them. Click on the link below to read my complete review.

Book was sent to automatically. I never got around to reading it since the subject matter was not something I was interesting in at the time.

I tried several times to read this book. I couldn’t seem to get into the characters mind and it didn’t have me wanting more. I feel the writing just didn’t grab me as I would have hoped and I was unable to finish.

A fun mystery, enjoyable read - the last scenes had me (electronically) turning pages quickly, and the depiction of small-town motherhood was on point.

White blends together mystery, romance and family drama in this tale about a town that appears perfect, though secrets lie beneath. There is a mixture of history and the present, and the two timelines come together for an excellent resolution.

A romance novel with quirky characters and a happy ending. It was a good story, but it read like so many others following a tried-but-true story formula.

DNF. i honestly do not know why but i just couldn't connect to this book at all. i wanted to, but i couldn't get into it and had to quit it. could have been wrong book wrong time, but each time i tried to start it i'd pick something else up. sorry author, sorry netgalley. it's not you, it's likely me.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

The Night the Lights Went Out is full of Southern charm, telling the tale of the unlikely friendship between a single mother starting over in life after heartbreak and her tough elderly landlord who has had trials of her own. Part women’s fiction and part mystery, with a little romance and a big bunch of humor thrown in, it is a satisfying read sure to please Karen White’s fans.

Sugar Prescott, at ninety-three years of age, has outlived her entire family. Though she is the most prominent resident in Sweet Apple, Georgia, she is prickly and set in her ways. She rents the cottage behind her house to Merilee Dunlap and her two young children. Merilee is hoping that the move to a new house and a new school will help relieve the sting of her recent divorce. She is mortified when an anonymous blogger starts airing all of her dirty laundry, and she does not exactly fit in with the other mothers at her kids’ new private school. However, one of the mothers, Heather, takes an unusual interest in her. Though initially determined to keep their landlord/tenant relationship just that, Sugar cannot help but see a bit of herself in Merilee and slowly opens up her heart and her past. When someone tragically dies, all hell breaks loose for Merilee, but Sugar is by her side through it all.

I really enjoyed The Night the Lights Went Out, especially Sugar. She tries ever so hard to keep her hard exterior shell in place, but you can tell right away that she is all heart beneath her guard. The action takes place in present day and through “flashback” stories in the years leading up to World War II. These threads about Sugar’s childhood and young adult years are my favorite parts of the book. These revelations, which she has kept hidden for most of her life, are fraught with pain, loss, sacrifice, and forlornness. Her struggles during the Great Depression are a stark contrast to the affluent culture presented in present day Sweet Apple.

At first, I did not find Merilee to be particularly strong, but as time passes and more information about her own experiences is revealed she grew on me, and I decided she did indeed have fortitude and determination. I sympathize with her situation, having to suffer the embarrassment of her husband’s affair with their daughter’s math teacher (and subsequent pregnancy), and her feelings of being overwhelmed and inadequate. The whole atmosphere of the school and her interactions with the other mothers, with the exception of one fellow outsider, make my skin crawl. There is so much pressure to make everything and every child perfect, and it all manifests in ten-year-old Lily’s anxiety. Heather plays a pivotal role in the tale, which I will not spoil here, but it so easy to question her motives. The anonymous blogger provides cheeky levity to the story, and I am pleased that the writer is who I suspected all along.

While the story moves along at a steady pace, with secrets steadily divulged, it is not until about three quarters of the way through that the book that the suspense kicks in and it becomes utterly compelling. I just had to stay up past my bedtime to see how it all played out. White’s writing is at times spellbinding, and she does a good job of tying all of the threads together providing a gratifying ending. With its ideal Southern setting, and all the charm that goes with it, and captivating, complex characters, I can heartily recommend The Night the Lights Went Out.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Marilee Dunlap is reeling after her divorce and moves with her two children into a sweet cottage home that she is renting from the elderly Sugar Prescott, a well-to-do woman who doesn’t suffer fools. The two women strike up an unlikely friendship, and Sugar feels compelled to tell Marilee stories of her scandalous past. Meanwhile, Marilee is facing trouble as a local blogger is intent upon digging up her own secrets. Despite that, Marilee is soon accepted by the most popular mother in the school, Heather Blackford, and they become fast friends. Sugar warns Marilee about Heather, but Marilee doesn’t see her new friend the way Sugar paints her. It won’t be long before Marilee will wish she’d heeded Sugar’s warning.

This was such an entertaining novel with a touch of intrigue and mystery included. I adored the character, Sugar, despite her prim and proper ways. Her story of her youth is so interesting that it’s hard to believe this is fiction. And the relationship that grows between Marilee and the uptight Sugar is heartwarming. The plot is more than one or two stories—it is many stories and mysteries infused into one novel. It keeps the reader thinking throughout and is an enjoyable read. I highly recommend.

(I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Full Confession: This is my first Karen White book. Sure I’ve met her 2 times before (Lemuria Books and Turnrow Books) but those books have suffered from being put aside to read for another day. Sigh. When can I quit my day job and just read and be a stay at home mom to my cats?

Anyway, when I was contacted about this book- between the cover and the summary of the book (plus comparisons to Big Little Lies) I knew this would be the one I would read first.

I loved how Karen portrayed Sweet Apple, how she worked blogging into her book and even a timely issue like bullying- it all added to the intrigue of the secrets in Sweet Apple.



What I liked:

The cover. Gosh, so pretty. My only regret about reading this book is that I had an e-copy and I would have loved a paper ARC. Guess I’ll need to make a stop by a bookstore soon 🙂

Who the blogger is. I can’t say it was a complete surprise, but I’d had other guesses and when the identity was revealed- I had to chuckle.

The back and forth between current time and Sugar’s stories from the past. Both kept me entertained!



Bottom line: Even though I sometimes wanted to give Merilee a STRONG talking to ( seriously, the girl needed a few strong words from time to time), I was really captivated by the setting, the Gone With The Wind like moments, and ultimately the reveal of what all really was going on in Sweet Apple.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*



**The Night The Lights Went Out was an April #FuturisticFriday selection from Traveling With T.**

I loved how throughout the novel you saw the budding friendship between Sugar and Merilee even though there were decades between them. Shared experiences whether they be love or loss have a way of binding each other.

Another Memorial Day has come and gone, and we now turn our thoughts to summer reading. It seems to be a good time to escape from the weather, our jobs and current world events, and read a good book (or two or three).

Dorothea Benton Frank’s annual summer book is set during summers at the beach in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. “Same Beach, Next Year” tells the story of a couple who, while vacationing at their usual summer condo, discover that the new couple at the complex includes the former high school love of the husband.

The couples become fast friends, vacationing every summer, and their families become close as well. But when the old attraction between high school sweethearts appears rekindled, and their respective spouses also become close, trouble ensues. There’s a real beach-y feel to this book, and part of it is set in beautiful Greece, so you get to travel there as well.

Karen White’s “The Night the Lights Went Out” is a romantic suspense story about Merilee, a woman whose husband leaves her for their daughter’s fourth-grade teacher. She relocates her two children to a smaller home with a cranky landlady, a hunky contractor and a fellow mom who is a little too eager to help. When a man is found dead, Merilee’s past comes back to haunt her. Fans of Lianne Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies” will enjoy this one, and the landlady is a fantastic character.

Cozy mystery and cruise fans will welcome aboard Ellie Alexander’s latest Bakeshop Mystery, “A Crime of Passion Fruit.” Jules and her mom own a lovely bakery in a small town near Portland, Oregon. When Jules' estranged husband Carlos, a chef on a cruise ship, asks Jules to come back and work as a pastry chef for a week, she agrees and brings her mom and her mom’s boyfriend, a police detective, along.

A murder occurs, and Jules and company are on the case to find the killer. You don’t have to have read any of the previous books in this series to enjoy this one, and you get a peek at life below deck on a cruise ship, along with great food descriptions.

Adriana Trigiani’s newest family saga, “Kiss Carlo,” brings us from Roseto Valfotore, Italy to Roseto, Pennsylvania, as a young man yearns to become an actor in a post-World War II world. The characters here are fantastic, from the big, loving Italian Palazzini family to Calla Borelli, trying to keep her father’s theater alive, to my favorite, Hortense, the wise and wisecracking taxi dispatcher.



It’s a big, beautiful family story, and whether you yearn to be in a big family or are from your own big family, “Kiss Carlo” is for you. (And soap opera fans should keep an eye out for a cameo from superstar producer Gloria Monty.)

Julia Fierro’s “The Gypsy Moth Summer” drops the reader in 1992 Avalon Island, a stand-in for Long Island. The island is home to an aviation factory with long-term military contracts, and a wealthy enclave of people with ties to the factory.

When Leslie returns to her large family estate after a years-long estrangement from her parents, she brings her African-American husband, teenage son, toddler daughter and a determination to right past wrongs. It’s a beautifully written, emotional story, and sure to be one of the most discussed books of the summer. Fierro gets the 1992 atmosphere pitch-perfect.

If your taste runs more to nonfiction, Sally Mott Freeman’s “The Jersey Brothers,” about a naval officer missing in World War II and the quest of his two brothers also serving in the military to find him, is a gripping read. All three brothers ended up in the middle of the most important events of the war, and Hillary Clinton recently raved about the book at the annual BookExpo in New York City.

David Grann, author of the classic “The Lost City of Z,” has a new book out, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” about the murders of members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma and how the investigation led to the rise of the FBI.

In the 1920s, the Osage discovered oil on their land and became overnight millionaires, the richest people in the world per capita. When some Osage were murdered, new FBI director J. Edgar Hoover sends one of his best men in to unravel what has been happening there. This one is a page-turner.

Enjoy your summer reading!

This has got to be one of Karen White's best books ever. If someone doesn't option it for a movie, they are missing out!
The action takes place in Sweet Apple, a suburb of Atlanta. Marilee Dunlap is newly divorced. She and her children are renting a house on property belonging to Sugar Prescott. Sugar, an old lady, comes across as crotchety, but it doesn't take long for the little family to grow on her. Pretty much every character in this book has at least one secret that comes out, and the best one is the last one revealed.
White outdid herself with this book.

I am a fan of this author and have used a number of her books in my book club. She addresses many irises through her characters so that all book club members could identify personally with something in the story. In this book unlikely people become friends to show that friendship crosses all boundaries and friends can be found in the most unlikely people. A feel good story.

With a lovely sense of place and time afforded to decent character development, Karen White has written an entertaining novel set in the Deep South.

Told from three different points of view, the secrets and ties that bind are universal themes that all readers can relate to, no matter where they are from although it's apparent that the American south is a place where story telling, family secrets and scandals are important grist to the mill.

A good read for the summer.

http://www.goodbookfairy.com/the-night-the-lights-went-out-by-karen-white/