This book is a little confusing. The cover and the title don't lend well to what the book is actually about and I think a lot of the reason I didn't enjoy it much is because I felt a little confused as to what direction we were going in. I think I would avoid other books by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The main character of this one has trauma that makes some of her actions hard to understand until further into the story, but once we get to know her better it connects better. Audio is an excellent format for this book with Lex's love of languages and different words.

A southern daughter who “escaped” after her mother died is forced to move back. Her mother’s journals send the daughter on a quest to understand what happened to her mother. Interesting and enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest opinion...I can see that I am unlike many readers here as I really enjoyed this one...the story is about Lex and her relationship with her past and her dead mother...she had finally escaped Tennessee and was out living her adventurous life when she is called home by her Godmother...since Lex had just gone through a loss and had nowhere else to be anyway, she headed home to face all of her old family issues. She got to have a "new" relationship with her mother by reading all of her old journals and she got to have her own coming of age story...I really like any book that deals with adventure, growing up, learning who you are....all that good stuff. So I really enjoyed this one...while this was my first book by this author, it won't be my last...

This was my first time reading a book by Lindsey Rogers Cook and I really enjoyed her writing. This was a lovely story and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

Lex has been traveling the world to escape life. After losing a baby, she returns home to Memphis, TN to stay with her godmother and heal. During her stay, she is given envelopes her dead mother left behind to share her story with her daughter. Through the letters, Lex starts to connect with her mother and learns the meaning of family relationships.

This book is all about Lex figuring out who she is and how she fits into her family. The beginning was really confusing; like entering a room in the middle of a movie you’ve never seen before. I really liked the short chapters and the story's premise but found the open and honest writing to be a bit too descriptive for me. The bonus of the book is the discussion questions at the end. If you enjoy reading family drama, you will like this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Learning to Speak Southern deals with leaving your hometown and everyone in it planning never to return. But sometimes life doesn't work out that way. After a tragic loss, Lex returns to her hometown of Memphis. She is given some journals that her deceased mother kept and comes to terms with what happened years ago. This book talks a lot about languages and what it really means to "speak Southern".

I have ventured out from my usual authors wanting to read other works. This was my first Lindsey Rogers Cook book, and I was impressed. Her writing style kept me engaged and wanting to read more. Lex and her dysfunctional family are relatable on so many levels. Her relationship with Cami reminds me of my love for my aunts when I was growing up. I will definitely be recommending this book and will be on the lookout for future works by Cook. Based on this book, I plan to read Cook's previous book as well.

Lex left her home and Memphis behind years ago, never planning to return. She worked at odd jobs, specifically teaching English around the world. She is broke and when her godmother gives her some news that has her coming home. She accepts her offer to stay and find out about the mother she never understood. Her childhood was happy when she was with her godmother, but she and her mother had a love/hate relationship. When her mother dies just before her college graduation, she never thought she would have a second chance at figuring her out. Lex was not a genteel southern woman of her mother and godmother, but a partier. She learns about the Memphis her mother grew up in, as well as more about her past. What she learns about her mother surprises her and brings her closer to understanding her.

This is a character driven story. Lex was an interesting character, stubborn, angry and to me selfish. Cami was loving, smart and stubborn and she really wanted Lex to learn about her mother and was smart enough to realize how to get her to do that. I found it interesting to learn how her mother's story mirrored her own in several ways. I really wanted to love this story, but I only liked it. It was very slow and just didn't grab me like I thought it would. Learning to Speak Southern is a family drama that examines mother/daughter bonds, friendship, the influence of Southern culture, and the resounding effects of family secrets. Wonderful themes that I enjoy reading about. If you like southern fiction and stories about families, then I suggest you pick this up. You might just love it more than I did.

This is a book which discusses family dramas, mother/daughter relationships, friendships and secrets. It was told by two different people. There was a great twist at the end.

Loved the title and the cover - but was expecting different - more of a traditional southern story - I couldn't get into any of the characters - they didn't have any depth - could not connect to the story.

Initially, I was drawn to the book by the title – expecting (and getting) several linguistic moments that were something to treasure. But the story of Lexi and her often immature responses to difficult moments was wearing, and the hits just kept on coming. From childhood traumas and hurts that caused her to leave in the first place to the loss of a child in the early chapters of the book, we are inundated with Lexi’s difficulties and her problematic approach to dealing with them. Obviously, a lover of words and their origins, we are presented with several different languages, words, origins and meanings: as this is Lexi’s way to escape stress and calm herself. While I think it was meant to be charming, there was a feeling that it was meant to impress us with Lexi’s (or by extension) the author’s intelligence. While I have no issues with smart and clever insets into a story – the purpose quickly was lost to me and it felt more like a plot device when fresh approaches to dealing with the multitude of issues – and there were many – that Lexi faced.

Sure, you’ve grown up and had a life – you are going to have unresolved feelings about something: and we all get that. But it felt as if nothing was ‘sorted’ for her – rather her tendency to dash off and recite words, meanings and origins seemed to get in the way. And we do have people who want to embrace her on her return – and who are, quite rightly, looking for answers – it's not all Lexi on the search. But she’s reluctant, then engaged when she discovers her mother was unsettled and a bit wild too, and we then get into secrets that have been long buried.

It all became a bit much for me – even as lyrical as much of the writing was, and my interest in the multiple words and origins did not fade – simply my desire to see Lexi yet again retreating into her own interior. It wasn’t a bad book –but perhaps less able to fulfill the premise of the synopsis, with a bit of a twist at the end that felt rushed, unnecessary and even a bit disconnected from the story that has been crafted to that point. Take a chance and a few hours and make your own choices on this one – it wasn’t for me –but you may find it just what you were looking for.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aVL /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

3 1/2 stars.

Y’all, I am going to be honest. I had this book on my radar simply because one of my favorite Southern authors talked about it. I went in completely blind. Despite....Because...of that?!? I thoroughly enjoyed this title. The novel itself was lyrical to me. The undercurrent was slow and steady, in the best possible way.

I look at it as a coming-of-age story. (We don't all come of age as a teenager ya know) Family drama. Add in a drop of Southern and here we are. This is not the traditional Southern book. Aside from the fact the story takes place in Memphis....It could have happened anywhere in the country. Despite that.... I enjoyed it ;-)

You have a story with two very defined narrators. Margaret and Lex. Margaret's perspective coming to Lex through letters as she comes home, after a long time away. That perspective was very well done. The perpetual theme running through the novel.... what does family mean? The answer....it will surprise you.

I had never read Lindsey Rogers Cook before.... I’m so glad I started with Learning to Speak Southern.

Lex fled her life at her college graduation. She left without saying goodbye to her father, her beloved Cami, or her best friend, Grant. Lex lived a nomadic life traveling to various parts of the world using the excuse of "living" and "exploring," when she was really trying to find a place to hide. After becoming pregnant from a liaison with a virtual stranger, Lex goes into pre-term labor and loses her son. With no money, and the father of the baby deserting her, Lex has no choice but to contact Cami for help. Cami insists that Lex return to Memphis, and once she is there, gives her a series of projects designed to help her face her past. Cami has possession of a series of unread journal entries from Lex's deceased mother that she hopes will help Lex understand her mother. As Lex faces her past, she also realizes that has been running away from her problems instead of facing them.

The opening scene of the book was not what I was expecting from the description of the book - to the point I went back to re-read the description to make sure I was reading the book I thought I was. As sad as the opening scene was, my first impression of Lex was that she ran away from her home, her life, and her family and embarked on a years-long pity party and was somewhat self-centered. Not that she (or any woman) deserved to have lost a baby, but I felt like she was very put out that she had no where else to turn except the family she had so publicly ditched. As the story continued and we found out what a mess Lex's mom had been, it became more clear why she ran away. Lex had experienced a lifetime of trauma, and even though Cami loved her like her mother should have loved her, it was not enough to overcome the trauma.

The story grew on me and I found myself saying, "Oh come on, Lex! Just do what Cami wants you to do so you can get the next letter!" The big message I got from this story is how missteps, secrets, and trauma can scar multiple generations. I also liked that the ending was unusual and will certainly be a surprise to many readers. This book was just...different. I don't know that I would recommend this as a beach read, but I can also see it being a beach read because after finishing it, the reader will certainly spend time watching the waves and contemplating what truths they may be running from and events from their past that may have unintentionally defined them. The deepness of this book sneaks up on you.

Besides my absolute obsession with how gorgeous the cover of this book is, I am torn on how to feel about Lindsey Rogers Cook's "Learning to Speak Southern."

I was drawn to the premise and immediately pulled in by the first scene where we find Lex in the hospital mourning her prematurely stillborn baby boy - all while the baby's daddy is scooting out the door as fast as humanly possible. My emotions were definitely tugged during many of the scenes, but at the same time, I never felt a true connection with any of the characters. Well, I take that back...there was one I truly despised, but hate is an easy feeling to create without having to make the character very deep. I also felt the twist at the end was ... ... ... odd. Part of me thought it was a tiny bit sweet, while another felt it weird and unnecessary.

Another piece of the book that was strange for me to deal with was the many, many, many times that Lex went to her mental safe place where she would repeat the origin of words and their meaning. I know it was supposed to come off as charming, however, I felt annoyed with it after awhile. I will say, though, that I listened to this on audio, so I think had I read it as a physical book, they could have stayed charming because I could have quickly glanced over them instead of having the narrator read every single syllable.

Overall, it was a fine read. I'm not sorry I read it, but it's not one I would reread or even necessarily recommend to a friend. As far as ratings go, 2.5 stars feels too low, but 3 feels too high. Still, I finished it and enjoyed large chunks of it...so I'll go with 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Truly a book about the family you are born into vs the family you choose. Lex is not a very likeable character and her relationship with her Mother is hard to read, very dysfunctional and sad. Lex gets to know the reasons for the actions, attitudes of her Mother, but honestly I just really didn't care. Not my kind of story.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This book just wasn't my cup of tea. I was honestly excited to read a book about The South. I just found the whole Lex/godmother thing rather cheesy for lack of a better word, and I was annoyed for some reason by it all. It was all just so jumbled up and it felt like I had to go back and reread things to try to figure out what was going on. Sad to say that this was a miss for me.

What worked in Cook’s previous book, How To Bury Your Brother, doesn’t work quite as well in this one. Lex was a difficult character to like and the story never really took off for me. While a well written book, the final twist has been done before and it’s one I’m not overly fond of.

Enjoyed the book and would give it 3.5 stars. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Lex and her family are dysfunctional with a capital D. Lex and her mother had a very love/hate relationship, although there might not have been any love. Margaret was extremely harsh to her daughter. I'm not sure how Lex survived the constant turmoil, she never knew when her mom was going to explode. Her dad never took her side and allowed Margaret to treat her horribly. Grant and Cami were the only characters that I actually liked. Cami and Grant would do anything for Lex. Both always manage to help Lex. Lex was lucky to have them in her life. Lex was so angry, which really wasn't a shock growing up with her mother. Margaret was also hard to like, even after reading her story through the letters. I felt bad for what she went through, but she dropped everything for a man she didn't know and treated her daughter awful. The ending was a twist I didn't see coming.

Definitely recommend the book. This is the first book I read by the author and look forward to reading more. I love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from SOURCEBOOKS Landmark through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.