This book was not for me. I feel generous rounding up from 2.5 stars to 3. I could not abide Posey. She thought she was all that and some. At 19, she fell in love with a married man and since then, almost 20 years later she still had dreams of becoming his wife. She mad this dream her life goal even though she had a husband and an 18 year old daughter. Callie Jane, the daughter, was very much under her mother's thumb. She was engaged and did not want to be. The reader does watch her grow a backbone though. I think this may have been the only part of the story I liked. The husband--very nice, well liked and oblivious to his household. He was the only one that seemed happy. I had been expecting a comedy but did not find much humor in this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary ARC. This review is my own opinion.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Empress of Cooke County, by Elizabeth Bass Parman, from Harper Musedigo Dot Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary. PS Harper Muse sent me an email that said I had to include this language, so here it is: “I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.” I mean, not like you hadn’t figured that out already……just covering all my bases here, kids.

Not funny. Not charming. Definitely forgettable.

But, hey, at least Elizabeth Bass Parman has written a book, which is more than I can say. I’ve just edited them.

PS
Here’s an actual proper book review you should read if you want a little more detail than is provided in my first six words; it was posted by one Main Colonial: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Description
“Get ready to laugh! Elizabeth Bass Parman is a true Southern storyteller. I couldn’t have loved it more.” —Fannie Flagg, New York Times bestselling author

Posey Jarvis knows she’s the rightful empress of Cooke County . . . She just needs to make everyone else realize it too.

Thirty-eight-year-old Posey Jarvis is the self-appointed “empress” of rural Spark in Cooke County, Tennessee. She spends her days following every word about her idol and look-alike Jackie Kennedy, avoiding her stalwart husband Vern, and struggling to control her newly defiant daughter Callie Jane—all while sneaking nips of gin. When Posey unexpectedly inherits a derelict mansion from her quirky old aunt Milbrey, she finagles her way into hosting her high school’s twentieth reunion there. She cares nothing about seeing her classmates, but she cares deeply about seeing the love of her life, a man who dumped her nineteen years ago. Possums are nesting in the parlor and the stench of cat urine permeates the sunroom, but she must be ready for the big day, even if she has to do the work herself.

Eighteen-year-old Callie Jane finds herself accidentally engaged and is panicking about her fast-approaching wedding. She’s also had enough of her domineering mother. Even though she loves her father, the idea of working at his emporium for the rest of her life just makes her . . . so sad. She longs to escape from her mother, her job, her upcoming wedding, and the creepy Peeping Tom terrorizing the town. She dreams of leaving everything she’s ever known in her rearview mirror and starting over in California. But when her life has been mapped out for her from birth, how can she break free?

Set in a gossipy small town during the turbulent 1960s and full of Southern charm and unforgettable characters, The Empress of Cooke County is a novel about found family, what it means to be loved, and how being true to yourself can have life-altering consequences.
• Southern women’s fiction
• Stand-alone novel
• Book length: approximately 82,000 words
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

In 1966, Posey Jarvis lives in Spark, Tennessee. She is dealing at once with an unhappy marriage, a rebellious daughter who is determined to marry, and working on her 20th high school reunion -- where she hopes to reunite with her high school love.

I wanted to read this novel because I love anything 1960's! The time period and the southern setting were both very appealing. I thought this would be a light, humorous read. It turned out to have a darker (and more substantive) edge ... and it was a real page turner! I stayed up late reading because the characters were so compelling.

I recommend The Empress of Cooke County for readers who enjoy southern fiction, 1960's settings, and fascinating characters!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book

For fans of “The Tobacco Wives” and author Meagan Church

Callie Jane and her mother Posey both want something more for themselves than their lives in Stark, TN - but how they go about achieving their dreams is very different!

Callie Jane’s relationship with her father is so sweet and a main focus of the story. Posey’s grand plans for cementing her status as a self-proclaimed socialite backfire on her. I loved the setting and the time period - I will definitely be recommending this book upon publication, and will be sure to read the author’s future novels

I went into this book expecting a fun, small Southern town story, but boy was I wrong, and I got so much more than that.

The POV of this book goes back and forth between Posey and her daughter, Callie Jane. The two could not be more opposite, and I really enjoyed the way that played out throughout the whole book. Seeing Callie Jane come into her own and become her own person was great, and I especially loved the bond between her and her dad Vern. Posey is a whole other story, and I found her pretty unlikable, which grew more and more as the book went on. The small town setting with its gossip and southern values was a good backdrop for these two very different women. I was not at all expecting the turn this story took towards the end, and I was absolutely shocked. With short-ish chapters and a gripping story, this was an easy one to fly through.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. While the idea of turmoil among a southern family in the 1960s sounds fascinating, it just fell a bit flat.

For starters, I couldn't stand Posey (one of two main POVs). Not in a fun, love-to-hate way, either. Her daughter, Callie Jane, was fine, if a bit more boring than she needed to be. I did like some of the other characters but felt like I didn't get to know them very well.

The other issue is it felt like nothing really happened for the first 30-40% of the book, and even after that it took a while to hold my interest. It got more interesting toward the end, but overall I never felt like I was really sucked in or cared about the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced reader copy.

It's hard for me to quite pinpoint what didn't work for me about this book. A strong voice is usually a good thing, but somehow this had a very strong voice, but it still didn't feel like it was distinct. Also, I appreciate when books put the reader right in the midst of the action, but there need to be context clues dropped along the way so the reader can figure out what's going on. There was very little of that happening here. Ultimately, I was disappointed by this effort.

Can someone please send this book to Callie Khouri!
Set in the late 1960s in a small town in Cooke County of Tennessee
POSEY - a gin flask drinking (not so subtle alcoholic), Jackie-O obsessed, got knocked up a married doctor 18yrs ago after a week long affair while his wife was out of country. She grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and has made it her life’s mission to stalk the wife til the day the doctor divorces her and Posey can live in his house - “Eden Hall”. She’s selfish, vain and of course beautiful. Standing appointment at the Curly Q where all the town gossip is dished out by Queenie
VERN - almost 30years older than Posey, married her when she was pregnant and abandoned by the doctor. Unable to have kids his wish was always to be a husband/father. He runs the town’s Emporium and plans to retire soon and hand it over to his daughter.
CALLIE JANE - the product of the affair with the doctor, recently graduated and as luck would have it engaged to her best friend, whom she was about to decline til his overbearing mother said yes for her at the dinner table. Her own mother, Posey, forcing her to marry, and her father expects her to run the Emporium… meanwhile all she wants to do is see the Beatles and move to California.
Full of small town drama, peeping tom’s, rich aunts dying and leaving you a mansion with a catio room!
#netgalley #netgalleyarc #calliekhouri #elizabethbassparman #harpermusebooks #harpermuse #harpercollins

Will post on 8/11/2024
Set in the 60’s small southern town of Spark, people mainly do things out of obligation, what is expected, or because that’s what their parent’s did. All of the characters are intriguing and everyone has a secret(s). I always enjoy a small town with gossip, and small towns with ideal settings and sweet people.
This was a gossipy, full of secrets, status, keeping up with the Joneses kind of a book. There were good people, like Vern and Callie and scary people like Posey and the Creeper. The story came full circle and the reader got to see in a picture-perfect setting where people are always trying to be sweet, there was just a lot of bad.
How the secrets come out and things are discovered was the best part of the book. The mother daughter relationship between Posey and Callie was tough. Posey wanted her daughter to marry for money and status because it’s what she always wanted, but Callie was different. The way Posey treated her family was horrible and she was never happy. The story kept unfolding until the end and nothing about it was predictable for me. The women going to the hairdresser reminded me of Steel Magnolias were the woan of town gathered weekly for their wash and set hairdos.
If you love reading about the 60’s and the not so sweet south with a pinch of The Beatles you will love this book about family, friendship, and how the things that happen to us in our youth can certainly affect us in the present.

If you need a light read that will make you laugh, look no further than The Empress of Cooke County!

I enjoyed that while this was a lighter read, it still had layers that made me think. Honestly, I love a book that can do this. Reading heavy-hitters all the time is mentally exhausting. The Empress of Cooke County will appeal to those who need are looking for something to get them out of a reading slump, readers who enjoy wacky characters, or anyone who needs a lighter historical fiction novel.

I’ll cut to the chase. While the book description says this is a novel set in a gossipy small town during the turbulent 1960s, and full of Southern charm and unforgettable characters, I just didn’t feel it. Yes, it’s clearly a small town, and it’s set in the 1960s, but other than beehive hairdos and the Beatles, there was little to feel that time and place. (Certainly no references to civil rights, Vietnam, or any other big issues of the time.) As for Southern charm, I missed that. The southern-ness was conveyed by references to fried chicken, okra, sweet tea, hot weather, and a sprinkling of double-barreled names, but not much real atmosphere. And the characters aren’t particularly memorable. The principal character, Posey, is not just supremely unlikeable, but she is uninteresting. She is given few opportunities to play off other people; we read what is in her head, which is so narcissistically delusional that it’s hard to relate to her for a minute.

Posey’s daughter, Callie Jane, and Posey’s husband, Vern, are more interesting than Posey, though both are a bit too good to be true. The plot is both predictable and, at the same time, some aspects, like the process of restoration of a long-neglected house, aren’t very believable.

It’s a quick read, and I can see how it could be entertaining for the right reader. I’m just not that reader.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is more of a breezy beach read. The juxtaposition between mother and daughter is interesting, but in the end it leaves you wanting for more. There isn’t much character development and details (especially towards the end) that get skipped or have no resolution and leave the reader with questions. I would provide specifics, but that may be spoilers for other readers so I will abstain. Perhaps it’s done on purpose to save those details for a sequel?

Posey Jarvis is the self-appointed empress of Cooke County. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, she marries an slightly older man, Vern, when she finds herself pregnant with another man's child. That child, Callie Jane, now finds herself accidentally engaged to her childhood best friend Trace. Both women are struggling with who they are and what they want. This conflict finds them on opposite sides as Callie Jane tries to find a life far away from her alcoholic mother and the small town gossip that has surrounded her all her life. Suffering from some health issues, Vern tells Callie Jean that he is going to leave her the family business and Callie Jean is terrified that she really will be stuck in Sparks all her life. When Posey Jarvis inherits a mansion from a distant relative, she thinks this will be a chance for her to be married to Callie Jean's biological father and she starts working on a plan to divorce Vern. Fulfilling her dream of being a wealthy and powerful woman. A well-crafted novel of love, loss, and figuring out who you want to be.

This was definitely a case of not the right book for me and I feel unsettled even leaving a review.

My expectation going in based on the cover and synopsis was that it would more about a fun loving main charachter with some humor and life lessons throw. In.

It was definitely not that. The entire time I felt a mean and ungrateful undertone especially from the main character. Everything felt serious instead of lighthearted.

Thank you to the author, publisher and. NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. .

4.5 stars.

This book kept me reading for hours. I binged it in 8 hours... There's something about this Mother/Daughter duo that kept me enthralled. Posey is a character you "love to hate" and Callie Jane is a super relatable young woman just trying to find her way in life.

Told in two POV's, through Posey and Callie Jane's eyes, The Empress of Cooke County really had me second-guessing my thoughts regarding several characters. I especially loved the ending, where we are reminded that "Love Conquers All" and "good things happen in threes."

Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Based on the cover art, I definitely thought this was more along the lines of the lighter with a dip of serious themes Fannie Flag books but this was definitely heavier than I expected. A good reminder not to judge a book by its cover. I enjoyed the book I ended up reading, which is what matters. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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The Empress of Cooke County
Author: Elizabeth Bass Parman
Source: NetGalley
Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024

I judged this book by the cover. I thought it looked super cute with a southern theme featuring a beauty parlor, and it had me thinking of Steel Magnolias. It’s not that. It’s not even a dark comedy. It’s a sad story looking for an identity. Gloomy, with very few redeeming characters except for the father figure. I loved Vern. #TheEmpressofCookeCounty #literaryFiction #comingofAge #notsureGenre #alcoholic #southern #catUrine #beehiveHairdo #glum @NetGalley @HarperMuse
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I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
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#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #booklove #bookreader #bookreviewer

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Publlishing for an early copy of The Empress of Cooke County by Elizabeth Bass Parman

Posey Jarvis has lived under a delusion that has negatively affected her husband and daughter. Believing that a man from her past is soon to reappear in her life, Posey's poor decisions and a misplaced belief in her own superiority lead to the tragic death of her husband and the estrangement of daughter Callie Jean.

The author's writing strength lies in the character development that allows the reader to care so much for Posey's husband and daughter. The worse that Posey is portrayed, the more likeable her family becomes. Add to this a faithful adaptation of the early Beatles era and a teenage girl's dream of living in the California of the 1960s and Elizabeth Bass Parman has a winner.

The choices Callie Jean makes at the conclusion of The Empress of Cooke County will have readers hoping for a sequel to this complicated but ultimately uplifting drama.

The Empress of Cooke County is a captivating novel filled with humor, suspense, and unforgettable characters. This fast-paced story provides readers with a delightful glimpse into small-town Southern life at its finest. Get ready to chuckle as you immerse yourself in a tale brimming with secrets, high drama, and an unexpected conclusion!

3.5 Rounded Up

I don't know what to say about this book, but whatever the author did, it sure kept me reading!

We have a hateful, drunken main character (an adult) named Posey. Then we have her daughter, Callie Jane, a fairly spineless, at least to start, very young woman. Lastly, we have the husband and father, Vern, who is totally spineless but sticks to his word.

The book is told in two voices, Posey's and Callie Janes. It is set in 1966 with all manner of references to that time period. That was pretty cool!

Posey is living a dream in between her "nips" of gin, and she never really comes off as drunk to the reader, but the supporting cast sure knows about it!

The story is a fascinating one but leads to tragedy. This tragedy leads Callie Jane to find her backbone and finally do something with her life, and it also leads Posey to get everything she deserves.

I really liked this book. It was a very fast read that you may not want to put down.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher, Harper Muse, the author, and NetGalley.