Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Oh the drama! Not what I was expecting but a interesting read, and I thought the ending was fitting. The narrator did a good job.

I loved the setting, timeframe, and all the characters. A wild ride with a great ending. Thanks NetGallery!

I really enjoyed this one.

Posey’s daughter is 18 years old and she helps her dad run their family shop in town. Posey can’t wait for Callie’s wedding to her childhood best friend. Callie’s soon to be husband is on the fast track to opening a chain of grocery stores and will make a dependable and capable husband. Posey wants Callie to have a better life than she did. She wants Callie to have a big house and lots of babies. Callie dreams of moving away from their small town in Tennessee and exploring a different way of life. Callie and Posey are complete opposites and can’t really understand each other’s point of view.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved the family dynamics. This book kept surprising me. This family was full of secrets and I couldn’t put this book down.


Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an audio ARC of this book. All thoughts/opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved the sickeningly sweet Southern charm of this novel! It was so much darker than I expected and that was exactly what it needed. I did find it mostly predictable but not in a bad way, more in a "I can't wait to see how this goes down" way. This book felt like I was getting all the tea and I was there for it.
This would make a great movie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars

Posey, unhappy, alcoholic, controlling and the self-appointed "empress of Cooke County" has recently inherited a derelict mansion from her aunt but in a movie to outshine the other people in town she has demanded to host the 20th high school reunion. With the date looming she pushes to fix up and show off. Her polar opposite 18 yr old daughter is Callie, who is attempting to flee the area for California after she "accidently" became engaged to her high school boyfriend. When a tragedy strikes Callie must decide if going back is her best option.

Based on the cover and description I thought this would be a fun campy romp through the southern hills of Tennessee in the 1960s, that is not at all what this book is. Posey is one of the main characters and is one of the most unlikeable, unredeemable and cardboard characters I have read in a long time. Callie is supposed to be her opposite and clearly who we are supposed to be rooting for but she is boring and flat. The two characters are the POV but I cant say I enjoyed either. There was not a lot of action to drive the story and the pace faltered, so I found myself getting bored, struggling to finish it. The cover needs to be reworked as this book is not the fun happy light hearted comedy it appears. Pass.

I had the audio version read by Brittany Pressley. I struggled with Pressley's performance and coupled with the bad writing it was not an enjoyable audio book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it, fun while I was reading it
Set in Tennessee in the 60's, I was expecting a light, somewhat satirical romp about a small town mother daughter duo. That isn't what this is at all... both of the main characters are hard to like on the surface, but as the story unfolds, you start to understand their motivations and what they're trying to cover up and hide. After all, it's a small town and everyone is in everyone else's business...

The narrator, Brittany Pressley, did a good job, I had no trouble understanding who was saying what, where, when, and with what expression/intension.

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus, NetGalley, and author Elizabeth Bass Parman for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The Empress of Cooke County is out September 3, 2024.

This was not quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be a quirky, light romp but it was much deeper and darker than that. Set in the 1960s, this is a mother daughter story of differing opinions on small town social graces. I liked it. there were great characters and good story plotlines.The narrator was terrific, the accents and tone were spot on. It was slower than I wanted but it was a good listen. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Muse Audio for this audiobook arc.

The Empress of Cooke County by Elizabeth Bass Parman immediately drew me in. I really enjoyed the small town family drama. The author did a great job of setting up a story that I could imagine happening in a small southern town during the 1960s. I am a sucker for a well done dual perspective, and the author did a great job. In addition, the narrator was fabulous! She definitely adds greatly to the reading experience. This book was a fun escape during a busy season of life. I would for sure give any future books by the author a try.

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks at NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was so much more than I expected. I thought it would be a simple, "fluffy" ready, and one one hand it was, but the characters and the storyline were much deeper than I anticipated. It's one that I'm glad I read. I will watch out for more books by Elizabeth Bass Parman in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing an audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

Thank you HarperCollins Focus - Harper Muse for allowing me to read and review The Empress of Cooke County by Elizabeth Bass Parman on NetGalley.

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

Published: 09/03/24

Stars: 4.5

Grabbed me right away and ran my emotions through the gamut. Pressley performed beautifully and enhanced the storytelling. She and Parman teamed well.

The synopsis is clear. The characters are well done. Each had their role and played perfectly.

I found this mostly entertaining. There are a few spots where perhaps I should feel sorry or bad for a character; however, I didn't but I did find the moments cringe worthy. Life sometimes is what you make it.

I recommend this wholeheartedly. It is hours of fun with a couple lessons to ponder. I look forward to her next book.

Not really my cup of tea, but I was entertained.

It gave " Crazy Rich Asians" vibes

Hope to read another of the author and see the improvement

I found this book a little confusing, but I don't think it's the author's fault. The book description and especially the cover make this feel like a quirky book about gossipy housewives. In fact, the book is quite dark.

The book alternates between Posey Jarvis, a housewife who is obsessed with winning back her married ex boyfriend and Callie Jane, her daughter who feels stifled by the future laid out for her. I enjoyed Callie's perspective a lot more than Posey's.

Posey is a sympathetic character up to a point. She is the daughter of an affair and has never felt wanted. This does not excuse her terrible behavior throughout the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but was a little taken aback by the turn of events.

Brittany Pressley is a great narrator. She does a good job distinguishing the two points of view.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Muse Audio for this audiobook arc. This follows the mother daughter duo Posey and Callie Jane who don't see eye to eye. This book is duo pov set in the 1960s. I will start off by talking about the story then move into the audiobook. I was exactly sure where this story was going to lead me since it felt just like a small town socialite read. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story and wanted to keep listening. Overall, I didn't find it to be amazing but it was medium paced and it kept me wanting to read to find out what would happen in these characters lives.

The audiobook itself was very enjoyable. I thought the accents were spot on and the story was easy to follow.

I love a good family drama! Set in the south in the 1960's, the story is told in alternating chapters by Posey and Callie Jane and was entertaining. Posey could be pretty annoying with her snobbishness and her aspirations of becoming the real empress of Cooke County no matter who she has to step on in her quest. The story got much darker than I imagined at the beginning. None of the characters had a particularly nuanced sense of morality. and Posey, with her sense of entitlement, was a little off-putting.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:

Duality POV
Small Tennessee Town
Southern Fiction
1960s
Family Drama
Mansion Renovation

If you love a good Southern fictional debut then check out The Empress of Cooke County. Set in a small town in Tennessee during the 1960's, this novel is filled with humor, Southern charm, and quirky characters. It's the perfect blend of family drama and social satire.

The plot revolves around 38 year old Posey Jarvis, a woman who considers herself the "empress" of her rural town. When Posey inherits a dilapidated mansion from her eccentric aunt, she decides to host her high school reunion in an attempt to rekindle her past romance. However, her plans don't go as smoothly as she hopes. Her daughter Callie Jane becomes more determined to escape her overbearing mother and small-town life. Callie Jane's journey, especially her struggles with a looming wedding and her desire to break free from her predetermined future make her a character you will root for throughout the book.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I love the cover, and the synopsis was right up my alley in reading. This was just a letdown. I didn't like any of the characters. The mother was absolutely disgusting and selfish. I was really into this book until about the halfway point.

Perfectly Southern and I loved the characters! As a Southerner myself, I could not only see myself (head in hand) but others I know. It was a great read and I loved it!

Posey had dreams of a life of champagne, caviar and status. Things have not turned out that way for her. She decided that she is going to change things and hatches a plan when an opportunity comes her way. Her plan makes for an entertaining listen. There is some truth to the old adage “never wish for what you want for you just may get it”. A throwback to the south in the ’60’s, a tumultuous time in our country, a lot of “what if’s”, an interesting and often difficult mother daughter relationship, a mother who wants to completely control her daughter, a daughter who wants to be her own person and make her own life choices and more. A lovely debut novel.

I love southern lit….make it mid century southern Lit and I will devour it! Not since The Help, or The Gods of Alabama has there been a novel about the frenemies that line the small streets of southern living.
You know how some books have a twist towards the end you may or may not have predicted? Well in this one that twist comes in the first few pages and Posey plays it off as part of her master plan. She has and gives zero “blank” about anything not part of her plan. Her plan being she fantasizes daily about the life she wanted , not had. So don’t read this thinking it’s a sweet small town memoir or simply Women’s Literature.
There are dark elements of lying, cheating, alcoholism, and mental health…which no one addressed in 1960s , let alone below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Quite possibly my pick for novel of the year.

The Empress of Cooke County
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was a nice light read. The narrator was really good. I enjoyed the book. It started a little slow for me, but I had just finished an intense book. It had a predictable ending but it was a cute story. It is what I expected it to be.
Thank you NetGalley!