Set in a gossipy small town in the south the 1960’s this story had potential to be a great one, but it missed the mark in some ways. The story could have been set in just about any decade as there was nothing to really solidify the purpose of the 1960’s. I loved the part of Posey inheriting an old mansion and fixing it up to host her school reunion at it. With her life deteriorating all around her, Posey is still determined to have things go her way and to be catered to. Posey, as the MC, was not likable. She was definitely a character, but not my favorite. Her daughter and husband were not much better. The multiple POVs were a bit confusing in the audiobook. I had to really think who was speaking at that time. However, I did enjoy the part about Impress Cooke County that turned into Empress of Cooke County.

Thanks NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advanced audio copy of this book. This is the story of Posey Jarvis and her life in Cooke County TN. Posey wants more out of her life than to be in a small town called Spark. She wants to be admired, adored, and envied. Things are going well when she inherits a house from her elderly aunt. She decides that this will help her make her mark on the town and get back her first love, C J Ryan. Don’t mind the fact that she is already married to a man named Vern who runs the local emporium. Dressed like Jackie O, Posey goes from one mistake to another with a flask of gin in her purse and her head held high. This book was more touching than I thought it would be. It’s about mothers and daughters, how far we will go, or not go, for the people we love, and the joy we can find in everyday things. This was a great audio book but it would make a great book for book club. Add it to your list and thank me later!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance audio copy of this title. Posey is an unhappy, pretentious woman who cannot "see the forest for the trees" when it comes to her life. Her daughter, Callie and husband, Vernon have a tight, happy relationship despite her. Posey's unhappiness is a justified result of past trauma, but her treatment of Callie and Vern is unwarranted. The story takes place in the mid 1960's, and the reader also gets a glimpse into Callie's inner turmoil about making her own life choices. The plot and characters were well-fleshed out, and the story was readable. The reason I only rated it 3 stars was that I feel the cover art marketed this title as more of a fluffy, easy read, possibly humorous. At some points, it veered there, but the more serious aspects of the story were really the heart of the book.

It’s 1960 and Posey Jarvis is the self appointed Empress of the small town Spark in Cooke County Tennessee - she started on the wrong side of the tracks and now has made it! Even though she got pregnant by a married man (for whom she still obsesses about daily and has plans to win him back) when she was young, she married and crafted herself into an appropriate southern woman. Now, years later, her daughter Callie finds herself accidentally engaged (everyone just expected it) but Callie she doesn’t want the appropriate Southern life of wife and mother that her mother spent so much time creating; she wants to be adventurous and move to CA. This is the story of the generational divide occurring in the 60s, told with humor, charm and fun characters.

This novel, while cute, does have some serious underlying themes; that being said I think the novel went deeper with the themes than any of the character dimensions. Posey especially remained one dimensional, although I believe her lack of character development was an intentional character flaw written by the author. Because of this I enjoyed the parts of the book with Callie more than the Posey chapters. I listened to about half of this one while cooking some of the last recipes of summer (I read the other half) and the audio was a pleasure to listen to. This is a cute book that has southern charm which I think was certainly captured by the narrator.

3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperFocus for the ARC

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. This is a first by this author but will not be my last! I listened to this in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down.

The Empress of Cooke County is such a great book. I will definitely be recommending this. Once I started I could not stop. I loved the small town vibes and that some characters were not what I expected. I definitely did not predict the ending on this one.
I listed to the audiobook and I thought the narrator was great.

It has been a LONG TIME since a book has made me audibly gasp and this one had my jaw dropping (but seriously my mouth was actually open). I usually see twists coming, but this book surprised me and I loved it! It went darker than I thought it was going to, but I’m not mad about it. This was an excellent debut novel and I hope to read more from @elizabethbassparman in the future! This comes out Tuesday! (9/3/24) NOTE: the narration by @britpressley was stellar, as per usual ❤️

The Empress of Cooke County was engaging from the start! Set in a small town I loved seeing the town come alive and alternating mother daughter prospectives! I laughed out loud listening to this book as I folded laundry. It was such great company and very entertaining!

This story is sure to be a hit with fans of Southern fiction. It's a delightful women's fiction novel set in the South during the 1960s. I really enjoyed the characters, especially the main character, Posey. The story has a good dose of humor, and although some parts are a bit over the top, they add to the overall interest. The narration of the audiobook was excellent. Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to listen to this book; these opinions are my own.

This story is likely to be a big hit with lovers of Southern fiction as we follow the machinations of Posey, a Jackie Kennedy wannabe, who is obsessed with ensuring that she achieves her rightful status as Queen Bee of Cooke County.

She is prepared to go to great lengths to achieve this aim, including refurbishing her aunt's estate in record time (a somewhat unrealistic plan), in order to impress her peers.

By contrast, Posey appears to have very little interest in her long suffering husband Vern and her daughter Callie Jane, who is about to step into unanticipated matrimony and is discovering a belated reluctance to do so!

Astute and amusing, this will be enjoyed by admirers of the genre. It gets 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This is a delightful women's fiction novel set in the south in the 1960s. I really enjoyed the characters and I thought the story had a lot of charm to it. Some parts of the story were a little over the top, but I think that were most likely written to be that way on purpose.

If you like audiobooks, the audiobook version of this book is narrated by the fabulous Brittany Pressley who happens to be one of my favorite narrators.

This is a very delightful and charming book and I will be definitely on the lookout for more books by Elizabeth Bass Parman in the future!

Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


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I don't know why, but I was totally enthralled with this story. I really wanted to know what happened to these characters. I genuinely liked all the characters, even the not as likeable ones. I listened to this whole book in one sitting. I was really invested in the story. Overall, a really good little drama.

This is a wonderful read! I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, the setting, and the overall feel of the book. This title is filled with the unexpected and I highly recommend it..

This was great! Posey Jarvis seems at first just like a busybody woman in rural Tennessee that’s not too likable. As the story grows, Posey reaches for her gin more and more, and she becomes more unlikeable. All the while, Posies daughter Callie Jane and her husband Vern continue to grow and seek their own happiness, apart from Posey.

Eventually, after inheriting a large home from her aunt, Posey sets a new plan into motion. She manipulates those in her life to get what she wants. Except her plans don’t work out and sadly, every one of the Jarvis’ pay the price.

As always, the audio performance for this book by Brittany Pressley was perfect!

Advance reader copy provided by Harper Muse and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝟑.𝟓 ⭐️ 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟎𝐬. 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬 (𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞 (𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞).

𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝! 𝐈 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬-𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒯𝒽𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝒩𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑜𝓃, 𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓅𝑒𝓇 𝑀𝓊𝓈𝑒, 𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓅𝑒𝓇 𝒞𝑜𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝐹𝑜𝒸𝓊𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

3.5⭐️ rounded up

This is an unconventional story of a mother and daughter living in the Deep South during the 1960s. Judging by the cover and blurb, I expected a lighthearted, gossipy southern drama, but the reality was much darker.

The story is told from two points of view. Posey Jarvis is truly wicked. Her day is filled with sips of gin, rumination on her own importance, and manipulative plans to get what she wants even at the risk of destroying others. Callie Jane is Posey’s daughter. She has lived under her mother’s domineering control and longs to escape her and the small town she calls home. Both women have dreams. The cost of achieving them is quite high.

I alternated between audio and print versions of this book and found both held my interest. Brittany Presley’s narration captured the southern charm of the Cooke County setting.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse, and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the opportunity to access advance copies in exchange for my unbiased review.

This follows a mother and daughter. Callie has been doing everything that her mother, Posey, wants her to do. Callie ends up engaged to be married, taking over a business that she doesn’t want to and in a town she no longer wants to be at. Posey wants a different life too, but she definitely controls the direction of her life.

I really enjoyed this book and loved it.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance listen.

This is a captivating novel with a wild cast of characters in rural Sparks, TN. Posey is the self appointed empress of Cooke county, TN as she inherits a mansion from her aunt. Her daughter Callie Jane spends the author discovering herself and deciding how far she will go to save someone she loves. This was such a unique concept for a novel, a mix of historical fiction and suspense that had me unable to stop listening. The audiobook is really well done too. I really liked the narrator

Thank you Harper Muse Audiobooks and netgalley for the advance listening copy.i

This book is told by a mother/daughter duo. You have Posey- she hates her life. She pines for her long lost love and wants to be a society wife. She technically is a society wife, but she is a tiny Podunk town. When she inherits her aunt's estate, she is convinced that her life is going to change. Then, Posey's daughter, Callie Jane. She feels trapped- her life is planned. She will marry her best friend and run her father's business. But she wants more. Is she bold enough to stand up for her choices?

I very much enjoyed reading Callie Jane's chapters. I liked her coming-of-age journey and her relationship with her father.

However, Posey was awful. And not in a funny way. What an awful, self centered character. You had a fling 20 years ago. GET OVER IT. She had what many people would consider a perfect life, yet she hated it all. There was nothing likeable about her at all. It is hard to even root for a redemption arc for someone that awful.

Brittany Pressley narrates the audiobook. As always, she did a wonderful job.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Harper Muse for the gifted copy of The empress of Cooke County. 4.19 stars.

The most important thing to know about this book is that it’s quite different than the marketing suggests. I saw promo material that included the phrases “brimming with wit and whimsy” and “gin-soaked escapes.” This is really not accurate. The vibes are more J. Ryan Strandal/Lessons in Chemistry than Sophie Kinsella/Jennifer Weiner. Despite the cutesy cover, it gets dark.

That said, I really enjoyed the story and think most people who go in with their expectations set accurately will too. The characters are interesting and engaging. The atmosphere is set in a way that completely pulls you into the story. I felt like a fellow Cooke County resident, walking the streets, visiting the emporium, and generally invested in the lives of the townspeople. I was shocked at the turn of events that happen toward the end of the story, but in the way townsfolk would be shocked when something unusual happens to one of their own. In other words, the story felt authentic, even in its twists.

The only thing I really didn’t like, besides the marketing, is Posey… who is admittedly a big part of the story and the primary reason for the 4 star range rating. I don’t mind awful or unlikeable characters, generally speaking — they’re often the most true to life! But in Posey’s case, unlikeable and awful are understatements. The depth of her depravity is outrageous, extreme, and unrelatable. She’s seriously delulu in a way that would make her a true sociopath in real life, but her delusions aren’t portrayed that way in the story.

Overall, excellent read that I’d recommend to fans of family dramas and historical fiction.

Audio: Brittany Presley narrates, what else do you need to know? Just kidding - she’s amazing of course! She’s performs both Posey and Callie Jane’s POVs but does a good job with varied inflection to differentiate the two. Highly recommend this one on audio!

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 4.19
10-pt star rating: 4
5-pt star rating: 4

Attribute ratings
Characters: 3
Atmosphere/Setting: 5
Writing Style: 4
Plot/Pacing: 4.5
Intrigue: 4.5
Logic: 4.5
Enjoyment: 4