Leelee Satterfield's life in Memphis, Tennessee, is perfect! She can't understand her husband's sudden restlessness and his desire to uproot their family to Vermont of all places. Leelee always bows to her husband's wishes and has never defied him. Against her better judgment and her friends' belief that she has lost her mind, Leelee packs her bags and heads to Vermont where her husband has bought a dilapidated bed-and-breakfast to restore, sinking all their money into it.

The culture shock upon arriving nearly has Leelee turning around and heading home. The monstrous flies and mosquitoes resembled vampires in a feeding frenzy, leaving Leelee and the kids soaked in bug repellant. The cold and heavy snows are unbearable in the leaky inn that has little to no insulation. When her husband up and leaves in the middle of the night for another woman, Leelee is stuck. She has no money but a huge mortgage each month and employees to pay. Finding her backbone, Leelee discovers her inner strengths as she struggles to keep her life from dissolving into complete disaster.

Funny, engaging, loads of Southern attitude and humor are just a few words that come to mind after reading Ms. Patton's debut novel. She nails the characters from eccentric Vermonters to a misplaced Southern Belle. The portrayal of Leelee's growth from being her husband's ornament to finding and developing into an independent woman who discovers happiness with loads of help from her girlfriends gives this read a thumbs-up.

Book Summary

Southern belle Leelee Satterfield leaves her beloved Memphis to follow her husband’s pipe dream: to manage a quaint Vermont inn. But when they arrive, young daughters and ancient Yorkie in tow, they discover pretty fast that there’s a truckload of things nobody tells you about Vermont until you live there. When Leelee is left swindled and snowbound, she’s forced to con - front the true depth of her Southern grit in this foreign town.