Sweet Tea and Secrets
Author: Nancy Naigel
Series: #1 in the Adams Grove series

Review Copy Provided By Author

Description:
Adams Grove is mourning the loss of Pearl Clemmons, known for her award-winning chocolate pecan pie and the best unsolicited advice in the county.
When Jill returns to settle her grandmother’s estate, she’s greeted by a Clydesdale-sized guardian dog who doesn’t seem to be earning his stripes (although he drools on them pretty well), and Garrett Malloy, the ex-fiance she left behind a year ago.
Jill insists on staying at Pearl’s amidst a string of break-ins that have sleepy Adams Grove wide awake and locking its doors. Jill’s past with Garrett becomes the least of her worries when she learns that their lives are in danger. She is the only person standing between a desperate conman and a secret from Pearl’s past.
Will Pearl’s past kill any chance of Jill and Garrett’s future together?

Review:
Sometimes you just see the title of a book and want to read it – for me Sweet Tea and Secrets was one of those books. Although, I’ll readily admit that I’m not a iced tea drinker (whoops, I mean Tea drinker), either sweet or unsweet…I prefer my tea hot, a la British style. But the description of the book sounded intriguing – I love the going back to your roots kind of story and it was set in Virgina where I lived for several years (during college, and then for another four years after that).

Unfortunately, while I enjoyed it (and I gave it a 3 star rating), I didn’t love it like I hoped that I would. but I can’t really pinpoint why…I know that I had no issues with putting it down and taking a break (even for several days), but when I picked it up, I was back in the routine…its weird…maybe it was because I never really felt a connection between Jill and Garrett. Their romance, and second chance romance is a favorite trope of mine, just didn’t feel like it worked…I didn’t feel a connection and at least to me, the mystery was obvious. I knew who had done the deeds early on, while I didn’t necessarily know why/how, I knew who…which I think added to my lack of enjoyment. oh and one other thing, and its minor, when the characters did a drive by of Virginia Tech, I was REALLY hoping that some places I had haunted while a student there would be mentioned, but none were – in fact, the place that was mentioned, I don’t even recall, and I spent 4 of the best years of my life in Blacksburg…

But that being said, it was a easy read – not hard, nothing that really makes you think/scratch your head. I am intrigued by the recipes that are in the back and might have to try some of them out – i’m always a sucker for traditional home-cooking. Overall, I gave ST&S 3 stars.