Sweet Tea Tuesdays
Ashley Farley
Leisure Time Books, May 2917
Ebook
Leisure Time Books, March 2017
ISBN 978-1-946229-37-3
Trade Paperback
From the author—
Three best friends met every Tuesday for twenty-six years. And then they stopped.
When new next-door neighbors Georgia, Midge, and Lula first assembled on Georgia’s porch in Charleston for sweet tea, they couldn’t have known their gathering was the beginning of a treasured tradition. For twenty-six years they have met on Tuesdays at four o’clock, watching the seasons change and their children grow up, supporting each other in good times and in bad. With their ambitions as different as their personalities, these best friends anticipate many more years of tea time. And then, one Tuesday, Georgia shares news that brings their long-standing social hour to an abrupt halt. And that’s only the beginning as unraveling secrets threaten to alter their friendship forever.
Picture yourself and a couple of neighbors enjoying a glass of sweet tea on the front porch once a week, spending a little time catching up on each other’s doings and the latest tales about the kids and the men in your lives. Some weeks, you’ll watch the sun set; others, you’ll just savor the warm afternoon and coastal breezes. There are tears sometimes, a lot of laughs, perhaps the occasional spat, and the tea just might become a glass of wine. Most importantly, this is tradition and the essence of friendship, the very reason front porches were created.
Lula, Midge and Georgia are such normal women and so nice (for the most part) but not too much so. I would welcome them all into my life if I could do so and, after reading about the years on that porch, I feel as though I know them as well as my own best friends, alas both now departed. These are seasoned women who have seen and experienced much in their lifetimes and therefore they are compellingly interesting. When life deals Lula what she sees as a bad hand, the effect is nearly catastrophic and heartache is inevitable while continuing to care about her becomes really difficult. Many of us have been faced with problems similar to that which nearly brings the three friends to an apparent impasse; would we react the same or differently?
With each book Ashley Farley writes, she just gets better and better and she has become one of my favorite contemporary Southern fiction authors. Sweet Tea Tuesdays is a summer afternoon’s paean to friendships and family and the ordinary lives of women and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Georgia, Lula and Midge.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2017.
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Purchase Links:
Ebook:
Print:
Barnes & Noble // Indiebound // Amazon
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About the Author
Ashley Farley writes books about women for women. Her characters are mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives facing real-life issues. Her goal is to keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. If her story stays with you long after you’ve read the last word, then she’s done her job.
After her brother died in 1999 of an accidental overdose, she turned to writing as a way of releasing her pent-up emotions. She wrote SAVING BEN in honor of Neal, the boy she worshipped, the man she could not save.
Ashley is a wife and mother of two young adult children. While she’s lived in Richmond, Virginia for the past 21 years, part of her heart remains in the salty marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry where she grew up. Through the eyes of her characters, she’s able to experience the moss-draped trees, delectable cuisine, and kind-hearted folks with lazy drawls that make the area so unique.
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Follow the tour:
Monday, June 5th: I’d Rather Be At The Beach
Tuesday, June 6th: Kritters Ramblings
Wednesday, June 7th: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, June 8th: Reading is My Super Power
Friday, June 9th: Bibliotica
Monday, June 12th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Monday, June 12th: Jathan & Heather
Tuesday, June 13th: Tina Says…
Thursday, June 15th: From the TBR Pile
Friday, June 16th: View from the Birdhouse
Monday, June 19th: Based on a True Story
Tuesday, June 20th: StephTheBookworm
Wednesday, June 21st: Buried Under Books
Thursday, June 22nd: A Bookish Way of Life
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Buried Under Books 
This is such a nice review, and the book has a certain appeal; it seems that Southern fiction has become very popular.
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Good review. I was reading along thinking what a wonderful idea (and tradition) to meet with friends at a certain time each week. Then I got to the hook where suddenly one of the meetings is different. The whole concept really pulled me in.
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Wonderful review!
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Thank you so much for your kind words and for hosting a stop on my blog tour. I’m so glad you enjoyed Lula, Georgia, and Midge.
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Pingback: Ashley Farley, author of Sweet Tea Tuesdays, on tour June 2017 | TLC Book Tours
This book sounds like the absolute perfect read for a relaxing summer afternoon. I’m so looking forward to reading it!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
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