Books & Spoons Review: AGAIN, ALABAMA by Susan Sands

Cammie Laroux is back in Alabama---again.

Dragged back to her small town to help her mother recover from surgery while rescuing the family event planning business should be a cinch. Even for a disgraced television chef, right? Wrong.

Among the many secrets Cammie's family’s been hiding is the fact that their historic home is falling down. Oh, and the man hired to restore the house, Grey Harrison, is the same high school and college love of her life who thrashed her heart and dreams ten years ago. Yeah, that guy.

Grey, a widower with a young daughter, has never stopped loving Cammie, and when they are face to face once again, the chemistry is off the charts. Cammie may be in full-blown denial, but letting go is no longer in Grey’s vocabulary, even when winning Cammie’s forgiveness and renovating their love may seem like an impossible build even for a master architect and carpenter.

As Cammie finds herself forgetting all the reasons she can’t trust Grey or love again, he finds himself remembering all the reasons he wants her to stay with him in Alabama… forever.

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This story is full of Southern charm and big family love and craziness.
Cammie is dealing with a lot stress in her life right now, mom's surgery, disaster with her career, coming home to the town where she left from with embarrassment and a broken heart. And the first thing she has to face when back in Alabama, is her ex, Grey, the one who shattered her life ten years ago.
Also, it seems that Cammie's mom has her share of secrets, that all come into the life that one autumn in Alabama.
Cammie and Grey still have feelings for each other, that is obvious from the first meeting. But there's a lot of betrayed feelings, hurt, pain and brokenness between them. Grey's daughter, Sammie, is fragile from her mother's death, and life. So the work that needs to be done is not only between Grey and Cammie, but also with Sammie. And that journey is not easy, forgiveness doesn't come lightly, and forgetting the past is nearly impossible. But they work on it, to make it possible to live with.
I liked the Southern slow way of life, I always have. The family, with all the insanity, fun, ribbing, and hugs.
The relationship between Grey and Cammie has some cheating issues, ten years ago, as well as now, since Cammie is engaged to another man when she arrives in Alabama, and starts to rebuild her relationship with Grey, and keeps it a secret to her fiance.
I liked the author's voice, the way she tells the story, even though the story does move along slowly, in true Southern tradition. The cooking, event planning and running was intriguing to me, of course. The characters felt a bit one dimensional, more depth and insight into them would have been great. Also, even though there was a connection between Grey and Cammie, for me, the chemistry between them was only lukewarm. And after all the drama with Sammie in the story, I missed  seeing how Cammie and Sammie build upon the fragile relationship they had.
Overall, it is a warm story of second changes, small town living down south, and family love
~ Three Spoons

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