I am sorry that I couldn't complete the book on time and it got expired. I am giving 1 star because of the book description. I liked the synopsis and that is why I asked for the book.

Emma Laroux, is living the life she believes that she has been destine to live. Now ten years has pass since she has had to give up her crown as Miss Alabama, now helping her sister with her new cooking show a director Matthew Pope has the answers if she is looking for them. He was a football player at the University Auburn and after the big game between the two schools he got a girl out of an occurred position and later called her roommate to get. He recognizes her but does tell her that it is him because not everything is clear for her from that night. What is clear is that her former boyfriend is now the mayor and has an unhealthy interest in her life especially when it comes to dating. After two dates her men are driven off, of out of town. Matthew who is attracted to Emma and her to him is the only man who has stood up to the mayor. When everything comes to a head during a pre wedding celebration for her mother and then the mayor steps up his anger towards Matthew and his true colors. Matthew out of town because he must deal with his own family is now caught off guard when he arrives back in town, and then gives her space. Later the mayor’s wife of all people finds evidence that he really is the person who was behind what took place back in college and had been doing all of the illegal things to drive off her men. Once everything settles it is up to her to decide whether to take him back and a future or decide to be single forever. A very good story and I very much liked the two main characters but also all of them.

Good read! Liked the characters and story flow! Hard to put down!

This book was just ok for me. I had trouble connecting to the storyline.

Love, Alabama by Susan Sands
Book #2: Alabama Series
Source: Netgalley and purchase
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

By nearly every standard, Emma Laroux is stunning. She has poise, grace, charm, beauty, all the things one would expect a former Miss Alabama to have. One would also expect a woman such as Emma Laroux to have a handsome man on her arm, but that is something Emma Laroux most definitely does not have. In fact, it’s been roughly a decade since Emma last had a serious boyfriend.

In college, the world was seemingly at Emma Laroux’s feet until she quite unexpectedly gave up her Miss Alabama crown and walked away from her long-term boyfriend. With little to no explanation, Emma left behind everything she had worked so hard for leaving everyone confused by her actions. Though Emma knows she made the right decision at the time, all these years later, she still isn’t completely clear on what led her to such a huge, life-altering decision. Things about that time are hazy and lost and time has helped her remember.

In the ten years since her abdication (is that what you call it when a beauty queen gives up her crown??) Emma has led a successful life and mostly fulfilled life. She’s tremendously close to her family, she has a successful pageant-prep business, and big dog who loves her unconditionally. Every single (and some married!) man in town wants her, but they also know she isn’t going to say yes to a date. That is, until Matthew Pope comes to town.

Matthew Pope is a man of the strictest control. After a near-disastrous childhood, he knows first-hand what a loss of control looks like. He watches his food intake, he controls his exercise routine, and he runs a tight ship at work. As a result, Matthew has risen far in his field and carved a nice life. Emma Laroux makes him want to give up his strict hold on control and, in the beginning choke the life out of her and her big dog. Trouble is, that frustration and aggravation are mixed with some serious desire and Matthew Pope is determined to have Emma Laroux. Since he’s new to town, he doesn’t know about Emma’s no dating rule so he dives right on in the deep end and hopes for the best! What he gets is a whole lot of sexy and more trouble than he could have ever imagined.

While Emma has worked hard to ignore/forget her past, being in a new relationship means sharing and that’s something Emma isn’t at all capable of doing. Matthew makes her think about the future, but until she can fully understand her past, a future just doesn’t seem possible. Adding to the frustration is her now married ex-boyfriend turned town mayor who seems awfully interested in Emma’s current situation. In fact, his interest in she and Matthew borders on stalking and no one, including her ex seems to be able to explain the behavior. As the days pass by and Emma and Matthew become more serious, it becomes clear Emma’s ex is tied to her hazy past, the abandonment of her crown, and even some of the strange events of the last ten years. Figuring everything out means exposing a whole host of secrets no one, including Matthew want exposed.

The Bottom Line: I tell you what, Ministry, Alabama is just a hot bed of drama and awful secrets. Isn’t it awesome??? Emma’s story is dramatic, sad, scary, and ultimately very sweet. She’s lived alone for so long she’s gotten used to the feeling and doesn’t even realize it until Matthew walks into her life. Matthew reads as somewhat nerdy and wimpy in the beginning, but as the tale unfolds he proves to be nerdy, strong, and sexy. In short, exactly what Emma needs! The road for Emma and Matthew is strange, twisted, and dark which makes the ultimate HEA so very, very good. Because of Emma’s close relationship with her family, they play a huge part in this read and they shine in she and Matthew’s defense. The only element of this read which kept me from a higher star rating is Matthew’s family which added absolutely nothing to this read. At the end of it all, I enjoyed Love, Alabama and look so very forward to returning to Ministry, Alabama to see what new, awful secrets are lurking and just waiting to be uncovered.

I may have picked this book simply because Alabama was in the title. This was a love story set in small town Alabama. It kept me intrigued the whole time because you don’t find out exactly what happened to Emma in her past until near the end of the story and what happened could shake things up between her and the guy she has fallen for. I liked the small town drama and the book was cute. Of course, a book that takes place in Alabama wouldn’t feel complete without the Alabama vs Auburn touch. I felt like maybe the ending was a little rushed and wrapped up in a bow too quickly.

Bottom Line: This was a quick and cute love story if you are looking for something light and fluffy, but still intriguing.

Rating:3/5

**I received a copy of Love, Alabama from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Emma is a retired beauty queen. She runs her own business and keeps to herself as much as possible. Enter Matthew, who rocks her world when she least expects it.

Both of these characters are flawed and have had some terrible experiences in life. This is, to me, why they hit it off. They each recognize the damage and the strength in each other. As their pasts unfold it brings them closer until….Matthew has a secret!!

I never understand why characters don’t come clean when given the perfect opportunity. It would make life so much simpler. Which, I guess is why the author chooses not to do it. It keeps the story moving. Matthew has ample opportunity to tell Emma (and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why he didn’t want her to know). What would it change if she knew. His secret, in my opinion, is not that big of a deal. But, like I said, my opinion.

I did enjoy the setting of Alabama. Being a Mississippi girl, I felt right at home with all the small town characters. The author did a fabulous job with all the quirky southern ways and especially the southern sayings. I caught myself grinning through most of this book because of the southern antics.

There is a twist at the end but it is rushed and almost like it was added as an afterthought. BUT! I did enjoy this book. It is cute, quirky and fun to read. It hit the right spot!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

Unfortunately I really did not enjoy the book and couldn't get into it so stopped reading it 1/3 into the book.

Sweet Southern Romance, but there is a dark side to this little town. It is hard to keep a secret when everyone knows your business, and this novel is great at putting layers on the characters to keep the reader guessing at motivations.

I received a free ARC of this novel from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a better than average romance with a believable storyline and characters who could possibly exist in real life. Emma is smart and gorgeous and has her life sorted out, except that she has closed herself off to relationships after one of them went so horribly wrong in college. Matthew Pope is successful, good looking and seems like a really nice guy, but has a few issues with his past that need sorting out.

The writer's style is verbose, and I feel there were a lot of explanatory passages which weren't really necessary. It resulted in some sentences which were overly long and a little bit confusing. I found myself wondering sometimes why the author felt it necessary to mention certain things which had no real bearing on the story. There are also passages of conversation between multiple characters where the speaker wasn't indicated until the end of a 3-line utterance. This meant that for a lot of these conversations, the reader doesn't know who's actually speaking until they've finished. Insert the "said Ben" or "Cammie agreed" in at the beginning and you'll make things a lot easier for your readers to follow.

The interaction between Matthew and his therapist is also entirely unrealistic; a therapist would never reveal personal information to a client. But I suspect that this is done to set up the third novel in the series. It's quite clear that two secondary characters are being set up to be the main characters in another novel, which might explain the inappropriate interaction between a therapist and her client.

There's an element of drama in this novel, with the influence of the mayor on everyone's lives, and that made the story so much more than just your average romance. It's an engaging and believable story and I enjoyed it. I'd recommend it to people who are tired of "romance" novels with totally unbelievable alpha-male billionaires and situations that would just never occur in real life. The characters are real people and the story has a humorous edge along with its element of suspense. You might have to suspend disbelief a bit, though.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for their advance copy in return for an honest review.

I loved the cover of this, which along with the premise, is why I requested this novel. Emma Laroux is what I would take as a typical southern belle, she even has the Gone with the Wind theme as her cell phone ringtone.

She is a former Ms Alabama (though she handed the crown back), and she runs her own pageant training business. Yet she is still single, despite being in her thirties, and seems unable to move on from her first, and only, failed romance.

This has everything you expect from a Southern Romance, the handsome incomer to the town who steals her heart, and unfinished business from her first romance.

The main problem I have this is the unfinished business is solved so quickly I was left wondering they left it so long.

I've just finished reading Love Alabama by Susan Sands and I did LOVE it. It's a cute contemporary that reminded me somewhat of Heart Of Dixie crossed with Gossip Girl.

I'd say this is okay for 17+ readers. There is sex but it's not described. The main characters just have it.

Love Alabama centres around Emma Laroux and Matthew Pope and their relationship. This is a 3rd person POV story, which I didn't dislike (for once). I thought the fact that it was 3rd person worked because you could see everyone on the same level. If it had been first person, we wouldn't have seen the parts where either Emma or Matthew were alone. Unless the chapters switched POV, which could have gotten messy.

I was approved to read Love Alabama through NetGalley so thanks to them for allowing me access to read it!

Spoilers below...

Emma Laroux is doing makeup for her sisters cookery show when she meets Matthew, the director of said show. What Emma doesn't realise is that Matthew and her have met before. Matthew knows this but keeps it a secret because he doesn't want to wreck his chances with Emma.

There is an evil, selfish character too. Tad Beaumont, mayor of the town is this character. He always wants everything to go his way. I just thought he was very egotistical and that he didn't show anything but hate towards the other characters, even his wife and daughter. He was only concerned with getting Emma back. Of course Emma only wanted Matthew, though.

Matthew goes through his own struggles as well, in Love Alabama. He suffers from PTSD because of an event that happened in his past. We see him work through that to be better in himself. This was nice to see as we saw him revisit his past and make do with it.

The climax of this book is whether or not Emma and Matthew end up together or not, which I enjoyed reading about.

What I liked about Love Alabama:
I liked the language used...this comes across an authentic Alabamian story. The author is from America, so that's probably why. I like reading contemporary books set where authors are from. It gives the reader confidence in what they're portraying is correct.

The romance...you knew this would be here somewhere, right? This is my favourite trope. Although some might think it a little instalovey I really didn't think that at all! Matthew knows Emma, already, hence why he just throws himself in there, I think. There really wouldn't be a story without the romance, as its central to the plot.


What I didn't like about Love Alabama:
The quick/perfect ending...I would have liked to have seen the ending played out longer. I also would have liked to have seen Emma and Matthew as a married couple with their own family but we might see this in the next book.

All in all then I really liked this sweet, Southern contemporary. It's the perfect summer read! That's why I'm giving it 5 stars as I really couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Susan Sands has taken the reader back to Ministry, Alabama for Emma’s story. What a story it is. Love, Alabama by has romance, suspense, a galore of family drama, one former Miss Alabama, one guy trying to make amends and one sleazy ex-boyfriend.

While this is second in the Alabama Series it read well as a stand-alone though her sister is part of this story too. In fact, I liked this one the best of the two stories. Ted is somewhat of a cliché jerk but that made the story more fun when he didn’t get his way. Emma and Mathew’s sparring dialogue is witty and interest holding, which adds to the chemistry that that they had when together. Add the secret to Emma and Matthew’s past only served to make them more approachable and likable, not quite so perfect. I liked them, I liked them a lot, I liked their second chance together too.


4.5 Stars
An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley.

Emma can't figure out why the NY-based TV network would send someone who hated the South to produce her sister's new cooking show. Matthew has his own problems though, but his past ties to Emma may be the key to her future.

Although following on from <i>Again, Alabama</i>, you shouldn't need to read the first to enjoy <i>Love, Alabama</i>. You'll rediscover the fun and frustration of small towns, see how fear of the past can be as paralyzing as fear for the future, and find out how being a true Southern lady- speaking honestly and treating others with kindness - can make all the difference. And most of all, whether the past will always define the future.

I really enjoyed the main characters, Emma and Matthew, in this book. Each had a back story and in a way, this was a second chance romance. The underlying familial issues for both characters make the story believable, but the setting and its influence didn't work for me. As an Alabama native, this was a bit of a stretch, even for small-town Alabama. However, those details were less important in the overall story. There was a lot of romance, a bit of suspense, and a dog, which I always love in books. I would read other books by Ms. Sands.

I kept tapping my nose the whole time I was reading this one - it didn't work and I couldn't figure out why. I think I never really bought the two of them as real people, which is key to me for a story to work. It all just felt... off. Not bad, just not for me.

This is the first book that I have read by Susan Sands and I was pleased that I tried something different. Love Alabama, with its very appealing front cover, tells the story of Emma Laroux, a former Miss Alabama and Matthew Pope, who has come to the small town of Ministry, Alabama to produce a cooking show featuring Emma’s sister. Matthew and Emma cross paths when Emma comes on set to do her sister’s make-up. However, it is soon apparent that Matthew has met Emma several years ago, whilst Emma does not remember him. This is a pivotal point to the book.
Emma has struggled to meet anyone since breaking up with Tad Beaumont, a narcissistic male who has overshadowed Emma’s life since then. It is soon apparent that Tad is somehow involved in the events surrounding Emma’s reasons for stepping down from the title of Miss Alabama
Both characters of Emma and Matthew are well outlined with Emma displaying, strength and dignity despite the disappointments that she has faced. Whilst Matthew is initially portrayed as being remote, he is soon shown to be the ‘good guy’. He carries his own disappointments but he strives to support his family and faces his demons head on. I did wish though that the romance had been built upon, in more detail, as the intensity of their feelings was quite rapid.

A sweet romance with a touch of drama, which came together effectively.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fun albeit predictable romance. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I'm from Alabama and there were a few nit picky things that bugged me. However unless you are a Auburn fan married to a die hard Alabama fan you probably wouldn't have picked up on them.
All in all it was an enjoyable quick read. I'll be looking for the other books in this series. I had no clue this was the 2nd book in a series. I didn't feel left out of confused at all by not having read the first book.

I enjoyed this book. I was expecting a southern romance but it was more and I really liked the whole suspense part to the story. Even though this was the second book in the series it read well as a standalone as I hadn't read the first book. The characters and the storyline were entertaining. It had me eagerly turning the pages waiting to get to the truth behind the lies and secrets.