This is the sequel to Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society which I haven't read (yet), but you need not read the first book to enjoy this one.

The book starts off with Dora Witherspoon getting a telegram from Dolores Simpson that Dora's ex-husband Darryl Norwood is back in the town and is planning a big development along the tidal river. She wants Dora to stop him and Dora and the rest of Collier County Women's Literary Society; Jackie Hart, Mrs. Bailey White, and Plain Jane getter their forces to find a way to stop the development.

Charming! Thar is the word I would use to describe this book. I'm just so bloody fond of books/movies that takes place in the 60s in America (especially in a little town where everyone knows everyone). I mean there is lot going on, it's not a perfect little sweet story, Amy Hill Hearth never lets you forget that that there is still very much racism against the black that the civil right moments have not really had a big effect in the little towns in the south. Hell, there is a lot of racism against the Yankees as well. Jackie Hart and her family are from Boston, and they talk different and do things different there and it's not easy coming from Boston to Collier County (I seriously need to read the first book where Jackie arrives in Collier County).

But I'm still charmed by the book and the story. Yes, it was not a big surprising story with many twists, but I still enjoyed the book very much. The part where Dolores Simpson revealing her real name and everything that comes with that is probably my favorite part, and, Dora telling the book club about what she learned in Jackson about her mother was a sweet part and led to the wonderful revelation at the ending (that I guessed, but never mind that).

I was charmed by the characters and by the stories. And, if you also find these kinds of books charming, then I think you should read it.

I received this copy from Atria Books through Edelweiss in return for an honest review! Thank you! ( )

The sequel to Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society and I enjoyed every page of it. It wasn't quite as solid as the first book, but this was a trip back home for me and I'm sure that went a long way towards filling in any gaps.

The books don't have to be read in order; each stands on it's own just fine, but the first book ended with Dora, the MC, off to learn more about her late mother and her people, and ...the Lost Heiress reveals what she discovered. There were supporting characters too that we didn't learn as much about, and this book fills in those blanks and gives us a surprise twist in the characters' lives.

I'm not sure about the strength of the plot; Dora's summons to come home felt contrived, especially towards the end when we learn that the key to everything was knowingly held in one of the character's hands (so to speak) all along. The author didn't sell the character's reluctance at all, so the whole thing ended up feeling like a tempest in a teacup and anticlimactic to boot.

But oh, the setting. She nailed the setting. I'm just - just - old enough to remember the Everglades before they fenced in Alligator Alley; when it was just highway 41 (not Interstate 75) and daddy would have to periodically pull the car over to move a gator off the road. Amy Hill Hearth absolutely nailed this old Florida and you can practically smell the swamp wafting off the pages. I'm pretty sure she nailed the awful parts too; the racism against the Seminoles and the blacks and the migrant workers. The bone deep distrust of yankees. The battle between development and conservation. I'm oh-so-blessed not to have been raised in that Florida (well, I heard enough about yankees, it's true and I'm pretty sure the conservationists lost), but it's a sobering reminder of just how blessed I was and just how shamefully slow Floridians were to evolve with the times.

I'll be reading this book and the first one again any time I'm feeling homesick and I'll be looking for more from this author. ( )

This is the sequel to Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society, and while it's probably not necessary to have read that first (I did), it's also probably helpful. There are some references in the sequel that will make more sense having read the first book. That being said, I don't think the sequel was as good as its predecessor. I missed the humor of the first book. Like that one, this book touches on racism and sexism in the South in the early 1960s, as well as the emerging issue of development versus environmental protection. ( )

Very disappointed after Miss Dreamsville #1. Had to read 100 or so pages to get into who the ppl were again; that should have been a wrap up in the first chapter. And then never got to a part where I didn't want to stop. Really really disappointed. ( )

Fun, quick read ( )