My First Review!

I have a friend who has been blogging for years. She now has 2 blogs because she also does product reviews for companies. She's been given cars to drive for a few days, food products to test, household products, etc. I think it's fun that she gets to do that. I think it's a great idea because she's a 'normal' person who I trust to give an honest opinion. So, when she told me that her friend from high school wrote a book and asked if I wanted to do a review on my blog, I jumped at the chance!

I received this in the mail yesterday....

It's called The Traveling Tea Ladies: Death in Dallas by Melanie O'Hare-Salyers. Cute cover, right? I turned to the title page inside the book and to my surprise, Melanie had autographed the book for me. She wrote, "Until our next cup of tea, Melanie." How sweet!

The back of the book describes this group of women as "Charlie's Angels meet Steel Magnolias." I was intrigued by the group of friends and the fact that there are actual recipes in the back of the book. My mom, sister, and I have been to a tea room in my sister's small town and we really enjoyed the experience. Since then, we've been dreaming of having high tea at the Grand Floridian in Walt Disney World. One of these days! After reading about Melanie's real life tea room, Miss Melanie's Tea Room in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, I think it's a must see for my mom, sister, and me 'one of these days.'

I sat down to start the book yesterday afternoon. I didn't intend to read the entire book in one evening, but after dealing with the dental office billing department and waiting all afternoon/early evening for them to return my call (I even missed my book club because I was waiting for their non-existent return call), this book was a fun diversion. I put it down long enough to cook dinner, and then again to watch The Biggest Loser. I then picked it back up and stayed up until I finished it. It was that good!

I love the way Salyers describes the personality of each woman in the book. Another thing I really liked was the food she described and the styles that each woman wore. I am not a trend setter and wouldn't be accused of being 'fashion forward', but it was fun to read about the fashions that each woman wore in the story. Each day in the book, Salyers described what each woman was wearing. Fun! The recipes in the back of the book sound delicious and I will definitely try some of them since I love to cook and bake. The recipes include peanut butter pie, key lime pie, fried green tomatoes, Tennessee corn fritters, chocolate chip scones, among others.

Don't let the sub title fool you. This isn't a dark book. This is a light, fun read that I had a difficult time putting down. It was definitely a page turner! The girls travel to Dallas for Amelia's 20th college reunion at SMU. They come face-to-face with Amelia's old sorority friends, former fiancee, and her old nemesis. Without giving any of the details and ruining the ending, the weekend getaway lasts longer than they anticipated because one of Amelia's old friends was murdered. That's where the mystery comes in and the four friends are on a mission to find the real killer!

I'm looking forward to the next book that comes out in 2011 called The Traveling Tea Ladies: Death in Dixie! You can visit her websites www.Smokymountaincoffee-herb-tea.com and www.TheTeaAcademy.com for more information and some great shopping!

I will definitely be sharing this book with my tea loving mom and sister! Thanks for the opportunity to read and review your book, Melanie!

xoxo