I received this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Please see my full reviews available at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.com. ( )

Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan is an intriguing novel about a young woman who is haunted by the death of her best friend ten years earlier.

Although Julie Portland managed to escape from the small southern town where she grew up, she is still haunted by the death of her best friend Reba McLeod. While the events surrounding Reba's fateful fall from a bridge are hazy, Julie is certain she is responsible for her friend's death. Haunted by her memories, she is barely getting by as she raises her five her old daughter, Beck, in New York City. When Reba's former boyfriend August Elliott tracks Julie down and begs her to return to Lawrence Mill, Mississippi to find Reba's diary, she reluctantly agrees to his plan. Will finding Reba's long lost diary provide Julie and August the answers they both need to finally lay the ghosts of their pasts to rest?

Best friends from the moment they met when they were five years old, Julie and Reba are thick as thieves until their senior year in high school. The two begin growing apart soon after the school year starts and Julie begins practicing for an upcoming play. Reba continues working in the local flower shop where she meets newcomer August Elliot. Immediately attracted to the young man, the two begin secretly dating since Reba's bigoted father will not approve of his daughter having an African American boyfriend.

Julie knows that Reba is keeping a secret from her and after she sees her leaving her cousin Toby's bedroom late one night, she is stunned by his revelation. Julie and Reba have a huge fight over this disclosure and although they finally make up, things are not quite the same between them. Reba's behavior is completely out of character and Julie wants to get to the bottom of what is happening with her best friend. However, before she can uncover the truth, Reba is dead and soon after, Julie leaves for college.

Julie and August's return to Lawrence Mill quickly resurrects their unsettled feelings about the events leading up to Reba's tragic death. Despite repeated warnings to leave the past alone, Julie finally locates Reba's diary. The diary entries are somewhat shocking since Reba wrote detailed accounts of exactly what she doing in the months before falling from bridge. Both Julie and August are stunned to discover the truth about Reba but will this newfound knowledge help them come to terms with the demons that have plagued them for so long?

Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan is a captivating novel of healing and redemption. Written from multiple points of view (including Reba's diary entries), the story unfolds in a leisurely fashion that quite is riveting. With unexpected twists and turns, this well-written, suspenseful read comes to a completely satisfying and somewhat surprising conclusion.
( )

Julie Portland killed her best friend, Reba, in 1998. In the ten years since, Julie has left their small hometown of Lawrence Mill, Mississippi, for New York. She attended NYU, studied acting, married a classmate who becomes a Broadway star, has a baby, divorces said classmate, and is now trying to make ends meet. Her daughter, Beck, is the light of her life. Julie has lived a full life, but every day that goes by, she remembers that girl from Mississippi---the one she killed.

In a crowded, Manhattan restaurant, Julie sees a man from her past: the man who came between Reba and herself. She tries to escape, but the man, August, manages to track her down to her apartment.

August hasn’t come there to cast blame or seek revenge; he’s come to New York to persuade Julie to return to Mississippi and free Reba’s memories. What follows is a page-turning story where author Harrigan feeds readers information slowly, like a stray breeze on a hot and humid Mississippi afternoon. Sometimes the tension is almost unbearable, and there are several twists in the story that I didn’t see coming.

August is sure there Reba left behind a journal that could unlock the mystery of her death. Julie may feel that is responsible for her friend’s death, but August isn’t convinced she is. He knows that the journal holds the answers to all his questions.

Dueling timelines between 1997 and 2008 make for fascinating reading. Especially when Toby, Julie’s cousin, enters the picture. I wanted to give this debut 6 stars, but it dragged a bit about two-thirds through, but picked back up near the end. Therefore, Secrets of Southern Girls receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. ( )

I really did not enjoy this novel. There were a lot of things that just didn't work for me. I thought this novel would be primarily told from Julie's point of view. And while most of it was, there were also other perspectives thrown in that took me aback. With no introduction, a chapter would suddenly be told in the perspective of some other character. This really affected the flow of the novel, making it choppy. There were diary entries scattered throughout the book, and while I usually enjoy that, I didn't like it here. That was mostly because the voice of the diary entry was very awkward. The story took a long while to get going and I kept waiting for that moment where the story would pull me in ... but it never happened. There was nothing really appealing about the story. None of the characters were likable, and I didn't really care about what they were going through because they were just so selfish and immature. I thought there would be more twists and turns in the plot but it was really just about Julie and August getting the diary (which happened pretty easily, in all honesty) and then reading the entries that the reader has had access to already. Nothing really made this novel shine or took it over the edge. All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book and for those reasons, I'm giving it a 1/5 stars.

I received this novel as an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

SECRETS of SOUTHERN GIRLS
HALEY HARRIGAN

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️
PUBLISHER Sourcebooks Landmark
PUBLISHED June 1, 2017

SUMMARY
Secrets of Southern Girls is a debut novel for Haley Harrigan. Julie Portland and her best friend Reba grew up in a mill town in Mississippi in the 1990s. Julie thought they shared everything. But when they were seniors in high school Julie learned there were some big secrets Reba had been keeping from her. Julie was hurt and mad. And then something terrible happened. Reba was dead. Her body was found down river from their favorite bridge. Did Reba commit suicide? Or was she pushed? Did Julie have something to do with it?

It's now 10 years later, and Julie is single and lives in New York City with her daughter Beck. Julie has been stalked and finally approached by August, Reba's old boyfriend from high school. August wants Julie to join him on a trip back to Lawernce Mill, Mississippi. August knows that Julie had a diary that she had planned to give him that fateful night. No one knows what happened to it. August is able to convince Julie that Reba's diary might be the key to figuring out what really happened on the bridge that night.

REVIEW
Overall, I liked the book. It was fairly easy to read and the story was interesting. For a debut novel I thought the writing was good. I particularly liked the use of Reba's diary entries to tell her version of the story. I also liked how the intensity of the diary entries coincided with the intensity of the experiences Julie and August had in Mississippi trying to obtain the diary.

Secrets of Southern Girls contained a robust cast of characters, most all of which were adequately developed. The main characters were Julie, Reba, August, Nell and Toby. In addition there a host of minor characters such as Julie's aunt and Uncle, Reba parents and the famous actor, Evan, who was Julie's ex husband. I would have love to see Evan play more of a role in the book. I thought the artist, Toby, who was Julie's cousin and the antagonist, added a little creative spice to the story.

I found it a little unbelievable that Julie would hang out for 10 years without pursuing what really happened that night on the bridge. I also struggled somewhat with the perspectives from which the story was told. The chapters jumped between August, Reba, and Julie's point of view. Additionally chapters jump back and forth in time as well. It was a little hard to follow at times. Overall, it was an entertaining read. It's would probably appeal most to younger women between the ages of 13-35.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Haley Harrigan for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )