Sloth Goes Places - North Carolina

 

Sloth Goes Places is a feature where I share books I have tracked from the Literary Escapes and Read Around the USA reading challenges. 

Today we are looking at books set in ....

North Carolina

Sloth had lived in NC for a year while his person went to grad school, so he knows a little bit about the state. It's a beautiful state that boasts beaches and mountains along with cities and farmland. I can make it to North Carolina in few hours though I have not really had the opportunity to vacation there yet.

As far as reading goes, I never struggle with this state. It's a rather popular setting with authors like Sarah Dessen and Kristy Woodson Harvey having multiple books set there. 

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Puppy Love at Mistletoe Junction by Shannon Richard
Published by Avon on October 15, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

From the author of Dog Days Forever, a heartfelt, holiday contemporary romance, in which a young woman returns to her small hometown and ends up fostering a pregnant dog with—of all people—the man she used to love.

Lucy Buchanan and Theo Taylor have never gotten along…like ever. Not when they were children, not when they were teenagers, and definitely not as adults…though that last part might be more Lucy’s doing than Theo’s. It was the summer after she graduated college when their antagonism towards each other boiled over into something... hot.

That is until Lucy left town in a flash, leaving everything behind for warm Los Angeles. But now she’s returned after seven years following a bad breakup, and a newfound disillusionment with La-La Land.

As for Theo, he doesn’t know and doesn’t care about whatever happened to make Lucy come back. His lingering resentment is enough to keep her at arm’s length until she inevitably leaves again. The problem is, being around each other has proven that their friction isn’t going anywhere, especially when it leads to some pretty intense heat.

The two have no idea what they’ve rekindled, but things get even more complicated when they rescue a pregnant dog together, taking on joint responsibility of caring for her.

Lucy and Theo must find a way to overcome their past, first for the sake of the dog and her litter, and for their own wounded hearts.

I love this series so much. Richard has assembled a great group for these small town romances and always features the dogs in thoughtful ways. This was a second chance romance, and I loved that the hero was the one who seemed all in first. I don't know why, but I like when he falls first. I also thought the puppy storyline was precious, and it was so much fun celebrating the holidays with this bunch. 

[review]

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You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon
Published by Forever on February 18, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

A former sorority girl starts a prestigious poetry MFA program only to discover that one of her fellow grad students is her high school crush-turned-nemesis—​who can't stop writing about her.

No one’s more surprised than Leigh when a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina accepts her. A former sorority girl, Leigh’s the first to admit she knows more about the lyrics of Taylor Swift than T.S. Eliot, and she’s never been able to shake the “all-style-no-substance” feedback her high school crush made in their poetry workshop. Bad enough that her tattooed, New Yorker tote bag-carrying classmates have read all the right authors and been published in the country's leading literary journals, Leigh's insecurities become all too real when Will, that same high school crush-turned-nemesis, shows up at orientation as a first-year in the program, too. And now, he’s William, exactly the kind of writer Leigh hates, complete with his pretentious sweater vests and tattered Moleskine.

Leigh’s determined to prove herself—and William—wrong by landing the program’s highly-coveted fellowship. But Will’s dead-set on it, too, and in a small cohort, they can't keep apart for long. When Will submits an intimate poem (that's maybe, probably, definitely about Leigh) to workshop, they’re both forced to realize there’s more to the other than what’s on the page. And what’s between the lines may be even more interesting.

Leigh and Will were in North Carolina as part of a highly selective graduate program. Already dealing with impostor syndrome, Leigh now had to face her former high school crush who had broken her heart. I found myself very invested in Leigh's personal journey and this union. The last part of this book was what really made it a hit for me, and I couldn't help the joy I felt as I celebrated their success. 

[review]

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Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Published by Gallery Books on April 28, 2020
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

From “the next major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand) and the bestselling author of the Peachtree Bluff series comes an odd-couple tale of friendship that asks just how much our past choices define our happiness.

It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy.

Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger, Diana Harrington, fired from her job at the local pharmacy.

Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a worn-out Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.

With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn. But when her first love returns, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.

In her warmest, wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.

This was such a great story of female friendship which was especially wonderful as it was between two unlikely people. Gray was what one would consider a success. She was wealthy and a savvy business owner, but her personal life was not as successful. Her husband cheated on her, and now she was trying to rebuild following her divorce. Diana was chronically down on her luck, and she found herself in dire straits after losing her job and home in the same day. Luckily, Gray needed some help, and Diana was just the person to provide that service. The friendship that developed between the two was lovely, as was the support they gave to each other. I was a fan of how it all played out for both these women as well, cheering them on as they found their happy. 

[review]

Have you read any books set in North Carolina?
Let us know in the comments!