screenshot144 I am happy to report that I was able to read an advance copy of Angela Correll’s debut novel, Grounded.

From the Amazon book summary: New York City flight attendant Annie Taylor is grounded. Turbulence in the airline industry leads to her job loss—putting a halt to her weekends in Rome and independent city life. Just when she needs him the most, she loses her boyfriend and her apartment. Annie flees the city for the family farm in Kentucky. Her arrival is met by a shotgun-wielding grandmother, a suspicious stranger moving into the old stone house, and her attractive childhood friend Jake about to make the biggest mistake of his life. Struggling against her grandmother’s stubborn ways, Annie disagrees with her on the fate of the family farm but stays on to help her grandmother through a knee surgery by tending the garden and learning how to can the vegetables. Through the summer’s trials, Annie is forced to face her own past mistakes and the consequences. When the phone call comes from New York earlier than expected, Annie must choose between coming to terms with her deep roots or leaving it all behind for a return to the city.

Overall, I liked Grounded. Anyone who has lived in or spent time in small southern towns will certainly recognize the language, colloquialisms, and sense of community. That part felt very familiar to me as I was reading- almost as if some of my own relatives were speaking. As is the case in many southern towns, the church is a social center, so a tolerance for church relationships and mentions of Jesus are a must for readers to stay engaged and enjoy the book.

Annie is a believable character who grows as a person through the course of the story- albeit in a somewhat predictable manner. That’s not to say that it isn’t enjoyable, just that I wasn’t terribly surprised by certain turns of events as the book progressed.

I liked the way the characters relate to each other. Sometimes you don’t need high drama to tell an interesting story, and understated can be just as entertaining as a tale fraught with tension.

I enjoyed Grounded and I’m looking forward to reading more from Angela Correll.