Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley

After being expelled from thirteen boarding schools in the past five years, Jane Fontaine Ventouras is finally returning home to Bienville, Alabama. Jane can’t believe she’s back in her grandmother’s house after all this time, along with the sweet tea, good old southern hospitality, and all the pearl-wearing and perfectly primped pageant hopefuls. She couldn’t feel more out of place in her hometown, and her plans of blending into the wallpaper unnoticed are dashed when she is forced to compete in the annual Magnolia Maid Pageant. Jane is anything but a southern belle, but when she’s chosen as a Magnolia Maid, she realizes she’ll need to step up before the pageant turns into a bratfest. She’s going to have to try really hard to be a lady, but there’s no doubt she’s not going down without a fight.

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell is one of those books whose title perfectly captures the flavor of the story: charming and funny.  I always find southern debutante/pageant books so enjoyable to read because I can expect the pageants and balls to be over the top, but I can also expect the resisting protagonist to be a little ridiculous in her attempts to escape this torture. Rumley does humor in her debut novel very well, and I was giggling throughout the entire book. I was a little bit less pleased when it came to the characters. The more minor characters, though undoubtedly colorful and entertaining, tended to be rather flat and for me, ultimately uninteresting. What I found slightly more irritating was Jane’s character. I loved her in the beginning of the story because of her attitude and humor, and it was great seeing her grow into new friendships with her fellow Magnolia Maids, but something felt a little strange by how she seemed to buy into the entire pageant thing at the end of the book. The changes in Jane’s mentality weren’t so smooth where this transition felt natural. However, even though the characters could have used a little work and the romance was very predictable, I found Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell is quick and entertaining read.

This novel is sure to be enjoyed by fans of The Debutante by Kathryn Williams, Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee, and The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch.

Rating: 3.25

Review copy from publisher EgmontUSA