On the bookshelf in July & August

I decided to read one of my longest book series to round out my summer reading — The Sweet Magnolia Series by Sherryl Woods. I started with Stealing Home. I have watched a couple of episodes of this series on Netflix & while I know the books are always so different (& oftentimes so much better), I knew this would kind of be a “fluff” series for me, which is what I was looking for before I head back to school. (As a school counselor, the beginning & end of the school year are the busiest times for me & often when I hear some of the hardest things from kids — either needing to talk about what happened during their summer, or not looking forward to it, etc). This book totally gives me Nicholas Sparks vibes — there’s romance & smalltown drama & a fairly cheesy storyline. This first book is from Maddie Townsend’s perspective. Her husband, Bill, just announced that he’s been having an affair with his coworker & she’s pregnant so he’ll be leaving Maddie. Maddie & Bill have three kids together: Tyler, Kyle, & Katie, & as you can imagine, this was a very hard situation for all of them to work through together. & of course, when you live in a small town like Serenity, South Carolina (because of course that’s where this book is based!), your business becomes “everyone’s business”. Maddie really leans on her lifelong two best friends, Dana Sue & Helen. The three of them grew up together in Serenity & are known as the Sweet Magnolias (because of course they are!). Maddie has been a homemaker for her married life & now that she & Bill are no longer together, she has to figure out a job. The Sweet Magnolias decide to go into business together & open a spa / workout facility for women (because of course they do!). Maddie’s oldest son Tyler is quite the baseball stud & his hottie coach catches Maddie’s eye. Although the book was fairly predictable (as I’m sure you can imagine), it was still a cute read & I was decently excited for the others. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The second book in the series is A Slice of Heaven. This book is all about Dana Sue’s life. (Dana Sue makes up one third of the Sweet Magnolias). Dana Sue’s husband, Ronnie, had an affair which led to their divorce. Dana Sue & Ronnie have a teenage daughter together named Annie. As any teenage daughter would, Annie struggles with their divorce & her relationship with her dad. Ronnie leaves Serenity & has a pretty limited relationship with his daughter. This book definitely needs to come with a trigger warning for those that have struggled with an eating disorder: Annie ends up struggling deeply in a battle with anorexia. So much so that she winds up in the hospital, thus forcing her parents to have regular communication once again. Annie uses her struggles with her eating disorder as an opportunity for a good ole parent trap. Will it work? You’ll have to read to find out! I gave this book three out of five stars.

The third book is Feels Like Family. This book is all about Helen (the final member of the Sweet Magnolia’s). Helen is a divorce attorney & she is practically married to her job. Unfortunately, her job has made her fairly cynical & also wildly independent, so at 40 years old, she is still single & not a mom. As one of her closest friends, Maddie, has two babies with her new husband, Cal, Helen starts to consider what she may have missed out on by being so focused on her career. There were quite a few twists & turns, & I enjoyed this book the most out of all three so far. I wanted to give it four stars, but there were just some things that were a little too unrealistic, so I stuck with giving it three out of five stars.

The fourth book is Welcome to Serenity. This book was about Jeanette, the gal who does all the glorious spa work at the Corner Spa & also now honorary member of the Sweet Magnolias. Jeanette has been burned quite a few times in past relationships so she’s sworn off men forever. (Now this is a romcom series so we all know where this is gonna go). Jeanette is very irritated by the town’s new town manager, Tom MacDonald. Tom is immediately drawn to Jeanette & the other members of the Sweet Magnolia are all for setting them up. There is A LOT of ups & downs because Jeanette is conflicted in her feelings for Tom. There’s some great familial reconciliation that I enjoyed as a side plot. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The fifth book is Home in Carolina. This book was about Annie Sullivan (Dana Sue’s daughter) & now she’s all grown up! Annie had thought pretty much ever since she was itty bitty that she’d end up marrying Ty, Maddie’s oldest son. The two had dated throughout high school & college, but when Ty made it to the professional level for baseball, he fell into the temptations of the female groupies. He ended up cheating on Annie & fathering a child with one of the women. To make matters worse, Annie found out about everything through the tabloids. To say she was hurt & wouldn’t give Ty the time of day was an understatement! Ty ended up injuring his shoulder & coming back to Serenity for rest & rehab where Annie was conveniently living & working as a sports injury & rehabilitation therapist. Ty is accompanied by his three-year-old son, Trevor. Ty has been Trevor’s main care taker since his mother, Dee-Dee, left him in front of Ty’s hotel room as an infant. Oh the drama!! Will Annie be able to forgive Ty? Does she still have feelings for him? What about his relationship with Dee-Dee? All of these questions + more are answered! I gave this book three out of five stars.

The sixth book is Sweet Tea at Sunrise. This book was about Sarah Price, one of Annie’s best friends from high school. I enjoyed the plot of this book a bit more than the others just because it seemed a tad more realistic. Sarah lives in Alabama, has two kids & is in a pretty toxic marriage that has taken quite a toll on her self-image. She decides to get away & brings her kids back to her hometown, Serenity. There, she reconnects with old friends & of course, makes some new ones, too. The most important one is Jeanette’s husband (Tom)’s cousin (Travis). Did ya follow that? It doesn’t really matter because I’m sure you’ve already guessed how this is going to turn out lol I gave this book three & a half out of five stars.

The seventh book is Honeysuckle Summer. This book needs to come with a HUGE TRIGGER WARNING because the main character of this storyline, Raylene, was the victim of years of abuse from her husband. This book shares the aftermath of her story once she was finally able to walk away from him. Of course since this book is part of a romance series, you already know there’s going to be some kind of love interest. The special man that comes into Raylene’s life is none other than a police officer! How ironic!! ;) I enjoyed the drama of this book, but I also gave this three out of five stars.

The eighth book is Midnight Promises. I’m not gonna lie, I struggled a bit with this one. It felt VERY repetitive to me. Like every chapter was the same — marital issues between Karen & her husband Elliot. As a counselor, I know I was irritated by this because I don’t like seeing people in constant struggle without there being some resolution or positive change. I had to force myself to pick this one up because it was just very redundant. Not that the other books have been super deep, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I actually gave this book two out of five stars.

The ninth book is Catching Fireflies. This book switched things up just a bit & focused on a bunch of new characters — high school English teacher Laura & pediatric doctor J.C. There’s a bunch of drama that goes down with one of Laura’s students (Misty) who also happens to be a patient of J.C.’s. No shocker here, they end up getting together simply to help out Misty. Both of them have had a rocky past when it comes to relationships, so they’ve pretty much sworn them off forever. Of course, their common interest leads to many conversations, some of which turn a bit more intimate. I enjoyed reading this book because of the school aspect, although it was predictable & cheesy like the rest. I gave this book three out of five stars.

The tenth book is Where Azaleas Bloom. This book is about Raylene’s neighbor, Lynn, who is going through a really awful divorce. Raylene & Carter are having some work done on their house & it just so happens that the local contractor, Mitch, was high school friends with Lynn. & wouldn’t you know it, he had a crush on her back when they were thirteen! Mitch’s wife died in a drunk driving car crash & he’s pretty much thrown himself into his work ever since the loss. Lynn is struggling to make ends meet & put food on the table for her two kids since the divorce process is taking forever & her soon-to-be ex-husband, Ed, isn’t paying for things like he’s supposed to. No shocker here, Mitch & Lynn reconnect. There’s quite a bit of good drama & secrecy that takes place, though I thought it was fairly predictable. Ed is hiding a HUGE secret that gets revealed at the very end of the book, but I had predicted it early on. Anyway, I gave this book three out of five stars.

The eleventh book is Swan Point. This book was about Elliot’s sister, Adelia & her journey at starting over as a single mom. Mitch’s cousin, Gabe, came back to town & of course, those two end up connecting. It seems like the world is against them by always throwing new challening scenarios their way. But it wouldn’t be a true Sherryl Woods book if it didn’t end in happily ever after! I gave this book three out of five stars.

Have you ever read the whole Bible? I’ve always wanted to & I’ve tried a few times but it’s hard. It’s just so hard to understand! I had heard several people talk about the Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading & Understanding the Entire Bible & wanted to give it a try. Tara-Leigh Cobble walks you through reading the Bible chronologically in one year & she has a podcast that goes along with it. While that all sounds great, I knew that truly reading it every single day was not attainable for me. Yes, I feel guilty saying that. After all, He has done for me, I should be able to spend that much time each day reading His word. However, I know myself & I know I wouldn’t & I also know that getting behind would stress me out & then I’d want to give up completely. Then she wrote a book & I knew this was the answer! I just read it when I can! I try to make it a priority but if it doesn’t happen that day, it’s okay. It’s not the end of the world. Her summary of what you read is absolutely amazing. I cannot believe how much I’ve learned already!! It’s designed to be read in a year, however if it takes me two, that’s okay! Because reading the entire Bible in two years is better than not at all. If I’m honest, I’ll probably start over once I finish because it’s that good & I’m sure I’ll learn something new each time, because He’s where the joy is!

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