Review: Sweet Magnolia
Sweet Magnolia
Harlem Moon
ISBN # 0-7679-2142-9
3 Tambourine Players
Ever since Summer Ledoux was a little girl she wanted to get married at her family’s New Orleans estate-the Ledoux Mansion. But when she returns home for her nuptials she finds that her prestigious and well-guarded family name is steeped in dark secrets and a legacy curse that haunts her every night. Although Summer quells this curse through her spiritual connection to Christ, she prays that her older and misguided sister, Misa will seek His refuge before its too late.
Misa Ledoux knows that her supermodel days are almost over. So when she receives Summer’s wedding and family reunion invitation she returns to Magnolia Lane hoping that this opportunity will be beginning of a fresh start for her. But her anxiety attacks and addictions to booze and bad men may destroy her future before it begins. Her caustic behavior with the family further strains her relationship with Summer-- the only person who could possibly help her through her depressive bouts.
Jarrett writes beautiful prose. Her close attention to detail, t romantic scenes, and New Orleans cultural references create an sweet, southern genteel mood for this story. Yet, the constant flashbacks and episodic chapters slow the story’s pace. Too many surprises and secrets add so much drama that it clouds the central themes of redemption and family responsibility from greater view. (June, 256 pp, $16.95)
Dee Stewart,
for Gospel Fiction
Dee Stewart is a mother, book critic, book marketing consultant and syndicated columnist. She hosts Third Thursdays Reader Event Series and served as a judge for the 2006 Christy Awards. She’s written for Spirit Led Woman, Gospel Today, Anointed and Precious Times Magazines. Her short story, “Straddling the Fence,” is featured in Infuze Magazine’s Best of 2005 Christian Shorts Anthology.
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