Friday 3 October 2014

Review: Magnolia by Kristi Cook

Magnolia by Kristi Cook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: 5th August 2014
My rating: 4 stars 

 
In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived. Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist. But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.

Magnolia was one of those read in one sitting sort of books. I was in the mood for something light, funny and being a huge fan of antagonistic characters I knew I would end up loving Magnolia.

Ryder and Jemma have grown up together with a huge amount of pressure and expectation on them. As their families have been close friends for the last few generations, they all expected some romantic relationship to develop between the Marsden/ Cafferty families. So everyone especially Ryder’s and Jemma’s mums are over the moon when Ryder and Jemma are born, in their eyes they are perfect for one another. Having this idea enforced upon you every time you meet one another would be hugely annoying. And I can see why the way Ryder and Jemma’s relationship ended up. Of course there were those little miscommunications that ended up putting a splinter in the works too. But knowing me if I was in Jemma’s shoes I think I would have reacted the same way too. (I’m known to hold a grudge for a while too, and never one to reveal to the person for a long time what they did wrong in the first place). But I loved the snippy relationship Ryder and Jemma had at the beginning. Despite encouragement from all around them, they stood their ground on how their relationship should be, and that’s one of the things I liked about them. Despite it being obvious that they would make a great couple, bad attitudes aside they both did what they wanted to do, I’m glad to see that this theme continued later in the book too.

Jemma and Ryder were both fantastic characters, despite having this bravado when the other was around. I loved how when they were experiencing difficult times, they would be there for one another; these short sweet bursts of tenderness were definitely worth waiting for. Cook was also able to include a fantastic set of secondary characters, I loved reading the minor storylines that Cook included into this story, and she certainly went on to show just how important family could be to both of these characters. I also enjoyed the set of friends that both Jemma and Ryder had, they were funny, loyal and I enjoyed the banter they could bring within a tense scene.

Magnolia was a fantastically written story by Cook, with the bad couple of reading months I had been having, it was definitely something I needed. I only had a few minor irks (highlight to view spoiler) I wish that Patrick hadn’t been killed off, I’m not usually a fan very pretty wrapped happy endings, but I wouldn’t have minded Patrick  surviving and actually maybe turning his life around and meeting someone special.  And also how long it took Ryder and Jemma to get together. The scenes they shared between them were beautiful, that I wished that they had got together sooner, so that we could experience more of it sooner! . Despite these minor irks of mine, they didn’t reduce my overall reading experience of this book. I will definitely be buying a finished copy, so that I can re-read those sweet lovely scenes again which totally melted my heart and those scenes which left me with a big goofy grin on my face. I highly recommend giving Magnolia a go, it is certainly one of those books which will cheer you up when you need a quick pick me up and will leave you with a spring in your step for the rest of the day!




14 comments:

Amanda Gray said...

I've only read one other review of this book and I admit, I LOVED Romeo and Juliet, so I love the idea of this. Another positive review, more fantastic encouragement, yes yes yes. I might just need to get on this sooner than later, damn my moneys being slow and low. Wonderful review Jasprit, so happy things are looking up now for your reading! :D

Jenny said...

I'm really looking forward to this one Jasprit! I've been having some bad luck with books lately, everything has just been "meh", so I could use a light, fun, one-sit type of read. Plus, antagonistic romances are my FAVORITE. Love an enemies to lovers setup:) Glad you enjoyed it overall!

Emma said...

Oh I wish I got this one now... I wasn't all that convinced at first but this is one of my favourite sort of romances to read. Reminds me of Katie McGarry novels and I'm always of fan of those. I love those that moments that melt your heart! :D Lovely review, Jasprit!

Anonymous said...

I really loved reading this one too, Jasprit and I'm happy to see you loved it as well. Siiri is also enjoying it which makes me very happy. :D
I agree with your spoiler. That's something that could have been eliminated entirely from the book but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.
Lovely review! :)

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am feeling a bit burned out as of late myself and I know I will light and quirky once I wrap Wicked I already have this on list because I hear the whole hurricane scene is terrific.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

That's good you found this one enjoyable overall. Love snippy, humorous banter. :)

Unknown said...

It's always lovely when you find a story that is unexpectedly engaging. I'm so glad you enjoyed magnolia, Jasprit. It seems like a truly lovely story.

Melanie said...

Ah yeeees! Magnolia is all kinds of adorable >< I read this in one sitting as well!

OMG you're reading Ashes to Ashes! So anxious to see your thoughts on that.

Lovely review, Jasprit! <33

Carina Olsen said...

Awesome review sweetie :D I'm glad you mostly loved this book. <3 I do have the paperback of it, so will be reading it one day ;p It just looks so cute. But.. I will not enjoy that she has a boyfriend :( and that it takes so long for them to get together. Sigh. I like reading about my couple being in love for ages, hiih. <3 anyway. Thank you for sharing your awesome review. <3

BookOwl93 said...

What a nice review! I love that this book has gotten mostly good reviews since it was released and it definitely encourages me to a copy of my own soon. I also like that it's like a Romeo and Juliet retelling, but without the tragic ending. Definitely look forward to buying a copy soon! ^_^

Lisa @ Lost in Literature said...

Yes!! I loved this one so much, and I'm so happy to see you enjoyed it too. :) Definitely all kinds of adorable. I'm hoping K. Cook comes out with another contemp soon! :)

Unknown said...

So happy you loved this! It's such a fun, cute read, and the characters are fantastic. I agree about the Patrick story line - I thought that could have been handled better. And I wish the storm section lasted longer! I needed more kissy scenes there. :P
Wonderful review, Jasprit!

Mel@Thedailyprophecy said...

I love romance that starts out with a hate-relationship, haha. There is something interesting about the development from characters who hate each other guts to people who fall for each other. I like that they are put into a difficult situation to give the story more depth.

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

This sounds like a lovely story I'd enjoy. I think I can relate to Jemma's feelings and perspective.

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