Member Review

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Denise Hunter ends her Blue Ridge Romance trilogy with Pastor Jack and Daisy's story in On Magnolia Lane, and in my opinion it's the best yet. She's a master storyteller in the way her small town's come to feel like real places, her character's come to feel like old friends, and her writing keeps you entranced in the story from start to finish.

Pastor Jack has been falling in love with Daisy for a long time, but he doesn't feel he's in any right place to do anything about it. He's quite a bit older than her, she's a member of his congregation, and he doesn't feel it would be respectful for him to try to pursue her. Daisy has never thought of Jack romantically, but he's always one of the first people she turns to in a crisis. All of a sudden she starts to realize that her feelings towards him may not be entirely platonic, and she doesn't feel she's in the position to ever be a proper minister's wife. Plus, she has to admit that she's also carrying feelings for the man she's recently been talking to on a new dating site. With lots of odds stacked against them, Jack and Daisy's relationship is definitely not off to a great start, but only through following God's plans and purposes for their lives will they truly discover what they never could have expected.

While I really enjoyed the last installment in this series, this was definitely the one that I've been silently waiting for. On Magnolia Lane is right up there with some of Denise Hunter's best novels of all time, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Pastor Jack is one of the most humble, down to earth protagonists I've ever seen in a contemporary novel before, and I adored him on the spot. It was refreshing to see how he was determined to not act upon his feelings, as he didn't want Daisy to ever feel pressured or uncomfortable. In the process, the reader gets a beautiful love story that starts out as a strong friendship and builds from there, and while that's definitely one of my favorite type of love story tropes, this one went even further and gave me all the warm fuzzies.

In my review of the first novel of this series, I'd mentioned that I wasn't happy with the lack of faith content in my opinion, and I'm so happy to say that isn't the case with this one. Jack and Daisy both strongly rely on their faith, especially in the midst of obstacles, family secrets, and community troubles that are thrown their way, and they both insist on serving the Lord in whatever means they are humbly able to.


I can't possibly recommend this one enough, and I think that everyone who picks it up is going to fall head over heels for Jack and Daisy.


Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐



Thanks so much to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to advance read this!