Cover Image: The Magnolia Inn

The Magnolia Inn

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Member Reviews

I've read a few of Carolyn Brown's books and definitely enjoy the small town Texas story that she favors. The Magnolia Inn is a stand alone slow burn clean story, full of all the best southern charm and a HEA.

I loved the symbolism of Jolene and Tucker giving the inherited beautiful old Victorian home a remodel and fixing themselves along the way. I'm a big fan of HGTV so this was perfect for me. Tucker has a broken heart and soul to match finding his relief in the bottom of a bottle. Jolene has a beaten down heart and has no patience for drunks. I adored the meddlesome quartet of sweet southern aunties who conspire to get this pair together. Their friendship is and sisterhood is the glue and foundation of family that Tucker and Jolene need to mend. I would have enjoyed a longer look into the couple after they got together.

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Oh my gracious! Carolyn Brown has really overdone herself with this one! I love her Texas books, her special connections she includes in her stories and the depth of emotions she brings out. Clearly my favorite book in months! Jolene and Tucker's journey is riddled with pain, but they have an amazing ride. Love.

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My heart! I felt very deeply for both Tucker and Jolene. The guilt they both carreid and the process of coming to terms with that as well as finding it within themselves to move past it. More than just a romance, this book is about friendship and family, and the power of healing.

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Jolene Broussard has had a tough life. Her luck seems to be changing when her Aunt Sugar decides to retire and gives her half of her B&B, the Magnolia Inn. Tucker Malone is still grieving for his dead wife, when he decides to buy the other half of the Inn. They decide to remodel the Inn together, and the become friends and work through their respective issues. The friendship eventually becomes more. This is a clean romance, with minimal angst. The secondary characters were sweet, Aunt Sugar and her friends. What kept this from being a five star book was Tucker. He was wallowing for too long, I just wanted someone to slap him and say “Snap out of it”. I was given an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

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Amazing as always.
In Carolyn Brown's standalone series the stories and the characters are never alike.

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A romantic, sexy, emotionally, challenging, coming to terms with grief story, rolled into a thoroughly enjoyable moving on, new beginnings, with a happy ever after ending.

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Jolene and Tucker are made for each other. With each others help they are able to put the past behind them and make the future a happily ever after.

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The story drew me right in. I was enthralled by the characters, Aunt Sugar and Jasper seem to be a solid foundation for Jolene after her dealing with her father passing and her mother turning to alv and her mother turning to alcohol and drugs. After her mother dying ofa overdose and then having a alcoholic boyfriend that wipes are out clean, it was nice to see that she had a solid foundation to turn to. It seems like Sugar was also the glue that held together her friendship with Lucy, Flossie and Dotty. The three old women to me made the story very lively especially Lucy thinking God was smiting her boyfriends by death. I laughed a lot reading this book and cried a little as well. Living with alcoholism I’m sure isn’t easy. But living with alcoholic parents is down right hard. This book shows that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

The characters were very well developed, the storyline flowed very well. I hope there is trilogy that follows Jolene and Tucker. I would definitely read every book!

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Engrossing and heartwarming, Ms. Brown weaves a love story with real characters, Jolene battles with her past, a victim of the dysfunction of being the child of a self centered alcoholic mother, who dies, leaving her dealing with the guilt of wondering how she might have saved her.
Mark deals with the accidental death of his wife and feels he might have been able to prevent it.
The book's characters are multi-faceted, even giving crappy Reuben's character a possible explanation for the way he behaves.
Aunt Sugar, Uncle Jasper and their friends, Flossie, Dottie and Lucy are a delight, proving plenty of humor. Strong family ties figure prominently and the descriptions of the Inn itself are delightful, and as the renovation moves along, it's easy to picture their progress in your mind.
The people surrounding the couple are good people, some with flaws, but that's what makes us human. There are a few sad bits but the overall tone is uplifting and I plan to purchase a few copies as Christmas presents. I know they'll be well received.
I requested this book from NetGalley to review and it exceeded my expectations for entertainment.

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Caroline Brown never disappoints. This story is one of those that reels you in from page one and doesn't let loose until.the last page. Down on her luck Jolene meets stuck in the past Tucker in this latest read. Working together to renovate an old family bed and breakfast helps heal both of their hearts. Throw in four sassy older ladies who share their wisdom and you have a book you can't put down. I loved this book and you won't be disappointed with the antics and life lessons learned!

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This was a fun story. The gang of old ladies were a hoot! I would have liked there to have been more of a story between Tucker and Jolene once he decided to move on from his wife's death though!

ARC provided free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Thanks for the early review copy!

I picked this because of the cover. It was well-written romance novel. I will be checking out more from this author. I recommend this book to fans of adult romance.

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When she inherits half an inn badly in need or repair. Jolene Broussard is equal parts thrilled and daunted. When she discovers that her original partner, the loathsome Ruben , has sold his half to someone else, Jolene's day brighten somewhat. But what if the new half owner is as bad as her cousin-by-marriage would have been? Jolene's got a lot of baggage in the love department and she's not exactly the most trusting of souls.

Tucker Malone is a widower still in love with his wife and who is battling a drinking problem. Buying the inn on a whim seemed like a good idea at first. But when he meets the fiesty Jolene, he begins to second guess his purchase. Why does his partner have to be so darn cute?

Restoring the inn together is a balm for the both of them.

In her sweet way, Carolyn Brown gives her readers another darling romance and teaches us all about the gift of forgiveness.

I loved this book. And although, like all her books. the dialogue sometimes seems a little anachronistic, the story is sound and the power of redemption for her characters, strong. Thanks,

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3.5 Stars for this romance story. I love to find connections in books....a special date mentioned, a place, a name of a loved one. This was no exception. After a few books with heavier subject matter, I enjoy a sweet love story.

Joelene and Tucker both have demons and are running from them. Fate brings them together and sparks fly. Endearing characters, realistic issues. A cozy read for a cool night.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone

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It took a couple chapters before this book really caught my attention, but once it did I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed that this book was not full of sex scenes. There was good dialogue and the characters were very likable. I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel,

I do recommend this book.

Thank you netgalley and Montlake Romance for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

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A quick read but not memorable. Less of a romance as the focus was more on the hero overcoming his grief following the death of his wife 3 years early. There really was very little physical and romantic awareness between the main characters for most of the book, and what was there was stated by the author rather than shown.

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*I'd like to thank the Publisher for supplying me with this ARC for an honest review.*

What a slow and frustrating read!

Jolene and Tucker are forced by circumstanced to partner up and work on remodeling the Inn left to her by her aunt and uncle.

Most of the conversations between the two throughout the book are about the restoring of the inn. I'm sorry but if I wanted to read about all that, I'd have opted for Home Remodeling for Dummies, instead.

We spend 80% of the book with Tucker having conversations with his dead wife and trying his best to not let go of her.

When I opted for this book, I was hoping for a healing romance. Maybe a broody hero and an emotionally stunted heroine. A couple of funny incidents while remodeling the home too, perhaps. Instead, I got a cardboard heroine and a - I can't even think of an adjective for what that hero was.

I can't think of any scene with Tucker where he was not having an inner conversation with Melanie - his ex-wife or was comparing Jolene to her.

Tucker's wife died while going to buy something from the store when he could've gone himself. He was a cop who got fired for drunk-driving after her death. He spends every Saturday drinking himself to a stupor because Saturdays used to be date nights with his wife. He proudly claims that he's only a weekend drinker.

Jolene, on the other hand, had an alcoholic mother. She also has had a tough life due to her mother and a father who left. Her only purpose of life right now is running the inn.

I couldn't at all emotionally connect with Tucker and Jolene at any point. Tucker talks about his guilt and keeps telling his dead wife that he misses her. But I never felt any of his pain. And we read about Jolene's past difficulties but I don't think the writer touches down on the emotions and feelings of Jolene regarding those things.

The romance was unconvincing. It should be when you have a hero spending majority of the book thinking of his dead wife and ensuring that no "spark" with Jolene hinder his connection with his dead wife. Yes, there's a 'spark' at times when they touch. That was the extent of their romance for a long time.

I was hoping for some pining or emotional conflict from Jolene for growing feelings for an emotionally unavailable man. But there wasn't really much of that from Jolene. And I get that Tucker lost a wife and he's grieving her. But in that process, his romance with Jolene fell flat.

There was aunts and family members with their own shenanigans. I wasn't interested by any of it. I found myself waiting for parts with them to end. The pace sort of picked up at the last third of the book. But that was too late to redeem the book for me.

If I wasn't clear before, this was a disappointing read.

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Jolene is given a half share in her aunt and uncles inn along with Reuben who bullied her as a child. Reuben immediately sells his share to Tucker Malone who lost his wife in a car accident and has been using drink at the weekend to recover. Jolene and Tucker are restoring the inn and then hoping to reopen as a bed and breakfast.

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I loved this book. Jolene was a real person willing to do anything to make her way. The friends of Aunt Sugar were also great. I want them in my life. Ruben what a tool and I mean that in the worst way. Tucker took his time coming around but in the end he pulled through. Great writing.

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Jolene inherits half of a bed and breakfast along with her worst enemy Ruben. To her happy surprise Ruben sells his half of the bed and breakfast rather quickly to Tucker. Will this new partnership between Jolene and Tucker work out? Both Jolene and Tucker have pasts that stop them from having a good friendship. Can they get past their pasts and move forward?
The Magnolia Inn is a wonderful romance novel. This was my first read of Carolyn Brown and can't wait to read more from her.

Thank you to Carolyn, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advance reading. in exchange for this honest review.

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