I loved this book. It is set in small town Alabama and being from Mississippi I could relate. I loved the town and all of it's characters. It drew you in from the very beginning. The story is about a young woman from a family with a sordid past and how people see her and how she sees herself. As the book unfolds and secrets are revealed can the town change their minds on how they see her? It also has some magic and romance. I can't wait to read the next book by Heather Webber.

Heather Webber's 'Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe' was the highlight of my February reading...and I squeezed in 24 books that month! So imagine my absolute delight when I was given an ARC of Webber's summer release, "South of the Buttonwood Tree!"

I am a sucker for a dose of magical realism set in a small, southern town with a little light romance swirled in...and, boy, did Webber deliver. You will so quickly fall in love with this town and these characters...especially Blue, the finder of lost things.

Magical trees, a found baby, and so many family secrets! As much as I adored 'Blackbird,' I loved this one even more. RUN to your computer and pre-order this book immediately.

...absolutely a 5 Star read for me.

A HUGE Thank You to NetGalley and Macmillan/Forge Books for this ebook to read and review!

Here is what I can share with you without giving too much away (most comes from summary paragraphs on Amazon anyway). Blue Bishop reminds me of Josey from SAA’s Sugar Queen but instead of finding books she finds lost things. Also from SAA’s Garden Spells instead of an apple tossing apple tree it is a Buttonwood (Sycamore) tree that provides advice but you can only ask once a year. There is something tickling the back of my brain from Karen White’s On Folly Beach’s bottle tree. Just like Sidda and Vivi’s relationship from Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, Sophia Grace struggles with her adult relationship with her mother. This comes out July 2020 and if you read Heather Webber’s Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe you will see similarities pertaining to mother daughter relationships and magical realism.

Heather has out done herself again with coming up with southern names (Persy, Marlo, Flora, Moe) I have never or rarely come across before in any of my reading. I love double southern names too: Anna Kate and Sophia Grace.

You are in for a treat come July 2020!

There is a new star in the magical realism genre and her name is Heather Webber. Last year's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe was great. South of the Buttonwood Tree is breathtaking and an experience that will leave you aching for more long after you have closed the pages.

The author's rich description of the woods, the town, and the titular tree pull you so deeply into the story that you forget you are not actually there. Main characters Blue Bishop and Sarah Grace Landreneau Fulton perceive themselves as flawed women, but have no idea of the strength within them. The strength to undo past wrongs, find happiness for themselves, and the ability to change the their small town forever. Add an orphaned baby and a tumultuous marriage and you have the start of a reckoning that will leave no character untouched.

If you love magical realism, then this book will surely become a fast favorite. A veteran pro of paranormal cozy mysteries as Heather Blake, Webber has shown her literary fiction abilities to be even more enchanting. I cannot wait to be transported to her next tale.

I've been excited about this book since I first heard about it, and it did not disappoint. The characters sucked you into the story and the story kept you turning pages as fast as you could. I devoured it in a day. I loved it.

'South of the Buttonwood Tree' is a southern small town magical realism story about family and the invisible threads that join people together like buttons to fabric.

The story follows a series of characters in a small town in Alabama where a mystical Buttonwood Tree with prophetic abilities influences the lives of the characters. Their past, present, and future converge into an inter-connected web that spans generations causing serious but rewarding consequences. Love, heartbreak, and reputation become defining features of each character which act as fasteners, binding them each together in miraculous ways.

I thought this book had the perfect balance of magic and realism which is due to an interesting tree and small town folklore, and relatable and complicated characters who were able to drive the story without losing the magic. The morals and lessons were touching and inspiring and the plot overall was complex and intriguing.

Magical Realism is my favourite genre and 'South of the Buttonwood Tree' is a new favourite of mine in this genre. Well done!

Heather Webber makes you want to visit the towns in her books with her magical storytelling. Loved all the characters: Blue Bishop who has a gift for finding lost items, the Buttonwood Tree gives advice, and Sarah, a contractor, "hears" how a house feels. Full of family dynamics, love & magic that grabs you from the first page.. Looking forward to more by this author! Thank you NetGalley.

“ This is the south after all, where there’s always a touch of magic in the air” , this is a quote from one of the main characters in the book, which perfectly sums up this novel. When I read a woman southern author and a touch of magic is mentioned I know it’s going to be a great book, and South of the Buttonwood Tree perfectly fits the bill.
Blue Bishop has a gift of hearing the wind and being able to find lost items for everyone but herself, but when she finds a newborn in the woods, and the Buttontree says she’s to raise the baby herself, she is overjoyed.
Sarah Fulton who has the gift of hearing what a house thinks, lovingly restores them for a living. Trapped in a loveless marriage she’s slowly starting to realize she puts everyone else’s happiness before her own. The baby Blue finds affects not only the two of them but the entire town as well, changing lives.
A wonderful book, with fully fleshed out characters I cared about and would like to know. I loved the small town where everyone knows all secrets, and how the characters intertwined in their lives. The plot was original, and I was sorry when the book ended. I can’t wait to read more of what Heather Webber writes.
PS.... I didn’t realize Heather Webber wrote Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe too. I loved this book as well, and highly recommend it also.

Heather Webber brings us some more magic with her new book. South of the Buttonwood Tree is magical realism at its loveliest.