Customer Reviews

Honeysuckle Summer (Sweet Magnolias)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ms. Woods generally writes a good solid story, but this one contains references to previous stories in the series that are irritating and distracting. I don't want a rehash of what the previous books and their characters did, I've already read that.

I found the use of agoraphobia a trifle contrived and having yet another character with an eating disorder--the subject already covered and recovered in a previous tale or two--makes me wonder if Ms. Woods has lost her imagination.

Those things aside, the characters were fairly strong representations, and though not the best story in the Sweet Magnolias series, it was palatable.

I have read , and liked a couple of her other books, so when I saw this one at the giveaway table of my local library, I picked it up thinking that it was probably good, but like me the owner was clearing up space.Wrong, she gave it away because it was a rather boring book, it read like a patient's information sheet on some mental health issues, lets see, the heroine was a victim of domestic violence,she had agoraphobia, her boyfriend's sister had an eating disorder, so apparently had another friend, and while it was a nice effort at tackling what for some might be important topics, between all these attempts at cataloging the various symptoms of these illnesses, there just was not really much of a plot, there really was not much of anything. The agoraphobic started dating the nice police officer whose nice sister had anorexia , and the nice psychiatrist treated both of them, of course there was the obligatory villain thrown in, the not so nice ex-husband, but then he spent most of his time sitting in the nice jail, he appeared a few pages before the end of the book, was hit in the head by a small bowl by the nice heroine and sent back to jail and that was the end of him in two pages.There really did not seem to be much depth to any of the characters, they were all bland and vanilla flavored, one ex husband worked for and appeared to be good friends with his former wife's new partner, and in turn the same ex-husband was set up with a sexy realtor and then appeared to spend most of his time worrying about where their relationship was going, and if he was the right man for her, that was until his nice ex-wife analyzed the situation for him and made him realize that...., ugh , it was just all soooo boring. The good news was , there were no vampires, werewolves, damaged alpha males needing the love of a good woman, and no major sex scenes.She gets a star for that, I was going to throw in another star for the attempt to deal with anorexia, agoraphobia and domestic violence in the same book, but I analyzed myself and decided it would be more of a sop to head off the pc folk who might criticize my critique for lacking the sensitivity chip needed to appreciate these issues, but then I figured hey, reading the book wasted one hour of my life that I will never get back so it stays at one star.

I usually recycle paperbacks (pass them on to friends, etc), but I have kept this series. I marked the order number on the top of the side title (so I would not have to check the publication date every time for the correct order), and have read the series many times. I love the Sweet Magnolias, as well as the Chesapeake Shores Series.

Raylene is holed up in her best friends house while her abusive husband is in jail. Agoraphobic, she fears that when she watches Sarah's young children, that she might not be able to care for them properly. Her fears are realized when one wanders off and her fear won't allow her to step off the porch to find him. New cop Carter is disgusted that a debutante like Raylene is so irresponsible in letting Tommy get out, not realizing her affliction. Despite already having his hands full with his young sisters, he takes on Raylene as well, and sparks soon fly.

I really wanted to like this story. But it has such a been there, done that feel to it. And another character with an eating disorder... she already covered this ad nauseum in two other books. I really miss her stand alone novels like the The Backup Plan. Now that was a good book. This one is just okay.

Sherryl Woods' "Sweet Magnolias" series primarily targets women readers. Honeysuckle Sumer is the latest in this series. Older readers may relate to and probably enjoy the senior version of the lives of the group of women called "Sweet Magnolias more;" however, this book invites you to get to know the younger generation of the "Sweet Magnolias."

Raylene is the primary character, who has fled from her abusive physician husband. In the previous novels, Raylene has found sanctuary with the "Sweet Magnolias" and finds the strength to prosecute her abusive husband who caused the miscarriage of her unborn child through his violence.

Currently Raylene, is in suffering from agoraphobia. She is unable to leave the confines of the home she shares with Sarah, another "Sweet Magnolia" and her two children.

In this novel a romantic relationship sparks between Raylene and Sherriff Deputy Carter Rollins who challenges her to realize her current life is not what she deserves.

Through this book the reader shares in the rebuilding of her self-esteem and her ability to love and have a full life.

Although it was a little long and repetitious at times I understood the authors attempt to explain the many facets, workings and treatment of agoraphobia.

I enjoyed this book, but believe that it was written primarily with the female audience in mind.

The Sweet Magnolia series has been nice to read. All are great vacation books. I enjoyed this one the best.

I was amused by another reviewer who took issue with the term "sweet tea". She claims that nobody in the South would say that. What's amusing is her assumption that Sheryl Woods is from somewhere else. Her assumption is wrong. Ms Woods was born and raised in Virginia. And she currently divides her time between Florida and Virginia. How much more Southern can you get? I am also from the South and have had people ask me if I want sweet tea. It just depends on the area where you live. Bless the reviewer's heart.

I have always enjoyed the stories tht Ms Woods have written. And of course, the continuation of characters just brings you back and it feels as though you know them.

Sherryl Wood is another wonderful author, if you enjoy reading, she is great

I found this book more compelling than Sweet Tea at Sunrise. There was suspense and a very sympathetic heroine. I teared up over the details of Raylene's abuse at her ex-husband's hands, and I thought the author did a reasonably good job describing the panic attacks she suffered even going outside her door.

But there were a lot of things that disturbed me. Once again, everyone is very in touch with their feelings (and sometimes lots of other people's) and very articulate about them. The teenage anorexic would have been a dream patient- only one tantrum going to the psychologist, and able to face her feelings in a very short period of time. I felt, again, like the author was banging us over the head with things.

While I enjoyed the camaraderie of the men as they rallied together to protect Raylene, I shook my head several times when they talked. It's not just that most men don't talk that way- most people don't talk that way.

The sex in Sweet Tea at Sunrise wasn't just not explicit, it was stilted and unromantic. In contrast, this had more detail, although still relatively chaste. That made me squirm, as the heroine was an agoraphobic survivor of terrible domestic violence- and her lover was the cop who decided that he was going to protect her. This wasn't a naughty fantasy- this was a disturbing one.

It was nice to see how the trilogy ended, and there is clearly plenty of room for a continuation thanks to the introduction of two appealing teenage characters. But I'm content to let it rest until then.

This is a lovely story about mature love; however it has angles and information about two very severe disorders that can affect someone you know and/or love. The details of the phobias did not detract from the joy of the theme but gave us just enough information to urge a deeper research on my part.
I enjoyed the story line - another good "Magnolias" book.