Stealing Home (Sweet Magnolias, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Sherryl Woods (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2007

There's nothing like a little serenity . . .

Maddie Townsend might live in a town called Serenity, but there's been nothing calm or peaceful about her life since her marriage broke up. This stay-at-home mom has no job skills, an out-of-control sixteen-year-old son, a talkative fourteen-year-old who's suddenly gone silent, a six-year-old daughter whose heart is broken, an ex-husband whose younger girlfriend is expecting their baby and two best friends who think she's somehow qualified to help them open a fitness spa for women.

But if Maddie is a tad on edge with all that on her plate, it's nothing compared to the chaos that ensues when she discovers that her son's baseball coach has feelings for her and the whole town disapproves. Maddie's faced a lot of challenges lately with strength and resolve, but Cal Maddox may turn out to be more than she can handle.

Then again, he could just be the one man in all of South Carolina who can help her find serenity.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In her latest small-town Southern romance, well-loved Woods portrays Maddie Townsend, who has been blindsided by her pediatrician husband's very public affair with his now-pregnant nurse and the subsequent divorce. Maddie is barely managing to get through each day. Then Ty, her oldest son and the town's star pitcher, loses his concentration on the field and in class, and his coach, former major leaguer Cal Maddox, calls Maddie in for a conference. Maddie's best friends--Helen, the barracuda lawyer, and Dana Sue, a local chef--then offer her a job and a chance to redeem her self-respect: they will finance a for-women-only gym and spa if Maddie will manage it. As Maddie and Cal work together to help Ty, they must decide how to handle their growing closeness in the fishbowl that is Serenity, South Carolina. Woods begins the Sweet Magnolias series with a focus on the unsettling effects of divorce and infidelity on the children of broken marriages, a theme that adds depth and emotional intensity to the romantic relationship. Lynne Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

With her roots firmly planted in the South, Sherryl Woods has written many of her more than 100 books in that distinctive setting, whether her home state of Virginia, her adopted state, Florida, or her much-adored South Carolina. She's also especially partial to small towns, wherever they may be. A member of Novelists Inc., Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America, Sherryl divides her time between her childhood summer home overlooking the Potomac River in Colonial Beach, Virginia, and her oceanfront home, with its lighthouse view, in Key Biscayne, Florida. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778323633
• ISBN-13: 978-0778323631
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With her roots firmly planted in the South, Sherryl Woods has written many of her more than 100 books in that distinctive setting, whether her home state of Virginia, her adopted state, Florida, or her much-adored South Carolina. She's also especially partial to small towns wherever they may be. In Amazing Gracie, as in her later Trinity Harbor series, Woods creates a fictional version of the town where she spends summers on the shores of the Potomac River. "This town just lends itself to fascinating characters and a charming locale," she says.

A member of Novelists Inc., Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America, Sherryl divides her time between her childhood summer home overlooking the Potomac River in Colonial Beach, Virginia, and her oceanfront home with its lighthouse view, in Key Biscayne, Florida. "Wherever I am, if there's no water in sight, I get a little antsy," she says.

Sherryl also loves hearing from readers. You can join her at her blog, www.justbetweenfriendsblog.com, visit her Web site at www.sherrylwoods.com or contact her directly at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Divorce, Romance, Baseball and Good Ol' Southern small town gossip, February 10, 2007

By 

D. Merrimon Crawford (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stealing Home (Sweet Magnolias, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Maddie Townsend's doctor husband has left her for his pregnant nurse girlfriend. Not only does this stay-at-home mom have no job skills, but her best friends have roped her into managing a fitness spa for women. Her eldest son Ty, the town's star baseball pitcher, suddenly starts failing in everything as the divorce nears. Naturally, Maddie turns to the high school baseball coach, Cal Maddox, for assistance but this only inflames the local gossip and school board. Like the recent schoolboard scandal in Benson, Colorado, the uniformed jealous gossips of Serenity, South Carolina are bent on destruction and retribution. Maddie's life is anything but serene, especially as she feels herself falling for Cal.

A true delight! The portrayal of small town gossip is both realistic and so humorous. This novel is pure fun. Stealing Home is the perfect read for anyone who has ever had their heart broken, now or any time in the past --- the perfect revenge fantasy that makes your heart bigger not nastier.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A home run for Woods, March 5, 2007

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stealing Home (Sweet Magnolias, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Maddie Townsend is devastated when her doctor husband announces that not only is he having an affair with his nurse, but she's pregnant and he plans to marry her. His departure destroys the self confidence of older son Tyler, quiets chatty son Kyle, and leaves his daughter wondering when daddy is coming home. With little job experience in her resume, stay-at-home-mom Maddie agrees to join pals Dana Sue and Helen (an attorney that got her a great settlement) in a new business venture - a women's only spa.

When ex-Atlanta Brave Cal Maddox (now Tyler's baseball coach) befriends Maddie, the town gossips are on full alert, and doling out a double standard (okay for Henry to impregnate his nurse while married; not okay for separated Maddie to date the high school coach). Though they are just friends, Maddie is reluctant to become anything more since he is 10 years younger. Henry cannot believe the changes in his ex-wife and wonders if he made the wrong decision. While her children refuse to have anything to do with their father if it includes the woman that destroyed their family, will they have the same reaction when Cal makes his feelings for their mother known?

Judging by the initial entry in Wood's latest trilogy, this time set in picturesque small town Serenity, South Carolina, she has a winner on her hands. Great romance, family dynamics, realistic dialogue for the kids, and wonderfully developed secondary characters stand out and keep the reader glued to the end.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small-town story you'll love, March 14, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stealing Home (Sweet Magnolias, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods is one of the best "chick lit" books I have read in a while. Maybe I identified with it because the main character's husband left her in a cliched manner. Maybe I identified with a woman struggling to get on her feet after she had been betrayed and trying to keep her kids on their feet as well. Whatever the case may be I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Stealing Home is set in the fictional small town of Serenity, North Carolina. Serenity needs a little boost. Their downtown is slumping. Big box stores have moved in and mom and pop stores have moved out.

Maddie needs a boost too. Her husband of 20 years has left her for his nurse. She thinks she has no marketable skills. She has been a stay-at-home mom for the 16 odd years and has been busy raising their three kids. Stealing Home also has eccentric characters, as all Southern books should. It has a cast of strong female friends who rally around Maddie and her kids. Then enter the love interest--a much younger man and her son's high school baseball coach. The book can only get better from there.

For the faint of heart there is some minor language, but it is not gratuitous. It was used in context mainly when the 16-year-old son is in conflict with his father. There are also some steamy scenes, but I give this a PG rating for alluding to the scenes and not really describing them, which is much better in my mind. It leaves much more to the imagination.

All in all, I loved Stealing Home. I read it in one day when my daughter was home with the stomach flu. I even stayed up late to finish it because I had to know how it would end. This is the first book in a trilogy, and I already feel committed to these characters. I can't wait to read the next 2 books, especially if they are as good as the first.

Armchair Interviews says: A chick lit with a message many women can relate to.