Customer Reviews

Welcome to Serenity (Sweet Magnolias, Book 4)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, I'll start this out by saying I really enjoy Sherryl Woods books. They're fun, fast paced and charming. But the last 30 pages left a lot to be desired and the climax was, well, anti-climatic. The conflict was resolved in 2 pages... seriously. Even the sub-plot about Mary-Vaughn didn't have a real resolution.

I don't want to give anything away though.

I would definitely read it if you've read the previous 3 books, and you are like me... you like to follow characters that you know. BUT be prepared to feel slightly let down at the end... like she just HAD to get the book out today and it was already over the amount of pages allowed.... it didn't feel right.

Oh and in my opinion ---> I think Ty and Annie are the next book, it feels set up to be that way, which should be fun.

I read the first three books in the series, and they were all enjoyable. This book was a disappointment -- I couldn't figure out the characters. They kept acting out of, well, character. His father's a bear, then he's not, his mother's ok, then she's not. I agree with the other reviewer that the ending was very sudden and not satisfying. I actually preferred the subplot of Mary Vaughn to the main plot, although I think Ms. Woods took the easy way out there, too. Jeanette & Tom were very likable, I just don't know if the way it played out was consistent with what we learned about the characters as the story unfolded. A lot of sharp turns in motivation & reactions. It's almost like the author had a deadline to meet and sacrificed the quality of the series in the process.

In Serenity, South Carolina, Jeanette Brioche has mixed feelings about her new friends. On the one hand, she welcomes for the first time in her lonely life people who care for her. However, on the other hand although she feels good for her new friends, she envies the loving marriages of Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue as she has no man in her life, never has had one, and never will.

Town manager, Tom McDonald meets Jeannette and does not hide is interest in her. Maddie realizes this and signs up Jeannette as a volunteer on the Serenity's annual Christmas festival committee. Jeanette and Tom are teamed up with each attracted to one another. However, both have had losses in their lives; whereas Tom has moved on and wants to start again with Jeannette, she has not and fears relationships mean loss.

The return to Serenity for another Sweet magnolia contemporary romance FEELS LIKE FAMILY visiting as the audience finds out what is happening to the stars of previous tales (see STEALING HOME). The lead couple is a fine matching as Tom is a nice person and Jeannette is the last one standing alone although Sherryl Woods hopefully has a few more singles in Serenity. Although there is little action, fans will feel the warn holiday WELCOME TO SERENITY.

Harriet Klausner

I still have a lot of here books to read. I am reading this one now. She is a great writer. Love her books.

I was very happy to have the 4th book in the Magnolias series to be able to continue the story. These book have been quite good and has made me anxious to keep moving from one book to another. So I would recomend that when you start reading a series like this one you have all the books on hand so that there is not a delay in moving from one to another.

This book was fourth in a series, I discovered once I started reading it. Normally I don't like to start in the middle of a series, but I had no trouble with this one. I liked the town, I liked the main character Jeanette, the secondary story about Mary Vaugn was good, the love interest (Tom) was OK, and Jeanette's friends were very well-written. What I didn't like was the hokey stupid over-emphasis on the Christmas festival, the forced angst on the part of Tom about his miserable childhood Christmases, and the way Tom & Jeannette just kind of decided to get married after all even though they still had some major issues over their different approach to their careers and where they would live. The difficulty Jeannette had with Christmas was explained well and brought to a proper end, but Tom's situation was just dumb and his parents were mean one minute, then nice & quirky, then mean again, then cute and quirky. The last part of the book basically set up Tom and Jeannette to eventually get a divorce after having major fight after major fight since he never bothers to consult her on any of his big decisions. I didn't like him very much. I don't think I'd recommend this book, to be honest, when there are so many better ones out there. I can't say it was bad, but I had enough problems with it that it won't be on my forever shelf.

I read this book in one night. After reading the first three in the series, I feel like I personally know the characters and all of the major characters from the first three books were in this one. I loved Tom's persistence in gaining Jeanette's trust. Although I was not as interested in the secondary story, it certainly did nothing to take away from the overall story. If I have any complaint with the book, it is in the way Ty and Annie were thrown in at the end as a precursor to the next book. It felt too artificial somehow to have them suddenly mentioned in the last few pages. Of course, that's not to say I won't immediately buy and read their story!

I am a fan of Ms. Wood's Sweet Magnolias. I was very much looking forward to reading the last installment before going on to the newest Sweet Magnolias (Annie Sullivan and Friends). I was very excited to received this book, however, the story inside the WELCOME TO SERENITY cover is NOT the 4th. installment of this series. This story is about the Seaside Inn, Hannah, Kelsey and Luke. Who are these people and what are they doing in my story? Why was this book printed this way? I now have to go and purchase this book all over again!! I can't find my receipt and is it financially beneficial to me to return it? This is obviously a printing error and I plan to send it back to the printer. I wonder how many of these there are out there? Whatever the story inside the cover is, I hope it's a story by Ms. Woods. I understand that Amazon can't inspect every book they mail out but, this is not fair to the consumer.

I have read every book in this series and LOVE them all. Don't we all wish for a group of loyal friends like this and a cute town to hang out in?

Sherryl Woods is a wonderful writer, and really did a great job on this book. I enjoyed it thoroughly.