On Magnolia Lane
Denise Hunter
Thomas Nelson, 2018
Though she leads a fulfilling life with a great family and community, the one thing Daisy Pendleton is still missing is a husband and she’s doing all she can to find one, including signing up for the new dating website Flutter. She has no idea that her pastor, Jack McReady, has been in love with Daisy for years. It’s obvious to Jack’s friends though, and they take it upon themselves to create a Flutter account for Jack under the name TJ and nudge Daisy on his behalf. At first Jack plans to delete the account, but he just can’t walk away from an opportunity to let Daisy get to know him as a normal guy, not just as her pastor.
Daisy finds herself falling for TJ via their online messages and chats, a welcome distraction from the unexpected pain she is experiencing in her family life. But as she turns to Pastor Jack to help her work through the confusion and betrayal that accompany a newly revealed family secret, she begins to think that there might be more between them than she realized. Now with her relationship with TJ blooming, Daisy doesn’t think moving forward with Jack is a good idea, even if she finds she is increasingly drawn towards him. When she learns the truth, will Daisy be able to move past her feelings of betrayal at his deception or will she turn her back on Jack for good?
This post contains affiliate links. Read more about that here. Thanks to TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of On Magnolia Lane in exchange for an honest review.
If you are looking for a feel good read, this is the book for you. On Magnolia Lane is full of lovable characters that are easy to root for even when they make questionable decisions. The town of Copper Creek where the story takes place is your quintessential small town full of characters that all know each other and band together in times of need. The main tension in this story comes from Daisy learning a devastating secret about her family, while at the same time navigating her relationship with Jack/TJ. Both are good story lines on their own, but they twine together to show how valuable truth and transparency really are.
My favorite part was watching Jack try to woo Daisy without actually telling her how he feels. It’s that watching a train wreck feeling, where we all know it’s not going to end well but we can’t help wanting to watch the disaster unfold. There are so many interesting aspects to their relationship though, and it’s definitely what I would call a slow burn. There’s no love at first sight, at least not for Daisy, and the fact that she’s so obtuse to the Jack’s feelings for her was an enjoyable change from your typical love story. I also found it interesting to see how internet dating played a role. Online dating is something that is very much a part of our culture now, so I was glad the author included it versus a typical meet-cute in a coffee shop or something of that nature.
On Magnolia Lane it technically the third in a series, but stands alone very well. I’ve only read one of the other books in the series (Honeysuckle Dreams, in case you wondered) but I think I would have enjoyed On Magnolia Lane just as much even if I’d read it all on it’s own. Characters from other the books only make small cameo appearances and their backstory is not at all important to this one.
Two thumbs up from me for On Magnolia Lane! And can we all just agree that the cover on this book is so pretty? I thought so.
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
My pleasure!