Snow on Magnolias (Bon Amie #2) by Hattie Mae
Snow on Magnolias (A Bon Amie Novel Book 2)
Synopsis:
Rose Fabre has just been dumped at the altar, and not by just any man but the star quarterback of San Antonio’s Wranglers. To make matters worse, the embarrassing event is spread all over the news, and her own mother blames her. Though that is nothing new, after all Rose is never right about anything, according to her mother. She has to get out of Texas. Somewhere where maybe the news hasn’t reached.
So she heads for Bon Amie Louisiana where her aunt Odelia has been a live-in housekeeper for some rice farmers for years. If she remembers right Bon Amie is so small she doubts it even has a newspaper. The last time she was there she was thirteen years old and remembers having a great time with the farmer’s five boys.
Arriving at the LeBlanc Manor after midnight was not in her plan, but her spur-of-the-moment trip didn’t allow for wretched traffic or the herd of cattle who refused to get off the road. She is met on the lawn by one of the brothers, Sam, who mistakes her for an intruder. Once she explains her reason for a visit and he puts away his shotgun, and shows her to a room.
What do you get when you have a city girl living in a house full of superstitious farmers? Chaos, and plenty of it. Add in two kids, several lazy dogs and her lovesick aunt and Rose has her hands full.
Sam doesn’t like Rose very much and neither do his two young daughters. Rose learns that his wife took off years ago leaving Sam to raise the two girls. And for someone wanting to find a place to regain her peace of mind and forget about men, Rose has walked into a mess of them. Five LeBlanc brothers, all grown up.
Rose has some changes to make. She can continue trying to please her mother and trying to be someone she’s not, or she can embrace this new life she’s discovered and settle in. Bon Amie might not have a Starbucks, but the friendly smiles and unique characters not to mention the slower lifestyle. With this change of pace will Rose finally trust herself and to fall in love, this time its forever. But which brother will win her heart?
Review:
Snow on Magnolias was a good read. This is my first read by this author even though this is the second book in this series. I did enjoy the story, but at times I did want a bit more.
This book opens with Rose showing up at her aunt Odelia's house after being left at the alter. She doesn't really seem that upset by being newly single, except that everyone is talking about it. Really she seems like she has just been doing what her mom wants, not what she wants. You don't really get to see her life before the book starts, it is not mentioned that much, and the failed wedding is hardly mentioned at all. She does say a time or two of how she is always trying to be what the guy will want, who would want her, such like that that show how her mom must have been growing up. Her mom seems like she is not very supportive unless it helps her position in society and such like that.
Rose shows up at her aunt Odelia's and the first person she sees is Sam. Sam who gave her her first kiss. Sam who's kiss she still remembers. Sam also remembers that kiss, but he has been burned before and doesn't want to trust a lady again. His wife just walked out and left him and their two girls a few years ago and never looked back. Now he doesn't want to let anyone else in. He has to think of his daughters and doesn't want them to be hurt again like they were when their mom left.
Through the book you see Sam and Rose start to fall for each other. They are attracted to each other from the start, and both remember when Rose came to visit that first time, but Sam runs hot and cold. That and his daughters, or one of his daughters, doesn't seem to like Rose at all either and it takes a while for them to really connect. I did like watching Rose and the girls as he is kind of awkward with kids which I enjoyed. I liked that she wasn't just this super mom type person who could fit right in and everything would work out perfectly. She worked to try and win the girls over and in the end she does. It was sweet.
The last part of the book almost ruined it for me. It was a bit too contrived for me at times, but somehow wasn't really terrible. Like why do some of the characters show up only to leave again? Why does Sam think he cannot get together with Rose? His reasoning doesn't really make any sense. Even though I didn't love it I didn't hate it as much as I normally would either. It was alright, but just didn't work as well as I would have liked.
Now my other issue with the book? Well at times it was a bit lacking. For example Rose is a romance author and is having a hard time finding inspiration so her aunt shares her super romantic story with Rose. Well...that is one of the times when I found it lacking. Like aunt Odelia's story could have been told in this lovely way where you see her fall in love with Wilson and the letters they sent each other and whatnot, but instead it felt like here are the bare basics of the story and you just fill in the rest. It could have been romantic, but it was just lacking. It needed more detail, more of a story, than what we got. It was told so quickly and simply that it just didn't garner the reaction the author was looking for. This happened a few times throughout the book where you get the basic details, but not enough to really make it a compelling story at times. Still I did enjoy the book and will give another one in this series a try.
Rating: ★ ★ ★
This book opens with Rose showing up at her aunt Odelia's house after being left at the alter. She doesn't really seem that upset by being newly single, except that everyone is talking about it. Really she seems like she has just been doing what her mom wants, not what she wants. You don't really get to see her life before the book starts, it is not mentioned that much, and the failed wedding is hardly mentioned at all. She does say a time or two of how she is always trying to be what the guy will want, who would want her, such like that that show how her mom must have been growing up. Her mom seems like she is not very supportive unless it helps her position in society and such like that.
Rose shows up at her aunt Odelia's and the first person she sees is Sam. Sam who gave her her first kiss. Sam who's kiss she still remembers. Sam also remembers that kiss, but he has been burned before and doesn't want to trust a lady again. His wife just walked out and left him and their two girls a few years ago and never looked back. Now he doesn't want to let anyone else in. He has to think of his daughters and doesn't want them to be hurt again like they were when their mom left.
Through the book you see Sam and Rose start to fall for each other. They are attracted to each other from the start, and both remember when Rose came to visit that first time, but Sam runs hot and cold. That and his daughters, or one of his daughters, doesn't seem to like Rose at all either and it takes a while for them to really connect. I did like watching Rose and the girls as he is kind of awkward with kids which I enjoyed. I liked that she wasn't just this super mom type person who could fit right in and everything would work out perfectly. She worked to try and win the girls over and in the end she does. It was sweet.
The last part of the book almost ruined it for me. It was a bit too contrived for me at times, but somehow wasn't really terrible. Like why do some of the characters show up only to leave again? Why does Sam think he cannot get together with Rose? His reasoning doesn't really make any sense. Even though I didn't love it I didn't hate it as much as I normally would either. It was alright, but just didn't work as well as I would have liked.
Now my other issue with the book? Well at times it was a bit lacking. For example Rose is a romance author and is having a hard time finding inspiration so her aunt shares her super romantic story with Rose. Well...that is one of the times when I found it lacking. Like aunt Odelia's story could have been told in this lovely way where you see her fall in love with Wilson and the letters they sent each other and whatnot, but instead it felt like here are the bare basics of the story and you just fill in the rest. It could have been romantic, but it was just lacking. It needed more detail, more of a story, than what we got. It was told so quickly and simply that it just didn't garner the reaction the author was looking for. This happened a few times throughout the book where you get the basic details, but not enough to really make it a compelling story at times. Still I did enjoy the book and will give another one in this series a try.
Rating: ★ ★ ★
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