Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Review: Magnolia by Kristi Cook

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059149-magnolia
Magnolia
by Kristi Cook
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Publication Date: August 5th 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781442485358
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Edelweiss
From Publisher for Review

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In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.

Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist.

But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over. (Goodreads)
Magnolia reads like a Romeo & Juliet story in reverse. Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden’s parents want nothing more than for them to be a couple, and to eventually unite their two families through marriage. However, Jemma and Ryder are not having any of it. In fact, they pretty much hate each other, and have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. That is until a hurricane blasts through their southern town, terrifying everyone in its path, and shakes the true feelings out of these two stubborn kids.

Jemma was a really interesting character to read about. Not only is she a cheerleader and a good student, she’s awesome pretty awesome with a camera and a prized pistol shooter. She also has a bit of a rebellious nature in her, and that rebellion is mostly against the future that her parents want for her. She knows what she wants from her future, and it’s not the future that her parents had in mind for her. The only thing that bothered me about Jemma was that at times she seemed a bit indifferent about some of the things that were going on around her. Otherwise, I found her to be a pretty likable character.

Ryder was such a swoon-worthy character. I love that he was a completely perfect southern gentleman throughout the whole story. Although he also wanted to rebel against the future that his parents had planned out for him, he also did want that future as well. Of course, he couldn’t let anyone know this. Ryder was definitely my favorite character in the story. And together, when they weren’t being stubborn or fighting, Jemma and Ryder were super cute together.

Living in Tennessee all my life, I really loved the southern feel to the story. Cook really described the southern parts spot on for how some things are in the south.  I also really enjoyed the laid back feel to this book, except when the storm was raging. The book had a good flow through it, and it kept me turning the pages.

Overall; I thought that Magnolia was a really cute read. It’s great to read if you need something fluffy to pass the time. Add it to your to-read list today!



2 comments:

  1. this sounds like a contemporary story I'd like to read. I like how they initially hate each other (kind of something I haven't come across yet).. and it sounds like they're both great characters (especially Ryder XD). Great review! :) definitely adding this to my TBR list!

    czai @ the Blacksheep Project

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  2. Most reviews I've read have given this an average rating. It seems like you didn't love it or hate it especially, but thought it was a pretty good read. Maybe this is something for me to read when I am going on a long journey or so in the car. Thanks for this ^^

    http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/09/top-10-things-to-do-when-back-from.html

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