Blog Tour Stop : Magnolia by Kristi Cook
Summary (from Goodreads) Title : Magnolia
Author : Kristi Cook
Publication Date : August 5th 2014
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble
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.
Personal Thoughts
Kristi Cook took an interesting twist to the classic Romeo & Juliet and crafted this fun and entertaining read with Magnolia. It's the perfect definition of a YA contemporary novel with its fantastic cast of main characters, sweet romance and the gorgeous southern setting. It's undoubtedly a book I'm incredibly happy I read because by the end, it gave me warm and fuzzy feelings.
Jemma and Ryder have grown up together, with both their mothers pushing the two to become a couple and eventually get married since before they were even conceived. Both Jemma and Ryder felt oppressed by their mothers and did everything they could not to be a couple. While they were friends, there was a bit of an antagonistic relationship between the two of them in the beginning of the book. I loved both Jemma and Ryder's characters. Jemma was an easy character to become invested in. She was a feisty girl who wasn't afraid to voice out her thoughts. She was also sweet to her friends and I loved the bond that she had with her older sister, although their relationship was a bit strained in this book. She was the kind of character who saw the good in people and made her judgements. However, she did hold her grudges against people who hurt her, especially when it came to Ryder, but I understood where she was coming from. Ryder, too, was entirely loveable. He was a gentleman through and through, very typical of Southern boys. I couldn't help but swoon whenever he was in a scene. Despite the mild animosity that existed between him and Jemma, Ryder was constantly there when Jemma needed his support. He was definitely one of those kindhearted and sweet love interests that just melt your heart and make you want to jump into the book and kidnap him all for yourself.
Jemma and Ryder's interactions in the beginning of the book were tense, mostly because they constantly argued with each other. Once we get a clear picture of what had happened between the two of them in the past, you realize that the strained feeling was mostly sexual tension. This happened during the hurricane scene, which was a major chunk of Magnolia. I liked how being stuck inside the house during a storm was the turning point for their relationship. They learned to express their feelings with each other and their relationship metamorphosed from hatred into love. It was undeniably very cute and made the romantic in me want to swoon hard. It was also fun how they tried to hide that they were in a relationship from their meddling mothers because that would have made them hysterical. The only two things I would have liked to see a bit more fleshed out in Magnolia would have to be Jemma's sister's illness and Patrick's storyline. Jemma's older sister's illness was something I especially would have liked to see developed a bit further than it was, mostly because I enjoyed the bond that Jemma and her sister shared and wanted to see a bit more of them together. The Patrick storyline, I felt, was a little strange because it didn't have the emotional impact that I wanted it to have. Regardless of these minor complaints, Magnolia was a romance book and it definitely delivered in the romance section.
Magnolia isn't the life-changing sort of YA contemporary read, but it is the kind of book that leaves you with a pleasant feeling and a goofy smile once you've read the final page of the book, characteristics that I personally often look for in books.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5
Author Biography
That’s the official version–here are some other fun facts:
~ As an undergrad, I majored in History and minored in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. While at Southern Miss, I was a member of Phi Mu sorority, and I was a Dixie Darling. And yep, Brett Favre was our quarterback at the time!
~ I studied American History in grad school at Columbia University. I *love* history, especially the Civil War era (U.S.) and Regency- and Edwardian-era British history.
~ My all-time favorite book *and* movie is GONE WITH THE WIND. My favorite literary characters are Rhett Butler, Atticus Finch, and Mr. Darcy. I kind of want to add Peeta Mellark to that list!
~Weirdly enough (or maybe not so weirdly?) I’m also a big fan of STAR TREK (the original series). I never can remember if I’m supposed to call myself a “Trekkie” or a “Trekker,” though!
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: http://kristi-cook.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3169806.Kristi_Cook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kristi_Cook
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kristi-Cook/152067579336
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorkristicook?ref=badge
Giveaway
Prizes :
- A $25 gift card to an online bookstore of choice (Amazon or BN)
-An entire paperback set of the Winterhaven series (Haven, Mirage, and Eternal) [INT]
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to check out the other stops on the Magnolia blog tour here.
Thank you to The Fantastic Flying Book Club for letting me part of the tour and Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC of Magnolia.
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