“Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber.”–Publishers Weekly Home for the holidays has always meant cozy small-town traditions…but this year all that may change… Carrie Reed has always been known as her hometown Good Girl, yet she still loves Magnolia, North Carolina–after all, this is where her newly discovered sisters, Avery and Meredith, live. But Christmas is on its way and with it, her … and with it, her first love. Dylan Scott is back in town and planning on changing everything she’s ever loved about Magnolia with his real estate development project…but not without a fight.
Returning to Magnolia was never in Dylan’s plans–it holds too many reminders that he would never be good enough, and memories of the girl he left behind. But when a tragedy leaves him guardian of a grieving teenager, Dylan returns, ready to remake the town into something only money can buy, small-town traditions be damned. But with Carrie determined to stop him, he finds himself wondering if redeeming his teenage reputation is worth losing out on his second chance at love.
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A wonderful heart felt Christmas second chance romance set in the small town of Magnolia. Dylan has returned to Magnolia after ten years, he was known as the bad boy but now has different plans for Magnolia. Carrie has always lived and loved Magnolia, especially Christmas but with return of her heart throb will things change.
Loved the chemistry between Dylan and Carrie, they both fell back in love with each other! Love this small town of community between the residents. Plus an added bonus of plenty of kittens and dogs. Great Christmas traditions that will for sure get you in the mood for the upcoming holiday season.
How to forgive others and yourself.
If you are looking for a feel-good Christmas romance this fits the bill. Carrie and Dylan are a fun second-chance couple with a lot of baggage. The town and its people are the real draw, just as Carrie’s always known, and what keep me coming back for more.
This is book 2 in the series and is Carrie’s story. Carrie is the sister who stayed at home and took care of her father. She had planned to go to art school but her father convinced her that she had no talent and would be an embarrassment to him so she managed the gallery and stayed home. She was shocked when she found out that she had two half sisters who would share her father’s estate. The estate was deeply in debt and the three sisters had to work together which helped to make them friends.
Carrie loves Magnolia and wants it to be a successful small town. All of a sudden a ‘bad boy’ from high school shows up – he’s now rich and wants to turn Magnolia into a modern updated town totally different from the small town friendliness that Carrie wants. Carrie and Dylan had been in love in high school. Will their different views of the future of the town keep them apart or will they be able to find their happily ever after and help the town be successful?
This book lacked some of the fun of the first book in the series but it was still an enjoyable romance and a great look at life in a small town.
Enjoyed this book, great characters. Easy to read.
Simply Delightful!
Get ready to fall in love, Michelle Major is about to capture your heart.
The Merriest Magnolia is the perfect heartwarming Christmas read. I fell into this story immediately. I was absolutely captivated with these characters and all the feelings they made me feel. And Wow, did I feel SO much. This one brings out the warm fuzzies!
This is a beautifully written story about healing and learning to love again. I want more! This is the perfect addition to this phenomenal series. I can’t wait to be back into this series and the people in it.
I really enjoyed this story with Carrie Reed and Dylan Scott. I loved this town and it definitely draws you in that you want to visit there. From the town itself, to the Bunco Babes, the bakery, her sisters and her friends in the town, you felt like you were part of the festivities. Really liked the connection between the sisters and I liked how Carrie connected with Dylan’s nephew Sam and helped him come around. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen between Dylan and Carrie since they definitely had a turbulent past. I’m glad that they both put some of their past in the past where it should be and I loved the ending for these two. My favorite line in this story is; I am beautiful, I am strong, I am enough.
This is the second book in the Magnolia Sisters series and easily as good as the first book (The Magnolia Sisters). It can be read as a stand-alone, as the backstory is deftly handled, but I recommend reading the first book before this one for a more satisfying experience. The background is that three young women discover that they are half-sisters when their father dies. Carrie and Meredith are Magnolia natives, though they didn’t know of their relationship while growing up. Avery arrived after learning of her inheritance. Though initially shocked by the news, it didn’t take long for them to become friends. I loved watching them band together to deal with the fallout from their father’s death.
Carrie was the legitimate daughter and looked at as the town princess (though she hated the idea). When her parents divorced, she stayed with her father and looked after him, giving up on her dreams of an art career. Carrie loves her hometown and was heartbroken at the mess her father left behind. She and her sisters are determined to rebuild the town and made good progress toward that goal in the previous book. They have great plans for the holiday season, hoping to lure back the tourists who used to be the town’s mainstay. Those plans run into a snag when Carrie’s high school boyfriend, now a hotshot real estate developer, returns to Magnolia with plans of his own.
Dylan was Carrie’s boyfriend in high school, the bad boy to her good girl. It all came to an end when Carrie’s father bribed him to leave town. Dylan has two purposes in returning to Magnolia. The first is to give his grieving teenage ward a change of scenery. When Dylan’s cousin and his wife died in a plane crash, Dylan was left to pick up the pieces. He struggles with knowing the best way to help Sam. His second purpose is to carry out his plan to turn Magnolia into a destination for the wealthy by building luxury condos and high-end shops. It would also serve a secondary purpose of destroying her father’s legacy.
Carrie isn’t happy to see Dylan, especially once she learns of his plans. Their opposite visions don’t bode well for a smooth process. Their confrontation at a town meeting ends with the mayor assigning them to work together on the Merry Magnolia Christmas festival. Dylan, who hates everything Christmas, does his best to avoid following through. But when Sam gets in trouble for vandalizing the school, he is assigned community service with Carrie.
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Carrie and Dylan. Brought together by their concern for Sam, it doesn’t take long to re-establish their earlier friendship. As long as they don’t talk about their plans for the town, they enjoy spending time with each other. There were some terrific scenes as their friendship deepens and grows. Dylan hasn’t forgotten anything about Carrie, and he uses that knowledge to push her toward thinking about herself sometimes instead of always putting others first. I loved seeing him try to boost her confidence in her painting. At the same time, Carrie helps Dylan with Sam, aided by a dog and a kitten. Carrie has high hopes that she will succeed in showing Dylan that Magnolia doesn’t need “upgrading” while he plows ahead with his plans, driven by his insecurities. Carrie’s pain and heartbreak were palpable when she discovered the truth. I ached for Dylan, too. His kick in the pants came in an unexpected conversation with an old foe. I loved the ending and the surprise that awaited Carrie when she returned to Magnolia.
The secondary characters were wonderful. I liked seeing how the sisters grew closer as they worked through their plans for the town and their feelings about their father. There were some especially poignant moments as they continued to work through their father’s estate. I also loved how they had each others’ backs when things were difficult. I loved Sam. Besides being a fantastic character himself, he was a shining example of how good a man Dylan is. I liked the realism of how his parents’ deaths affected him, from acting out at school to lashing out at Dylan.
This is the second chance romance of Carrie and Dylan and what a story it is. The biggest obstacle in their way, their first time around, was her father, Niall Reed. Dylan left town ten years ago and wanted Carrie to go with him. Niall bribed Dylan to leave and Carrie stayed. Now, it’s four months after Niall’s death and Dylan has returned. He doesn’t return alone though. Also, Carrie has two half-sisters from Niall’s affairs and they’re trying to revive the economy in Magnolia, North Carolina. Dylan has his own plans and they differ from the sisters, lol. I’m not going to leave any spoilers, but I really enjoyed this fun read and I will be going back and reading the first book, as soon as time permits.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.
The Merriest Magnolia is the second book in the series, and although I hadn’t read the first book I had no problem following along with the storyline. I think most people would enjoy living in a small town like Magnolia, I know that I would. The sisters in this story didn’t know about each other, yet they have come to love each other. They each have their own issues with their dead father, whom sort of ruled the town for the most part. Carrie has always been the responsible one, a giver and the town loves her for that trait. Now she and her new sisters are determined to save the city and help it grown and revitalize it. Dylan comes to town determined to make the town totally different, whom will win out in the end. This was an excellent read, actually one of the first books I have read by this author but certainly won’t be my last. I would definitely recommend this to others, I received an ARC of the book in a FB giveaway and was under no obligation to give a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.
4 1/2 STARS!
My heart’s in Magnolia! With book two of her Magnolia Sisters series Michelle Major once again takes us into the center of a dream small town with a rekindling of first loves and a healing of hearts. The characters are full of life and drama, the town is warm and inviting and the animals and kids bring on the adorableness in full force. I do think you will get a better flow for the story if you read book one first. Looking forward to more in the series!
Carrie is easy to like because she does so much good for the community, but you can also easily see where her flaws come into play and appreciate the good she’s starting to infuse into her life.
Dylan really should be resented for what he’s wanting to do to the town, but he’s so sweet and floundering that you can’t help but love him.
I highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone who loves a small town with lots of romance brewing.
Dueling revitalization plans for Magnolia, North Caroline present an excellently written conflict and resolution in this charming small town Christmas romance.
Carrie Reed was considered the town Princess growing up in Magnolia, North Carolina. Niall Reed was her father and he was an artist of some renown. Well, at least he was before his success waned. Yet he was a famous figure with much influence in Magnolia. After his death Carrie discovered that she has two half sisters who inherited his estate with her. Neither of her sisters, Avery Keller from California or Meredith Ventner from right there in Magnolia were aware that Niall Reed was their father. The estate is deep in debt but the sisters agree to work together to salvage what they can of the estate. On top of this the sisters, led by Carrie, are determined to revitalize the town. Those plans were threatened when Dylan Scott showed up back in Magnolia with plans of his own. Plans that were basically the opposite of the sisters’ plans. Carrie has high hopes of changing Dylan’s mind about his plans. After all they were high school sweethearts until her father bribed Dylan to leave town because he didn’t approve of their relationship.
Dylan Scott was a troublemaker “bad boy” back when he lived in Magnolia. He never felt he was good enough for Carrie Reed. So, yes, he left his hometown with a $5,000 check in his pocket courtesy of Niall Reed. He became successful in Boston working at his uncle’s company, Scott Development, with his cousin Wiley. Tragedy struck when Dylan’s uncle, cousin Wiley and Wiley’s wife were killed in a plane crash leaving Dylan to raise his nephew Sam. Dylan chose to move them to Magnolia and brought his redevelopment plan for an upscale revitalization of Magnolia with him. Since that plan was so very different from his former high school sweetheart Carrie’s plan they butted heads over their ideas. Spending time again with Carrie is a life-changing event for Dylan. But will their opposing plans destroy their relationship?
The Merriest Magnolia by Michelle Major is the second book in her Magnolia Sisters series. There are also prequel stories introducing the sisters available. I have read the previous books in the series and can still say that this one can be read as a standalone book. Yet I feel I got a better understanding of the relationships of the main characters by reading the earlier books. I liked how the sisters have each other’s back and support each other in their decisions. Also I liked the main couple in this story, Carrie and Dylan. They worked well together, other than their ideas for the town, by opening up to each other. Their different ideas for Magnolia made for a great conflict in this story. Author Michelle Majors did an excellent job of resolving that conflict. I love stories with humor but I also equally love stories that bring tears to my eyes as this one did at times. This story is a poignant, very emotionally satisfying read.