A #1 Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown brings together two wounded hearts in a Texas romance of second chances and twice-in-a-lifetime true love.Inheriting the Magnolia Inn, a Victorian home nestled in the East Texas pines, is a fantasy come true for Jolene Broussard. After living with the guilt of failing to rescue her self-destructive … guilt of failing to rescue her self-destructive mother, Jolene knows her aunt and uncle’s B&B is the perfect jump start for a new life and a comforting place to call home. There’s just one hitch: stubborn and moody carpenter Tucker Malone. He’s got a half interest in the Magnolia Inn, and he’s planting his dusty cowboy boots squarely in the middle of her dream.
Ever since his wife’s death, Tucker’s own guilt and demons have left him as guarded as Jolene. The last thing he expects is for his new partner to stir something inside him he thought was gone forever. And as wary as Jolene is, she may have found a kindred spirit—someone she can help, and someone she can hold on to.
Restoring the Magnolia Inn is the first step toward restoring their hearts. Will they be able to let go of the past and trust each other to do it together?
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THE MAGNOLIA INN by Carolyn Brown is her new contemporary second chance romance. It is a sweet romance, which I call a cozy romance because it is written about adults (not YA), any sex is behind closed doors, some religion may be included and the focus is on the H/h’s emotional growth or healing. These books also include a strong family, friends and/or community support system.
Jolene Broussard grew up with a drug and alcohol addicted mother. She could not get her mother to change or get help for herself, so she left when she could. She is carrying a lot of guilt though because her mother committed suicide after she left. The happy times she had growing up were with her mother’s older half-sister and her husband at The Magnolia Inn B&B during summer break from school.
Sugar and her husband are ready to retire and travel across country, so they leave half of the B&B to Jolene and half to her cousin Rueben. Sugar has big plans, but no money. Rueben hates his memories of the B&B and decides to sell.
Tucker Malone lost his wife of 5 years in a tragic traffic accident. He hits the bottle hard. After losing his job as a police officer, he vows to only get drunk on the weekends and starts to build a name for himself as a carpenter. Tucker is informed about the sale of Rueben’s half of the Magnolia Inn and decides to buy in and partner with Jolene.
The partnership is rocky at first, but soon each begins to understand that they each have deep emotional issues to deal with and dealing with them together as they remodel the inn seems to work better than dealing with them alone.
I enjoyed this cozy romance. Jolene is so strong and had to survive so much. Tucker is rebuilding his life, but he is stuck emotionally until he meets Jolene. I enjoyed how the changes in their lives and the remodel of The Magnolia Inn seemed to intertwine. The secondary characters are almost show stealers in this story. Sugar, Flossie, Dotty and Lucy are good for a laugh, but also share their wisdom with Jolene. This is an emotional growth story with a very slow build up to romance. Sex is behind closed doors and only in the last portion of the story. An enjoyable read.
I’ve come to realize that I like whatever Carolyn Brown writes. I don’t do a synopsis of books, ever. What I will say is that I really liked the characters and plot. I think that if you like feel good books, this is the writer for you. I am so looking forward to getting caught up with all her books.
Two broke, grieving people share an ownership in an old Victorian inn. Between the magic of the inn and the friendship that grows between them, they might both find a chance at forgiveness, healing, and love. A bit of country charm, a group of sassy friends, and a sweet, simple story are what draws me back time and again to this author’s books and an engaging, familiar narrator.
The Magnolia Inn, a crossover between women’s fiction and contemporary romance is a standalone story. It deals with such sad elements of death, grieving, substance abuse, family, friendships, and letting go of the past and guilt.
Whenever I see a pair, who are disgruntled and barely acquaintances, but have that special spark, forced to work together in a gently-paced, slow burn friends to lovers, I know I’m going to have a good time.
Jolene Broussard inherits half of the old Magnolia Inn from her aunt and uncle and ends up gaining a business partner when her cousin sells his share to Tucker Malone. Tucker might be the best handy man in the area and a partner who sees the potential in the Magnolia like she does, but he gets drunk at least once a week and isn’t over his wife’s death. Jolene has had enough of supporting and enabling drunks from her mother to her ex-boyfriend and she sure isn’t willing to coddle another one.
But, with the support of her aunt’s three old friends and her own daily experience seeing that Tucker is not her mom or her ex though he surely does fight his own demons, she realizes that Tucker isn’t the only one who needs to get over some pain, guilt and anger.
Slowly, but surely the old inn is refurbished and the pair find they are friends and they both start to look toward the future. If only they can let go of the past.
Unlike her straight up cowboy romances, this one focuses on the process of letting go, friendships, and then romance. There is lots of time with the three older ladies who are a sassy trio, renovation work that helps Jolene and Tucker form a friendship which lets them talk over what is on their hearts, and even resolving unfinished business with the ghosts of their past through mental conversations with those dead and gone. Things ease along rather than run straight to the romance.
I enjoyed the story I got. The work, the people, the friendships, and the everyday feel. It was hard seeing how much pain and waste the alcohol caused, but I was glad to see that it wasn’t quickly swept under the rug or treated lightly. Jolene was the child of an alcoholic and Tucker lost his job because of it and uses it to self-medicate away his grief and loss. My heart broke for them and I was cheering them on to get through it.
Brittany Pressley is a great match for group who were mostly Texan with one of the older ladies, Dotty having some Cajun. She paced well with the story and had a good grasp of the tone needed through each change of emotion and situation. Her work enhanced the story and I enjoy that she does several of Brown’s books.
All in all, this was a comfy, heartwarming story with a satisfying romantic ending. Those who enjoy women’s fic crossed with contemporary romance set in a small town should try this one.
As usual Carolyn Brown doesn’t disappoint! This is a beautiful story about how two people can leave their pasts behind and learn to trust again. Also love her small town Texas characters! Great read!
This is a beautifully written novel that shows that second chances are possible. Author Carolyn Brown has so much talent in showing the depth of emotions in each character. When Jolene’s Uncle Jasper and Aunt Sugar buy an RV, they decide it is time to travel around the United States, one of their biggest dreams. Giving equal shares of The Magnolia Inn to Jolene and her cousin Reuben, they pack up and leave, knowing Jolene will take care of the only home they have ever known. Uncle Jasper and Aunt Sugar were the only family that Jolene has ever had, after her father’s death and her mother having lost the battle with her addiction. With very little money, Jolene doesn’t know where to begin first. After learning her greedy cousin sold his part of the inn, Jolene is worried about her new partner. Will she lose the Magnolia Inn before she even unpacks? Tucker cannot go on with his life after his wife Melanie was killed. He works as a carpenter during the day and begins drinking as soon as he gets home. Living with his wife’s cat Sassy in a camping trailer, he decides to buy the other half of the lMagnolia Inn. With the insurance money from his wife’s death, Tucker agrees to pay for the supplies, that are needed to fix the inn up, until they open for business and then Jolene can pay her share of the bill’s. Working together on a daily basis puts the Inn owner’s in close proximity and they both begin to question their feelings. Will Jolene and Tucker finally put their past behind them and begin a new future or will they sabotage what is in front of them? Will this be their one and only chance? Author Carolyn Brown continues to weave her magic within the pages of her novels!
A beautiful Contemporary romance!
This is the first time that I read a book rewriter by this new-to-me author Carolyn Brown. I strongly recommend it if you like romantic story! A beautiful story of two broken hearts who try a second time to trust and love someone!
‘The Magnolia Inn’ tells the story of Jolene and Tucker. Both had lived some dramatic events in their past and have trouble to trust and try again at loving someone. She inherits half of the Magnolia Inn, a Victorian home nestled in the East Texas pines. The other half is for Reuben, a mean man who decided to sell his part. Then Tucker enters her life by buying Reuben’s half. Can Jolene and Tucker trust each other and fall in love, by forgetting their pasts? I liked her three older friends Flossie, Dotty and Lucy.
Fun, family and love.
Just what you want when you pick up a Carolyn Brown book! Wonderful characters, with a few stinkers for story, great conflicts and interesting resolutions!
I am a big Carolyn Brown fan but I was disappointed in “The Magnolia Inn.” The four old ladies were colorful characters but so sacrilegious that after a while it got to be just too much. Jolene, the main character saved the book, but I felt the whole story was predictable and tiresome. Sorry, Carolyn! Write another one like “The Ladies’ Room.”
The best part of this book was the older women! The story was predictable and just okay.
I’ve come to really look forward to Carolyn Brown’s novels, and The Magnolia Inn is no exception. While the characters are all new to me, by the midway point of this novel, they all felt like family, and I’m giving this thoroughly enjoyable novel 4.5 stars.
Jolene Broussard spent her childhood summers at the Magnolia Inn Bed & Breakfast, with her Aunt Sugar and Uncle Jasper, a loving couple who had no children of their own. When her aunt and uncle decide to retire and spend the next year traveling the country in their new RV, they leave the inn to Jolene and Jasper’s nephew, Reuben, who bullied Jolene every summer when they were children. He hasn’t improved much with age and almost immediately puts his half of the B&B up for sale, and Jolene has no idea how she’ll manage the inn and the many renovations it needs when she has a mere $100 in the bank. Most of Jolene’s earnings went to her mother for years. Her mom climbed into a bottle as her means of coping with the loss of her husband, and then later added drugs to the mix, eventually dying of an overdose in a seedy motel after she and Jolene exchanged harsh words, which have left Jolene with a load of bitterness, guilt and regret.
It doesn’t take long to find a buyer for the other half of the inn, and the buyer is Tucker Malone, a former police officer, who was widowed when his wife and soul mate, Melanie, ran out for some milk late one night and was killed in an auto accident, for which Tucker blames himself, and soon he too climbs into a bottle. After being caught driving drunk and fired from his police job, he now limits his drinking to weekends, works as a skilled carpenter/handyman, and with the money he received upon his wife’s death, thinks that renovating and operating the B&B might be just the thing he needs to get out of the deep depression and rut he’s in.
Jolene doesn’t give up her secrets easily, and neither does Tucker, who often talks to his deceased wife as if she’s in the room with him. These are two broken people attempting to fix up a broken down building and they do work both hard and well together as partners. While this novel is classified as a romance, it takes a very long time to get there, and I’d classify it as women’s fiction rather than a romance, but regardless of classification, I found this novel to be filled with interesting characters, and, while there’s not a lot of action, there’s certainly plenty of character development, something I’ve come to love about Carolyn Brown’s novels.
The majority of this novel is about these two troubled strangers who are now suddenly business partners, trying to get the inn in shape and ready to reopen in the spring, while both Jolene and Tucker try to deal with their own demons, as well as each others. Jolene, who works part-time at a local bar, has issues with drunks–in addition to her mother’s alcoholism and drug-use, Jolene’s her last boyfriend also drank and gambled heavily, cleaning out what little savings Jolene had before she kicked him to the curb. Tucker is still grieving his wife’s death, and has been for the past two years, and his conversations with her spirit are revealing, heartfelt and touching.
While I enjoyed watching Jolene and Tucker slowly learn to work and live together, learn about each other and battle their own demons, what really got me hooked on this novel were the wacky and weird friendships of Aunt Sugar’s friends, Flossie, Dotty and Lucy, who’ve all known each other since childhood, and whose weekly get-togethers and group attendance at various local churches each Sunday were an absolutely hilarious delight. They are southern gals to the nth degree, always in each other’s lives, always ready to share the latest gossip, their feelings, and of course, do a little matchmaking on the side. Since they all miss Sugar, they take Jolene under their wings instead, and they were all an absolute delight, reminding me in many ways of the characters and relationships among the women in Steel Magnolias, as well as Sharon Sala’s wonderful Blessings novels, both of which always give me the warm fuzzies, and I’m happy to add The Magnolia Inn to that group.
One of the primary issues in this novel is alcoholism and its effects on the people turn to alcohol to either solve a problem or deaden their pain, and that may be a trigger for some, as it was for me, but it was handled so well, and with so much kindness, tact and understanding, that what might have become a treatise on the dangers of alcohol and drugs, never became maudlin, and kudos to Ms. Brown for that. A lot of this novel is also about dealing with loss, dealing with the tragic events that happen in every lifetime, about healing a little bit more each day, and taking things one day at a time, and one step at a time moving forward.
The attraction between Jolene and Tucker is slow to develop. Working side by side to make a go of their partnership, both Jolene and Tucker have to each face their own demons, their own guilt, and then help each other move past those feelings, and for this reader, I found the slow pacing of their relationship suited this novel perfectly. Would I have liked a little more romance between these two characters? Absolutely. But I was still charmed, fully engaged, and fully entertained from the very start to the romantic HEA finish, and I think you will be too.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
The Magnolia Inn
By Carolyn Brown
Two lost souls find themselves sharing ownership of a B&B that needs remodeling almost as much as their lives do.
Jolene Broussard’s aunt, affectionately known as Sugar, gave her half ownership in the B&B when she retires. Jolene carries a heavy weight of guilt over her mother’s overdose death. Summers at The Magnolia Inn were her happiest memories before her father’s death and her mother’s collapse. Tucker Malone’s guilt over his wife’s death in an automobile accident have sent him spiraling down in self-pity. Together Jolene and Tucker work to remodel the Inn and, while they are at it, themselves. With the help of Sugar’s three best friends, the pair slowly find their personal forgiveness and more.
It took me awhile to get into this book. The first chapter revolved around Sugar and her friends and, even though they are my age, I didn’t find them to my liking. That changed as the story progressed. Within a few chapters I found I loved the girls and their crazy ways and huge hearts. Such love for each other and for Jolene! The relationship between Jolene and Tucker was well crafted. While there was obviously something there, the relationship bloomed slowly as they grew to know each other and to be there for each other when they were needed.
I have already recommended this book to a couple of friends.
I enjoyed this book very much.
I loved this book. The characters just pull you in and you want to see what they will do next!!
This book was written with heart in hand and words that will make you smile with tears running down your cheeks. That’s it in a nutshell about this book. Jolene led a hard working life; Tucker’s life was filled with dreams and devastation. Together as partners in a B & B Victorian home in East Texas, they renovated, loved the friendships of aging ladies and built a busy life together. I loved this story-line and highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great read. Thanks once again to this author for writing a book I can read over again and love it.
Good slow-building romance between two hurting people who can’t seem to let go of their painful pasts. Jolene was raised by a mother who was an alcoholic and a drug addict, making Jolene the “adult” in the family. After Jolene grew up and moved out, her mom died of an overdose, leaving Jolene feeling guilty for deserting her. Then Jolene’s boyfriend also turned out to be an alcoholic who cleaned out her bank accounts. She needed a chance for a fresh start.
Jolene’s Aunt Sugar has given her a half-interest in the Magnolia Inn, the bed and breakfast that Sugar and her husband run together. He has given his half to his nephew Reuben, who Jolene detests (with good reason). Reuben has no interest in doing anything with his half and immediately sells it to Tucker. Jolene has some great ideas for the inn, but no capital to carry them out.
Tucker is the local handyman. He used to be a cop until his wife died in a car accident. Unable to handle his grief, Tucker turned to alcohol and eventually lost his job. Now he works as a handyman during the week and drinks his way through the weekends to dull the pain of her loss. When he heard about the inn, he thought it would be a good opportunity for him. He has the cash to invest and the skills to do the renovations.
Jolene wasn’t too sure about having Tucker as a partner. She was all too familiar with living with a drunk, and she didn’t want to do it again. I liked the way that she and Tucker sat down and laid out their expectations so that there would be no misunderstandings. I enjoyed the development of their relationship. They started as partners, working together to renovate the inn. I loved the easy exchange of ideas, and their willingness to compromise when necessary. As they worked together, their partnership became friendship. There were some terrific scenes of their more lighthearted moments, as well as some emotional scenes as they shared the more painful parts of their pasts. All that time together also gave a simmering attraction time to grow. But both were wary of risking their hearts again. Jolene feared getting involved with another alcoholic and did her best to keep Tucker at arm’s length. But she also has a good influence on him after he heard her story. Tucker was buried in guilt over his wife’s death, which made getting past it that much harder. He also fought his growing feelings for Jolene because they made him feel disloyal to his wife. It was very interesting to see the mental conversations he had with Melanie as she tried to get him to let her go. There were some heartbreaking moments as Tucker worked his way through that grief. The slow buildup of the feelings between Jolene and Tucker was believable and right for them. I loved seeing them realize that their pasts don’t have to define their futures and that they can build that future together.
The secondary characters are a huge part of the story. First, there are Aunt Sugar and Uncle Jasper, who were ready to retire and live their dream of traveling. It was fun to follow their travels and see the effects it had on them. I loved Sugar’s phone calls back to Jolene and “the girls.” Her ability to sense when Jolene needed her was great, and I enjoyed the kernels of wisdom she dropped along the way. I wasn’t at all surprised by her feelings as the trip went on. The surprise she had for everyone at the end was terrific. Her three friends, Dottie, Flossie, and Lucy, were a riot. Each of them was very different, but their friendship was bone deep. It was fun to see them rag on Lucy about her actions after romantic breakups. I loved how they supported Jolene with the inn and kept a wary eye on Tucker until they were sure he was okay to be around her. Their Sunday lunches were a hoot and added a bit of lightness when emotions got a little heavy.
This is one of the Prime books, so I thought I would give it a whirl. And it was really cute! This book really does take a look at how women manage to blur the lines between friends and family. Loved the friendship between Aunt Sugar and her three best friends. There is nothing like life time friends who love you no matter what! And apparently this inn is based on a real place, and I really want to see it!
A wonderfully contemporary look at loneliness and vulnerability. Learning to let go and trust again comes through in both Jolene and tucker as they learn how to help and be helped
I am a fan of Carolyn Brown. This book was fun. Good characters. Maybe a little predictable, but it was a good story.
Magnolia Inn is a sweet, clean story by Carolyn Brown that deals with themes of love, loss, moving on from the past, and second chances.
Jolene grew up with an alcoholic mother and had to take care of herself from an early age. Aunt Sugar and Uncle Jasper brought stability to her life and, when they decide to retire and travel the country in an RV, they leave her a half-interest in Magnolia Inn along with her cousin, Reuben. When Reuben decides to sell his interest in the property, Jolene gains a partner.
Tucker Malone is a former cop who lost his wife, and subsequently his job, when he started drinking to deal with the pain. He spends time rehabbing properties and sees potential in Magnolia Inn. Through working together to renovate the inn, Jolene and Tucker come to terms with the past and find a second chance with each other.
As I read the story, I kept thinking it was like a country song. When Tucker makes peace with his father-in-law, Luke, and talks about his regrets, Luke tells him it “sounds like a country song.” Bingo!
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Life is not about the mistakes made, but the lessons learned. For Tucker and Jolene fate is about to teach them the beauty of a second chance. Knocked down by life, crippled by heartache and wishing for something more, the lonely widower and the determined thorn in his side are about to discover that even a bruised heart can heal. The Magnolia Inn is a restoration project for the soul.