Southern by Design

Sweet Magnolias meets Fixer Upper in this delightfully refreshing debut about a woman bravely chasing her dreams, building a life on her own terms, and maybe even discovering a second chance at love.

Magnolia “Mack” Bishop is staring down the barrel at single motherhood–thanks to an unsolicited personal picture her husband texted another woman that quickly went viral among every mom group in town. But she’s determined to not let it distract her from the professional victory she’s inches away securing Charleston’s prestigious Historic Preservation Design Fellowship, the apple of every local designer’s eye.

But when the final house tour is undone by a host of calamities, Mack’s shot at the fellowship goes up in flames. Smelling blood in the water, Mack’s mother, the original Magnolia Bishop, breezes in with a project lead–strings attached. If there’s one thing Magnolia lives for, aside from maintaining her station atop the Southern social ladder, it’s to control Mack’s life . . . and that includes keeping the identity of the absentee father Mack never knew in the shadows.

While working for her mother is the professional equivalent of moving into one’s parent’s basement, Mack spots an opportunity to make it her own when a television network puts a call out for local designers. Pitching the home renovation TV pilot of her dreams–one with a historic preservation twist–might just be the way to finally prove herself. Still, she’ll have to do it covertly to avoid her mother’s interference.

Just when Mack finds her professional footing, at home she spots an impossibly familiar figure unloading his moving truck into the newly sold house next door. She is furious, floored, and regrettably flustered because Lincoln Kelly is the one who got away. Fifteen years earlier he was a summer romance she inadvertently fell in love with, and when he left, following his dreams to New York, Mack was broken-hearted.

Filled with characters who could step off the page and a reminder that nothing worth saving is beyond repair, this charming and delightful debut novel will resonate with readers of Southern women’s fiction by Mary Kay Andrews and Kristy Woodson Harvey.

My Review:

I didn’t know Southern Fiction was a thing until recently but I feel like this is the perfect example of what’s so good about it (says the Canadian who is clueless about all things Southern.) Maybe it was the subtle Southern twang Amanda Stribling brought to her narration (I listened to the audio book) that added to the charm. In any case, both words and performance drew me in and kept me riveted.

Magnolia “Mack” Bishop is an intriguing character. Spunky and tenacious in some ways and infuriatingly submissive to her mama in other ways. Are all Southern Mamas like Magnolia Sr.? I shudder to thinks so! I spent a large part of the read fuming over that woman! Gah! I so wanted Mack to grow a backbone and stand up to her mother once and for all. I wanted a colossal ‘take that!’ moment and instead, Walz humbled me with the surprising twist towards the end. Sigh. My righteous indignation bubble was burst…but only somewhat. I’m still angsting over lots and lots of Magnolia Sr. moments because, no matter what happened in her past, she still made choices that, well…you need to read the book and angst right along with me!

There’s a rocky second chance romance that plays out in two timelines which was really interesting. We get to see the summer romance of fifteen years ago unfolding oh so sweetly until the train wreck happens all while watching Mack and Lincoln warily reconnecting as single parents in present day. I really enjoyed their journey to reconciliation, angst and all!

Loved the interior design/house flipping backdrop to the story — and the clever title that fits it to perfection. If you are an HGTV fan, this is definitely the book for you. Great details on design and historical restoration and the thrill of reality TV as well.

My thanks to Harper Muse Audibooks and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.

Of note to readers of this blog: a wee bit of mild language and LGBTQ+ rep in a secondary character