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‘Caramel and Magnolias’ Captured Me

April 11, 2013 by Allison Hiltz 17 Comments

‘Caramel and Magnolias’ Captured MeCaramel and Magnolias by Tess Thompson
Published by Booktrope Editions on February 1, 2013
Genres/Lists: Fiction
Pages: 246
Read synopsis on Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links)three-stars


I won Caramel and Magnolias by Tess Thompson From Isi, one of my favorite book bloggers who lives across the globe. I had a feeling I would like it because I trust her judgment, and I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed. Told from the viewpoints of three different characters, Caramel and Magnolias is not the simple love story that I expected it to be based on the title. While the book does emphasize loss and renewed love, the driving force behind the story is the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young girl and the butterfly effect that results.

The main character, Cleo, is recovering from a brutal loss, while her best friend, Sylvia, battles infertility issues. Toss in a few good looking men and the disappearance of a young girl, and you have the main plot of this riveting book.

One of the reasons I was so drawn into this book was that it was filled with random little details that I could relate to. There are references to Law & Order (my favorite show), the brothers have the same names as some brothers in my family, I love the name Madison, there’s an Allison, and one of the character’s favorite driving snacks is cheddar popcorn (I’m a big SmartFood popcorn fan). I know the author wrote these details with absolutely no intent of speaking to me directly, but the number of similarities drew me in.

It is for these reasons that I am able to overlook some of the cheesier portions of the love story and the rose-colored glasses that the reader looked through. What could have been a very dark read was, in fact, a lighter read and easy to get through. I’m not a big mystery fan, so I’m not sure that I would have enjoyed the book better if it was heavier on the doom and gloom, but there were some parts that were so unrealistically optimistic that I unconsciously scoffed (or so my husband says).

Regardless, I really enjoyed the book. What could have been a very heavy novel was transformed into a light page turner with a dash of mystery. As the weather warms up, I recommend this as a weekend beach read!

Question for readers: Have you ever related to a book because of its similarities to your own life?

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Caramel and Magnolias

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