Title: Magnolia Wednesdays
Author: Wendy Wax
Genre: Chick Lit
The Blurb:
At forty-one, Vivian Armstrong Gray’s life as an investigative journalist is crumbling. Humiliated after taking a bullet in her backside during an exposé, Vivi learns that she’s pregnant, jobless, and very hormonal. This explains why she says ‘yes’ to a dreadful job writing a newspaper column covering suburban living back home in Georgia, a column she must write incognito. Down South, it’s her sister’s ballroom dance studio, Magnolias, that becomes her undercover spot where she learns about the local life and where unexpected friendships develop. As she digs up her long buried roots, she starts to wonder if life inside the picket fence is really so bad after all.
My Thoughts: This was a nice fluffy read – with gritty undercurrents as lessons were learned and problems solved. While Vivi is the main focus of the story; her sister and two women from her sister’s Wednesday night dance class also have to overcome issues in their lives. Despite her initial utter selfishness Vivi gradually realises that the universe does not revolve around her, and she starts to understand that she can help others, and helping others is good. I found her a bit wearisome at the start but she grew on me by the end which demonstrated character growth – always a good thing in a story. There are several interesting subplots which while predictable were good to follow and were all resolved leaving no loose strings. Overall MAGNOLIA WEDNESDAYS had me laughing a lot, on the edge of my seat often and righteously angry on occasion. The cast of characters were very good and you were drawn into their lives. Vivi’s mother was a bit over the top, but friends of mine who live in the south of the US assure me they have met mothers like this so I’ll bow to their superior knowledge.
I have read another book by Wendy Was previously, The Accidental Bestseller, which I gave top marks too – MAGNOLIA WEDNESDAYS didn’t quite hit the same cord with me but still an excellent read and I will be looking up more of her books.
Rating: B = Really Good Read
More about the Author – Click Here
This sounds like a funny and entertaining books – adding it to my wishlist – thanks for the review!
[...] Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax (Chick Lit) – B [...]