Book Review: The Magnolia Sisters by Alys Murray

The Magnolia Sisters is the first in the Full Bloom Farm series from Alys Murray. I was familiar with Alys’s book The Christmas Company, which was released by Hallmark Publishing in 2018. I’ve also chatted with her via Twitter and Instagram and think she’s simply a lovely person, so I’ll gladly support her and read anything she puts out.

All that being said, I loved this first book in the series. Harper Anderson was a really different kind of heroine from most leading ladies in small town, sweet romances. She’s headstrong, somewhat abrasive and less “girly” (for lack of a better description) than your typical heroine. But that’s exactly why I loved her and this story.

Our hero, Luke Martin, is equally as compelling. This book alternates between their points of view, which I always really like as a reader. Luke is a wealthy tech mogul, but he’s private and reserved — and while he’s not an alpha at all, the way he protects his younger sister Annie will instantly put you on his side and wondering why the heck Harper doesn’t instantly like him.

She, of course, has her reasons. She’s distrustful of outsiders, especially wealthy people who think money can buy anything. And although he definitely comes off like that in the beginning, the benefit of having his point of view every other chapters allows you to see that’s not who he is at all.

I loved the push and pull of this opposites attract small town, sweet romance. It’s one of those beach reads that isn’t set at the beach, but the imagery was so vivid you could see the Anderson family’s flower farm set against the hills of a small town in Northern California. I longed to visit this fictional town by the end of the book, almost as much as I longed for Harper to realize Luke was her meant to be!

I definitely recommend grabbing this one and the next in the series before the third book comes out later this month!

Harper’s sisters, May and Rose, and Luke’s sister, Annie, are all great characters that begin to be developed in this story as well. May’s story continues in the next book, Sweet Pea Summer, and Annie’s story is in the soon-to-be released (August 14, 2020) The Perfect Hideaway.