The Sweet Smell of Magnolias and Memories ~ Review

The Sweet Smell of
Magnolias and Memories
By Celeste Fletcher McHale

This is an interesting book, one that I both liked and disliked at parts. Don't get me wrong the story is well-written and the characters are well developed. It is just that at times certain characters made me want to roll my eyes and sigh with some of their antics.

A year ago Jacey and Colin met during a storm that could have cost them and the family they were sheltering with their lives. Somehow after 3 days, they are rescued and the pair has discovered that the other is the love of their life. But tragedy strikes and Colin and Jacey are separated and Jacey loses a portion of her memory due to another tragic accident.

For a year this tragedy has been lurking at the corners of Jacey's memory when she unexpectedly sees Colin again. Suddenly Jacey's memories start coming back with greater frequency and she becomes a woman on a mission. Jacey needs to find the family that she and Collin took refuge with.

With the help of her best friend Georgia, Jacey may finally find what she's been looking for. Or Georgia could help her lose it yet again.

I can't say any of these characters would be people I personally identified with as their lives were so different from mine. But it was an interesting look at how different people respond and react to disappointments and tragedy. Does it break you or give you a foundation on which to build something new?

This book is contemporary and set in the South (think Mississippi and Lousiana). Family and friends play a big role in how each character looks at life. I think of the main characters Georgia is my favorite - she's a unique personality that seems to just fill a room and she is battling her own demons that affect her outlook and actions.

I received a copy of this book for free. I was not required to post a positive review and the views and opinions expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Jacey and Colin shared the three most intense days of their lives together, waiting for help as Mississippi floodwaters surrounded them. Jacey knew Colin was the love of her life—until her rescue boat went under water, along with Colin’s last name and pieces of Jacey’s memory.