The Magnolia Inn (The Red Stiletto Book Club, #1) by Anne-Marie Meyer

The Magnolia Inn (The Red Stiletto Book Club, #1) Reviews

• 
  Julie Carpenter

  To be honest I was a little bit of a crying mess while reading certain parts of this story. It was emotional and touching and raw and absolutely fabulous! I loved it! I loved the characters, Maggie, Clementine and Archer. Each of them are hurting and aching and healing and trying to move forward. But they're stuck in a sense. The solutions that will help them are part of what is holding them back.
  
  I really enjoyed how the characters were developed and the friendships they created and fostered were such an integral part of this story, as well as their healing. It was beautiful. It was hard. But overall and through all the pain and struggles, it was worth it.
  
  This book is about so many different relationships. Friends, new and old. Family, parents and siblings, and unknown family relationships. Strangers. Marriage and divorce. I loved how these relationships were written, developed and explored. And many of them without being forceful or overly analyzed, just being a background relationship.
  
  Now I think I might need to start me up a book club where we all wear Red Stilettos. Wouldn't that be so much fun? Ok, maybe not if any males join in...maybe some shiny red shoes for them. But oh, the red stilettos would be a blast! If you see lots of book clubs starting to add wearing Red Stilettos as a requirement you can guess where they got the idea.
  
  There is a sweet love story within this book and I loved it. It was tender and sweet and healing. Both Maggie and Archer have had sorrow in their past marriages. They were an unlikely couple but their pain and desire for healing and moving forward helped them to see what they deserved to have in a relationship. I loved it. There were several scenes that just melted my heart with these two and had me sighing and cheering for them. Even when it seemed that the odds were completely against them. *happy sigh*
  
  Clementine had a big part of this story but we only get little glimpses of her past love. I'm really excited that she'll be one of the two main female characters in the next book in this series. I can't wait to see how that unfolds. As well as Shari and her story being unfolded as well.
  
  Content: Clean. Some talk of divorce, death of a child, a parent with Alzheimers and some kissing but nothing further.
  
  I received a copy from the author. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.
  
  Happy Reading!!!
• 
  Cyndi

  Our heroine gets fired from her job and goes to her mother to help her start a business. Mom agrees, but the first house she needs to renovate to sell is the Magnolia Inn. A house passed down through generations, but Mom isn't interested in living in a small town. She tells her daughter that she can take the profits from the sale of the old Inn to start her decorating business.
  Then our heroine falls in love with the house and the people of the small town. Will she fix it up and sell it, or is there a Plan B?
  Cute romance to begin the series.
• 
  Dorothy Morawsky

  This book is about new beginnings and reconnecting. An estranged mother and daughter find themselves. A young woman finds where she's meant to be and new friendships develop. This is an amazing New author. Try it you'll love it too!
• 
  Becky

  I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for the next book comes out.
• 
  Lucinda Race

  I was lost in this first in series book - the characters were all so human and I found myself even rooting for the Inn. Well written and a great read.
• 
  Courtney

  Just a sweet little read!
• 
  Silvia Meadows

  Cute 💕
• 
  Sonya Wasden

  *Spoiler Alert*
  I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It grabbed my interest from the beginning and held it until the end. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
  
  Maggie had recently divorced, had no job, and was running out of money. She needed to get out of New York but where should she go. As a last resort, she approached her estranged mother to ask for help to start her own business. Her mother, Penny, agreed to a deal. If Maggie would refurbish and decorate her grandmother's former home to prepare it to be sold, Penny would share the profits with Maggie. Maggie had skill as an interior designer and because it got her out of New York and provided possibilities for her future, she agreed.
  
  Magnolia was a small town on an island and The Magnolia Inn had sat empty for many years. There was a lot of work that needed to be done to get it ready to sell. Where would Maggie even start? When she made a new friend on her first day, she felt hopeful.
  
  Clementine had her own difficulties. She had a broken brother, Archer, and a father who had Alzheimers and she had given up her dreams to provide what her family needed. She convinced Maggie that Archer was the best choice to for a handyman. Archer needed a job to do. He needed to heal his brokenness and get out of his self-destructive rut.
  
  The Magnolia Inn was a magical place that helped to provide healing for Maggie, Clementine, Archer and Penny. I loved the Red Stiletto Book Club idea; very empowering and I loved the blooming love story for Maggie and Archer.
  
  This was a sweet, clean wonderful story filled with healing, friendship, romance and second chances and ended with a happy ever ending. I can't wait to learn about Clementine's story.
  
  I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.
• 
  Lisa Swinton

  This is a wonderful story of friendship and new beginnings with a romantic thread. But the women and their progress is the real gem here.
  
  Told from both Clementine's and Maggie's points of view, you learn of their heartaches and failures. Also how a small town can be a place of healing and transformation.
  
  I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.
• 
  Judy Hardwick

  This story is about so much more than Maggie and Archer..
  
  I enjoy a sweet love story as much as anyone and Anne-Marie Meyer gives us that...but this is also story of growing into the person we are meant to be... a story of girlfriends bonding together... and the story of making peace with our pasts.... Looking forward to continuing the story..
• 
  Sue Ross

  I want to live there
  
  This book makes you want to move to Magnolia and stay forever. The friends there seem to welcome you in as you begin to read and the more you read the more we!come you feel. Magnolia has a magic I think a lot of people could use. I know I sure could. I can't wait for my next trip to that magical island.
• 
  Janie

  This is my first book by this author. It was really good. I liked that the characters weren't in their 20's and were a bit older. The chapters alternated between two different characters instead of flowing. That is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars. I'm more of a flowing reader. The story itself is good and I enjoyed it.
• 
  Catherine

  It was a pleasant read. Family, love, loss and The Red Stiletto Book Club. This is the first of a series so I'm sure we'll learn more about each member of the book club. I love book clubs but more than that I love to see women coming together and supporting each other. This book has that.
• 
  Judy

  This is a light romance with characters who are likeable enough, if a little predictable. The setting on an island off Rhode Island sounds nice as is the small community. Not spectacular, but pleasant enough.
• 
  Dani

  I thought this was a nice sweet romance.
  
  It should possibly be filed under fantasy because she renovated an entire inn with the hunky contractor and did not once get into a fight with him. This has not been my experience in home improvements with my husband.
• 
  Yan

  DNF
• 
  JaNel

  Geez. Don’t these people edit? Too many saying things “softly” and with “reverence” (?🤷🏻‍♀️) Not enough charm or real personality.
  
  I get this book is meant to be just a fling and nothing too serious, but it’s hardly worth an afternoon.
• 
  Marah McKissick

  The story was definitely a hallmark-y story. I knew that going into it so it met expectations. No real plot but a quick read with a happy ending.
• 
  Lori Bahuk

  I enjoyed reading about the quaint little village of Magnolia and the story of the lovable characters.
• 
  Janet Friesner

  A nice story by a new author for me. The first in a series. Light easy reading.
• 
  Melissa Hayford

  I love the idea of a red stiletto book club. Such a fun idea. This is a cool new series and different than most of this author's other books. There are a lot of emotions in this book and real life, but that's what makes it good. I love Maggie and Archer. They are both broken, but maybe can help the other heal. I also loved Clementine and really felt for her. I can't wait to read her and Shari's stories next.
• 
  Pamela Brucker

  I found much to like about this book. The characters were likable, and I found myself visualizing them and the inn. I found some of the secondary characters, like Mrs. Swanson, interesting also. However, it seemed that some secondary characters were only introduced in this book to further the series. Characters like Shari, were like cardboard cutouts in the background. They really didn’t need to be introduced . My main complaint with the book is that the lack of editing.was very distracting. Glaring mistakes , like using the word ‘ through’ twice in one sentence, should have been picked up by even the most inexperienced editor. If I had to read one more time about Archer driving his truck with his elbow out the window and Johnny Cash playing on the radio, i was going to scream. As others have noted, this is a major flaw in the book. Overall, it is a light summer read with an interesting story line and errors that distract the reader. I read it in one afternoon, and squeezed it in between two more serious and meaty books.
• 
  Sirilee

  “A story of new friendships and a book club”? Sounds nice, interesting theme. But the reality was that the Book Club hardly ever got going - except the first ever meeting where everybody ate some nice stuff and never even got to talk about any books.
  Totally deceptive description. What we got was a he/she attraction that was quite clear where it would end. Anything new in the set-up? No. Maybe the fact that the master carpenter, handyman, plumber, and renovator, was actually highly educated lawyer who never offered any help in what he was trained to do.
  Bad editing, lots of typos, repetitive use of words. Total loss of time. I don’t understand how anybody could give this 4 or 5 stars. What do they read?
• 
  Kim

  This was the type of book I wanted to read (heartwarming, small town, romance, just an easy quick book nothing serious), but it was too poorly written to truly get lost in. The story was pleasant enough but even for a book that's supposed to be fluff, it seemed like an unedited mess. So many of the same little scenes and descriptions repeated over and over (someone hugging their chest, someone leaning on a counter with legs extended, scraping eggs from a pan onto a plate). It felt so repetitive that it was distracting. And the characters developed such intimate relationships so quickly and unbelievably. Penny and Maggie reconciled with seemingly no effort after a lifetime of estrangement. Just not very good overall.
• 
  Morgan

  What a sweet and soothing easy-read for summer!
  
  I’m a big fan of Anne-Marie Meyer and her books. She does a great job of giving real-life details to paint authentic characters and settings. I knew nothing about “The Red Stiletto Book Club” series, but I trust Anne’s writing to take me somewhere scenic and entertaining —I was right! We meet Maggie, Clementine, and a slew of other quirky characters in this first book of the series, “The Magnolia Inn”. I loved the dueling perspectives and sweet premise in the book. Some dialogue felt repetitive and the ending seemed to wrap-up quickly, but I know readers meet the characters again in the series, so I’m sure more will be elaborated in the future.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to more Magnolia Island stories!
• 
  Sherri

  This is an inspirational, romantic, women's fiction about Maggie getting a new start in life after a messy divorce, losing her job and getting evicted. She wants to start her own business and in order to do that she accept a challenge from her mom to renovate a rundown home in Rhode Island to gain the capital for business. Challenge accepted. Magnolia Island, Rhode Island is a quaint little island and the house is the old " Magnolia Inn", the first people she meets are Clementine and Archer, who own the hardware store and have their own family issues.
  This story is well written, and I love the characters. I look forward to the next book.
  I highly recommend this book.