Sweet Magnolia: A Novel

Like the smell of sweet magnolias, reading one chapter just wasn't enough. Summer and Misa are sisters who have seen their share of pain. How they deal with the pain is like night and day. One sister sees life through rose colored glasses, while the other likes to chase away the bad things with living a fast life. Both learn that they must learn to trust God in all areas of their lives. The main setting is New Orleans. Jarrett's descriptions make you feel as if you're right there with the characters. This is one book I highly recommend.

This second masterpiece by Norma Jarrett - is Norma on a whole new level - this is Norma depicting another layer of her intense talent - It takes an extremely talented writer of profound creativity to do what Norma has done with this piece of work...she has shown between her two books, Sunday Brunch and Sweet Magnolia, that she is vast in depth and skill level; therefore not limited in her writing sytle and audience. If Norma is still growing as a writer (which I'm sure she is as she should be) then, my, my I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for her next release!

Using the rich culture of New Orleans as a backdrop, SWEET MAGNOLIA dives into a story about a well-to-do family who has lived their lives shrouded in deep generational secrets. The Ledouxes have lived on Magnolia Lane among the elite for many years. Their family secrets have been kept silent mostly by the resilient efforts of the family matriarch, Hannah, who is now dead. A wedding is about to take place that will bring the family together again with an opportunity to right some misunderstandings as they air a little dirty laundry and provide room for some serious spiritual healing. After Summer's wedding to the man of her dreams, her super model sister, Misa, decides to move closer to home. Although the two sisters dance around one another, it easy to see that they both share something in common that is festering within their souls and eating away at their hearts. While Summer turns to God to help her with her emotional issues, Misa turns to alcohol and men. Unfortunately, an argument and an accident one dark, rainy night will be the spark that finishes unraveling years of secrets and misunderstandings. Norma L. Jarrett has an eloquently written book about a family in crisis as they work through some very tough issues and toward reconciliation and forgiveness. Years of miscommunication have fostered mistrust, resentment and shame among the Ledouxes. Jarrett closes in on mental illness, giving it a very distinctive flavor that lends itself to open discussions on this often taboo subject. She uses original characters, heart-wrenching dialogue and a splash of humor to focus on how sweet life really was on Magnolia Lane. Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I absolutely loved this book! I saw an article written about Sweet Magnolia in Essence magazine, as part of the Essence book club. This book is very captivating and it has so many references to God, that you will be so inspired when you read it. There are many great bible scriptures in this book as well. I would recommend this book to anyone and I commend the author on a job well done!

I read the first book "Sunday Brunch" and I loved it. This book was also great. I read a lot of romance and "Christian Fiction" This one is at the top of my list. It was not judgmental or overly preachy. It was humorous and a fun read. I will recommend this one to my friends