The time it was Reading Rewind {12}

Hi guys! Here we are for another episode of Reading Rewind!

When it came to picking this month’s choice, I had an idea of what I wanted to read, but wasn’t entirely sure until it came time to actually start to read.

This month, I chose Magnolia!

I’ve been wanting to reread this one for a while, but never got around to it. Kristi just announced there was going to be a novella/sequel released next month, so it seemed like the perfect excuse.

1. When did you originally read the book and what did you rate it?

I read it in July of 2014 and rated it 4 stars.

2. Why did you love it?

Here is my original review for it:

I do so enjoy books set in the south. There’s something about southern boys and feisty girls that I really enjoy reading. So the idea of a sort of R+J set in the south? Yeah, sign me up.

I really liked Jemma, it was fun being in her head. She’s smart, sassy and an excellent shot with a pistol AND a rifle. Ryder was interesting. It was one of the few times I really liked not being able to see the boy POV. It was delicious how we saw his secrets revealed layer by layer. It definitely made me like him more.

There were some great secondary characters, but I wish we could have seen more of them. I felt like maybe the quantity of the group could have been taken down so we could have gotten more quality.

I loved the ending chapters and the epilogue was perfect. All in all, this was a quick, fun read.

3. After the re-read did your rating/feelings about it change? Why or why not?

I rated the re-read 5 stars, but I still agree with everything in that review.

I did struggle with Jemma a bit more in the beginning.  At times she is quite whiny and I didn’t remember that, but, she is mostly sassy and stands up for herself. I loved her relationship with her parents, especially her father.

The storm brought some delicious tension that I could appreciate and it made for a great conflict in the story.  Plus it was an effective way to get them alone to work out all of their miscommuncations.  I could have happily done with a bit more UST and some longing filled looks from across the room, but now I’m just being greedy.

I think the higher rating was partially in part because it was the perfect read for the mood I was in at the time.

Want details on Reading Rewind? Check the original post!

Have you read Magnolia? What did you think?