This was an intriguing idea a novel. I enjoyed the creativity of the storyline which was interlaced with the love of family and adoption advocation. I was a bit annoyed about all of the stereotypes that Jacey held toward authentic Christianity and preachers in general. I did not love this book but would still reccommend it to others.

Celeste Fletcher McHale is a new to me author and she has written a book that deserves to be savored. It needs to be read slowly and carefully so that each word can sink into the reader and take hold. This is not just a compelling story line, it is enrapturing!

Jacey is a journalist writing about impoverished people in the deep South. She gets caught in a flood and ends up on a roof with Lillian, her four boys, and Colin, waiting for rescue. When the first boat comes by, Jacey, Lillian, and the boys get in and before they get too far, their boat is hit by another. The currents of the flood waters are strong enough that Lillian's baby boy is ripped from Jacey's hands and Lillian is also pulled out of the boat.

A year later, Jacey encounters Colin as the minister who is performing the wedding ceremony of her best friend, Willow. Jacey has scattered memories from the flood and Colin holds the key to some of the memories. She keeps having dreams that rattle her sense of stability, but when the final key unlocks the last of the memories, Jacey runs to Colin for comfort. Colin tells her he thinks he's falling in love with her and then backpedals so fast, she gets whiplash. To soothe her hurting soul, she thinks of the boys and she goes to Biloxi, Mississippi, to see if she can find them.

Several items remotely related to this book:
A. I am glad it is not a scratch and sniff book. There are many scents and perfumes that give me migraines, and magnolias are one of them.
B. There is a scene with a vague reference to sex and it is pre-marriage.
C. Everybody needs a Miss Ernestine in their life, and NO one needs a Miss Penny.
D. I have a friend who is just as outrageous as Grace and I love her dearly.

This is a great book for people who love happy endings, it's got the best happy ending of them all. Celeste knows how to get the best out of her characters and settings. This is a five star book with two thumbs up, and a branch of magnolia blossoms.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book.

A thoroughly well written story of love and friendship. This book has a good plot and well developed characters. I was laughing one minute and crying the next. Couldn't quit reading this book. I recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book. A man and a woman find something (love?) during three days spent on a roof after a flood. For Jacey and Colin, that was a year ago and they haven't seen each other since despite their promises to get in touch after everything was normal again.

The story of what happened during that year to each of them was emotional, sad and perplexing for at least one of the couple. The other one left in a coma with amnesia, but they remembered they had the other's number. Which unfortunately got lost in the shuffle.

The story continues on placing this couple together and apart and then over again. There are other plots going on also. Such as what happened to the mother and her three boys that were also on the roof.

A great love story between all of the characters who just happened to be on that roof for three days together during the flood with storms, thunder and lightning. A story that I thoroughly enjoyed and would most certainly recommend.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson-Fiction and Net Galley for approving and allowing me to read and review this book.

What a sweet story...this novel captured my attention from its cover....however, this story line captivated my reading senses. Thank you for sharing it w/ me....I have recommended it to all of my reading friends.

I had never heard of this author before, but loving the South as I do, I thought I'd give it a shot. This was a good read, but predictable. There were a couple times where I was surprised at the liberties taken with things that were said by a pastor. But all in all it was an enjoyable read and I'd recommend it to friends interested in sweet southern romance.

The Sweet Smell of Magnolias and Memories is a lighthearted tale of friendship, misunderstandings, and missed chances.

Jacey Lang spent three terrifying days atop a roof during a terrible storm. She shared that experience with a young family and (possibly) the man of her dreams. But a traumatic accident during their rescue left Jacey with scattered memories and no way to reconnect with Colin. One year later Jacey accidentally finds Colin again - at the end of the isle at her best friend's wedding, as the preacher. Uncertain what the future holds for them, Jacey must deal with her returning memories about the accident and the fate of the young family, while Colin comes to terms with his family's past.

This is the first book I have read by Celeste Fletcher McHale. I thought the synopsis sounded fantastic and I was excited to read this women's contemporary novel. Unfortunately, it wasn't a perfect fit for me. I like my contemporary novels to have a bit more depth. TSSoMaM had all the right ingredients - a traumatic incident, lost memories, lost chance at love, and children who have lost their parents and desperately need a home. Unfortunately, I thought that too much time was spent on ridiculous missed chances, far better suited to a soap opera or clichéd chick flick (in my opinion) and not enough time developing the romance or more serious issues. There were also a number of topics that were raised and then quickly brushed over. Everything felt a little too shallow or convenient and I would have much rather the author dig a little deeper into these issues. One example of this is Jacey's initial response to Colin being a minister. Yet once many closed-minded jokes and statements are made the subject is barely raised again, never mind that Colin's ministry seems to have been completely forgotten (even by Colin) by the end of the book.

There are many vibrant characters in this book, perhaps most notably Jacey's best friend Georgia. The two spend much time teasing, provoking, and protecting each other, and generally carrying on. This book certainly promotes friendship, and the shared humour and support of best friends.

Unfortunately, the romance was another aspect that I didn't like in this book. Jacey and Colin meet, spend three days together, reconnect a year later, meet up a few times and then fall suddenly in love, followed by a number of misunderstandings. Without flashbacks to their time on the roof during the storm, the reader is left with the few times they connect and the many, many times they are sending mixed messages or lying to each other, and that wasn't enough to convince me the feelings they so quickly developed were real.

I liked the sections where Colin reevaluated his life and restored his relationship with his parents. However, Jacey and I didn't get along at all. She seemed to spend a lot of time flying off the handle, making assumptions, and acting like a hypocritical, silly child. I did like the parts of the story about Jacey reconnecting with the young boys she met during the storm, though.

While this book wasn't a good fit for me, there is no reason why another reader won't love this story of friendship, family, and second (and third and fourth) chances at love.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

This is a fantastic book by Celeste Fletcher McHale about love and family and friendship. It's full of fantastic characters who will make you laugh and very possibly cause you to shed a few tears. I loved it and thank netgalley for a copy to read and review.

Jacey is a writer who was working on a story and made a bad decision to drive through a flooded area in the road during a downpour. Her car ended up in the river and she barely survived by spending three days on a roof with a mother and her four children and Colin. She and Colin formed an immediate bond and agreed to get in touch with each other after being rescued but after a year, they still haven't found each other. Jacey is struggling with PTSD as a result of almost dying in the flood and doesn't remember some important parts of the rescue. When she does find Colin again, it causes her to remember the rest of what happened and she is devastated by her memories. Colin is fighting his own demons with his problems with his parents. Can they both overcome the problems in their lives and end up together? This is quite a story with lots of ups and downs and several big surprises.

I loved the characters of Jacey and Colin and the fact that they were very real in their struggles to live their lives. One of my favorite characters in this book was Jacey's best friend, Georgia, who always had a snarky remark for every situation and tried to appear very happy to the world even though she too was hiding a lot of pain. Read this book - you are going to love it.

Jacey and Colin found themselves stranded on a rooftop during a flood.  Rescued, Jacey along with Lily and her four children experience a second trauma on their way to the emergency center.  It takes Jacey a year to recover and that is where the story begins.  PTSD plagues Jacey as she tries to put back her memory of all the events.  Colin, too, was later rescued.  His experience drew him closer to helping out others, but he ignores the requests of his parents to mend things at home.
Once Jacey’s memory begins to return and sort itself out, she is on a quest to right the sadness of the past year.  Circumstances for Colin explode as well and he needs to set things straight, too.