I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. While the romance was typical and predictable I found the storyline about the sisters to be excellent.

This up and coming author is one to watch. I’ve read many books from her. This was a wonderful story of love, family and friends.

A nice story to read. The characters were loveable, and they made you mad, and I do recommend this book.

This was a small town love story. It was such an easy and sweet read. I loved the setting and the family ties in this book. The bond between Harper and her sisters was the absolute sweetest, it reminded me of my sisters and I. This was such a wonderful enemies to lovers story, one of my favorite romance tropes! Both characters and very family oriented. They both overcome a ton of obstacles in their path. It was such a great story, and very relatable! I would recommend this one.

The romance itself is pretty standard but still fun. What I really enjoyed was the relationship between the 3 sisters and their dynamics together. As someone who has 3 sisters I connected with their relationships and would like to see more of that going forward

This is the first book by Alys Murray that I have read but I'd definitely be reading her next one! This is a cute story with interesting characters and a good storyline. A little slow to get started but easy to read once it got going. I love the farm setting! Thanks for the chance to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Favorite Quotes:

She yawned, practically tripping down the stairs with half-open eyes, probably following the scent of coffee instead of using her sight like some kind of millennial badger.

Harper noticed something about May she’d never noticed before. It was there in her walk, there in her sitting. She carried herself straight and broken, like she was trying not to disturb an open stab wound right in the center of her back. How had she never noticed before? How had she never taken the time to actually see the pain she’d been carrying around for years now?

One mystery solved. Well, not a mystery, more like a Scooby-Doo cartoon where the true culprit was before them all along.

My Review:

This was my first experience reading the agile and smoothly penned tales of Alys Murray and I have since added more of her books to my TBR. Her relatable characters were uniquely quirky and likable and inhabited storylines that were engaging, easy to follow, and well balanced between humor, family drama, and angst. I would classify the genre of this entertaining story as women’s fiction with a bit of light romance that only went as far as earth-rattling and heart-racing smooching. I was smiling throughout most of this pleasant and amusing tale until the author unfortunately tossed in one of my least favorite tropes near the end which took a bit off the shine, but I would still read it again and look forward to more from this clever storyteller.

A lovely romance set in the beautiful surroundings of a flower farm. I haven’t come across this author before but I really enjoyed her easy writing style that instantly transported me to the flower fields.

The attraction between the two main characters fizzles from the page and the supporting acts of the sisters brings interesting side stories. sibling dynamics has a lot to play here and it makes you consider the story from more than one perspective- it’s not often a story provides this and it certainly made me think.

All in all a great read that was deeper than I expected. A great summer read! 4*

I enjoyed this book and the characters. Was a quick easy read that kept me wanting more. Will be looking for more to read by the author

The Magnolia Sisters by Alys Murray is the first book of the contemporary romance Full Bloom Farm series. Each book of this series will be changing the main characters so each book is a full romance on it’s own and can be read as a standalone. The series will follow the Anderson sisters who work their family’s farm.

Harper Anderson lives and works on her family’s flower farm in Hillsboro County, California and enjoys running the farm with her sisters. Harper is in charge of the physical side of the farm working the fields along with their help. The last thing Harper would ever agree to would be renting out their farm which is exactly what Luke Martin wants to do.

Luke has always been overly protective of his little sister and only wants the best for her after their rough childhood. Luke was a self made millionaire in the tech industry and is willing to pay whatever it takes to get his sister the venue she desires for her wedding but Harper Anderson is just as stubborn as Luke when it comes to protecting their families.

The Magnolia Sisters was a wonderfully sweet enemies to sweethearts love story. Both characters are family first orientated so you can’t help but like them both as their relationship is a slower building one as they overcome plenty of obstacles in their paths. With a wonderful setting on the farm I’ll look forward to meeting the next of the sister in book two of this series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I love this book! I related to all of the characters and really felt like I was in their shoes. I
I’ve the way she developed the main characters. I loved the story line and couldn’t put this book down! I loved Alys’ style of writing. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a summer read!

The Magnolia Sisters by Alys Murray is a sweet book that will have you smiling. I love each character and the farm setting. The story held my interest from the first page to the last. The writing is well done. The character are developed and the farm is like an additional character. I really enjoyed this book.

A very sweet, compelling read. I loved Luke and Harper's chemistry. Can't wait to read more from Ms. Murray.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Magnolia Sisters by Alys Murray
Source: NetGalley and Bookouture
Rating: 4/5 stars

The Anderson sisters have been tied to their family farm since birth. They are as close to one another as they are to their parents. The sisters delight in the work they do, and each brings her own unique skill set to their work. Harper is the tender of the fields and flowers, while her sisters run a flower shop and gift shop in town. The Anderson sisters work hard and sleep well each night knowing they are bringing light and beauty into the world through their efforts and hard work.

Unfortunately, the hard work isn’t quite paying the bills the same way it used to, and the family farm is in something of a financial mess. Of the three sisters, Harper is taking the news the hardest and desperately looking for income outlets that she hasn’t previously found. Her farm and her flowers are everything and saving them is of the utmost importance.

As Harper is trying to suss out new sources of income, Luke Martin is in town to help his sister pull together the perfect wedding. Since he was a teenager, Luke has looked after his younger sister. Though she is now a successful adult in her own right, Luke is still entwined in her life and constantly on the lookout for things that will make her happy or her life a bit easier. When his sister discovers the Andersons’ field of flowers, she has to have it for her wedding no matter the cost.

Harper and Luke are like oil and water from the moment they meet. Harper sees Luke as entitled and selfish while Luke sees Harper as entrancing, exhilarating, exciting, and exhausting woman he has ever met. Hell is going to freeze over before Harper is going to subject her fields of flowers to a wedding, and Luke has got to come up with a plan to change Harper’s mind. Unfortunately, the only plan Luke can come up with is going to work for the farm and having Harper as his boss.

Hours into his new job, Luke is in pain – new boots! – but has no intention of giving up or giving in to Harper’s heinous to-do list. If he’s going to help his sister, he’ll have to tough it out no matter what. As his second day on the farm dawns, Luke is in even more pain, but Harper doesn’t seem to be quite so spicy. In fact, from time to time, Harper even seems to be nice. As the days pass and Harper and Luke get to know one another, their relationship deepens into something neither expected. What’s more, Luke’s sister has become a huge part of the Anderson clan, a great and unexpected surprise to all.

As Harper and Luke are seemingly growing closer by the day, each is grateful for the budding relationship, but also wary. Harper has, historically, not been the dating or getting attached type and Luke has a bit of a secret he doesn’t quite know how to break to Harper. It she can’t get over his issues and his secret comes out in the wrong way, the blossoming relationship is going with wither and die before it ever really has a chance to grow. WOW!! Did you see all those puns in there? 😊

The Bottom Line: I’m a bit disappointed in the Goodreads star rating for this book. I feel like The Magnolia Sisters is something of an underrated little gem. I found all the characters to be quite likeable and easy to root for, the setting to be lush and beautifully described, and the story itself to be entertaining with just the right amount of drama, not too much and not too little. The author’s writing style is smooth and easy and with two more sisters, there is the promise of more books to come. I’m totally on board with that plan, especially if Luke, Harper, and Luke’s wonderfully delightful sister make guest appearances.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley and the Publisher, and this is my fair and honest review.

The Magnolia Sisters by Alys Murray was a very sweet read. This was my first book by this author and I found it to be well written, and I really enjoyed the chemistry between Harper and Luke. The story is full of family loyalties and misconceptions that take awhile to work through but it was certainly worth it in the end. I would definitely recommend this book to those that enjoy a good clean romantic read.

This is such a sweet book with such a perfect setting. I think the setting is quite possibly the biggest character in this book, and that is just absolutely perfect. Every description makes me wish I could teleport to the farm and see all of the flowers in person. It just sounds amazing.

Outside of the farm, there is a fantastic cast of characters here. Everyone is so well-written and so vibrant, they all really jump off the page and you feel like you know them.

This is perfect summer romance that is sure to make a lot of people very happy.

I’m not someone who typically leans towards either romance as a genre when I read, mostly because I prefer the TV shows and movies flooding my Netflix recommendations to, say, an actual book, but I always make an exception when it comes to Alys Murray.

I read Alys’ debut novel in the first year that I was on Netgalley and fell in love with the way she wrote and her characters. Yes, it was a little cheesy and romcom-y, but in the BEST way possible! Since, I’ve always kept an eye out for new books from Alys and I love reading the new worlds and stories she creates in her books. The Magnolia Sisters is no different.

This novel follows our main characters Harper Anderson and Luke Martin- a spunky manager of a flower farm in Northern California and an ambitious multi-millionaire from Los Angeles - as they go from being enemies to unlikely friends to one of the cutest couples EVER! The story has a relatively common structure- they meet, they fight, then they stop fighting, then they fight A LOT, then they get together and live happily ever after (THERE WAS EVEN AN AIRPORT SCENE I SWOONED!) <3

I had a little trouble getting into the novel fully in the first quarter, not gonna lie. The story was a little stumbly, and the writing wasn’t as smooth, but then it got exponentially better as I read on! The characters were all so easy to love - except May. I DO NOT like May. I have a feeling she’s going to be the protagonist in the next book, but we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. I care a lot for Harper and, surprisingly enough, Annie Martin, Luke’s sister. Save for a few moments here and there, the characters managed to have a very distinctive voice, which is a very important thing when you have dual perspectives in a novel, and not a solid differentiation between the two.

The thing I loved the most about The Magnolia Sisters is the portrayal of family values and relationships. We don’t see this in the kind of contemporary romance that I usually read, and it really was quite sweet to see the beautifully imperfect dynamics in between the siblings, and the parents and the daughters, and all that jazz. I also adored the friendship between Harper and Annie- it felt so….organically developed that I was rooting for them to be besties about halfway through! Also, I ship Rose and Annie hard. WE NEED SOME SAPPHIC SHIT ALYS PUT IT IN!!

All in all, this was a super light, feel-good, fun read and I’d definitely recommend if you’re looking to have a good time, especially now with all the...you know.

I’m so grateful to Netgalley and Bookouture for this review copy! All the opinions are my own!

PS: THERE ARE SO MANY FLOWERS IN THIS BOOK, IT’S CUTE AS FUCK OKAY READ IT!

I love sweet small town love stories. In this one really hit the spot it includes everything family, friendship and best of all flowers. A wonderfully feel-good book set in a small town where Harper Works alongside with her sisters on their family flower farm. When a stranger, Luke, blows into town he wants to give his little sister the perfect wedding and of course, he and Harper immediately Clash.

This was a quick fun read for me. It had excellent setting and wonderfully developed characters comic characters that have a strong family bond. I love the friendship that develops between Luke's sister Annie and Harper. Annie was a sweet person with an overbearing brother, but all things ended well. I'm hoping that this develops into a series as I would love to see more interplay between the characters and some separate storylines for a Harper's sisters. This book was wonderfully charming and left me with an overall feel good quality.I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow! Ms. Murray is a new to me Author, and I am so glad I found her. Her writting style is amazing and full of life. I truly felt as if I could picture the scenes and smell the flowers. This would make an amazing movie. I cannot wait for more books by this author!
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to express my honest opinion of this wonderful story.

I really thought I would enjoy this book more than I did. It was sweet, but extremely predictable. Everything was clichéd. If you're looking for a straight-romance with nothing else to the story, you'll probably love this. If you prefer a story with more substance, don't pick this one up.