This book detailed a small town with lingering grudges and a protagonist trying to find herself.
I definitely recommend you read the previous book for reading this one to fully appreciate the story.
The book was a bit slow going, but was very satisfactory.

I was very excited to read this new book by this author. This is the second book I’ve read from her, and it’s very reminiscent of another favorite Sarah Addison Allen.
It started out a bit slow, but I love the small town Southern feel, and authors descriptions!
With magic, romance, and a great message about a community coming together, I would recommend this book!

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber intermingles magic and reality in the small town of Buttonwood, Alabama. It's told through the eyes of Blue and Sarah Grace, and the relationship between their families, with an unexpected twist at the end. I enjoy the way Heather Webber mixes reality and magic and messy family relationships.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this book, it's a perfect summer read.

"I was a Bishop...My family was practically synonymous with the word trouble...Why hadn't they fought harder to stay out of trouble? Why hadn't they made different choices? Why had they left me alone to deal with the fallout of their behavior? Left me alone to raise Persy...Bishop black sheep, both of us". Thanks to Marlo and Moe Allemand, our surrogate grandparents, we spent quality time at the "Rabbit Hole", the bookstore owned by the Allemands. Marlo would say, "Stand in your own light, Blue Bishop...but...my light had been dimmed by the bad choices others had made".

"Buttonwood [Alabama] was a small yet thriving community. Tight-knit with a long memory. A very long, judgmental memory". The Buttonwood Tree was situated at the halfway point on the trail that curved around the town. According to local legend, the Buttonwood Tree was a sycamore tree growing from the transformation of a grief stricken woman. "The Buttonwood Tree grew strong, fertilized by her broken heart...While the Buttonwood's buttons were made of wood, what was written on them was set in stone...the tree's buttons had counseled many...To defy the tree's guidance was to bring on everlasting unhappiness".

According to Blue Bishop, "The wind always led me to the lost...how it pushed and pulled...How without fail, it called to me every morning to walk the Buttonwood trail...to lead me to something that was lost...I am still searching for the lost thing with no name". One day, a cry in the woods. "I sprinted due south of the Buttonwood tree, to a basket...a baby...In the basket-a tree button with an etched message, 'Give the baby to Blue Bishop'."

Sarah Grace Landreneau was a house whisperer. She could hear houses. "...houses were the best secret keepers...". Sarah Grace ran a company called "Sweet Home". She located, bought and rehabbed houses. She was bound and determined to buy the farmhouse passed down to Blue. "Sarah Grace, you need this house, more than it needs you. There's a lot to be learned here once you start peeling back layers...". A grudge had been passed down for generations ever since Daddy Bishop won the Landreneau house in a card game. Daddy had cheated! Sarah Grace's mother was outraged. Don't buy this house! She demanded perfection from her only child. "Do better. Be better".

A search was underway, an active police investigation into who had abandoned "Flora". Blue, until now, had avoided conflict choosing to escape into a fictional world by choosing a career as a children's picture book author and illustrator. "But...I would fight for Flora if I had to." Oh, the tangled web we weave. Town secrets were about to be unmasked. Can love, kindness and forgiveness be the new normal?

"South of the Buttonwood Tree" by Heather Webber is a magical story of a small town where judgmental behavior as well as keeping up appearances are challenged in the attempt to unravel a mystery. Who is Flora's mother? A captivating tome I highly recommend.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is Heather Webber’s second book. I enjoyed her first book and gave it to several friends to read. South of the Buttonwood Tree was better than the first. The main character is Blue, who finds a newborn baby abandoned at the base of a special, possibly magical tree. She takes the baby home, and old feuds are reopen. This book is about finding yourself and loving who you are as well as the power of healing old wounds. It is so beautifully written I did not want it to end. I can hardly wait to share copies of this with my friends.

It took a while to get really invested in this book, it took off in a slow but steady pace. That way, the reader can get to know the characters better. And what characters they are! In the end I belief I loved them all, and I'd have loved to sit at that Thanksgiving dinner with them.

South of the Buttonwood Tree is filled with love, companionship, and it shows wonderfully how it always takes a village to bring up a child - even when we do not realize this, and think we do not belong, we do.

It is the kind of book that is easy to let meander into cliché's and what we expect it to be. That I have sat, reading, sighing 'ooooooooh!' because I at once saw the turn the story took, without realizing it would until just before it did, says a lot of the masterful skill with which it is woven.

South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber is a charming tale intermingling magic and reality that is set in the fictional small town of Buttonwood, Alabama. Through the eyes of Blue Bishop and Sarah Grace Landreneau Fulton we experience the joys and the struggles of living in a small town. This story will tug at your heartstrings, having you cheering Blue and Sarah Grace on, and keep you reading way too late into the night. I absolutely loved this book and have my fingers crossed that there will be a sequel.

Man, I loved this book. It surprised the heck out of me since I'm usually not one to enjoy sugar-sweet magic stories, but South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber was just so darn charming and honest and well-written, I couldn't help but love it - and give it a resounding 5-stars.

The story really has three main characters, Blue Bishop, Sara Grace Landreneau, and the Buttonwood Tree. Blue comes from a long line of wrong-side-of-the-tracks misfits and and misunderstood criminals, and has worked hard to rid herself of that taint. She's a believer in magic and love and family, an artist and a finder of lost things. Sara Grace is the town's Golden girl, and the shining star of the town's most perfect family - or so they'd like folks to believe. And then there's the tree. A magic tree that offers guidance and encouragement, but also curses those who refuse to accept it's wisdom.

One day as she's walking past the tree, Blue finds a newborn baby along with a button from the tree that says, "Give the baby to Blue", and thus this wonderful story begins to unfold. And what an unfolding! There's romance and mystery, family secrets and incredible changes of heart. And magic, not the abracadabra kind of magic, and not the boiling cauldron magic, but the magic that happens when people open their hearts to love and family, to forgiveness and unexpected outcomes.

Technically, South of the Buttonwood Tree is just beautifully and deeply written from start to finish.

"It was the kind of day in Buttonwood, Alabama, where trouble slipped into town with the breeze, jarring awake sleepy springtime leads on the massive oaks and sly-high hickories. It scraped parched dirt, sending dust skittering along the road like it was running for cover. It whistled its warning, plain as day to anyone who cared to listen."

Good stuff.

And it's not just the prose, but also the characterizations which are thoughtful, complete and consistent. The author has done a wonderful job of growing these folks - even those who play seemingly minor roles in the unraveling of the storylines - and bringing them all to new places that satisfy both the needs of the intricately crafted storyline and the hopes of the reader.

South of the Buttonwood Tree is the perfect soft read for those times when life feels a bit too hard. It is a book I'll be both recommending and gifting for a good long while.

This review is based on an advance copy read.

Magical realism astounds in South Of The Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber.

In a small Alabama town, a tall tale tells those who reside in Buttonwood can ask the ancient sycamore tree one question a year. The tree will then respond with a button showing the questioner how they should proceed. To go against its advice is to incite a curse of unhappiness.

Blue Bishop comes from the wrong side of the tracks. The Bishops are known for getting into trouble, but Blue also has a knack for finding things, thanks to the persistent wind. She finds herself embroiled in a twisting history of familial lineage when she finds an abandoned child near the tree.

Webber comments on long-standing grudges based on hearsay regarding reputations in the most pleasing, natural sort of fashion. What works for small towns might not be present in big city environs, but this is why the classic small town is both utterly charming and suffocating. Naturally, Buttonwood is ultimately appealing, and the characters within are ones you'd love to have on your friendship list.

Reminiscent of Sarah Addison Allen, Webber does well to infuse the world with magic that she claims is innate in the south. It's easy to agree with her, though South Of The Buttonwood Tree lacks some of Webber's previous literary prowess.

Abundant in charm, kissed with contemporary romance and a maze of a mystery, South Of The Buttonwood Tree is successful in making it a comfortable, sweet romantic read perfect for a beach vacation.

Blue is known for finding what is lost. He can’t explain it, the wind just tells her there is something to find. How did it know how badly she was trying to spot a baby when it led her to a sweet newborn left in the woods? Next to the child was a chip from the buttonwood tree, saying to give the baby to Blue. As the town comes to grips with the missing child people join one of two sides. The side that believes the child should stay with Blue, and the side that holds Blue’s families troubles against her.

This book was overall a truly beautiful story about healing. Healing from the pain of others scorn, healing from unlovable family members, and healing from our own personal self worth. I loved almost all of the characters by the end of the book, even if I hated them at times during. Blue was such an amazing soul and I adored her story, especially when told through the eyes of the others in town. This was a heartwarming book of life, loss, grief, healing, and overall love.

Thank you to forge books for my gifted copy of this book!

Blue Bishop always finds things. But this time, she finds a baby near the Buttonwood Tree. Sarah Grace has a lot of secret and she tries not to let down her mother even if that means she can't find happiness. In this book, infused with magic from the south, the past will finally catch up and secrets will be uncover.
As with every book from Heather Webber, I really enjoyed it. The women are relatable and are flawed but strong and will do everything to protect the one they love.

I like magical realism, and that aspect of this book was really interesting. However, I did find it hard to connect with the characters. I think that might just be me though, and maybe this particular plot line was just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to netgalley and heather Webber for letting me read this one.

Words cannot even begin to describe the beauty of this story. So many emotions, you will feel them all before the end of the story. There is something so real about this story, these characters, even with the touch of magic added in, it just really seems to make everything that much more real. This is a story that will stand the test of time, every last enchanting word.

This would make THE BEST Lifetime movie, and sometimes that's just really what I'm in the mood to read, you know?

Focused on the various family dynamics (especially found family, which is my favorite). Also a little romance and magical realism woven in.

You could feel the south oozing through the pages. I could tell from the get go that this book had me hooked—I realized I was reading in a Southern drawl. So fun. A charming story that ends happily and makes a person feel like they lived in a different life for awhile. I give thanks to Net Galley for the Free ARC. In return I’ve provided an honest review.

"It doesn't sound strange to me at all. It sounds normal. This is the South after all where there's always a touch of magic in the air."

This adorable story is full of Southern charm, deep rooted family secrets, a little romance and an enticing mix of magical realism.USA Today bestselling author Heather Webber's South of the Buttonwood Tree is a touching story about love and the importance of family.

The small town of Buttonwood, Alabama is full of secrets that threaten to get exposed when a baby is found in the woods near the legendary Buttonwood Tree. Blue Bishop, a local children’s book author takes the baby in as the town works to uncover who the baby’s mother is. Sarah Grace crosses paths with Blue and the baby as she works on purchasing an old farmhouse from Blue. As the story unfolds, deeply held secrets will come to light, and the entire town will discover the importance of love and family.

I loved this book so much! It's a fast paced, emotional read full of important reminders about love and family. I fell in love with the cute, Southern charm characters. This is a book I will recommend over and over for years to come!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Forge and Heather Webber for the advanced copy of South of the Buttonwood Tree in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! It caught hold of me from the very beginning and held my interest to the feel good end. It is a quick and easy read that actually places the reader in the story (I love stories like that). I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I will be keeping my eye out for more titles from this writer.

I loved this book. This is such a cozy, warm book. It just makes you feel good reading it.
In small town Buttonwood, Alabama having the Bishop last name spells trouble. Blue Bishop longs to leave Buttonwood and her family's past behind. She also longs to be a mother. Finding a newborn in the woods will change her life forever and leads to many of the towns secrets being uncovered.
This book has two of my favorites in a story. Magical realism and Southern fiction. Combined they make a truly magical read. I can't wait to read the next book from Heather Webber.

This story weaves its way into the readers heart from the very first page. Blue and Sarah Grace are at the center of this enchanting story. Both women grew up in Buttonwood, Alabama yet they had two very different experiences. Blue carries the weight of her family's questionable reputation, while Sarah Grace bears the burden of trying to live up to the perfect picture her family expects. I love the way this story artfully examines the circle of family from the inside-out. What the town sees isn't necessarily the whole picture. Secrets are revealed and change the course for these two women unexpected ways. I highly recommend this story that is filled with an abundance of magical realism.

Heather Webber just became an 'auto buy' author for me. I absolutely loved Midnight at the Blackbird Café and South of the Buttonwood Tree cemented her place on my favorites list.

Local legend has it if you ask the Buttonwood Tree a question, a small disc of wood with your answer will appear in the knothole of the tree.

Blue Bishop is a finder of lost things....and on this particular day, she finds an abandoned infant at the base of the tree. A wooden disc in the folds of the baby's blankets reads, "Give the baby to Blue Bishop."

I'm not a fantasy reader, not into world building as a rule, but I do enjoy a bit of magical realism, especially when its a thread within a larger plot. This author strikes the right balance in my opinion.

The investigation of who abandoned the baby, who Blue names Flora, begins to unravel all the long held secrets between the Cabot and Bishop families. Saying more may reveal too much of the plot and I want you to enjoy the unfolding as I did.

South of the Buttonwood Tree is a beautiful story of family, found family, family secrets, the pressure of 'keeping up appearances' and most importantly the life altering power of love and forgiveness.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Heather Webber and Forge for the complimentary digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.