Look at how pretty the cover is!! This is what drew me in!

I loved every second I've spent with this book - such a cute story! Mack is a great character. Her mom is a whole another story - quite difficult!

Thank you Netgalley!

Southern by Design
by Grace Helena Walz
Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Sweet Magnolias meets Fixer Upper in this delightfully refreshing debut about a woman bravely chasing her dreams, building a life on her own terms, and maybe even discovering a second chance at love.
I absolutely loved this debut! Pick this one up if you like books by Kristy Woodson Harvey, Annabel Monaghan and Colleen Oakley.

Really enjoyed this one! Loved the Charleston backdrop, the renovation talk and the character arcs. Can’t wait to read more by this author! Thank you NetGalley!

Listen, the home improvement and southern hospitality vibes of this book are *chef’s kiss* and I could totally see this being on screen some day! I loved following Mack’s story and her overcoming the “over bearing” mother at her side. Also the guy moves in next door? I love this trope. Overall, this was a slower start novel but an easy read and if you love HGTV this is for you!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I fell in love with this book: first for the cover, second for the setting - in Charleston, and third - the array of characters. I love cozy mysteries that include home renovations so this one was up my alley. I liked the main character, Mack, and her friend Fitz - likeable and relatable characters. This book was an easy read, with lots of red herrings, and many suspects which kept me guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I cannot wait to read #2 in this series!

I love books with Charleston as the setting and couldn't wait to read this! Mack or Magnolia is a home renovator in the Holy City and is going through a divorce while also facing some challenges in her work life. I thought this was a sweet story with low stakes, but needed a bit more to move the plot along. Overall, it was a nice story to immerse myself in Charleston culture and follow Mack's story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was great! If you love anything home renovation, southern hospitality, and sweet romances, you will love this book.

Like is good when you’re an incredible designer in this southern city. Now Mack’s marriage is ending after 20 years and she’s trying to find her way on a new, better path. There are problems along the way but she’s determined. It there a new relationship in her future. Tune in to find out!

This book was great! It had very good storytelling in it and I really enjoyed the jump between past and present!

I was not the biggest fan of this book. I found it went into too much detail about her business. A story about a controlling mother who she is desperately trying to get out from under.

This book pulled me out of a reading slump. I love all things house renovation and this book had that. Plus it had characters I liked and characters that made me roll my eyes.

This book was easy to read. I liked the main character, Mack, and her friend Fitz. They had good chemistry and I liked how it came to life in the pages of the story. Magnolia was frustrating but that's good because she was supposed to be. I love it when an author can write characters you love and dislike in the same book. It shows their ability as a writer.

I've never been to Charleston and really want to go. I felt like I was there in this story though and it increased my interest in going. I could feel the heat and humidity and could easily imagine myself there.

I liked the way the story was told in a present and past format. It added to the story and I felt like I got to know the characters better that way.

This is a book I would definitely recommend and an author I would love to read more of. This book was a quick, easy and entertaining read. One for the keeper shelf!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've never read anything by this author before, but now she'll be in reading rotation for sure. I loved this book. It was a bit slow, but that's what I kind of liked about it. I could put it down and still come back to it and get right back into the story. I love the Charleston element with the home improvement and southernisms. I also have a daughter named Hallie so it just fit! It was just a good slow burn kind of book and that's what I apparently needed right now. I would definitely recommend it especially if you like home improvement type shows and books.

A young mother is trying to break free in the renovation world from her mother, while the one who got away years ago just moved in next door.

This was a sweet, lighthearted drama centered around a home designer in Charleston. the positives were an inner look at Southern family dynamics, and the last 15% or so became dramatic and interesting.

However, the rest of this wasn't my cup of tea. I know I'm an outlier here, but I could not get into this story and skimmed a lot. I'm not sure I ever figured out the plot. It started a bit confusing, with someone, who turns out to be the protagonist's mother, smashing a lot of china, and then goes back in time to explain how they got there. Besides that, there's also a dual timeline. But we know exactly what happened in the early timeline, so I didn't feel like it added anything.

In what it calls the present timeline, Mack is getting divorced and trying to build up her design business. I don't want to give spoilers, but there's a potential love interest. The main drama is meant to be how Mack gets out from under her mother's strong thumb, but to be honest Mack seemed quite weak in how easily she let her mother dominate her. Even at the end, which was pretty good, it's less about her learning to stand up for herself and more about how external factors influence the storyline. And her mother's evolving was quick and unconvincing.

There is a lot of time spent on explaining Mack's design process, adding heavy layers to what could have been a much shorter story.

Maybe people who live in the South will identify with this and like it better?

I rate this 2.5, but I'll round it up to three because the writing itself was fine, and I would be interested to see what happens next for this debut author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grace Helena Walz, and Harper Muse for an advanced copy for review.

This is a delightful story full of southern charm and drama, with a little HGTV thrown in to add to the fun. Mack and her coworkers interact the way we all wish for in real life. There is family drama from start to finish that is so very overbearing southern momma!. No spoilers from me other than to say the resolutions are both believable and satisfying. I can see this becoming a Netflix original. Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for the e-arc for my honest review.

4.5,stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut! Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorites, and this had some MKA vibes, with a voice all its own!
Southern setting??✅
Meddling Southern Mama? ✅
Home remodeling/decor? ✅
Fabulous best friend? ✅
Reality TV? ✅
Second chance ❤️? ✅
HEA? ✅

I will gladly read more books by this author! A perfect beach read! I see a visit to Charleston in my near future! ❤️

Thank you Harper Muse and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for an honest review!

Southern By Design is the story of Magnolia “Mack” Bishop, an interior designer in Charleston South Carolina. Her personal and professional life are in turmoil, and she faces a huge turning point in her life as she finalizes a divorce with her husband and starts a huge preservation projection on the Daniel House.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately I did not. The cover is beautiful, and the setting is amazing in real life but not well developed in the story. The main character was not relatable and came off as whiny and privileged. I had to push myself to read it.

Thank you to Harper Collins Focus for providing me with a copy of this book through Net Gallery for my review. All opinions are my own.

Magnolia “Mack” Bishop has worked hard to be the designer she has always wanted to be. Now she feels her professional and personal life are right where she wants them. But her husband has been cheating and Mack becomes a single mother. Magnolia Sr., her mother, gives Mack a chance at a lead on preservation of an old house, The Daniel House. However, with Magnolia Sr. there is always strings attached and it is to control Mack and her life. Just when Mack has her professional life going, her first love fifteen years earlier, Lincoln Kelly moves next door to her with a son her daughter’s age.

The last 20% of the book was good. Before that it was not concise. The story never really went anywhere. I kept wanting clues to where the story was going. There was a lot of explaining about the renovations which was way too much of the story. I lost interest. I ended up skipping a lot. Magnolia’s controlling became too much. The characters where flat throughout the book. Magnolia Sr was the only one that changed only at the end. This book did not keep my interest.

Thank you for the ARC from NetGalley and Harper Muse.

I absolutely wanted to read this book based on the beautiful cover. The story was very enjoyable and I could related to Mack a little bit.

The first chapter to me was chaotic and we met too many characters at once. Once I got past that I enjoyed the book more. The story jumps between past and present.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.