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.

I enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down. I love the characters and how they interact with each other. I also like the mother-daughter relationship and how it is resolved. I also liked learning about historic preservation and house renovations. I highly recommend this book to those who like a good love story but don't want it to be too sweet and sappy.

This book was delightful!

The book follows Mack, a true southern belle who grew up being the perfect daughter for her Mama. Where did it leave her? With a cheating husband whom her mother still desperately wants her to reconcile with, a career that can't escape her mother's control and searching for the identity of her father whom her mother will not reveal.

But she has had it! Now she has the opportunity to make something of her career on her own and a college fling (or more?) returns to the picture.

You will spend the entirety of the story rooting for Mack, grieving with her and falling for her witty daughter.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley!

Southern By Design is an amazing debut from Grace Helena Walz.

I'm a sucker for the southern scenery (and Charleston holds a special place in my heart) so I absolutely loved this. The renovation aspect was a fun premise for this story.

I don't usually love a duel timeline but it worked so well here. This second chance romance is a needed addition to your tbr when its released this February

Southern by Design was a good southern story. Mack is getting settled after a separation. She is continuing her home renovation business, attempting to land a home renovation show that will document their work! Throughout all this she faces a meddlesome mother who strives to control all aspects of Mack’s life. A recognizable face from her past pops up next door, and we see the sparks begging to rekindle. In between learning to stand up for herself and dig into her past, Mack finds out more than she expected. The conclusion of this book gives us answers to everything we needed, and leaves Mack secure in her place.

See my full review at http://michelleardillo.com/2024/11/14/book-review-southern-by-design-by-grace-helena-walz/

Cute southern story. Loved the romance of it and Mack and Magnolia’s relationship is so southern - you can’t help smile picturing their facial expressions. I can’t wait to read the next Grace Helena Walz book. Thanks NetGalley for the Arc!

Mix together a novel about home renovation and the town of Charleston, SC and I am there! This was such an enjoyable read. If you're like me and a huge fan of books by Mary Alice Monroe, Mary Kay Andrews and Kristy Woodson Harvey then I'm sure you will love this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and publisher Harper Collins for this ARC! I look forward to future books from Grace Helena Walz.

Such a refreshing view of the design world in the American South. Based in Charleston USA, interior designer Mack Bishop is on the cusp of a breakthrough in her career. Juggling a seven year old daughter, fresh divorce and an overbearing southern mother makes that breakthrough a little difficult.

I loved the very detailed aspects of interior design of the great old Charleston houses that ran throughout this story. This paired with Mack's past relationship running parallel to the story makes for a cozy and heart-warming story. I loved this story for all of its gorgeous detail and the different relationships of the characters within!

Thank you netgalley and Grace Helena Walz for this heatwarming read.

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

Southern by Design is the perfect I need to get lost in a story kind of book. Southern lit is my absolute favorite and Grace Helena Walz does not disappoint. It’s the perfect mix of southern trauma, southern mama and love in two of South Carolina’s most beautiful cities. The way that this written both in the present and the past is beautifully done. Magnolia, her mother Magnolia and the whole cast of characters are people you want to hang out with and get to know. As Magnolia the daughter navigates her way through her new future the past comes to visit. She has to figure out if the past has any place in her life now. This a must read, cannot put down book. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. These are my own opinions..