Review: Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Max

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 432

Source: Personal Ebook

Rating: 5/5

Vivian knows what a good “Southern” woman should do in certain circumstances, but now she’s living in New York and does as she pleases. Vivian works as a journalist and will go above and beyond to get the story she wants, her boyfriend may be across the world but he’s a foreign correspondent and she supports him in his career. When her own career takes an unexpected turn, Vivian finds herself with an embarrassing wound, caught on camera and uploaded to Youtube. Vivian’s life begins to unravel rather quickly. She’s horrified to find that someone has been hired to assist her at work, and Vivian is well aware that she is being pushed out for a younger, “fresher” perspective. Instead of waiting for be fired and training her replacement, she quits and walks out the door. When new job opportunities don’t seem to come as easily as she expects, Vivian takes on a pseudonym and writes about life in suburbia. She relocates to the small town where she grew up in Georgia, and decides to stay with her sister, niece and nephew. As the column begins to become popular in Georgia, Vivian is hoping that she doesn’t become uncovered, but a childhood nemesis is digging into her background. Vivian also has one more secret, she’s pregnant at fourty-one and doesn’t know how to tell anyone, including her boyfriend. 

Magnolia Wednesdays was a heartwarming, comfort read that I desperately wanted to find. A great cozy novel, does a reader good. Wendy Wax created an incredible well rounded novel. The plot, characters, and uncertainty was perfect. As Vivi tries to come to terms with her pregnancy, the clock is ticking and everyone will soon find out whether she wants them to or not, her boyfriend is in war-torn Afghanistan and their lack of communication makes it easier for her to keep the secret, but how long will she wait? When her brother-in-law died two years ago from a hunting accident, Vivian couldn’t stick around to help her sister and she fled the first chance she had. Her niece and nephew are skeptical as to why she is sticking around this time. Her sister is wondering the same thing, but she doesn’t come out and ask her. Vivian is realizing that there is more to small town life then she imagined, she might have shunned this life long ago, but now she is becoming increasingly comfortable. 

The heart of this novel is secrets, how some secrets shouldn’t be kept secret, and how sometimes unraveling secrets can do more harm, and cause more hurt than wanted. It’s a tough line to cross, and Vivian begins to learn this lesson. Sometimes digging around into family business should not be done. Vivian and her sister are becoming closer and bonding, but secrets are about to test the relationship. Can their relationship survive dishonesty? I read Magnolia Wednesdays at the perfect time, and I never wanted to put the book down. I felt invested in the characters and I was rooting for everyone. The secondary characters are as likable and enjoyable as the main characters. Vivian is hilarious, judgmental and incredibly frustrating.  At times you just want to yell at her. I throughly enjoyed Magnolia Wednesdays and this is a great book for those who enjoy a good Southern read.