Honeysuckle Summer (Sweet Magnolias)
The story continues in Woods' Southern enclave, Serenity, following Home in Carolina (2010). Raylene's husband abused her dreadfully, and since leaving Charleston for Serenity more than a year ago she's been unable to set foot outside Sarah's house. When sheriff's deputy Carter brings young Tommy home after his disappearance, he and Raylene are immediately attracted to each other. Carter is doing his best to parent his much-younger sisters, but he is concerned because Carrie doesn't seem to be adjusting well to life in Serenity, and Raylene fears she may be anorexic. Meanwhile, Sarah's ex-husband, Walter, is settling nicely into his job as ad executive at the radio station, and Raylene impulsively matchmakes between him and Mary's daughter Rory Sue. Woods handily wraps up her second-generation Sweet Magnolia contemporary romance miniseries with her usual flair for small-town drama, close friendships, family alliances, and compassionate approach to social and emotional issues. --Lynne Welch