Welcome to Serenity

October 15, 2008
There is no way beauty expert Jeanette Brioche is going to let her happily married friends meddle in her nonexistent love life; she's single and content to stay that wayeven when they try to set her up with gorgeous, newly arrived city manager Tom McDonald. Attracted to the spunky Jeanette and intrigued by her obvious resistance, Tom is determined to win her over, and, ironically, the town's Christmas festival committee gives him just the opportunity he needs. A pair of protagonists who want nothing to do with Christmas, a delightful assortment of townsfolk who do, and a bevy of helpful friends and difficult relatives result in a lively, upbeat story that sparkles with holiday fun and tugs at the heartstrings. Enjoyable and well written, this is a worthy addition to Woods's "Sweet Magnolias" series. Woods ("Seaview Inn") is noted for appealing character-driven stories that are often infused with the flavor and fragrance of the South. She lives in Colonial Beach, VA, and Key Biscayne, FL.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
Jeanette and Tom are opposites in some ways, but alike in many more, including an intense avoidance of Christmas and all itspageantry. But Tom, the new town manager, and Jeanette, spa services manager for one of its major attractions, are both chivvied into cooperating on Serenitys committee to plan the annual Christmas festival, and their initial sexual attraction rapidly deepens into a more meaningful relationship. Woods updates her readers on the continuing antics of the Sweet Magnolias (Stealing Home, 2007;A Slice of Heaven, 2007;Feels Like Family, 2007) in her holiday-themed, heartwarming contemporary romance, paving the way for even more stories set in this charming South Carolina town only a short drive from Charleston.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)