I would like to thank Netgalley, Mills and Boon and Sherryl Woods for the E copy of this book.
I really enjoyed being back in Serenity with Dana Sue and her friends. The focus of this book is Annie, Dana Sue’s daughter. She is not eating and nothing that Dana Sue does will entice her to eat, one night Annie collapses and ends up in hospital. At this juncture Dana Sue has no choice but to phone her x husband Ron to tell him what has happened. He immediately comes back to Serenity, whilst Dana Sue is not too pleased to see him, she knows it is the best things for their daughter. Ron has always loved Dana Sue and realises that he should have stayed and fought for her and their marriage, maybe this is his time to do so. The dynamic between Ron, Dana Sue and her friends was well written with the friends being protective of Dana Sue.
This book does not stay away from hard topics, the main one being eating disorder. It was interesting to hear the reason behind Annie’s reasons for not eating. The topic was well researched and sensitively written about. I liked that Annie’s friends were there for her and in many ways one friend in particular was the one who got through to her the most. I also like that Dana Sue’s friends were there for her as they had been from the beginning and that we got to see more of their relationships and friendships get stronger.
I liked the way Sherryl Woods wrote the story and the characters, really drew me in and I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.

If you are looking for a lighthearted and heartfelt romantic story with plenty of Southern charm, look no further than Sherryl Woods' A Slice of Heaven. With the announcement that this beloved story will be made into a major Netflix series, fans of Woods' work and fans of romance in general are sure to flock to the streaming service to watch.

Dana Sue is a strong heroine with an inner steel that can take on all of life's adversities. But even she can't make her daughter Annie, the star of her cooking show, to eat and it lands her daughter in the hospital. When Dana Sue turns to the one person she thought she would never turn to again, she begins a journey of mending fences and maybe even finding true love once more.

Romantic and passionate, with a unique sense of southern cooking charm, A Slice of Heaven will certainly deliver its message of forgiveness and love through the impending Netflix series. Sherryl Woods has done an excellent job in delivering a sweet, powerful story with strong characters and an even stronger plot. We are sure this show will bring about many discussions about family and the power of love.

Having watched this first I was worried it would impact my love for the books. But I needn't have been concerned. It offered more depth and opened up a greater love for this already loveable characters.
The place, the people, all of it gave me the feels. Gilmore girls...but with a bit more.

Headlines:
Second chance for divorcees
Parenting through teen trauma
Going the distance

This second book held far more appeal for me than book one. The book approach (as opposed to the TV series) seems to be particular character focus per book. This book was all about Dana Sue with just a little Maddie and Helen. It was interesting that Helen wasn't painted in that gracious a light in this installment.

I loved Dana Sue and Ronnie and Dana Sue in the book was an improvement on her depiction in Season Two of the TV series. She was gentler while still being fierce, she had more integrity and I just liked her character. Ronnie was a treat, so aware of his past wrongs, humble, loving and truly determined to be the father and partner he should have been. This whole story arc was such satisfying reading.

Underpinning this whole story was something big going on for Annie that honestly was really scary initially. Parenting Annie through her struggles was a big and meaty issue.

Reading book two has given me the impetous to want to read on in this series when I wasn't previously sure.

3.75 stars rounded up.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy.

*CW: eating disorder*

Love this and the tv series. It was fun to read this first then watch the show, so heartwarming and wholesome and I would definitely check it out if you like shows like Gilmore Girls and Virgin River as it definitely has that vibe to it!

I really wanted to love this book, and there were some good bits, but I just couldn’t like the main character. The book is based around DanaSue, her friends and her relationship with her ex. There is some excellent emotion and story telling around DanaSue and Donnie’s daughter and her anorexia problems, some good dialogue and following of the impact of anorexia on a body, a teenager and her family, but DanaSue didn’t hit the mark with me at all and I felt I couldn’t cheer her on for a happy ending.

This book centres around Dana Sue. Her husband, Ron, had cheated on her but instead of putting up a fight to put things right he did as Dana Sue wanted and left town. But when their daughter Annie is rushed to hospital he comes back and is not going anywhere this time.

Its quite an emotional storyline around food. Dana Sue comfort eats when her emotions get out of hand. But shes in danger of being diabetic if she continues. While Annie refuses to eat and is at risk of heart failure after collapsing and ending up hospitalised. This second chance at love is both heartbreaking and heartwarming and ends in happily-ever-after.

This was a really strong book two for the series, with swoon-worthy romance and the most wonderful of characters, who have backstories you don't want to miss finding out about more!

A Slice of Heaven is the second book in the Sweet Magnolias series and follows Dana Sue.
Dana Sue is divorced from her husband Ronnie and the divorce seems to have been the catalyst for their daughter Annie's eating disorder. When Annie ends up in hospital Ronnie comes back to town for his daughter but can he rekindle his relationship with Dana Sue?

I am really enjoying this series. I really like the town of Serenity and the characters. I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one but I did enjoy it.

This book discusses a lot of difficult topics with the main one being eating disorders. Annie's recovery was the main focus of this book and the relationship between Dana Sue and Ronnie was more of a sub-plot. Something that I really enjoyed in the first book was the relationship between Maddie and Cal. I personally did not like the relationship between Dana Sue and Ronnie. I don't like cheating and I don't like it when characters get back together after one of them has cheated.

Overall I did enjoy this book and I can't wait to read the next one and see what happens next for these characters.

This book got me hooked on the Sweet Magnolias and I am now following their story on Netflix. Great writing and some heart-thumping romance even in a real-life setting.

As always an easy romantic read. You invest in the characters and route for the happy ending. Shreryl does not disappoint. Set up for the next in the series.

A Slice of Heaven the second book of the Sweet Magnolias' series focuses on Dana Sue. This story has the same small town ethos and heartwarming friendship but explores eating disorders and their effect on families and friendships. Annie Dana Sue's daughter has Anorexia. Annie's story is complex and poignant.

There is a second chance romance between Dana Sue and Ronnie to balance the emotional drama. Ronnie is not easy to empathise but does have redeeming qualities.

This story is engaging and sensitive.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon via NetGalley in return for an honest review

The first book in this series was really enjoyable and it was like settling back in with old friends with this one. I really liked the way Annie’s anorexia was dealt with, especially how she moved through the treatment and how it affected her friends and family. I did not feel Dana-Sue was an entirely likeable character but this was good as it made her more human. My main issue was that Ronnie never gave a good reason for cheating on Dana-Sue and that because this was never really dealt with fully it let him off the hook too easily. I am now about to order book three because this is such an enjoyable series.

A Slice of Heaven is the second book in The Sweet Magnolias series by Sherryl Woods. Although it's part of a series it can still be read as a standalone. Maddie's story was in book one, this is Dana Sue's story.

Dana Sue has been divorced for two years. It devastated her when she found out her husband, Ronnie, had a one night stand and she's never really got over it. Her life has carried on and she's even opened a very successful restaurant, but it doesn't stop her missing Ronnie even though she is still hurt and angry about what he did. Their teenage daughter, Annie, has been affected more than Dana Sue realised. She has developed Anorexia and when it becomes life-threatening Dana Sue has to get in touch with her ex so that he can be there for Annie.

Ronnie has rued the day that he stupidly had a one night stand. He hates himself for it and he misses Dana Sue so much. He's been living and working away and a day hasn't gone by when he hasn't thought of home and his family. He had already decided that he wanted to go back to Serenity to try to win her back and then he got her phone call. It was as if fate had intervened and made a way for him to go back. Not the best way to do it of course, but he needs to be there for his daughter and he wants to win back his ex-wife.

This was a much more emotional story than Maddie's one. Although there was a little romance there when Ronnie tries to win Dana Sue back the majority of the story revolved around Annie's anorexia. The subject also came up about Dana Sue's weight gain from comfort eating after the split, and about how she may be diabetic because of it. Her mother died from diabetes complications so she's putting off finding out if she has got it. All in all, it is a very deep story.

Personally, I would have preferred for there to be less dark and more light, but that said, I don't think the author could have done justice to the story if she just mentioned Annie's anorexia and then pushed it under the carpet to make room for a lot of romance between Dana Sue and Ronnie. What parents would want to put a possible reconciliation and the joy of it at the forefront of their lives when they are so worried about their daughter? Also, there is no way that I would ever take back a man that had had a one night stand during our relationship. That doesn't mean that I can't accept that Dana Sue is willing to. The author did a good job of making it seem reasonable that she would forgive him but without making it seem an easy decision.

Despite not being a light read, I did enjoy it and am surprised at some of the low reviews it has had. I definitely want to carry on reading this series with the next story being Helen's.

Dana Sue owns Serenitys best restaurant and whilst she is a whizz in the kitchen in her personal life she feels anything but. She is scared her daughter Annie has an eating disorder after she collapsed at her best friend Maddie's wedding ( at the end of book 1 ) now a year on she is still in denial and swings from being very concerned to thinking everything is ok. Until at a sleepover her daughter collapses again and this time it is touch and go as to whether she will survive. Dana Sue calls her ex-husband so that he can be at their daughter's side but with Ronnie back in town things start to heat up for Dana Sue both in and out of the kitchen. Now they will need to come together to get Annie well but Ronnie never stopped loving Dana Sue and is out to prove it to her once and for all.

Such a lovely heartwarming story, I was in love with these characters as soon as I met them ! True friendships, these characters are so well written, you want to be friends with them. I will definitely be watching the series on Netflix now ! Absolutely 100 % happiness in book form.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

When I heard that netflix were making a series from the Sweet Magnolia books, I was ecstatic. having already devoured the Chesapeake Shores series and the Virgin River series I could hardly wait so when Netgalley gave me the chance to review the first two books in the series I couldn't wait to get started. I started with the second book by accident but within 5 pages I couldn't care. The relationship between Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue was a perfect example of what true friendship really is. The book handled some serious health issues very sensitively and you were rooting for Dana Sue and her daughter Annie to overcome their issues. Definitely a book I would recommend to a friend.