ParaNormalRomance.org

"An exciting Reconstruction Era romance"

In 1866, Sara Collier Talbot returns to the Kentucky home of her deceased spouse looking for shelter for her and her little girl, born out of wedlock to a northerner. After her own father recently beat her and rejected her and his granddaughter, further dismissal would not shock Sara. Instead her sister-in-law Louzanna welcomes the fallen woman and her niece "Lissybeth" to live with her.

The next day, Sara's spouse Dr. Dru Talbot comes home after serving time in a northern prison and recovering from amnesia. He is stunned to learn that his beloved, the only reason he survived the war, had cuckolded him with another man. He cannot even look at her lovechild without ire. As Sara tries to atone for her transgression and regain what she once had before the war, an epidemic threatens to destroy the town.

MAGNOLIA CREEK is an exciting Reconstruction Era romance that is more of a historical character study of the aftermath of the deadly American Civil War. The story line uses coincidence (or as Louzanna felt divine intervention) to move forward the plot yet engages the audience through the trials and tribulations of the lead characters and the secondary cast that does not always end in happily. Fans will understand the dreary pessimism of the locals as Jill Marie Landis makes the audience feel the pain from the loss of loved ones and the suffering from economic ruin.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 15, 2002

One of the most beloved authors in women's fiction today, Jill Marie Landis touches the heart as she illuminates every exhilarating page with natural warmth and tenderness. Now, in her stirring new novel, Landis takes readers to a place where pride can be as unforgiving as the past and finding the courage to love again will be nothing short of a miracle.

On the eve of the Civil War, Sara Collier marries the dashing Dru Talbot, just before he rides off to join the Confederate army. But fate cuts short their chance for happiness when Dru dies tragically on the battlefield. As a widow, Sara rises above her grief, refusing to mourn her life away. But one wrong choice made with an open heart takes her away from her hometown -- and challenges Sara in ways she never imagined. Though she returns to Magnolia Creek an outcast, the sorrow in her life makes her stronger.

A year after the war has ended, battle-scarred surgeon Dru Talbot surprises everyone when he returns home, clinging to the dream of starting over with his bride. Yet nothing could have prepared Dru for the truth that awaits him in Magnolia Creek. Heartbroken, Dru tries to forgive the shadows of the past. Unable to surrender the only man she has ever loved, Sara dreams of rekindling the passion they once shared, turning betrayal into reconciliation.

Written with rare beauty and emotion, Magnolia Creek is a heartfelt lesson in second chances - and a moving celebration of life's most precious gifts.