Title: Feels Like Family
Author: Sherryl Woods
Series: The Sweet Magnolias #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Dates read: 17th – 18th October 2020
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Mira
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: What the sundae wasn’t accomplishing, Erick was.

On the road to success, good friends are never far apart in the world of the Sweet Magnolias. Now a Netflix original series!

Helen Decatur spent a lifetime setting goals – getting through college and law school, opening her own practice, becoming financially secure, and establishing herself as one of the most highly respected divorce attorneys in the state of South Carolina. Achieving those goals was a breeze compared to the one she’s faced with now.

The most driven – and cynical – of the Sweet Magnolias, Helen is forty-two, single and suddenly ready for the family she’s put on the back burner for all these years. Unfortunately, having a child at her age comes with lots of complications, not the least of which is the absence of a serious relationship in her life.

Handling so many divorces has left her sceptical about love, but Helen’s not the type of woman to wait around for fate to step in. Taking charge of her own destiny puts her at odds with her two best friends and sets sparks flying with a man who claims he doesn’t want a family, and nothing turns out like she planned.

So whilst I loved this novel, I do need to point out that I really didn’t like Helen’s decision making and choices throughout this story. It was seriously flawed and just all round not okay. Yet, somehow, even though I was seriously not impressed… I didn’t hate her. Which is surprising. Because the decisions that she made in this were of the sort that I would normally feel pure rage…

All of that aside, this was still kind of a cute little love story. It was filled with the typical lightness (with a dash of serious) that I’m getting used to in Woods’ romances. And it was just… well, pleasant. Plus, I did really adore Eric. I may not have liked some of the decisions in this story… but I still loved the overall reaction and outcome. It was just a cute, easy to read love story that I read while curled up, trying to get over a damn bug.

I really enjoyed the fact that this romance wasn’t just about the lead couple, Helen and Eric. But there was another romance bought into the story. A bit like Virgin River, there are so many layers of beautiful moments throughout this whole story that builds up the whole community, not just the primary characters. In the case of this story, it is Karen’s journey and her romance with Elliot that just helped further the whole world for me. Plus, Karen’s story was a really nice counterpoint to Helen’s. both in personality and occurrences…

Aside from my one point of contention (Helen’s damn dumb ass decisions), this is a really sweet story. It’s about love, family and the importance of friendship. And I loved the fact that although Dana Sue and Maddie get annoyed at Helen, there is still no doubt that they are friends… even when that friendship involves a bit of a butt kicking.

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Image source: Kobo