Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Steal My Magnolia by Karla Sorensen [Review]


Steal My Magnolia (Love at First Sight #3) by Karla Sorensen
Format: ebook
Source: provided by for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 18, 2021

Love at First Sight
1. Baking Me Crazy
2. Batter of Wits
3. Steal My Magnolia - Paperback | Kindle
4. Worth the Wait

Karla Sorensen
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Life lesson from Grady Buchanan: If you're going to fall in love with the untouchable girl in town, don't hire her as your only employee.

Even after he bungled the interview with Magnolia MacIntyre, he knew better than to hire her. The list of why it's a bad idea is a long one.
Her father could ruin his fledgling business.
She is completely overqualified.
And he’s attracted to her.

What does Grady do? He offers her the job.

Magnolia knew better than to take it. Normally, she'd make the safe choice, and working for Grady is anything but.
He's new in town--and entirely too charming.
Her dad will be furious.
She hates the outdoors and working for an outdoor adventure company is not exactly the right fit.

What does she do? She says yes on the spot.

Grady and Magnolia will have to prove to everyone in their life that they're not crazy. And prove to each other that the list of why it's a bad idea should be tossed out the window.

For these two opposites, sometimes doing the wrong thing is exactly right.
Thoughts on Steal My Magnolia: It's Grady's turn to suffer through the Buchanan curse and its hits him hard and fast. Just as you'd expect. To be fair, the curse ends with these Buchanans finding their loves of their life, so is it really a curse in the end? 

Anywho. Grady. He's trying to get his fledgling business up and running and he desperately needs someone to help him put his office and his plans in order. Magnolia is the one. Not only does she have incredible organizational skills, she's also his one and only. And the moment he lays eyes on her, he knows.

The downside? Magnolia is the ex of Grady's twin sister's honey. Which complicates things, as you can imagine. Especially since she sort of conceals who she is when she first applies for the job. While this makes things a little twisty as the various parties work out through their acceptance, Grady's heart is set and it won't be turned aside by a little drama. (Also, Grady's a stand-up type of guy who understands the value of giving people space and letting them work through their issues. So, yeah, drama, but things all work out in the end.)

I genuinely adore how the Buchanans fit into the fabric of Green Valley. We get to see the threads that connect to other longstanding characters in the town and meet new characters who pack a whole lot of oomph. Just a big old *thumbs up* all around.


Excerpt

"This is Grady."

There was silence on the other end. I pulled the phone away from my face to make sure I'd answered.

"Hello?" I said.

I heard a deep breath before she spoke. "Hi, I'm here, sorry."

My head tilted to the side when I heard her voice. It was soft and low with the curling accent that I'd gotten used to in the past month and a half. But it ... I shook my head ... something about it made the hairs lift slightly on my arms.

"Did you mean to call my number?" I asked carefully.

Inexplicably, I found myself holding my breath waiting for her to answer.

"I heard you're looking for help. Administrative help," she clarified.

My head went back. "Did you?"

She was quiet for a second. "Small town," she explained. "People talk."

I laughed under my breath. "So I'm learning."

It made me shake my head. The darknet had nothing on the Green Valley information pipeline. "So," I continued, "tell me a little bit about yourself."

"Of course." For the second time since I picked up, she let out an audible breath. "I have my BS in Business Administration, an MBA from Vanderbilt, and other than college, I've lived in Green Valley my whole life."

Scratching the side of my face, I glanced around at the horrific state of the office and tried to imagine someone with an MBA wanting anything to do with it. My face was bent in a grimace

"I've spent the past five years as an office administrator for my ..." She paused. "For a local business, and I'm looking to change things up. Fresh start."

I sat up slowly. "I can understand wanting a fresh start. That's why I'm here."

"I know. I, umm, I heard that. In town." She stumbled slightly over her words, and I smiled. "I'm not very outdoorsy, and I know that's what you'll be doing, but I'm the most organized person you'll ever meet. My label maker is my favorite accessory, and I have lists for my to-do lists. And I know every single business owner from here to Maryville."

I laughed. "You sound like you're already in your interview."

She laughed too, and I grimaced when my chest tightened. It caused a strong enough physical sensation that I glanced down at my body, like it was separate from me somehow.

"I can come in and fill out an application, if you'd like," she said.

I laughed under my breath. "If I had applications, I'd say yes." I glanced around the mess surrounding me. "But ... I'm not quite that prepared yet."

"That's also why you need someone who knows how to get an office up and running."

"That's true," I agreed. "Can you come in tomorrow so we can talk a little bit more? Since I don't have an application."

"That would be great," she said firmly. The stumbling was gone. I found myself wondering how old she was. What she looked like.

If I had a calendar, I would've glanced at it. But that was also buried in a stack of papers.

"How does nine sound? Do you need the address?"

"Sounds perfect," she answered. "And uh, no, thank you. I know where to find you."

I shook my head.

"Small town," we said in unison. She laughed, and my smile took up my whole damn face.

"Then I'll see you at nine tomorrow ..." My voice trailed off. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm still working on my Southern manners."

She laughed. My chest did that thing again. It wasn't the heavy press of panic. It was a lightening. A lifting of whatever pressure I'd been feeling before she called.

She spoke slowly, like she was thinking carefully about her answer. "You can call me Lia."


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Baking Me Crazy

Batter of Wits


About Karla Sorensen
Karla Sorensen has been an avid reader her entire life, preferring stories with a happily-ever-after over just about any other kind. And considering she has an entire line item in her budget for books, she realized it might just be cheaper to write her own stories. It doesn’t take much to keep her happy…a book, a really big glass of wine, and at least thirty minutes of complete silence every day. She still keeps her toes in the world of health care marketing, where she made her living pre-babies. Now she stays home, writing and mommy-ing full time (this translates to almost every day being a ‘pajama day’ at the Sorensen household…don’t judge). She lives in West Michigan with her husband, two exceptionally adorable sons and big, shaggy rescue dog.

Find Karla Sorensen online

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