Maddie Townsend has lived a pretty stable and peaceful life
in Serenity, South Carolina, until one evening when Bill,
her husband of 20 years, tells her he wants a divorce. And
to add insult to injury, he's fallen in love with his young
nurse and she's expecting his child. Now Maddie is left to
raise three kids, get a job and face the gossip of a small
town. So how can opening a fitness spa with her two best
friends help her get through any of this?
While Maddie throws herself into her work at the spa, all
of her kids are having a difficult time adjusting to their
dad leaving. Her oldest son, Tyler, starts to rebel and his
performance as the star pitcher for the school's baseball
team suffers. When his coach, Cal Maddox, approaches Maddie
about the problem, he sees her as more than Tyler's mom.
Things begin to get steamy and the town doesn't like it.
Even Maddie's soon-to-be-ex has an opinion.
Maddie can handle the gossip, but Cal's job is in jeopardy.
A special meeting of the school board is called and Cal
must defend himself, his job and his feelings for Maddie.
Then Bill starts to see Maddie as a "new woman." Serenity
is anything but serene.
STEALING HOME, the first installment in Sherryl
Woods' Sweet Magnolias trilogy, is a wonderful story of
family drama, romance and friendships. Not all of the
characters are likable, but they are believable. I can't
wait for the next book, A SLICE OF HEAVEN.
Maddie Townsend might live in a town called Serenity, but
there's been nothing calm or peaceful about her life since
her marriage broke up. This stay-at-home mom has no job
skills, an out-of-control sixteen-year-old son, a talkative
fourteen-year-old who's suddenly gone silent, a six-year-old
daughter whose heart is broken, an ex-husband whose younger
girlfriend is expecting their baby and two best friends who
think she's somehow qualified to help them open a fitness
spa for women.
But if Maddie is a tad on edge with
all that on her plate, it's nothing compared to the chaos
that ensues when she discovers that her son's baseball coach
has feelings for her and the whole town disapproves.
Maddie's faced a lot of challenges lately with strength and
resolve, but Cal Maddox may turn out to be more than she can
handle.
Then again, he could just be the one man in
all of South Carolina who can help her find serenity.