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I purchased , by Olivia Darnell, after reading a forum post by the author.
Description: When a new couple move to town to open a Tea Shop in Magnolia Springs, the locals are naturally curious. They would be even more curious if they knew the nature of their new neighbors.
Overall: 4 3/4 Stars
Plot/Storyline: 4 Stars
The plot was an original idea and fairly unique in its execution. This is a difficult book to review as far as plot and storyline as I don’t want to give any spoilers.
The book starts out with a few intriguing opening scenes that really made me want to keep reading. The storyline did progress pretty nicely, albeit at a slow pace, after those scenes. However, there were way too many extraneous scenes, sometimes entire chapters, that did not forward the storyline at all and just seemed to be added for speculation among the locals. There was plenty of speculating going on in the chapters that did forward the storyline without adding more.
The exceptional storyline did make plodding through these extra chapters worth my time. I just had to discover what was going on with the new neighbors, the Aligers.
My favorite parts of the story were the scenes where Perry Aliger gets confused with all of the English ‘sayings.’ These scenes really made me think about how often we say things without thinking of the literal meanings of the words.
Character Development: 5 Stars
Ms. Darnell excels at character development. Her novel is peopled with truly unique individuals. Each character has depth and is completely different in both personality and circumstances from every other.
There was a lot of imagination and thought put into each character. Ms. Darnell knows how to make the reader care about the characters and what happens to them.
Perry was one of my favorite characters, mostly stemming from what I mentioned above regarding his confusing with English colloquialisms.
Writing Style: 5 Stars
The writing style was superb. The book was filled with imaginative analogies and appropriate metephors. Ms. Darnell’s command of the English language was evident in every sentence, without being overbearing. The sentence structure made for a nice, even flow to the reading experience. The descriptions were vivid, and the dialogue was like any conversation you would hear on the street or in your own house.
Formatting/Editing: 4 3/4 Stars
There were some editing errors sprinkled throughout the novel, but none that would hinder the reading process.
The formatting was of professional quality.
Rating: PG for Adult Situations
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The whole thing with the language confusion was especially interesting to me because I can be such a stickler for things like that. For instance, I absolutely abhor the phrase, “my bad”. Why would anyone say that? Where did it come from? My response the first time I heard it was “Your bad what?”
When I was in the Army and lived in Germany, I learned how to say, “What’s up?” in German. It was something we soldiers would say to each other in greeting, even though most of us didn’t speak German outside of that. However, you couldn’t say it to a German because they would look up, then look at you as if you’d lost your mind. LOL
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Here are some comments from the author, Olivia Darnell:
How did you come up with the title?
“The Misguided Souls of Magnolia Springs” came about as a result of an unofficial opinion poll of sorts. My best friend, husband and I asked friends, family and associates which one of a few select titles might grab their attention and cause them to read a novel. I had a few picked out and the MSMS title got the best results in the poll. The original title was the Study, but people agreed that it sounded too clinical, like something that might be required reading in college or high school. The MSMS also lent itself much better to a variety of cover art conceptions.
How long have you been writing?
I guess I started writing in second grade as soon as I learned cursive handwriting. I simply loved to hold the pen in my hand and make letters on the paper, then came words and finally sentences and well, I just kept on going. I actually remember how excited I was to receive my first real ink pen and white ruled paper instead of a pencil and a Big Chief tablet. I knew that I wanted to be writer when I began writing term papers and essays for school. So all in all, I’ve been writing for at least forty-five years.
What authors have inspired you?
I have to say that I’ve been inspired one way or another by every book/story/article that I’ve ever read. For example, I was force-fed Hemingway, Steinbeck, Hugo and Joyce. These fellows drove me to tears and I was inspired never to write something that would bore my audience or make them so miserable they threw themselves under trains rather than read another word. On the up side, I have been positively inspired by the works of Henry Fielding, James Fennimore Cooper, Henry W. Longfellow, Mary Shelley and Wolfgang von Goethe. These authors taught me what was necessary in order to keep the reader engaged, interested and intrigued enough to turn the next page. But I also read H.P. Lovecraft, Star Trek novels, John Grisham, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dean Koonce, Stephen King, Anne Rice and a number of other authors that have inspired me with a mixture of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, oddity and just plain craziness.
Where did you get the idea for the novel?
I’ve written a number of novels, a couple of fan fictions, a couple of romance mysteries and started a half dozen more that are still unfinished, but for MSMS, I wanted to write a tribute to my hometown and once I started writing it just fell into place like one of those ideas that just comes out of the blue. The idea actually centered on the building in the story where the gift shop is located. It was an old building in my hometown that housed a number of small businesses over the ages including my childhood dentist. It was long, low and painted gray and reminded me of a castle when I was little. Secondly, the building was situated right across the street from my great aunt’s house which was, in truth, surrounded by the funeral parlor’s parking lot. I thought that those two oddities put together might make the basis for an interesting story.
Who is your favorite character?
Of course, Perry is my favorite character. He is rich, handsome, sophisticated and romantic. He is not used to failure, but neither is he pretentious or arrogant. He’s just a swell fellow who happens to be a magnet for trouble, both male and female. He has an innocent air about him and at the same time, he is mysterious, maybe a little dangerous and certainly he seems to have a hidden agenda.
Biographical Info:
I was born and raised way back in the mid-nineteenth century by the typical ‘leave-it-to-Beaver’ family. Two children, a dog, working dad, stay-at-home mom. I grew up in a small town, living next door to grandma and grandpa who doted on me excessively. I graduated from high school, went off to see the world at age nineteen and never quite made it back home to stay. I have a Bachelor’s Degree a long career working for various state agencies as well as the federal government. I have two grown daughters and one grown son plus three grandchildren. My husband is both an inspiration and a miracle (we’ve been happily married for thirty-four years). I am looking forward now to retirement and being able to work at what I love most, writing. I have a number of works in progress and hope that a little success in the Indie Market will encourage me to continue my career. I am looking forward to hearing from any and all readers and wish to thank you, Lynn, for taking time to evaluate my work.
, by Olivia Darnell



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