With little expectation of how much I would enjoy this book, I sat down one evening and started reading. Much, much later, I realized everyone had gone to bed and left me to my book. In a Sweet Magnolia Time is a journey readers take along with an eclectic mix of characters that you'd not expect to find moving in the same neighborhood. But as the race lines would start to blur, so would those clearly drawn lines between actions and consequences when the blue bloods decided their heritage need a little mixing. Following the journey from the first chapter was an experience I'm sure my reading circle will want to take.

I really struggled to get into this one and didn’t love the writing style.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion

I loved everything about this book. The Story, The Plot, The Characters, Etc. It sent a powerful message that I think everyone needs to read.

It took me a while to finish this one. I’m not sure why but I didn’t connect much with the story. It was well written but maybe the pace was a bit off for me.

Another one I didn't start with high expectations but again I stuck with it and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a lovely read

I found this book disappointly slow and the writing overly wordy. I can't recommend it, and wish that the valuable story this author was trying to tell could have been presented in a more engaging narrative. I suspect it will find few readers.

I wanted to read this book based on the premise, but it just did not keep my attention. I found myself distracted through much of the book. I am sure others will enjoy it more.
Many thanks to Twice-Baked Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first time that I have read anything written by this writer and I look forward to reading him in the future.

Robert Wintner's tale begins at Judge Waties Waring's funeral, the day Arthur Covingdale, an up-and-coming attorney, must come to terms with his own vengeful role as a stalwart of the Old South. Mr. Covingdale burned a cross at the judge's house and threw a brick through his window back in 1952. His contrition at the funeral in 1968 marks his first step out from town to the barrier sea islands, as he agrees to drive Jim Cohen home to the marshlands. So begins his journey of redemption. I had a really hard time putting my Kindle down to do my Adult responsibilities.

I struggled with this book and I usually enjoy a good Southern read. The pace of this was very slow for me. - too much introspection and not enough dialog. Not told in an interesting manner but more factual. I did persevere and finish because the storyline was fascinating. The story is about an attorney, Arthur Covingdale, who secretly engaged in a youthful racist act against his own mentor, Judge Waties Waring. This novel begins at the Judges funeral and forces him to re-think his ways after a chance encounter with a black man he offers a ride home to. This starts him thinking and ultimately acting differently than his cronies at the Hunt Club and his ancestors.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I rarely rate books this low, but there is something about this book that did not engage me as a reader and I found myself skimming large chunks of the text. I think this could have been an outstanding story based on the premise, but it fell flat for me. I felt like the author was going for literary fiction with his wordy prose but it left me wondering if the book was written for his own enjoyment or for the readers.

I would give it 2 1/2 stars

Wintner is a wonderful writer… the novel is very well detailed/descriptive. I think for me, timing is everything. I was approved for this book unfortunately right after I had undergone surgery. Perhaps for that reason, it did not hold my attention as I would’ve hoped. I generally enjoy novels of this nature. However, I struggled to read it within the 45 days I had. I would like to think the author, publisher and NG for the chance to review and provide feedback. I would like to come back at publishing date and give it another chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Slow moving storyline that proved more challenging to read than expected. While the description of the story was interesting, perhaps it will prove enticing to those more familiar with the south.

This was an interesting story about a very relevant topic. The author is very descriptive, but sometimes I felt went on a little too much. I did learn a lot reading this story, which I always enjoy. Overall, I liked the story, but did find I had to re-read some areas. I think there would be a lot to talk about for a bookclub.

Wintner captures segregation's troubling past through the death of Judge Waties Waring in 1968, the first federal judge to make the way for a change in laws of school segregation in Brown vs Board of Education. As the fight for change occurs, Judge Waring divorced his wife of 30 years and remarried a "Yankee Spitfire" leaving the catalyst for hate crimes towards him personal with a cross burned outside his home, a brick through the window and banned from society in Charleston, SC.

"Many people regret the re-framing of history for one cause or another, but re-framing is convenient, even if misleading."

What will open your eyes is the attorney, Arthur Covingdale, telling the story! He took part in the burning of the cross and the brick throwing, and speaks of his own actions terrorizing the judge. The story gives way to a turbulent era and a southern culture on the magnolia plantations. With Covingdale, it was a day of reckoning and a life-changing ride with a black fruit peddler, Jim Cohen, whom was derived from a slave. He speaks of the ostracizing, shaming into exile the judge suffered at the hands of many because of his plea for change.
The author writes about how they "examined this man's faults in light of our own". It is a touching memoir of generations of hate spewing out of their ignorant mouths. A special prologue is an interview the author was able to obtain from Septima Clark, a civil rights activists in NAACP and known as the Mother of Civil Rights. A special interview with newspaper journalist, Tom Waring, who depicted some of the stories by mouth that are not written.
"Separate but not equal is not equal, a hallmark of civil rights in America."
I can't put it into perspective when there is so much more for people to learn on this topic or whether the realization or day of reckoning will be upon all people, or if they will continue to straddled the fence of ancestors misleading antics. The book is an informative read, but I found myself searching for more about Judge Waring's life and his hope for more integration than Covingdale's, since he had lived his life being a racist and not realizing that he was.
Thanks NetGalley and and Twiced Baked Books for this title in exchange for my honest review.

Attorney Arthur Covingdale is attending the funeral of a Judge considered by many in 1960s Charleston to have laid the initial groundwork for Brown vs. the Board of Education. Although Covingdale considered the Judge a mentor, it didn’t stop him from engaging in youthful racist acts which he incorrectly thought were not known within the community.

An unlikely event following the funeral, puts Covingdale on a new path of self-awareness regarding his professional and personal choices. There is remorse, soul-searching, excuses and self-pity. There are descriptions of the SC area and those who live there, Black and white.

On the negative side for me: too much introspection. He is in his 50s, alone and lonely and only now he thinks about how he has traversed his life. Not a compelling character. On the positive side, the writing has interesting structures and descriptions. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

This is one of those nostalgic books focused on setting characters that some people love to linger within. I am not one of those people. I like my plots to move at a good pace. I also like them to be easy to read, which this was not. That doesn't mean it wasn't well-written - just not my cup of tea. My Faulkner flashbacks may have limited my ability to engage. I do appreciate the subject matter of racial reckoning in the deep south.

I struggled to connect to In a Sweet Magnolia Time. I usually get hooked within a couple of chapters, but never felt that connection here. I will admit I do not read a lot of historical books, but this one sounded very interesting. The book was very well written although I sometime struggled to understand the phonetic slang periodically written throughout the book.

Arthur Covington started as a racist attorney but ended up the judge that ruled separate but equal isn't equal.

Arthur isn't a good man really. He left his wife of 30 years, burned crosses in people's yards, threw bricks through windows, etc. His life turns around after a funeral when he gives a Black man a ride.