The Magnolia Story

The husband and wife team who host HGTV's Fixer Upper and own Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market, and Magnolia Realty in Waco, Tex., shed light on their success in business and family endeavors, giving fans a humble and heartwarming view of the long and bumpy road leading up to their hit show. Their story translates perfectly into the audio format; Joanna and Chip both read with their signature Texas drawl. Joanna's impressive cadence and pronunciation is on par with professional audiobook narrators. Her voice is clear and she projects well, and she reads with such a fluid, fast pace that she sounds like she is reminiscing with her husband rather than reading off the page. Chip's reading is slower and his voice not as polished, but he's nevertheless endearing. With the authors taking turns reading short sections, the audiobook captures the couple's special dynamic. There is never a dull moment. A Thomas Nelson hardcover. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

HGTV's hit show Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines of Waco, TX, who are popular because they are real, hardworking people to whom the audience can relate. On their show, the Gaineses help their clients purchase and renovate houses in various states of disrepair. This is the story of how Chip and Joanna grew up, met, started to date (even after Chip showed up 90 minutes late to their first date!), fell in love, got married, ran a successful business, and had four children. Listeners will be interested to find out that if not for the purchase of a run-down houseboat by Chip, the Gaineses might never have gotten a television show. As far as the narration of the audio by the authors, Joanna sometimes reads too quickly and at times Chip has a wooden delivery very different from his natural speech on air. VERDICT The many fans of Fixer Upper will be enthralled to spend some time behind the scenes with the Gaines family.-Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.