Product Description
On the heels of her captivating debut, The Tea House on Mulberry Street, comes Sharon Owens's new novel of passion, romance, and regret-and the winding paths to falling in love.

Johnny "Hollywood" Hogan owns the ballroom on Magnolia Street, where sisters Kate and Shirley Winters, along with other regulars, go every Saturday night-to escape the realities of Belfast life, and to seek fun and romance.

Free-spirited Shirley has a mad crush on a boy named Declan Greenwood, while thoroughly modern Kate likes plenty of variety in her wardrobe (and her love life) and is determined to get married before her younger sister. She'll take anyone who'll have her, even if it has to be that greasy-though not entirely unattractive-mechanic who has been hanging around lately. The crowd at Hogan's is always lively, but that doesn't mean all problems have been left at the door. Johnny's grandparents are afraid that he'll retire and shut the ballroom down. Johnny yearns for Marion, his old love (and Declan's mother), while Marion starts to worry that her long-held secret will finally be revealed.

But it doesn't take long for all of the ballroom's patrons to discover that, even without velvet-lined balconies and crystal chandeliers, the magic of the twinkling lights and soft music will help them find just what they're looking for-whether it be family, friendship, or even true love.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 11 reviews)

Will buy more of Sharon Owens Books

I am currently reading this book and I love it!
I also have read The Tea House on Mulberry Street. Thats the one that started it for me. I plan on buying many more of her books.
October 16, 2008

The Ballroom on Magnolia Street was great

I loved this book. I had read her first book the Tea house on Mulberry Street and I knew that I had to have the next one. It will keep you interested and wanting another at the end.
I highly recommend it, and the lastest novel the Tavern on Maple Street

June 27, 2006

So glad I found this author

I was pleasantly suprised to find this new Irish author. I have always been a fan of Maeve Binchy's and after reading Sharon Owens I can see why so many reviews draw parallels between the two authors.

The book is centered around a ballroom in Belfast. We are introduced to the owner, Johhny "Hollywood" Hogan, and eventually to his patrons. We meet two sisters, Shirley and Kate and follow their love, work and family dilemmas. As happens in life, people are connected in unexpected ways, which makes for some interesting relationships.

The story is told with great affection for the characters, despite their faults. The book does not falter and keeps the reader both interested and amused to the very end. Ms. Owens excels at drawing three dimensional characters and writing believable conversations and story lines.

A delightful book all around!
April 17, 2006

Looking for Binchy, be prepared for disappointment...

Always on the lookout for new Irish fiction writers, I stumbled across Sharon Owens. When I find one I like I tend to get every book ever written and gobble them up like candy, eagerly anticipating the next release. Unfortunately, that won't be the case here. The story line was impossibly weak from the start. I almost gave up after the third chapter but hung on as I hate to admit defeat which is more than I can say for this author. I thought this book was a mystery then chick lit then I realized that even the author can't seem to figure out what genre she is going for. She starts out killing the hero's parents in the war, next having him lose the heroine who she can never quite make up her mind til the end whether she's a brainless idiot, still in love with him and going back or what. The hero is good then bad, up then down. It's not a matter of keeping the reader in suspense, I don't think the author has the first idea about plot development and it clearly shows. A reader doesn't mind character development but character confusion is another matter altogether, especially when the entire cast seems to suffer from it. If you are used to a quality writer like Rosamunde Pilcher or Maeve Binchy this is a huge step down. I'm not suggesting that this author be on a level with John Banville's The Sea - clearly we aren't talking Booker Prize material here but honestly - this was an effort to keep reading.
March 19, 2006

A real treat, could not put it down.

Fortunately, I had The Ballroom on Magnolia Street ready to pick up once I finished The Tea House on Mulberry Street. I was eager to once again to share the lives of ordinary Belfast citizens....hardworking, and ordinary. Johnny Hogan, the owner of the ballroom is anything but ordinary, Wht, he was the first man in Belfast, perhaps in all Ireland, to wear blue suade shoes and still wears them proudly. He is sure that a man as extraordinary as he will only find his true destiny in America. But he has the ballroom, and the rememberance of his love affair with Marian. Marian has her hands full with a family to raise and a thriving dress business, It keeps her almost too busy to worry about anyone discovering her long buried secret. Sisters Kate and Shirley are hard working girls who look forward to a bit of fun at Hogan's on the weekend. Kate is the one who picks and catches the man she fancies. Shirley is on the sideline...usually shoring up Kate as needed and yearning for "true love". Johnny's grandparents just want him to be happy, and hope his life will become settled enough so they can enjoy their remaining years....well earned since they raised him since his parents were killed in a WWll bombing. These characters and more go about their daily lives in Belfast looking ahead to going to Hogan's where they'll dance to the oldies and shed their work week lives and perhaps find a bit of romance. Once again, I was captivated by these people, sometimes exasperated and dismayed, and then laughing until my sides hurt. The pitted duel of insulting song requests waged by Kate and her rival at the ballroom had me chuckling at my desk at work. I could just see the two glaring across the ballroom, and the hapless DJ caught in the middle. My only complaint was there was not a single reference to any of the characters from her previous book, The Tea Room on Mulberry Street, I didn't think the characters would necessarily need to continue, but would have loved a mention here or there. Once again, I found this book to be a delightful read...and will eagerly await Ms. Owen's next.
February 27, 2006

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Tavern on Maple Street
by Sharon Owens

The Tea House on Mulberry Street
by Sharon Owens

A Country Affair (Barleybridge Novels)
by Rebecca Shaw

Whitethorn Woods (Vintage)
by Maeve Binchy

Country Wives (A Barleybridge Novel)
by Rebecca Shaw