Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for A Girl's Guide to Having it All by Leslie Kirby DeVooght, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I hope you enjoy Leslie's guest post and be sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book
Title: A Girl's Guide to Having it All
Series: Magnolia Bluff #3
Author: Leslie Kirby DeVooght
Publisher: Lanier Price Publishing
Release Date: April 30, 2026
Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction with Romance
She mastered her career. Finding a husband? Not so much.
High-powered political lobbyist Carleigh Chastain turns thirty-five with an impressive résumé, a packed calendar, and no love life to speak of. When her longtime friend—and former marriage-pact partner—Lawson announces he’s marrying a woman he barely knows, Carleigh does what any sensible best friend would do: she drops everything in DC and jets to Magnolia Bluff, Georgia, determined to save him from a costly mistake.
Instead, her plans unravel, forcing Carleigh to confront the choices she’s made—and the ones she’s avoided.
Meanwhile, Spencer MacDowell, her steady, loyal best friend since law school, is done waiting in the friend zone.
As faith, friendship, and romance collide, Carleigh wonders if she’s been too busy chasing success to notice where God—and her heart—have been pointing all along. Funny, heartfelt, and romantic, this story asks what “having it all” really means.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
More in This Series
Guest Post
Of your three books in this series, do you have a favorite FMC? Maybe one you related to more or enjoyed how their story unfolded?
When I consider the FMCs in the first three Magnolia Bluff books, I relate to Carleigh the most. I wouldn’t say she’s my favorite, but as I wrote her story, I realized how much I relate to her. If not for some divine moments in my life, I could’ve ended up very much like her.
Carleigh is a high-powered political lobbyist in Washington DC. In college, I majored in political science, and like Carleigh, I went to law school. I even interned for my congressman the summer before my senior year of college, and like Carleigh, I LOVED it. I really wanted to go to law school in DC and was accepted to American University. But God had other plans, I received a very large scholarship to my back up school and made the very wise financial decision to attend Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Also similar to Carleigh, I wanted to be President of the United States as a child.
But what makes me the most like Carleigh was her desire to move away from her hometown and make something of herself. Whether it was reality or not, Carleigh felt overlooked and disregarded as a teenager. She worked hard and achieved a lot, but no one noticed. As an adult, she intended to change all that.
Similarly, I didn’t have a great teenage experience. If you saw my resume, you’d probably disagree because you’d see varsity cheerleader and student body secretary. But like Carleigh, I was often excluded and ignored. I had no intentions of moving back to my hometown. I planned to move to the big city and be a high powered attorney. But again God had other plans, and while working at home the summer after my first year of law school, I met my husband. When I graduated, we married and lived in my hometown for over a decade.
These moments that sent me in the opposite direction of Carleigh also drew me closer to God and deepened my faith. I read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry around the time I was planning Carleigh’s book, and I really began to see where her story and my life diverted. But I also realized I’ve been working really hard for a long time to prove to people who don’t care that I am somebody. This revelation really surprised me, but I’m so glad I could learn with Carleigh that slowing down and serving God for his glory is so much better than striving for the world’s approval. Most of all, I know Jesus loves me, and I was fearfully and wonderfully made for a purpose by the good Father who calls me daughter.
Now, I’ve listed a lot of ways Carleigh and I are similar. But here are a few big ways we are different. I am a bubbly, optimistic person, and since I was a cheerleader, I definitely think they are athletes. Also, I’m an introvert, and Carleigh is an extrovert. I wish my hair was naturally red, and I don’t think Carleigh really loves her hair color. And here’s the thing you want to know most, my brothers do not look like Hot Brad, even if one of them thinks he does.
About the Author
Publisher’s Weekly Bestselling author Leslie Kirby DeVooght writes women’s fiction with faith, love, laughter, and a lot of Southern charm. Her stories are inspired by romcoms, coastal Georgia, and fried okra! When Leslie isn’t writing, she’s cheering on her three children, and enjoying date nights with her husband, who loves that she researches kissing.
In addition to writing her own stories, Leslie co-owns
Spark Flash Fiction, an online magazine that publishes short, short romance collections four times a year.
Connect with Leslie by visiting
lesliedevooght.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.
Tour Giveaway
(2) winners will each receive a bookish tote bag with all three books from the Magnolia Bluff series (A Girl's Guide to Having it All, How to Sparkle, and Stealing Magnolias)!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 6, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 13, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Enter Giveaway
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2 comments:
Sounds great, thank you for sharing.
i really enjoyed reading Leslie's post. Thanks for putting it together, Mimi!
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