Once Upon a December

Once Upon a December by Amy E. Reichert

Published: October 4, 2022 – Berkley

Review galley courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

Description:

With a name like Astra Noel Snow, holiday spirit isn’t just a seasonal specialty—it’s a way of life. But after a stinging divorce, Astra’s yearly trip to the Milwaukee Christmas market takes on a whole new meaning. She’s ready to eat, drink, and be merry, especially with the handsome stranger who saves the best kringle for her at his family bakery.
 
For Jack Clausen, the Julemarked with its snowy lights and charming shops stays the same, while the world outside the joyful street changes, magically leaping from one December to the next every four weeks. He’s never minded living this charmed existence until Astra shows him the life he’s been missing outside of the festive red brick alley.
 
After a swoon-worthy series of dates, some Yuletide magic, and the unexpected glow of new love, Astra and Jack must decide whether this relationship can weather all seasons, or if what they’re feeling is as ephemeral as marshmallows in a mug of hot cocoa. (publisher)

My take:

Amy Reichert’s Once Upon a December is a sweet romance filled with hot cocoa (sometimes spiked), yummy kringle and an intriguing hero and heroine. It is a magical story and especially enticing to me because it’s set in my area with mentions of familiar landmarks which made it even more fun to read. Astra and Jack live their lives separately each year until their paths intersect at the annual Christmas Market. They seem to enjoy their lives but also experience a certain loneliness that disappears at this special time of year when they meet up again. They definitely have a special attraction to each other but can they overcome the obstacles that could prevent a HEA? You’ll have to read to find out! Now is when I tell you that there were moments when I was pulled out of the story by having to figure out logistics. That’s could be just my issue but I felt I needed to give a heads up. It was a bit distracting. Ultimately I found Once Upon a December to be a frothy, magical story that takes a few unexpected turns making it quite different from others I’ve read in the Christmas Romance genre.

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About the author:

Amy E. Reichert is an author, wife, mom, Wisconsinite, amateur chef, and cider enthusiast. She earned her MA in English Literature and serves on her library’s board of directors. She is a member of Tall Poppy Writers. Learn more at: www.amyereichert.com.

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Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

Published:  July 2019 – Forge Books

from my shelves

Description:  

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER Heather Webber’s Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town Southern charm.

Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.

As the truth about her past slowly becomes clear, Anna Kate will need to decide if this lone blackbird will finally be able to take her broken wings and fly. (publisher)

My take: What a lovely way to close out one year and begin a new one. I’m so happy I chose Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe to be my first book of 2021. This is a story of finding where you belong and having the courage to embrace it. There’s a touch of magical realism, a little romance, and a lot of heart. Its set in the small Alabama mountain town of Wicklow and filled with quirky characters – people looking for peace of mind and hoping for the courage to accept it. I loved it all and would love to read more by Heather Webber.

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Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell

• Title:  Dreaming in Chocolate
• Author:  Susan Bishop Crispell
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction; Magical Realism
• Pages:  288
• Published:  February 2018 – St. Martin’s Griffin
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  With an endless supply of magical gifts and recipes from the hot chocolate café Penelope Dalton runs alongside her mother, she is able to give her daughter almost everything she wants. The one sticking point is Ella’s latest request: get a dad. And not just any dad. Ella has her sights set on Noah Gregory, her biological father who’s back in town for a few months – and as charming as ever.

Noah broke Penelope’s heart years ago, but now part of her wonders if she made the right decision to keep the truth of their daughter from him. The other, more practical part, is determined to protect Ella from the same heartbreak. Now Penelope must give in to her fate or face a future of regrets.

Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell is a heartwarming story of love, hot chocolate, and one little girl’s wish for her mother.  (publisher)

My take:  This was a sweet story about Ella, a little girl who has good reason to cross things off her list of things to do. One of those items is to meet her dad, someone she’s never met. Her mother never revealed his identity so there’s no one else for Ella to ask. When her friend’s uncle comes to town to help his family Ella takes an immediate liking to him. Ella sees possibilities. Could her mother as well?

Dreaming in Chocolate is a story of love, hope and the possibility of second chances. The magical part is very light and, even though I’m a fan of that sub-genre, I was okay with that. It’s the second book I’ve read by Susan Bishop Crispell and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

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Praise for Dreaming in Chocolate:

A Redbook.com most anticipated book of 2018

“Readers looking for a feel-good story with a little bit of enchantment sprinkled in will eat this one up. A pleasantly sweet tale about true love, fate, and family.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Crispell’s (The Secret Ingredients of Wishes, 2016) sweet tale offers a nice mix of magic and romance … the characters are likable, and the family’s attempts to make Ella’s last days happy are touching and uplifting – Booklist.com

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Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang

• Title:  Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance
• Author:  Ruth Emmie Lang
• Genre:  Fantasy; Magical Realism
• Pages:  352
• Publication date:  November 7, 2017 – St. Martin’s Press
• Source:  Publisher; NetGalley

Description:  Orphaned, raised by wolves, and the proud owner of a horned pig named Merlin, Weylyn Grey knew he wasn’t like other people. But when he single-handedly stopped that tornado on a stormy Christmas day in Oklahoma, he realized just how different he actually was.

As amazing as these powers may appear, they tend to manifest themselves at inopportune times and places, jeopardizing not only his own life, but the life of Mary, the woman he loves.

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance tells the story of Weylyn Grey’s life from the perspectives of the people who knew him, loved him, and even a few who thought he was just plain weird. Although he doesn’t stay in any of their lives for long, he leaves each of them with a story to tell: great storms that evaporate into thin air; fireflies that make phosphorescent honey; a house filled with spider webs and the strange man who inhabits it.

There is one story, however, that Weylyn wishes he could change: his own. But first he has to muster enough courage to knock on Mary’s front door. (publisher)

My take:  When I began reading Ruth Emmie Lang’s debut novel I felt a bit lost and unsure if I was the intended audience. But not one who gives up on a book easily, I kept reading. And I’m so happy I did. It’s about a boy who lived in a forest with wolves and his journey through life. It’s about the people (and the animals) he meets along the way. It’s about human nature, the ability to be kind, the willingness to be kind, and seeking and embracing the possibilities life has to offer. I know this is kind of scattered and brief but allow me to end by saying I finished reading the novel with that delicious feeling of wishing it could go on and on. I love when that happens. It’s on my 2017 Favorites List, for sure.

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Advance Praise:

“Ruth Emmie Lang dazzles with her inventive and magical debut. Told with brains and heart, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance introduces a protagonist who is both mythical and relatable. Weylyn Grey leaves a lasting impression on everyone he meets, and he will on readers too.” —Michelle Gable, New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment, I’ll See You in Paris, and The Book of Summer

“Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is a brilliant button on the coat of American magical realism. Think Charlotte’s Web for grown-ups who, like Weylyn Grey, have their own stories of being different, feared, brave, and loved.” —Mo Daviau, author of Every Anxious Wave

“Ruth Emmie Lang’s prose has the earthy warmth of a campfire story, best enjoyed in the woods and under the stars. Her contemporary spin on the American folktale, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, bristles with charm and curiosity, and its oddball hero, Weylyn Grey, will make you want to follow him into the forest.” —Winston Groom, New York Times bestselling author of Forrest Gump

“A wholly original and superbly crafted work of art, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is a masterpiece of the imagination. Intelligent, witty, and brave, Ruth Emmie Lang takes us on an uplifting and unforgettable adventure of love, magic, friendship and fate. An extraordinary work of fiction by a truly gifted author. ” —Lori Nelson Spielman, New York Times bestselling author of The Life List and Sweet Forgiveness 

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The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell

• Title:  The Secret Ingredient of Wishes: A Novel
• Author:  Susan Bishop Crispell
• Genre:  Women’s Fiction; Magical Realism
• Pages:  304
• Published:  September 2016 – Thomas Dunne Books
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  26-year-old Rachel Monroe has spent her whole life trying to keep a very unusual secret: she can make wishes come true. And sometimes the consequences are disastrous. So when Rachel accidentally grants an outlandish wish for the first time in years, she decides it’s time to leave her hometown—and her past—behind for good. 

Rachel isn’t on the road long before she runs out of gas in a town that’s not on her map: Nowhere, North Carolina—also known as the town of “Lost and Found.” In Nowhere, Rachel is taken in by a spit-fire old woman, Catch, who possesses a strange gift of her own: she can bind secrets by baking them into pies. Rachel also meets Catch’s neighbor, Ashe, a Southern gentleman with a complicated past, who makes her want to believe in happily-ever-after for the first time in her life. 

As she settles into the small town, Rachel hopes her own secrets will stay hidden, but wishes start piling up everywhere Rachel goes. When the consequences threaten to ruin everything she’s begun to build in Nowhere, Rachel must come to terms with who she is and what she can do, or risk losing the people she’s starting to love—and her chance at happiness—all over again.  (publisher)

My take: I’m a fan of novels with a dose of magical realism – think Sarah Addison Allen (one of my favorite authors). Let me tell you how happy I was to receive this book in the mail. Rachel doesn’t know where she’s going but when she ends up running out of gas in Nowhere, North Carolina she meets some interesting people.

One of those people is Catch who offers Rachel a place to stay for as long as she’d like. Catch is in her seventies and kind of cantankerous – in a charming kind of way, ha. She also possesses an ability to make secrets stay secret. So she understands how difficult it can be for Rachel who doesn’t want her own special ability.

This novel is full of interesting characters. Some are sweet, some downright rude and insensitive, and some just want to live a regular life. Rachel hopes to figure out how to fix or make peace with things that have happened. I enjoyed it all.

The Secret Ingredient of Wishes charmed me and I look forward to reading more of Susan Bishop Crispell’s books. And now I want some pie – love that book cover!

The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig – PLUS a two book US Giveaway

• Title:  The Cake Therapist: A novel
• Author:  Judith Fertig
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction; Magical Realism
• Published:  June 2015 – Berkley Trade
• Source:  Publisher

Synopsis:  Claire “Neely” O’Neill is an extraordinarily talented pastry chef.  But at a time when her life outside her kitchen seems to be falling apart, Neely moves back to her small Midwestern hometown from NYC to open a bakery and work through the heartache that caused her to flee her life in New York. The bakery, Rainbow Cake, named after her signature ROYGBIV confection, is perfect, intimate, and just what she’s always dreamed of. 

But Neely has a special gift beyond making the perfect Rainbow Cake: while every great chef can taste shimmering, elusive flavors that most of us miss, Neely can “taste” feelings—cinnamon makes you remember; plum is pleased with itself; orange is a wake-up call. When flavor and feeling give Neely a glimpse of someone’s inner self, she can customize her creations to help that person celebrate love, overcome fear, even mourn a devastating loss.

 

As she meets her new customers, Neely has a sense of secrets, some dark, some perhaps with tempting possibilities. A recurring flavor of alarming intensity signals to her perfect palate a long-ago story that must be told.  As she tastes her way through others’ mysterious pasts, she largely ignores the pain and uncertainty in her own.  Neely has always been able to help everyone else, but getting to the end of this story may be just what she needs to help herself.   (publisher)

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My take:  If you enjoy what I like to call foodie fiction I think you’ll like The Cake Therapist. Judith Fertig combined characters, settings and problems of everyday people all resulting in a delicious novel. And she added a dash of magical realism that made for an even tastier story.

I loved the quietness of the novel – even in times of big, life-changing events. It seemed as though one of the characters (Sr. Agnes) was reading to me. Some pretty awful things happened but the tone of Fertig’s writing always kept me turning the pages. Sometimes when that happens in a novel I have to put the book down for a while. That didn’t happen once in The Cake Therapist.

My favorite character was Neely. She had such a positive, upbeat attitude that she made the people around her even better – as well as her baked goods. The Cake Therapist has two storylines that eventually come together, thanks to Neely. The possibility of finding closure and a new beginning made this novel a satisfying read. Recommended.

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About the author:

Cookbook author Judith Fertig grew up in the Midwest, went to La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris and The Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and now lives in Kansas City. Described by Saveur Magazine as a “heartland cookbook icon,” Fertig writes cookbooks that reflect her love of bread, baking, barbecue, and the fabulous foods of the Heartland.

Fertig’s food and lifestyle writing has appeared in more than a dozen publications, including Bon Appetit, Saveur and The New York Times. You can read some of her cookbooks like novels–the fabulously photographed Heartland, the award-winning and James Beard Awards-nominated Prairie Home Cooking (a “tour de force,” says Saveur), the encylopedic All-American Desserts, and Prairie Home Breads. Her IACP Cookbook Award-winning The Back in the Swing Cookbook (with Barbara C.Unell) takes you on a delicious daily journey to get you back in the swing after breast cancer.

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US Giveaway

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First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

• Title:  First Frost
• Series:  Waverly family #2
• Author:  Sarah Addison Allen
• Genre:  Magical Realism; Contemporary Fiction
• Pub. Date:  Jan. 20, 2015 – St. Martin’s Press
• Source:  Publisher

Synopsis:  From the New York Times bestselling author of GARDEN SPELLS comes a story of the Waverley family, in a novel as sparkling as the first dusting of frost on new-fallen leaves…

It’s October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly.  As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree… and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.  (partial synopsis from the publisher)

My take:  First Frost picks up ten years after we left the Waverly family in Garden Spells. Once again Sarah Addison Allen enchanted me with her characters, setting, and story.

Claire has a successful candy business but longs for something more. She’s just not sure what that might be.

Sydney also has a longing. She wants to have a baby with her husband. All attempts have failed and she’s not sure what to do. Also on her mind is daughter Bay, now a high school student. Sydney worries that Bay will repeat mistakes from her own past and wonders if she can prevent that from happening.

One day a stranger arrives in town bringing with him the goal of changing things for a certain Waverly. Will he be successful? No spoilers here!

As usual, I was charmed by Sarah Addison Allen’s storytelling. It’s a tale about allowing yourself to be who you know you are and not what others say you should be. I loved it all and hope for another Waverly story someday soon.

Note:  If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Garden Spells I recommend you do so before First Frost. You’ll meet the Waverlys and discover their secrets and gifts from the beginning. 

The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee

• Title:  The Glass Kitchen
• Author:  Linda Francis Lee
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  June 2014 – St. Martin’s Press
• Source:  Publisher

Synopsis: Portia Cuthcart and her two sisters find their way from Texas to Manhattan over the years, the heiresses to a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side.  Portia is running from a bad divorce and the knowledge that she has always been a little bit different, a little bit strange:  the talented cook who knew exactly what to serve on what occasion, even to the point of predicting events that hadn’t even happened yet.  But she doesn’t cook anymore.  She has tamped down this “knowing.”  It has caused her way too many problems.  When she meets twelve-year-old Ariel Kane, she sees a girl in desperate need of a mother and a family in dire need of fried chicken, biscuits, and strawberry rhubarb pie.  Widowed Gabriel Kane has his hands full with two daughters on the cusp of womanhood, plus the Kane family have so many secrets and rivalries of their own.  Ariel, especially, must find a way to bring them all together with the help of Portia: the non-cook, the non-believer in happy endings.  Portia, who just might have to rethink the pages of her own story and take a few chances to claim what she wants deep down inside…  (publisher)

My take:  Linda Francis Lee filled her novel with lovely and colorful characters who I couldn’t wait to get back to each time I had to stop reading. The story is rather heart-wrenching but never maudlin. I wanted to hug most of the characters at one time or another.

I loved the flavor of magical-realism woven through the novel (think Sarah Addison Allen). Portia’s “knowing” seemed to work on everyone but herself. As she slowly figured things out it made for an ending that I found sigh-worthy and left me smiling.

If you’re looking for a book that makes you happy each time you pick it up, a book about what makes a family, and a book about learning to accept oneself and others for who they truly are, you’ll want to read The Glass Kitchen.

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

• Title:  Lost Lake
• Author:  Sarah Addison Allen
• Genre:  Fiction; Magical Realism
• Published:  January 2014 – St. Martin’s Press
• Source:  Publisher

Synopsis:  Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve, before she learned of loneliness, and heartbreak, and loss. Now she’s all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope too, thanks to her resilient daughter Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer… and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago. One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren’t sure they needed in the first place: love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended. Can they find what they need before it’s too late?  (publisher)

My take:  I really liked this story about Lost Lake and the people who’ve had a connection to it over the years. They are people who’ve saved or been saved, loved and lost. They help each other realize they can find the ending they’ve hoped for instead of changing the ending to something more practical.

In her usual way, Sarah Addison Allen weaves a magical thread through her story. This time its in the form of an alligator that leaves clues for Devin, the young daughter of Kate. Devin reminds her mother of the innocence and hopefulness of her own youth. Kate’s happiest memories of her time spent at Lost Lake. Could this be the place for Devin and Kate to begin a new life?

Lost Lake is filled with quirky characters who add color and subtle depth to the story. I enjoyed them all and wasn’t ready to say goodbye as I turned the last page. Recommended to fans of Sarah Addison Allen and Southern fiction with a touch of magical realism.

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag

• Title:  The House at the End of Hope Street
• Author:  Menna van Praag
• Genre:  Women’s Fiction; Magical Realism
• Published:  April 2013 – Pamela Dorman Books
• Source:  Publisher

Synopsis:  Distraught that her academic career has stalled, Alba is walking through her hometown of Cambridge, England, when she finds herself in front of a house she’s never seen before, 11 Hope Street. A beautiful older woman named Peggy greets her and invites her to stay, on the house’s usual conditions: she has ninety-nine nights to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba takes a chance and moves in.

She soon discovers that this is no ordinary house. Past residents have included Virginia Woolf and Dorothy Parker, who, after receiving the assistance they needed, hung around to help newcomers—literally, in talking portraits on the wall. As she escapes into this new world, Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds—and maybe even save her life. (publisher)

My take:  Feeling devastated and betrayed by recent events in her life Alba is surprised to find herself invited to live in a house where the walls breathe,  famous women in photos speak, converse even, and a ghost counsels her from the kitchen sink. Ahh magical realism, how fun you are to read 🙂  Fun and entertaining but revolving around serious issues of Alba and a few of her housemates. One woman is running from a tragic event in her life. Actually, her entire life was tragic. Another woman is almost forty and afraid her chance at finding love and having a child is slipping away. Almost every character in the book is dealing with some emotional issue.

The wise women on the walls (all former residents of the house) give advice or at least their opinions and it’s up to the living residents to either take the advice or not – to live life in the here and now – not the past. They need to figure out what they want to do moving forward and start working toward it.

I enjoyed this quirky, magical tale and recommend it to fans of the genre.

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

Title:  Rainshadow Road

Series: Friday Harbor #2

Author:  Lisa Kleypas

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Published:  February 2012 – St. Martin’s Griffin

Synopsis:  (from the back of the book) Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful Friday Harbor, Washington, with a boyfriend, Kevin, who she believes is her soul mate. She has always had a magical side – a gift that finds its way into the breathtaking glasswork she creates – and she struggles to keep it contained. But when Lucy is blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal, she questions many of her choices. . . Lucy’s bitterness over this devastation is multiplied by the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life.  As Lucy questions her beliefs about love, loyalty, old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings, she explores the possibility that some things in life – even after being broken – can be re-made into something beautiful. And that it is only by discovering who you really are that you can find the one who truly deserves you.

My take:  Book two in the Friday Harbor series is the story of Lucy and Sam. Both have trust/commitment issues. Sam because of the way his alcoholic parents raised him; Lucy because of a betrayal by a family member and because of the way her parents treated her so differently than her sister when they were young. It’s the betrayal that brings Sam and Lucy together.
I liked Sam and Lucy’s story but at times I just wanted to urge Sam to get therapy and move forward.  Also, as described in the synopsis, there’s a magical realism aspect to the story. It’s not at the forefront but I found it an intriguing connection between Lucy and Sam.
Ultimately, Lisa Kleypas does what she does so well, she had me cheering for Lucy and Sam (even though I knew the HEA would be there I wasn’t sure how) and I was happy with the ending.
I look forward to the next book in the Friday Harbor series.

Disclosure:  I received this book from the publisher via Goodreads First Reads program. I was not compensated for my review.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Title:  The Peach Keeper

Author:  Sarah Addison Allen

Genre:  Magical Realism; Women’s Fiction

Published:  March 2011 – Bantam

About: (from the Goodreads synopsis) It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.

Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

My brief take:  Sarah Addison Allen serves up another feast for the senses in her latest book The Peach Keeper. The magical realism woven throughout the novel is what I like most in her books. Well, that and her characters. I really enjoyed Willa and Paxton’s path to friendship. They helped each other get past the expectations of others and started to live their own lives. The same held true for Paxton’s friend Sebastian as well as her brother Colin. They all learned that happiness meant taking risks. It’s a lovely story and I look forward to Sarah Addison Allen’s next book.

Fate never promises to tell you everything up front. You aren’t always shown the path in life you’re supposed to take. But if there was one thing she’d learned in the past few weeks, it was that sometimes, when you’re really lucky, you meet someone with a map.  p.242

Source:  Giveaway at Life in the Thumb (Thanks, Staci!)

Disclaimer:  See sidebar. I was not compensated for my review.