Tag: MothersAndDaughters

British, Fantasy, Ghosties, Historical, Libraries, Magical, Mystery, Suspense, Victorian, Women

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish by Paula Brackston

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish is book one in New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston’s new, magic-infused series about Hecate Cavendish, an eccentric and feisty young woman who can see ghosts.

England, 1881. Hereford cathedral stands sentinel over the city, keeping its secrets, holding long forgotten souls in its stony embrace. Hecate Cavendish speeds through the cobbled streets on her bicycle, skirts hitched daringly high, heading for her new life as Assistant Librarian. But this is no ordinary collection of books. The cathedral houses an ancient chained library, wisdom guarded for centuries, mysteries and stories locked onto its worn, humble shelves. The most prized artifact, however, is the medieval world map which hangs next to Hecate’s desk. Little does she know how much the curious people and mythical creatures depicted on it will come to mean to her. Nor does she suspect that there are lost souls waiting for her in the haunted cathedral. Some will become her dearest friends. Some will seek her help in finding peace. Others will put her in great peril, and, as she quickly learns, threaten the lives of everyone she loves.

My Thoughts

Brackston’s latest appears to be the first in what promises to be an exciting series. While I’ve seen some reviewers complain about the end being unsatisfying, I found it quite the opposite – for me the end is a sort of gentle cliffhanger. No, the singular villain has not been revealed but that only serves to make me anticipate the future adventures of Miss Cavendish. And that definitely doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of a satisfying climax – in fact there are two very compelling scenes that lead to the end.

My previous reading of Brackston’s books led me to expect a slow burn of a story, and that’s what I experienced here. The story moves along at a gentle pace as Hecate navigates her new position as Assistant Librarian along with managing her mother’s ambition that she conform to society’s expectations of a young woman. Once the action starts, though, watch out. You’ll be turning pages as fast as you can read.

As a librarian, I connected right away with Hecate’s love of her new work. I enjoyed reading about her work and reveled in her discoveries. Additionally, I was delighted to find that the Hereford Mappa Mundi really exists and spent an enjoyable hour or so reading about it and exploring its images online.

This reader is definitely looking forward to more Hecate Cavendish.

Publication Date: July 23, 2024
Published By: St. Martin’s Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Cookbooks, Family, Historical

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A lyrical culinary journey that explores the hidden legacy of Black Appalachians, through powerful storytelling alongside nearly forty comforting recipes, from the former poet laureate of Kentucky.

People are always surprised that Black people reside in the hills of Appalachia. Those not surprised that we were there, are surprised that we stayed.

Years ago, when O. Henry Prize-winning writer Crystal Wilkinson was baking a jam cake, she felt her late grandmother’s presence. She soon realized that she was not the only cook in her kitchen; there were her ancestors, too, stirring, measuring, and braising alongside her. These are her kitchen ghosts, five generations of Black women who settled in Appalachia and made a life, a legacy, and a cuisine.

An expert cook, Wilkinson shares nearly forty family recipes rooted deep in the past, full of flavor—delicious favorites including Corn Pudding, Chicken and Dumplings, Granny Christine’s Jam Cake, and Praisesong Biscuits, brought to vivid life through stunning photography. Together, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts honors the mothers who came before, the land that provided for generations of her family, and the untold heritage of Black Appalachia.

As the keeper of her family’s stories and treasured dishes, Wilkinson shares her inheritance in Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. She found their stories in her apron pockets, floating inside the steam of hot mustard greens and tucked into the sweet scent of clove and cinnamon in her kitchen. Part memoir, part cookbook, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts weaves those stories together with recipes, family photos, and a lyrical imagination to present a culinary portrait of a family that has lived and worked the earth of the mountains for over a century.

My Thoughts

It’s not often I find a cookbook that is as much a story as a collection of recipes. Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts is such a book. Crystal Wilkinson writes a lovely, flowing memoir of her family as seen through the food they grew and consumed. Blending elements of a family scrapbook (snapshots of Wilkinson’s people likely taken with an old Kodak or Polaroid camera) are interspersed with fancier photos of the current finished recipes.

Some recipes are presented as they have been prepared in Wilkinson’s family for generations; others have been updated to include new ingredients and to accommodate new ways of eating for Wilkinson and her family. Each recipe is connected in specific ways to her family, ways which are communicated through gently told tales of her “kitchen ghosts” or all the women who came before her and inhabit her kitchen when she cooks.

Wilkinson’s earliest ancestors settled in Kentucky – those who were enslaved and those who were free. They grew up and worked the land on Indian Creek and reveled in the bounty that the land provided. Wilkinson provides a rare insight to the black folks who inhabited parts of Appalachia, especially the women who influenced her.

While the folkways and stories are unique to Wilkinson’s family, I recognized much of the food she writes about from stories told by my mother-in-law, a white woman who grew up in the hills of West Virginia. I read the section on poke to my husband, who educated me about the beautiful but poisonous plant last summer. Turns out his mother planted it on her farmland in western NY because it reminded her of home in West Virginia. The steps Wilkinson shares on how to safely handle and consume poke are identical to the process my mother-in-law used. Same thing for how to wash and cook greens.

General observation not really related to the book: As I’ve learned more about race in the last few years, I’ve observed that when it comes to food, we are very alike in our traditions and approaches to fixing things to eat. Wilkinson’s Chicken & Dumplings may be the closest I’ll come to replicating my MIL’s food. She, like Granny Christine, rarely cooked from recipes.

This is one of the most enjoyable, readable cookbooks I’ve read in years and I’ll be buying a copy for myself. I’m definitely making Jam Cake and caramel icing, although there are plenty of wonderful recipes to try.

“With Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, Crystal Wilkinson cements herself as one of the most dynamic book makers in our generation and a literary giant. Utter genius tastes like this.”—Kiese Laymon, author of the Carnegie Medal-winning Heavy.

Publication Date: January 23, 2024
Published By: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Mystery, Psychological, Suspense, Women

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins returns with a twisted new gothic suspense about an infamous heiress and the complicated inheritance she left behind.

THERE’S NOTHING AS GOOD AS THE RICH GONE BAD

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.

And as Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

My Thoughts

Holy hell!

Here’s the new Gone Girl for 2024 and it’s a DOOZY. Hawkins has delivered an unforgettable tale of suspense, family intrigue, deception, betrayal, and ultimately love (although love without trust). You will read this one in a single sitting, so arm yourself with plenty of tasty beverages and snacks and settle in for a bumpy ride.

There’s really nothing more to say about this fabulous story except get yourself a copy!

Publication Date: January 9, 2024
Published By: St. Martin’s Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

British, Historical, Magical Realism, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Women

The White Hare by Jane Johnson

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

In the far west of Cornwall lies the White Valley, which cuts deeply through bluebell woods down to the sea at White Cove. The valley has a long and bloody history, laced with folklore, and in it sits a house above the beach that has lain neglected since the war. It comes with a reputation and a strange atmosphere, which is why mother and daughter Magdalena and Mila manage to acquire it so cheaply in the fateful summer of 1954.

Magda has grand plans to restore the house to its former glory as a venue for glittering parties, where the rich and celebrated gathered for cocktails and for bracing walks along the coast. Her grown daughter, Mila, just wants to escape the scandal in her past and make a safe and happy home for her little girl, Janey, a solitary, precocious child blessed with a vivid imagination, much of which she pours into stories about her magical plush toy, Rabbit.

But Janey’s rabbit isn’t the only magical being around. Legend has it that an enchanted white hare may be seen running through the woods. Is it an ill omen or a blessing? As Mila, her mother, and her young daughter adjust to life in this mysterious place, they will have to reckon with their own pasts and with the secrets that have been haunting the White Valley for decades.

My Thoughts

This story has all the things that captivate me in a book: magical realism, plenty of folklore, colorful characters, secrets from the past, and complicated family relationships.

In addition, Johnson is an accomplished writer, equally skilled at narrative description, character and plot development, dialog, and scene setting. There are so many wonderful scenes in this book that I keep going back to re-read parts long after I finished reading.

There is a nice balance of good and evil presented here, both between Mila and her mother, who harbors a horrifying secret from her own past, and between Jack and the Vicar who are bound by an equally horrifying experience from their past.

Johnson capably moves the story along through Mila and Janey, who act as the fulcrum for resolution of both storylines. I was reminded of Eve Chase’s work as I was reading, but also of Kate Morton, M.J. Rose, and Kate Mosse.

Highly recommended.

For fans of Alice Hoffman and Kate Morton, The White Hare is a spellbinding novel about mothers and daughters finding a new home for themselves, the secrets they try to bury, and the local legends that may change their lives.

Publication Date: October 2022
Published By: Simon & Schuster

British, Cozy, Mystery, Suspense, Women

A Scrap of Silk by Virginia King INDIE PICK!

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

A surprise inheritance.

A locked cellar.

A shocking secret from her family’s past …

When 30-year-old mystery author Tiggy Jones inherits an old boathouse in Devon from the grandmother she never knew, her shock turns to excitement.

But she’s walking into a labyrinth of clues that hint at a long-hidden secret.

A series of anonymous threats become increasingly menacing. Who is trying to stop her investigations?

As her new life unravels, what horrors will she uncover from her family’s past?

And will she survive them?

A Scrap of Silk is Book 1 in the addictive new Tiggy Jones Mystery Series.

Cancel a couple of night’s sleep and get it now.

My Thoughts

I always enjoy a new mystery series, and Virginia King has made me a fan with this mysterious, semi-creepy, and generally fun book. She has given readers a very appealing protagonist in Tiggy Jones, and dropped her into Topsham, a veritable bed of intrigue. The component of the mysterious locked cellar is handled nicely, even though it turns into a gruesome and sad story.

There are a lot of characters introduced throughout the story, which I did find a bit of a challenge to keep straight, but it all worked out in the end with a deliciously witty and ingenious narrative. I initially labeled this a “cozy” mystery, but there were definitely some dark traces included in the story, especially the diabolical antagonist. I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a commupance quite so much! Well done.

Publication Date: June 30, 2023
Published By: BooksGoSocial
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Historical, Makes You Think, Women, World Literature

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.

Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children—the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children…and her freedom.

My Thoughts

This stunning novel will take you on an emotional journey that you will not soon forget. The experiences of mothers, fathers, children, and siblings born into slavery and ripped away from each other are just too horrific to fully understand, and Shearer skillfully conveys the raw emotions – rage, heartbreak, despair but also hope, love, and resilience – experienced by Rachel, her children, and her allies. Rachels’ story drives home the capacity for humans to torture each other physically and mentally, and that makes this a difficult book to read. However, it is also ultimately a story of redemption and reunification driven by the incandescent love of a mother for her children. This is a book that will change you.

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery is a “celebration of motherhood and female resilience” (The Observer).

“A powerful novel that explores how freedom and family are truly defined”—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Real Simple, Goodreads, AARP, Boston.com, BookBub and BookRiot

Her search begins with an ending.…

Publication Date: January 31, 2023
Published By: Berkley Publishing Group
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

General, Magical, Women

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

From the acclaimed author of Garden Spells comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she is thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Delightful and atmospheric, Other Birds is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

My Thoughts

I rarely re-read books in ARC form (I wait until I have the final copy in hand), but I re-read this one. I’ve been waiting for a new story from Sarah Addison Allen for a long time. I found her earlier books beautiful, evocative, and soothing. Other Birds is all that and more.

The thread of mothers and daughters that winds through this tale is what hooked me, I think. Allen gives us a flawed protagonist striking out on her own for the first time and trying to learn more about the mother she doesn’t remember. She begins her new life in a place her mother loved, where she encounters other sorts of mothers and daughters and sons, all with complicated maternal relationships.

Allen weaves a rich and gentle story about ordinary people living seemingly ordinary lives, who are touched by magic for just a little while. The stories and their many pathways circle around, duck under, and weave back in to create a bubble of a world that is full of love, regret, and hope.

One of the best of the year.