Tonight is my book club and I am the hostess this month. I haven’t really hosted much in my new house (new is a relative term since we moved in 3 years ago), so this is my first real event. 
The troops have rallied (and been paid extra allowance) to clean the house and it’s sparkly. I’ve bought mounds of food, liquor and treats. I even made a gluten-free chocolate cake so I could enjoy it too.
We read a book called Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I really liked it a lot - although marketed as mainstream fiction, it has all the elements of a romance novel in it.
Here’s the review from Publisher’s Weekly posted on Amazon:
“Two gifted sisters draw on their talents to belatedly forge a bond and find their ways in life in Allen’s easygoing debut novel. Thirty-four-year-old Claire Waverley manifests her talent in cooking; using edible flowers, Claire creates dishes that affect the eater in curious ways. But not all Waverley women embrace their gifts; some, including Claire’s mother, escape the family’s eccentric reputation by running away. She abandoned Claire and her sister when they were young. Consequently, Claire has remained close to home, unwilling to open up to new people or experiences. Claire’s younger sister, Sydney, however, followed in their mother’s footsteps 10 years ago and left for New York, and after a string of abusive, roustabout boyfriends, returns to Bascom, N.C., with her five-year-old daughter, Bay. As Sydney reacquaints herself with old friends and rivals, she discovers her own Waverley magic. Claire, in turn, begins to open up to her sister and in the process learns how to welcome other possibilities.”
It started out a bit stilted for me, but then when I realized how much Claire was holding in, that she was yearning to escape the self-made prison. Sydney I just wanted to hug the stuffing out of - any abused woman who has the courage to escape, especially after the first time failed, deserves every scrap of happiness she can find.
I really liked the relationship between Claire and Sydney - they reminded me a lot of me and my sister. We were at odds for a long time too. Geez, we fought like cats and dogs all through childhood and it wasn’t really until I moved to NC about 11 years ago that we suddenly discovered we liked each other. LOL! Now we’re good friends and I feel like I can tell her anything.
Although PW didn’t like the romantic elements, called it “perfunctory”, I thought it lent a charm to the story and rounded it out for me. Of course, I love romance novels too (thus the reason I write them).
As for the setting, I adored it - completely true to form with life here in North Carolina. I could picture the people, the setting even the houses with screen doors.
A recommended read for y’all if you’ve a mind to read a southern story with a bit of romance and a passel of spells, along with a magical garden.
According to Sarah’s website, she has another book coming out in 2008, which I plan to read:
“The next book is titled The Sugar Queen. It’s about a secret closet full of candy, books that won’t go away, and three women with more in common than they think. Lots of food, magic, love and Southern atmosphere.”
There’s no link to contact her, so hopefully she’ll Google herself and find this blog post. Rock on, Sarah!
I’m off to prepare for the book club. Have a faboo Friday y’all!
