Magically delicious storytelling.
I adored this book and highly recommend it for fans of magical realism.
After her grandmother Zee’s passing, Anna Kate travels from Boston to the small, struggling town of Wicklow, Alabama to lay her grandmother to rest. One of the stipulations of her will is that Anna Kate has to spend a few months running Zee’s popular Blackbird Café before she is able to sell it. Anna Kate is set on keeping everyone at arms length to avoid getting attached, selling the café and then hightailing it out of town to go to medical school. Despite her best efforts, the town of Wicklow has a way of grabbing on and not letting go.
The town’s blackbirds are no ordinary blackbirds—at midnight, they carry messages from loved ones who have passed and the magic is in Zee’s blackbird (fruit) pie. Anna Kate feels obligated to continue making the legendary pies that so many people depend on but she is missing Zee’s secret ingredient. Anna Kate finds herself drawn to the charming southern town that her late mother ran away from many years ago. As she discovers what drove her family apart, Anna Kate realizes she must let go of past grudges and make her own decisions.
This entrancing story was an absolute treat to read. Filled with scrumptious food, magical realism, family, romance, grief and forgiveness—it was impossible not to fall in love with these characters and the quirky town of Wicklow.
After her grandmother Zee’s passing, Anna Kate travels from Boston to the small, struggling town of Wicklow, Alabama to lay her grandmother to rest. One of the stipulations of her will is that Anna Kate has to spend a few months running Zee’s popular Blackbird Café before she is able to sell it. Anna Kate is set on keeping everyone at arms length to avoid getting attached, selling the café and then hightailing it out of town to go to medical school. Despite her best efforts, the town of Wicklow has a way of grabbing on and not letting go.
The town’s blackbirds are no ordinary blackbirds—at midnight, they carry messages from loved ones who have passed and the magic is in Zee’s blackbird (fruit) pie. Anna Kate feels obligated to continue making the legendary pies that so many people depend on but she is missing Zee’s secret ingredient. Anna Kate finds herself drawn to the charming southern town that her late mother ran away from many years ago. As she discovers what drove her family apart, Anna Kate realizes she must let go of past grudges and make her own decisions.
This entrancing story was an absolute treat to read. Filled with scrumptious food, magical realism, family, romance, grief and forgiveness—it was impossible not to fall in love with these characters and the quirky town of Wicklow.