On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe: A Novel
Magical Realism /Women’s Domestic Life Fiction / Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Publisher : Forge Books (July 16, 2019)
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250198593
ISBN-13 : 978-1250198594
Publisher : Forge Trade (January 7, 2020)
Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250198615
ISBN-13 : 978-1250198617
Kindle ASIN : B07GVBGNB8
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.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Anna Kate has returned to Wicklow, Alabama following her Granny Zee’s death. The trip did not go as planned. After the burial, Anna Kate learned the stipulations of her grandmother’s will. She must remain in Wicklow and run her grandmother’s Blackbird Café for two months. Then she can sell it and return to the life she had planned. But despite her best efforts, she finds herself making friends and trying to understand why her mother ran away from the town many years ago.
The Blackbird Café is a curious place that is a very important part of the small Southern town. Anna Kate still needs to learn about the mystery of it all. When her past is gradually revealed she is torn. Should she stay or should she go?
What a fascinating story.
“Under midnight skies,
Blackbirds sing,
Loving notes,
Baked it pies,
Under midnight skies”
Anna Kate’s mother vowed to never return to Wicklow, and she didn’t. Some residents didn’t even know Anna Kate existed. Now she is living above the cafe and trying to learn everything about it, its mysterious pies, and the blackbirds nesting in the trees nearby. She is approached by her father’s family but because of her mother’s warnings, she is not ready to get to know them in any way. Ms. Webber has created treasures in the residents of Wicklow. True Southern folk set in their ways. Some are outgoing and over the top, some are more held back and reserved, and many are dealing with underlying issues of their own. They were all interesting and developed well throughout the story. One little girl absolutely stole this grandma’s heart.
The legend of the blackbirds was compelling. The droves of people coming to Wicklow to see them were stirring. What happened in the town of Wicklow was uplifting. The author has written a story full of life lessons, friendship, and family ties. This passage hit me in the heart.
“Grief was a capricious companion. Sometimes distant and aloof. Sometimes so overwhelming it was hard to think a straight thought. Its mood changed at whim, making it emotionally exhausting to keep up.”
Losing someone you love is so hard and those words describe how I feel more times than expected.
The magic in this book is so well done. It is light and not overpowering. The Southern charm courses throughout. The author balances family drama, romance, magic, and mystery very well. The comparison between a blackbird and Anna Kate resonated with me. She makes a huge decision that I questioned at first because she worked so hard and was getting close to a goal she had longed for but I believe as her story continues beyond the pages of this book she found a way to do everything she wanted to do.
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe pulled me in and like Wicklow had ways of holding on. It’s an engaging novel that I found heartwarming and unique. Heather Webber has created a dynamic community. I wish I could visit in real life and try a few pieces of the Blackbird Café special pies.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About the Author
HEATHER WEBBER is the national bestselling author of more than thirty novels–including Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, the Lucy Valentine novels, and the Nina Quinn Mysteries–and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She loves to spend time with her family, read, drink too much coffee and tea, birdwatch, crochet, watch cooking competitions and home improvement shows, crochet, and bake. Heather lives in southwestern Ohio and is hard at work on her next book. Website
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I am giving away a Kindle Copy of
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe!
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*This book is from my private collection. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
It sounds good. Great review.