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A review by simplyalexandra
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
5.0
2020:
Full Review:
4.5 Stars - I highly recommend if you enjoy magical realism and women's fiction. Also a good fiction pick for foodies.
Claire Waverly is part of a line of Waverly women with extraordinary gifts. She uses the flowers from their garden to influence the emotions and lives of people in their town. This makes her a popular caterer, but very misunderstood, as much of her family has been. When her sister, Sydney, returns to town with her young daughter they must reconcile their differences to make a new home together. Sydney is running from her dangerous ex, and has always denied her Waverly blood, but stability and a home for her daughter is what she needs now. Can she make a home for herself in a place she's always felt strange?
Before I got back into reading consistently, there were spurts of time where I would binge-read a few books and then read nothing for months. One winter with a lot of snow days I read a lot of Sarah Addison Allen books and they became some of my favorites. I finally got a chance to re-read this and it was just as fun to read the second time. Many of my favorite books have a close-knit multi-generational group of women looking out for each other and they often have special gifts of abilities. I love love love the Waverly women. I love the folklore around their family and all of their special abilities. I love how different Claire and Sydney are, one reserved and embracing her family legacy, the other on the run and only putting down roots for her daughter's sake. Bay and Evanelle are my favorites, a little girl who knows exactly where items and people belong, and an elderly woman who gets the urge to give random items to people just when they'll need them. There is so much quirk, but also so much heart in their stories. I love how they come together, support each other, and use their gifts to make their town and lives better. I love their home, and as a foodie I especially love Claire's affinity for cooking and baking with flowers from their garden. The whole house and garden also sound just dreamy as can be. I enjoy the love stories and the bits of folklore around other people and families in the town, but my favorite part of this book is the Waverly women as a whole. I am excited to finally get around to the sequel, First Frost.
Right After Reading:
I still loved this. Her writing is so good. Full review to come.
Full Review:
4.5 Stars - I highly recommend if you enjoy magical realism and women's fiction. Also a good fiction pick for foodies.
Claire Waverly is part of a line of Waverly women with extraordinary gifts. She uses the flowers from their garden to influence the emotions and lives of people in their town. This makes her a popular caterer, but very misunderstood, as much of her family has been. When her sister, Sydney, returns to town with her young daughter they must reconcile their differences to make a new home together. Sydney is running from her dangerous ex, and has always denied her Waverly blood, but stability and a home for her daughter is what she needs now. Can she make a home for herself in a place she's always felt strange?
Before I got back into reading consistently, there were spurts of time where I would binge-read a few books and then read nothing for months. One winter with a lot of snow days I read a lot of Sarah Addison Allen books and they became some of my favorites. I finally got a chance to re-read this and it was just as fun to read the second time. Many of my favorite books have a close-knit multi-generational group of women looking out for each other and they often have special gifts of abilities. I love love love the Waverly women. I love the folklore around their family and all of their special abilities. I love how different Claire and Sydney are, one reserved and embracing her family legacy, the other on the run and only putting down roots for her daughter's sake. Bay and Evanelle are my favorites, a little girl who knows exactly where items and people belong, and an elderly woman who gets the urge to give random items to people just when they'll need them. There is so much quirk, but also so much heart in their stories. I love how they come together, support each other, and use their gifts to make their town and lives better. I love their home, and as a foodie I especially love Claire's affinity for cooking and baking with flowers from their garden. The whole house and garden also sound just dreamy as can be. I enjoy the love stories and the bits of folklore around other people and families in the town, but my favorite part of this book is the Waverly women as a whole. I am excited to finally get around to the sequel, First Frost.
Right After Reading:
I still loved this. Her writing is so good. Full review to come.