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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I devoured this book. Adored it.
I started listening to it and when I realized that, after listening for what felt like forever, I was only on page 50. So off to the library I went to get a physical copy. 4 hours later and I am done. I've never been so happy to have a job where I could read occasionally.
Sadie Way and Leala Clare..... oh my heart!! This book checked all the boxes. Small town, second chances, mother/daughter relationships, sister/sister relationships, magical realism, it was a perfect escape..... I wish this had a sequel and I could live a little longer with Sadie and Leala.
"Life can be hard, Sadie. Full of twists and turns, pain and heartache, and things that make you question whether life's worth living. But in all my years - and there've been a lot of 'em, mind you - I can tell you that for every hard day, there's an easy one. For every tear, there's a laugh, and that love is the patch for every broken heart. Being alive's a blessing that shouldn't be taken for granted."
I started listening to it and when I realized that, after listening for what felt like forever, I was only on page 50. So off to the library I went to get a physical copy. 4 hours later and I am done. I've never been so happy to have a job where I could read occasionally.
Sadie Way and Leala Clare..... oh my heart!! This book checked all the boxes. Small town, second chances, mother/daughter relationships, sister/sister relationships, magical realism, it was a perfect escape..... I wish this had a sequel and I could live a little longer with Sadie and Leala.
"Life can be hard, Sadie. Full of twists and turns, pain and heartache, and things that make you question whether life's worth living. But in all my years - and there've been a lot of 'em, mind you - I can tell you that for every hard day, there's an easy one. For every tear, there's a laugh, and that love is the patch for every broken heart. Being alive's a blessing that shouldn't be taken for granted."
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
The Lights of Sugarberry Cove, written by Heather Webber, is a charming novel full of magical realism, healing, and love, and it is such a gentle beast. It is a gentle soul waiting for the right reader to come along.
Sadie Way Scott is a beloved cooking show host. If that had been her entire story, that would have been enough. But Sadie is haunted by her past – a past where she nearly drowned at her family's lake.
Years later, Sadie and her family must come together to deal with the combined trauma and guilt that came from this moment. Will one family survive, or will they go their separate ways once again?
"Home. The word wound it's way around my heart and squeezed like it was giving me a hug."
The Lights of Sugarberry Cove is such a gentle and wonderful read. Before this book, I honestly never would have thought to apply the word 'gentle' to any novel or experience within the reading world. Yet that is the best term I can think of here.
Yes, this is a novel that handles grief, love, loss, and guilt. Yet those emotions are all so very human, and Heather Webber handles them all with care. The characters within this novel are fleshed out, scarred, and looking for ways to move on. It's a note that hit home for me, and I'm certain it will work for many other readers as well.
In many ways, The Lights of Sugarberry Cove felt like it was coming home. It was refreshing, evocative, and worked hard to pull me into the narrative. There were moments in this book that I don't think I'll ever be able to forget – and I'm okay with that.
Thanks to Forge Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks>
Sadie Way Scott is a beloved cooking show host. If that had been her entire story, that would have been enough. But Sadie is haunted by her past – a past where she nearly drowned at her family's lake.
Years later, Sadie and her family must come together to deal with the combined trauma and guilt that came from this moment. Will one family survive, or will they go their separate ways once again?
"Home. The word wound it's way around my heart and squeezed like it was giving me a hug."
The Lights of Sugarberry Cove is such a gentle and wonderful read. Before this book, I honestly never would have thought to apply the word 'gentle' to any novel or experience within the reading world. Yet that is the best term I can think of here.
Yes, this is a novel that handles grief, love, loss, and guilt. Yet those emotions are all so very human, and Heather Webber handles them all with care. The characters within this novel are fleshed out, scarred, and looking for ways to move on. It's a note that hit home for me, and I'm certain it will work for many other readers as well.
In many ways, The Lights of Sugarberry Cove felt like it was coming home. It was refreshing, evocative, and worked hard to pull me into the narrative. There were moments in this book that I don't think I'll ever be able to forget – and I'm okay with that.
Thanks to Forge Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks>
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Lights of Sugarberry Cove by Heather Webb 261 pages
Genre: Magical Realism, Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Family, Drama
Featuring: Alabama, Small Towns, Rare Circumstances, YouTube, B&B, Festivals, Goals, Dreams and Purpose, Food, Sisters, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Grieving, Lake, Toddler
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult themes
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
My thoughts: 29 of 261- I haven't gotten drawn in yet.
131 - I have found the flow of the story. I'm not loving it; I'm still waiting to see what happens next; it has spark an interest. It took a long time for me to connect with the story; the characters are colorful yet very neutral or benign.
*** I'm at the beginning of chapter 15. It took a while for me to warm up to the story, much longer than Blackbird Cafe. I'm not in love with it.
204 - This has improved a lot since about halfway into the story. It would make a good movie.
I was thinking, meh, 3 stars for most of this book. The story was very colorful, but something was missing, and it was just okay for me. Somewhere, around 50% into the story, I connected with the characters as they became vulnerable. Near the last quarter of the book, I was thinking 3.5 stars with a round up to 4 stars on Goodreads. After a chapter, I said maybe 3¾ stars. However, after finishing the book, it was a legit 5 stars, no round up. For me, this is one of those stories that takes a while to bloom, but it is spectacular once it does. It warmed my heart.
Recommend to others?: Yes! This story was good overall.
Genre: Magical Realism, Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Family, Drama
Featuring: Alabama, Small Towns, Rare Circumstances, YouTube, B&B, Festivals, Goals, Dreams and Purpose, Food, Sisters, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Grieving, Lake, Toddler
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult themes
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
My thoughts: 29 of 261- I haven't gotten drawn in yet.
131 - I have found the flow of the story. I'm not loving it; I'm still waiting to see what happens next; it has spark an interest. It took a long time for me to connect with the story; the characters are colorful yet very neutral or benign.
*** I'm at the beginning of chapter 15. It took a while for me to warm up to the story, much longer than Blackbird Cafe. I'm not in love with it.
204 - This has improved a lot since about halfway into the story. It would make a good movie.
I was thinking, meh, 3 stars for most of this book. The story was very colorful, but something was missing, and it was just okay for me. Somewhere, around 50% into the story, I connected with the characters as they became vulnerable. Near the last quarter of the book, I was thinking 3.5 stars with a round up to 4 stars on Goodreads. After a chapter, I said maybe 3¾ stars. However, after finishing the book, it was a legit 5 stars, no round up. For me, this is one of those stories that takes a while to bloom, but it is spectacular once it does. It warmed my heart.
Recommend to others?: Yes! This story was good overall.
In the vein of Sarah Addison Allen and the Waverly sisters, we meet the Scott family. Mama Susannah and daughters Sadie Way and Leaks Clare grew up in Sugarberry Cove. Their father had a dream of running a B&B, but died soon after the opening. Because of this, Susannah has ran the B&B since his passing. Like mother and daughters for generations, Susannah and her daughter's have mother daughter hurts from the past and present that keep them at arms length from each other.
Sadie runs A Southern Hankerin on YouTube where she tells the stories of different southern people while cooking a recipe that is meaningful to them. After almost dying in the Cove at 18, she's stayed away as much as possible telling others stories but completely running from her own. Leala has a wonderful husband and a beautiful boy, but is struggling with giving up her career to be a stay at home mother. After Susannah has a heart attack, the girls meet her at the B&B to help her recuperate.
Known to be magical, every year the town holds a water lantern festival. History says the Lady of the Lake will answer a few wishes on that night. Told with vivid imagery and a host of quirky family and guests, this year the girls just may finally be able to put the past behind them and finally become the family each of them has been needing.
I'll admit this started out a bit slow. I was a little disappointed because I had read such amazing things about it. It definitely picked up speed around 20% in and after that I couldn't put it down! Told from each sisters perspective, we really get to see just how the past has shaped each sister. The story of The Lady of the Lake is woven in perfectly as well. Magical realism can be a hard genre to make believable, but this was executed perfectly here. Written like a Hallmark movie and with imagery so vivid, you'll find yourself googling A Southern Hankerin hoping youll get to watch Sadie tell her stories and be disappointed to find this was in fact just fiction. But a beautiful work of art nonetheless. Magic, romance, and women's fiction come together to create a five star read!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Heather Webber, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Sadie runs A Southern Hankerin on YouTube where she tells the stories of different southern people while cooking a recipe that is meaningful to them. After almost dying in the Cove at 18, she's stayed away as much as possible telling others stories but completely running from her own. Leala has a wonderful husband and a beautiful boy, but is struggling with giving up her career to be a stay at home mother. After Susannah has a heart attack, the girls meet her at the B&B to help her recuperate.
Known to be magical, every year the town holds a water lantern festival. History says the Lady of the Lake will answer a few wishes on that night. Told with vivid imagery and a host of quirky family and guests, this year the girls just may finally be able to put the past behind them and finally become the family each of them has been needing.
I'll admit this started out a bit slow. I was a little disappointed because I had read such amazing things about it. It definitely picked up speed around 20% in and after that I couldn't put it down! Told from each sisters perspective, we really get to see just how the past has shaped each sister. The story of The Lady of the Lake is woven in perfectly as well. Magical realism can be a hard genre to make believable, but this was executed perfectly here. Written like a Hallmark movie and with imagery so vivid, you'll find yourself googling A Southern Hankerin hoping youll get to watch Sadie tell her stories and be disappointed to find this was in fact just fiction. But a beautiful work of art nonetheless. Magic, romance, and women's fiction come together to create a five star read!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Heather Webber, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
What can I say about a book I anticipated so much that lived up to my anticipations? :) it’s the rare book that I felt like hugging at the end.
Magical realism and family drama with a touch of foodie fiction.
Sadie grew up in Sugarberry Cove, a magical town that has a festival every year for the lady of the lake.
People write their wishes on little ships and some are granted every year.
Sadie left town after nearly drowning in the lake the day of the festival. She was only 18. Her life was saved but suddenly became more complicated. She felt like she owed everyone an answer to why she was worth saving. She put so much pressure on herself that she left town and has barely been back in years. She felt like everyone was talking about her and they definitely were talking about her hair: it turned silver and sparkly after she came back to life that day.
When Sadie’s mom has a heart attack, Sadie goes back home to help her mom and her sister Leala to keep the family’s B&B running.
There’s a wonderful cast of characters in this book. Of course Sadie is a great, interesting character but her family, friends and the guests at the B&B all add something to the story. I felt like every character in the book was there for a reason and not just as a side character.
This book definitely gives you some good magic and a great feeling. I loved it. The ending was fantastic and moving. This is one of my favorites of this year. I read it too quickly and I couldn’t even stop myself.
Magical realism and family drama with a touch of foodie fiction.
Sadie grew up in Sugarberry Cove, a magical town that has a festival every year for the lady of the lake.
People write their wishes on little ships and some are granted every year.
Sadie left town after nearly drowning in the lake the day of the festival. She was only 18. Her life was saved but suddenly became more complicated. She felt like she owed everyone an answer to why she was worth saving. She put so much pressure on herself that she left town and has barely been back in years. She felt like everyone was talking about her and they definitely were talking about her hair: it turned silver and sparkly after she came back to life that day.
When Sadie’s mom has a heart attack, Sadie goes back home to help her mom and her sister Leala to keep the family’s B&B running.
There’s a wonderful cast of characters in this book. Of course Sadie is a great, interesting character but her family, friends and the guests at the B&B all add something to the story. I felt like every character in the book was there for a reason and not just as a side character.
This book definitely gives you some good magic and a great feeling. I loved it. The ending was fantastic and moving. This is one of my favorites of this year. I read it too quickly and I couldn’t even stop myself.