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daybreak1012 's review for:
Midnight at the Blackbird Café
by Heather Webber
Oh how I love a book that exceeds high expectations! I feel as if I have had this book on my TBR for ages and now I am so sad I didn't get to it sooner. It was everything I had hoped it would be a more, based on the judgments one is not "supposed" to make when looking at the cover and reading the title. But make them I did and this book responded by pushing all its chips into the center of the table. You win, Heather Webber, you win.
What I liked about Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe:
This very specific subgenre - Turns out I am an enormous sucker for small southern towns that drip with charm and boast a touch of magical realism. There was just enough magic for the story to tiptoe into fantasy without beating you about the head with fairies and elves and dragons and such. The reality was so tangible, I was almost surprised to look up and find I wasn't in Wicklow, Alabama.
The cast of characters - I fell head over heels in love with every single one of them. Flaws and all. There are a fair number of them with whom the reader will get acquainted, but there's no need to be alarmed by the volume. As with any small town, spend long enough there and you'll know all their stories and all their secrets. And it was so easy to root for all of them. Even with dual first-person narrators, I never found myself confused -- transitions were always clearly marked and their personalities were unique.
Wicklow - This place is as much a character as the people. It has personality and stories of its own. And when they issue the warning to watch out because Wicklow has a way of grabbing hold of you and not letting go? They are serious as the day is long.
There is a touch of romance but it isn't the star - This is about family and forgiveness and learning to make the hard choices between what you convince yourself is the right thing to do and what you actually should do. Yes, there's a little romance along the way, but it fits into the rest of the story so seamlessly that it doesn't ever feel like the plot is merely a vehicle for boy-meets-girl.
What I didn't care for:
It ended - I know, I know. I guess my only gripe -- and truly the only one I can justifiably make with a five-star book -- is that I'm pouting that it ended. I wanted more. I want it to be a series. Or at least give me an epilogue. But that was purely because I am still not ready to let it go.
Worth noting:
This is an otherwise clean book but there be magic - The language is as proper as you might expect from a charming little town like this, and so is the content, but you have to be ok with some magical elements. I am super picky about this sort of thing. I don't like creepy and ghoulish. But this is a sweet touch of magic that just let my imagination take a little fieldtrip out of typical reality, which is just the sort I've discovered is my type.
I found myself not wanting to put this book down and thinking about it when I had to go do all the adulting. It was so easy to read and yet not at all "dumbed down." I will be blunt: I have already added more of Ms Webber's work to my TBR without even reading a single blurb. This book was so gentle to read. It just felt good and uplifting and had some wonderful reminders woven in on how we choose to live our lives. This is the brand of fiction of which I never grow tired because I (reluctantly) close the book feeling refreshed and content.