Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe
Ratings15
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings15
Average rating3.9
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.
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Reviews with the most likes.
Cliche, almost entirely predictable, cringey dialogue. Easy to read in the way bad rom coms are easy to watch.
Fun read. It was enjoyable and easy. Small town welcoming characters who invited you in. Plus pie!
A lovely story about family and pain and healing. And the pies and magical realism add so much heart to the story. There are a few twists and turns to add to the book. Natalie and Anna Kate and Seelie and Faylene and so many others make this town come alive and are enjoyable.
Anna Kate has come back to her mother's hometown of Wicklow, Alabama to bury her grandmother and settle the estate. Granny Zee owned the Blackbird Cafe, and her will requires that Anna Kate stay in Wicklow and run it for two months. Anna Kate thinks she'll do what the will calls for, sell the cafe, and return to Boston to pursue her plans for medical school. Wicklow and the blackbirds have other ideas.
This story is positively radiant. It calls to mind the writing of Sarah Addison Allen. I loved it as much as I loved The Night Circus. There are magical elements - the blackbirds being a bridge between the living and the dead, bringing messages to those who eat a slice of Blackbird Pie - but the characters are what make the story sing. I grew up in a small southern town, and these all feel like people I know. The grumpy old gentleman, the talkative town know-it-all, the haughty Southern matriarch, the loner who keeps to himself but has hidden depths. They are real and relatable and make this book one that is hard to put down.
The book has so much to offer. Magic, mystery, romance. But most of all, it's about relationships - what it takes to create them and keep them, and how to heal them when a past kept hidden has broken them. The story sounds so intriguing, my husband wants to read it, and this is usually not his thing at all. Give it a read. You won't be sorry, and if you're like me, you'll hate to see the book end.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book from BookishFirst. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.
