South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

Heather Webber has written more than twenty-five novels-most of them are cozy mysteries and light romances. However, she has found her sweet spot in her previous novel Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, and her newest novel, South of the Buttonwood Tree. I can't say it strongly enough how much I enjoy novels imbued with magical realism. 

This is not a sequel, but a stand alone novel about Blue Bishop and the people she calls family. Set in the small town of Buttonwood, Alabama, Blue is a children's author and illustrator, and has a series of books about a bunny that have made her famous. However, her family name has made her infamous in her hometown. Blue and her sister, Persy are the only two left in the Bishop family; her brothers all died tragically and under unhappy circumstances, her father left the family and died; her mother Twyla willed herself to death after losing her sons and husband. Growing up with little money, the family did what it could to survive-often getting into trouble with the law. Blue, however, stayed on the straight and narrow (except for that one incident in high school). She's been working hard and saving money so she can start the process of adopting a baby. It's what she's wanted for so very long. 

Blue has a gift: listening to the wind, and following it to find lost things. But there remains one thing that is lost that she needs to find before she can move away from the town that has caused her a lot of heartache. So every day she walks the woods to the Buttonwood Tree, searching for that lost thing. This time, she hears a baby crying, and finds a newborn tucked under the tree, with a button from the tree saying "Give the baby to Blue Bishop" tucked in her blanket. 

Everyone knows if you ask the tree a question, it will answer with a wooden button and one sentence of advice.  If you don't follow the tree's advice, you're doomed to unhappiness. 

Blue's dream seems to be coming true-a newborn baby girl left specifically to her. Quickly arranging guardianship, Blue names the baby Flora. While gossip swirls around town and the police investigate the appearance of the baby, Blue's close circle of friends celebrate with her. However, there is Ginny Fulton. She despises Blue and the whole Bishop family, and she will do what she has to in order to take the baby away from Blue. Ginny's daughter, Sarah Grace, is unhappily married, and her husband and her mother both want her to have a baby (the unhappily married part is a secret). She doesn't want one, and knows that Blue will make the best mother for Flora. She has a secret friendship with Blue, and doesn't understand why her mother loathes Blue so much. 

Sarah Grace has a few secrets of her own, too. Big secrets that may damage her father's run for Governor. Sarah Grace has her own business-flipping houses, then renting them to folks who don't have much money. Sarah Grace has the most interesting gift: she can hear the houses talking to her. They tell her all kinds of things-the history, the happiness, the sorrow; they let her know what's wrong with them and who is invited to stay. And she wants the old Bishop house. It is calling to her. 

There are a few other people in Buttonwood who have some special gifts, too. I'll let you discover that. There's also quite a few secrets, and some are doozies! Will Blue get to adopt Flora, or will the town turn against her? Will Sarah Grace find her way out of her unhappy marriage? It seems as though baby Flora has stirred the pot, and set in motion a whole lot of truths that need to be told. There's romance in the air, too for more than one character. It always seems that life's changes all come in a flurry,  and that is definitely the case for Blue and the folks in Buttonwood. 

I absolutely loved this novel, even more than the Blackbird Cafe. Alice Hoffman's earlier novels, along with Sarah Addison Allen's novels are similar to Heather's, and I'm so glad to have found another author who write magical realism that I enjoy so much. Step into Buttonwood, Alabama, and discover the Buttonwood Tree. 

Rating: 5/6 for a novel that had a few surprises, and a lot of warm characters. Believe in the magic. Perfect for a reading session in a hammock. 

Available in hardcover, audio and ebook. 

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South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern

I continue my quest to read novels set in libraries and bookstores with Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern. I've worked hard this week to dive into this novel, and I'm kind of "meh" on it, which is a big surprise to me; but then again, the novel wasn't what I expected, either. This seems to be my theme this summer-reading books that surprise me. 

The novel starts off with Kit talking about how she met her husband, Cal in college. This completely threw me for a loop, and I kept putting the book down, not really very interested in her relationship with Cal. What does this have to do with a library, I wondered? But I kept going. Mostly Kit's backstory explains why she is a librarian in little Riverton, NH--a place far from where she comes from. 

Aha! The library. Set in the small dying industrial town of Riverton, NH, the Carnegie library is one of the few places left in town that is actually open. There is a core group of faithful patrons, a pitiful budget, and a need for more of everything in the library. Kit is the reference librarian, and she's very good at her job. Sunny, a 14 year old, is caught stealing a dictionary from a bookstore. She's sentenced to work 40 hours a week at the library for the summer. Probably the best thing that's happened to her. Her parents, Willow and Steve, are the type of parents who provide no structure to their child-they "no school" her (not even homeschool, just let her figure stuff out on her own), are perpetually broke, and move around a lot. They live off the grid and do a great job avoiding authority. 

Rusty, who is a minor character for part of the book, takes a bigger role about half-way through. He's an ex-Wall Street executive, broke, homeless, and using the only computer the library has for public use every day, all day. He's a mystery until Sunny and Kit get to know him. 

The library in Riverton is a refuge for all who are wounded by life, frustrated by life, or just weary. It has a gently worn feeling; comfy and cozy, but still needing a lot of attention. Kit's love of books reminded me of myself in a weird way. It took her a few library jobs in science and academic libraries before she realized it wasn't the library life that she loved, but the books that she loved--libraries were the place where she could be surrounded by what she loved. 

Back to the story! I liked the characters: Kit, Sunny, and Rusty. I was not fond of the marriage back story, which took up a large chunk of the book, and spun out too slowly. When I finally got to the point of finding out just what had happened in Kit's marriage to Cal, I thought it was kind of ridiculous and over the top. Sunny didn't have much choice in her life; but growing into her teen years she's becoming more adamant about living a normal life: going to school, staying in one place, eating candy. In their attempts to show Sunny a life of freedom, they've actually closed her off to so much of life. 

Rusty was a good shot in the arm for the novel. He was necessary; just having the unfolding friendship between Sunny and Kit would have led to nowhere. Adding Rusty into the mix--with his honesty and cheerfulness, was one of the better aspects of the novel. 

I guess I thought there would be more of a big plot point in this novel about a library in a small town. But instead it was a quiet unfolding of three lives, their growing friendship, and healing from past wounds. My feeling still stands as a "meh". 

Rating:  3/6 for a novel about people starting over, or just beginning--depends on how you look at it. I'd love to know what happens to Sunny, Kit, and Rusty after the final page. Not a bad read--character driven and not a whole lot of action. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern

Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

I have discovered that reading about cupcakes keeps me from dashing out and buying cupcakes to eat at home.  This is a source of absolute amazement to me, as I am one who will eagerly eat cake at any given moment (except vanilla--it must be chocolate).

Reading Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan was great escape into the world of small business, cupcakes, friendships, and romance.  Issy grew up in her grandfather's bakery, and has inherited his gift of baking desserts.  She's stuck in a lousy job at a real estate agency, involved with a handsome co-worker who refuses to let her sleep over or be seen in public with him, and recent had to put her grandfather into a home.  She's feeling rather discontented with her life, but not enough to actually do anything about it.

Until her boyfriend sends her an email informing her that her position at the company has been eliminated and she's out of a job.  

Dithering and depressed for a few months--and Graeme, her lousy boyfriend--hasn't called her since the day she was fired, Issy decides to open a bakery that specializes in cupcakes.  It's her dream opportunity, and there's a perfect little shop just begging to become a friendly neighborhood gathering place.

Issy has a great support team of friends, and her bank manager, Austin, does all he can to steer her through the obstacle course that is starting a small business.  It doesn't hurt that he's cute and actually a good guy!  

The novel is mostly about Issy starting her cupcake business, the bumps she hits along the way, and the struggle to stay away from Graeme, who is a weakness Issy can do without in her life.  I found her inability to stay away from Graeme very irritating; perhaps because of my own personal feelings about women getting back together with ex-boyfriends who treat them like crap  over and over again.  Issy is so darn smart about everything but Graeme!  That is one weak spot in the novel that really bugged me.  I also thought it was a bit long; I felt it could have moved along a bit quicker and that it took a long time to tell the story.  I think cutting 100 pages from the story would have still left the story intact and still enjoyable.  Other than those few things, I did enjoy this novel very much.  Some people roll their eyes at "chick lit" but I find it is a great escape from everyday stresses and other books I'm reading that are darker and don't always promise a happy ending.  

In life, we all want a good cupcake and a happy ending.  This novel delivers both of those very important things. 

Rating:  6/10 for a story that has a great cast of characters, shows women struggling to make it on their own, and lovely cupcake recipes.  I did think it was a bit too long and didn't care for Issy always going back to Graeme.

Available in paperback and e-book.

Thanks to Net Galley for this review copy.

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Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan