The fourth book on our schedule is The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmieri.
About the book:
Bronwyn "BitsyWyn" Whalen hasn’t set eyes on the red dirt of Magnolia Creek, Alabama, for fourteen years—not since her mama died. But with her brother, Patrick, imprisoned for the murder of her childhood best friend, and her eccentric father, Jackson, at his wits’ end while her eleven-year-old niece, Byrd, runs wild, Bronwyn finds herself once again surrounded by ancient magnolia trees and the troubled family she left behind. She becomes immersed in a whirlwind of mystery and magic as she tries to figure out what really happened that fateful night her friend died. And as her bond with Byrd deepens, Bronwyn must face the demons of her past in order to unravel her family’s uncertain future.In Suzanne Palmieri's thrilling new novel, The Witch of Belladonna Bay, readers will learn if love and magic are enough to bring a broken family back together.
Have you ever read a book that you just can't get into no matter how much you try? For me, The Witch of Belladonna Bay was that book.
I'm not sure what it was about the book that I didn't care for. One thing that annoyed me was how the Southern dialogue was written: "Jaysus" instead of "Jesus". Give me a break. I've lived in the South my entire life and have yet to hear anyone talk like that.
Another thing that I did not like was the jumble of characters. I never felt like I could sort out who was who, especially once she started including chapters written by ghosts, which brings me to my next point. I'm also not the biggest fan of magical realism. I can read books about magic, and I can read realistic fiction, but something about the combination of the two just shuts me down.
I'll be honest; I couldn't finish this one. I even tried to read the ending, hoping that something would catch my attention and draw me in enough that I would be tempted to muddle through and figure out how the author got to that point. Sadly, nothing caught my eye, so I'm shelving (ha) this one.
The Witch of Belladonna Bay will be available for checkout soon at the Vise Library. I would love to hear opinions from anyone who reads it!
About the author:
Suzanne Palmieri Hayes is the author of The Witch of Little Italy and the forthcoming The Witch of
Belladonna Bay (May, 2014). She is also the co-author of I’ll Be Seeing You under the name Suzanne
Hayes. She lives by the ocean with her husband and three darling witches. She is currently hard at work
on her next novel.
Connect with the author:
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1jISJhs
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Thelostwitch
Website: http://suzannepalmieri.com/
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1hSWLQd
If you would like to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click on the image below. See ya next time!
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