Passion, charm, suspense - and magic...

[Doris Day]

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But I did just that when I spotted Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen hiding on a shelf in a bookstore recently. I liked the cover.

Well, I’ve just finished it, and it was stunning! As I wrote in my review for our next book club meeting:

This is a movie-in-the-making story. Think Hocus Pocus meets Hope Floats meets Chocolat meets a bit of Sleeping with the Enemy, and you kind of get the picture. It’s filled with magic, where every plant growing in the Waverley garden can make you ‘feel’ things – and sisters Claire and Sidney Waverley, with their own special gifts and fair share of emotional baggage, find each other, find love, and most of all, find out that being seen as a ‘strange’ family in a small town is far from the burden they always thought it was…

Plus, you will love Evanelle, a Waverley relation, who has this gift for giving people things before they need them – like a Band-Aid hours before you scrape your knee! And then there’s that enchanted apple tree...

My only complaint: It ended too soon!

I just thought I’d share it with my fellow forum friends

 

[dele]

It sounds like a great book, I'm really interested in reading it now. Has anyone else read it?

 

[BeerWench13]

Thanks for the tip. I'll add it to my TBR list.

 

[Leyland]

Yours is the second extraordinarily pleased review I've read and now have decided to get it ordered from Amazon. As a South Carolinian, I really must read a magical story like this one set in NC. Thanks for heads up.

 

[Emo17]

Is this book similar to harry potter? from your thread title and book description im hoping...

 

[Doris Day]

Harry Potter? No it's not the same in any way, I'm afraid It's a lot more 'adult' with real-life issues. The 'enchantment' weaves its way subtly through the book...

 

[Violanthe]

Is it a romance fantasy crossover?

 

[Doris Day]

I wouldn’t consider it fantasy.
If you look at other reviews on the web, the words most often used to describe the book include ‘tender’, ‘enchanting’, ‘charming’, ‘bewitching’ and a ‘delicious love story’. The author, Sarah Addison Allen, has a website – you may want to check it out for some clarity. I also see that she has a new book due for release in May. It’s called The Sugar Queen.