Garden Spells

Chicken soup when you're sick. Chocolate when you're hormonal. Lavender for your bathroom. Citrus for the kitchen. Pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Peppermint at Christmas time.This book completely spoke my language - that of food and how we are connected to what we serve, eat and order. We may not be able to put magic into our cooking, but as a mother I know there are certain things to feed my family for certain reasons, and that can be sort of a form of magic (at least to the little child in bed w [...]

Yes, this book is definitely reminsicent of Practical Magic in plotline. I can't imagine anyone not thinking soa beautiful old house, two magical sisters whose mother died when they were young, one practical and a homebody, the other a wild woman with a daughter who comes back home to escape an abusive man. Umunds familiar. Very.BUTThe author creates an amazing atmosphere, and the basics of the plot may be the same, but the details are entirely new and lovely. The aunt Evanelle is an absolutely [...]

*3.5 Stars*I’ll keep this review short, and—in the spirit of this adorable story—sweet.Garden Spells offered the perfect magical escape I was searching for. The writing was exquisite and the plot—enchanting. This book did sort of feel like a cross between Practical Magic and Sleeping with the Enemy, as many readers have mentioned, but it certainly offered a unique enough spin in its storytelling. The element of magic was handled with care and executed to perfection: not too far-out there [...]

Posted at Shelf InflictedFor generations, the Waverly family has made their home in Bascom, North Carolina. Each of the Waverly women possesses a unique magic which has made them a curiosity in the town, but their oddness also keeps others at a distance. Claire is a caterer who uses the enchanted herbs and flowers in her garden to prepare exquisite dishes that affect the eater's feelings. Claire’s aunt, Evanelle, gives odd and random gifts that she knows the recipient will need in the future. [...]

So good, I read it twice. There is a great sense of place for this book, the imagery is truly enchanting and visceral. What I really like about the novel is how grounded in reality it is, making the magic seem entirely plausible in its subtlety. The pain and drama of the characters make them three dimensional and completely relatable.I was left with only two questions:1. Is there a sequel to this?2. If not, why the hell isn't there?!ETA February 2015: There is a sequel! Special thanks to Christi [...]

3.5 StarsThe Waverleys of Bascom, North Carolina have always been considered strange by their neighbors, what with Claire’s skill in whipping up delectable dishes from flowers with magical attributes, Evanelle’s sudden compulsion to give mundane presents that eventually become useful in the near future, and Claire’s uncanny ability to choose the hairstyle apropos for the person’s situation. A decade ago, Sydney ran as far away as she can from Bascom, while Claire stayed home to carry on [...]

What I learned from this book isif an apple tree throws its apples at you, for goodness sake, pay attention already! This book is lovely, magical, enchanting. I sat down to read just one chapter, basically to decide whether it was worth holding onto even though it was already overdue. At 2:30 a.m. I finished the whole darn thing. Couldn't stop myself. I floated in a state of suspended reality, where time had no meaning.The basic idea of the book: two sisters experienced their childhoods very dif [...]

It is really difficult for me to find a book that suits me. I love stories, and I love to read. Since I don’t have a lot of time to read, I have to be really picky. Which means, if it hasn’t grabbed my attention early on, I normally don’t continue.When I saw Garden Spells on the shelves in the book store I immediately wanted to read it because of the cover, the title and the blurb. I knew for sure that this was a book that I had to read.I was so excited when I sat down and opened the book. [...]

Set in North Carolina, we explore the lives of the Waverly women and their strangeness in a community where everyone has their expectations for the long family lines native to the area. The Waverley's have a garden where an enchanted apple tree grows and Claire masterfully creates foods with properties that do more than tantalize the taste buds. The ideas behind this are great and this first novel for Sarah Addison Allen might be a fun summer read for someone less picky than me. While I enjoyed [...]

Sometimes you just want to read a book with a happy ending. This is not a novel I would recommend to others, and yet, I enjoyed its sweetness."Garden Spells" is the story of Claire and Sydney Waverley, two estranged sisters in Bascom, North Carolina. Claire is a gifted caterer who knows how to create special dishes, and she is surprised when Sydney and her daughter, Bay, suddenly show up on her doorstep needing a place to stay. Sydney's arrival stirs up some drama among her former friends, and C [...]

Find this & other reviews at reallyintothis Happy Reading! Oh my goodness, this book was so enjoyable. I just love the premise. A tragic family history, a psychic cousin, a sister coming home to escape her abusive marriage & unrequited love. I can’t believe I waited so long to pick this up.As a Texas girl at heart, these Southern characters & their mannerisms are so familiar to me. I really connected to Evanelle, the cousin who always seems to know the right thing to do. The Waverl [...]

In Bascom, North Carolina, everyone is destined to live up to their family name. Clark women are lascivious femme fatales, Mattesons will be wealthy and put family duty first, Hopkins men always marry older women, and the females of the Waverley clan always manifest a quaint magical talent. Fate is heavy-handed in Bascom. There's no escaping your name and there's no escaping your heritage, even though Sydney Waverley, just like her mother before her, has tried.Sydney grew up a Waverley, but didn [...]

Sometimes you just need a good enchanting fantasy with humor, heart and charming loveable characters. I enjoyed the differnt points of view and the revealing look into their personal jouney for love, strength and fulfillment. It captured everyday loss, pain, and personal growth and twisted in the perfect touch of whimsy. There is a unique magical apple tree that grows in the Waverly's back garden and each Waverly woman or girl has an special gift to share with the little town of Bascom, North Ca [...]

This book is completely twee and unoriginal, and I am a little embarrassed to be reading it. It's the literary equivalent of eating a whole box of cookies -- but not even good cookies, more like Snackwell's. Mediocre and unsatisfying.(And yet I am reading it anyway.)Now that I've finished it, I can say definitively that the barrage of five-star reviews for this book kind of makes me lose my faith in humanity. Even if you like this kind of writing, it is so clearly a wholesale ripoff of "Practica [...]

Fascinating premise, ineptly implemented.The author is a graduate of the Octavia Butler/Rosie Lyons School of Literature which features victims instead of protagonists.Shamelessly manipulative.The family of witches in a magic garden is a great setting for a novel. It is pathetic that the author could not do any better than this.

Ποια συνταγή περιλαμβάνει δύο αδερφές, που η μια δεν ανήκει πουθενά, ενώ η άλλη έχει ριζώσει σταθερά σε ένα μέρος; Τι γεύση παίρνει αυτή η συνταγή όταν προστίθενται σε αυτήν μια γριά που μοιράζει απρόσμενα δώρα, ένας άβουλος gay, 2 ερωτοχτυπημένοι νέοι και ένα μικρό κορίτσι πο� [...]

4 STARS "Take one man, one foolish woman, put them in a bowl and stir."I loved this! Some kind of review to come in a few days after I catch up with everything GR I've missed for the last 5 days while I was not around.

“She was a Waverley, and Waverley’s were an odd bunch, each in his or her own way.”This is the second time I’ve read this book and I really enjoyed it, I loved the magic, the quirks, and the ending was just so sweet!I really liked the characters in this book, and I loved how the Waverley’s all had their own special gift, whether it be cooking or something more obtuse. I loved Evanelle’s gift most though, randomly having to give things to people! Even embarrassing things! But I just l [...]

Garden Spells tells the story of two gifted sisters: Claire Waverley, a successful caterer in their hometown who has a decidedly magical touch with food, and Sydney, the younger sister who left town at an early age only to run into trouble forcing her to return to Bascom, North Carolina with her six year old daughter, Bay. Sydney left her hometown in an attempt to run from what it means to be a Waverley, and the magical gifts they have, as well as from the heartbreak caused by the breakup with h [...]

Garden Spells is the first of the two Waverley Family books, and it will leave you diving straight into the second book. Honestly, it was a truly adorable read, addictive in so many ways.My friend won this book in a giveaway and positively adored it, thus I knew I needed to give it a read. When she read the second book and enjoyed that too, I knew that I’d be jumping into the series as soon as I had the chance.Garden Spells is a truly immersive magical realism world. It’s one of those magica [...]

Garden Spells is delightful and magical. It is the story of two sisters who are reunited, one of them returning home after leaving an abusive situation. Both sisters possess magical abilities. The characters are colorful. The romance is tender and romantic. I enjoyed the descriptions of baking and gardening and how the two intersect. The small town setting, the herbal potions and a magical apple tree only make the story more charming. It was resminiscent of Practical Magic, yet more romantic and [...]

Well, this is tricky. I really enjoyed the book. I enjoyed it the first time I read it when it was called "Practical Magic" by Alice Hoffman. Was it plagiarism? I'm not sure - that's for Hoffman's lawyers to decide, but if you enjoyed the following things about Hoffman's book, then you'll enjoy this one:- a lovely garden where the plants grow in an atmosphere of magical realism, out of time and season.- two sisters who seem polar opposites, who suffered the loss of their mother at a young age an [...]

With the Bascom, Carolina setting adding that element of Southern charm, this is just a gentle feel-good story about longing for a safe place and learning to trust. Prefer when the fantasy aspect isn’t heavy-handed; that a garden would be full of mystical elements wasn’t a stretch for me at all! Allen blends in the magic with the softest touch. It’s about the developing relationship between two entirely different sisters and there struggle to find common ground. The romance with the new me [...]

Kao što mu je i ime, ovo je zaista jedan čaroban roman o dvije sestre iz porodice čiji svi članovi posjeduju neke neobične sposobnosti, kao što su predviđanja događaja, pa vješto korištenje biljaka za djelovanje na ljude, a tu je i nezbježno stablo jabuke, ključni stanovnik čarobnog vrta koji zapravo upravlja svima. Nekoliko je tu romantičnih priča stanovnika malog gradića, likovi su veoma simpatični, jednostavno se moraju zavoljeti, čitajući ovaj roman stalno ćete imati osmi [...]

Simpatična čarobna priča nakon koje ti ostane osmijeh na licu. Lagano pisana, te kao takva stvorena za ugodno poslijepodne uz dekicu

Claire Waverley živi pomalo usamljeno u malom američkom gradiću i vlasnica je male tvrtke za dostavu hrane. Njeni sugrađani su Waverlyjeve oduvijek smtrali pomalo čudnima i izgbjegavali misteriozno drvo sa jabukama u njihovom dvorištu. Jedino drušvo joj je čudna starica Evanelle koja svima donosi darove koji će im u nekom trenutku života biti od koristi. Sve teče svojim tokom do trenutka kada na Claireina vrata pokuca osoba koju nije vidjela već 10 godina, njena sestra sa malom kćer [...]

Who would have thought I’d like a book about an apple tree with an attitude, but even it wormed its way into my heart in this charming story of two sisters.In fact, I loved all the enchanting Waverley females: Claire and Sydney, who were never close in childhood, but are discovering the true meaning of sisterhood. Their distant cousin (“second or third or fourteenth cousin”) Evanelle, who at seventy-nine, still feels a strange compulsion to give people things she knows they will eventually [...]

What an magical bookI loved Lost Lake and I believe that I love Garden Spells just as much. The characters are so real yet magical and mystical at the same time. Sarah has such an amazing ability to create deep characters with so much emotion - they just draw you in and you love each and every one of them. The Waverly women are such strong women, even if they don't quite know that about themselves right away.The story takes place in Bascom, North Carolina in a quaint home with an amazing garden [...]

Not quite 3 stars, but I'm rounding up because the story overall is much better the second time around. Or maybe I reread it at the right moment and it just clicked. Whatever it is about this book, I get it now. I get why people gravitate to these cozy reads and atmospheric small-towns. There's a pleasant way about the writing that makes you want to settle in and stay awhile and learn all about the town and the people and the food, and there's a sense of peace and serenity that you wish you coul [...]

Borrowed from LibrarySo, I was visiting fellow reader, Bloedeudd's Book Girl of Mur-y Castell blog, and read her review of First Frost. And it reminded me. I wanted to read Garden Spells the first book in the series. And a visit to the library sealed the deal when it was the book that leaped out at me (no, not literally- though if I lived in the author's Waverley family world it might really happen).And argh, this was another one that was so wonderful that I'm sad to have put it off for so long. [...]