When all else fails, turn to the divine taste of hummingbird cake.
In the South you always say “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.” You know everybody’s business. Football is a lifestyle not a pastime. Food — especially dessert — is almost a religious experience. And you protect your friends as fiercely as you protect your family — even if the threat is something you cannot see.
In this spot-on Southern novel brimming with wit and authenticity, you’ll laugh alongside lifelong friends, navigate the sometimes rocky path of marriage, and roll through the outrageous curveballs that life sometimes throws . . . from devastating pain to absolute joy. And if you’re lucky, you just may discover the secret to hummingbird cake along the way.
Celeste Fletcher McHale is a writer from Central Louisiana. Her first novel, Save Us a Seat, released September, 2013. It as since been re-released as The Secret to Hummingbird Cake. Fletcher earned a history degree and currently lives on her century-old family farm in central Louisiana. She enjoys family, writing, football, baseball, and raising a variety of animals.
My Impressions:
I had wanted to read The Secret to Hummingbird Cake since I saw its yummy cover and read its intriguing blurb. Oh yeah, this was a book I knew I would love. And I really did. I laughed out loud and ugly cried, sometimes within the span of just minutes. This small-town novel is filled with wonderfully drawn characters that are as close as family and just as exasperating! The book’s charm lies in the small town of Bon Dieu Falls, Louisiana and the three women who have been close since childhood. Carrigan, Ella Rae, and Laine have always stood by each other through indiscretions, melees, and life in general. But their friendship and faith are sorely tested as they all have to face life with their big girl pants on. If you are a fan of Southern fiction, women’s fiction, or both, then this book is for you. I have just one caveat though. Although this book is published by Thomas Nelson, a Christian imprint of Harper Collins, there are some things that readers of Christian fiction may not want to read — alcohol, some mild language, and sex outside of marriage viewed as okay under the right circumstances. (This book would have earned 5-stars if not for the above-mentioned.) But if you can overlook those shortcomings, then I think you will really enjoy The Secret to Hummingbird Cake.
Recommended (with some reservations, see review).
Audience: adults.
To purchase, click HERE.
(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Great review. I will definitely have to check this book out!
Thanks! Hope you like it too!