Midnight at the Blackbird Café is as wonderful and lovely as its book cover. Please read it.
There. DONE! Book review complete.
Oh, okay. I suppose I should tell you a little more about why I blazed through this utterly charming novel by Heather Webber.
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe combines all of my favorite genres: Southern fiction and magical realism and foodie fiction (oh my!). The minute I stepped into Wicklow, AL and main character Anna Kate Callow’s world, I never wanted to leave it.
There’s a particular place in my literary heart for stories of Northerners who move to small, Southern towns, especially if those towns happen to be in Alabama. I’d like to blame this on binging Hart of Dixie episodes while I was concussed, but my affinity for this trope started long before that. I will say, though – Webber’s fictional town of Wicklow reminds me a lot of Zoe Hart’s Bluebell.
Anna Kate unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s adorable café, on the stipulation that she uproot her life and move to Wicklow, where magic seems to abound in the form of mysteriously delicious homemade pies, rare blackbirds that have a mind of their own, and sweet dreams sent to family members and friends from loved ones who’ve passed on.
If you’re a fan of Sarah Addison Allen or Lisa Van Allen, you’re going to love Midnight at the Blackbird Café.
And, if this is your first introduction to magical realism? I can’t think of a more perfect place to discover it than at the Blackbird Café, which is full of quirky, nosy, loveable, loyal customers who beat down the door every morning. There’s plenty of delicious food, both sweet and savory, and foodie fiction fans will be salivating over fruit pies, biscuits, pancakes, fried chicken, frittatas, blackberry tea, and OMG, so much more!
One of the main plot lines of Midnight at the Blackbird Café involves Anna Kate deciding if she wants to stay in Wicklow or sell the café, and whenever Making-a-Decision-Time came up (which was often) I wanted to cry out, “I’ll buy it! I’ll flocking buy it!! (If you read the book, you’ll get that one.)
Amidst the food and magic, there’s intriguing family drama as Anna Kate meets long-lost relatives; a little bit of romance; and reminders of the importance of love, in all of its many forms.
If you’re looking for a relaxing end-of-summer read – heck, an anytime read – then run to get a copy of Midnight at the Blackbird Café. This is easily one of my top favorite books. Ever.
And, be sure to check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Zucchini Bread!
