Black Candle Women

Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown 368 pages

This novel was nothing like I expected. I expected a dual narrative, lots of voodoo/hoodoo/black magic and more New Orleans. Of course those expectations were based on one sentence at the end of the back over synopsis.

Thankfully, I wasn’t totally disappointed with the linear narrative, Black family life, generational trauma and a decades-old curse novel that I ended up reading.

Augusta Montrose fled New Orleans with her granddaughters after her spiritual mentor put a curse on the women in her family in the 1950s. Now it is current time. The curse has come true for Augusta and her oldest granddaughter, Victoria. The younger granddaughter, Willow, has managed to avoid it, but her life is spiraling towards it. Even Victoria’s great-granddaughter, seventeen-year-old Nickie is even barreling toward heartbreak and tears.

Although Victoria is not a licensed therapist, she runs a successful business out of their basement, using her special gift: being able to read people and talk with them through their troubles. She is highly respected in her African-American community. Her sister, Willow, has a side hustle going on that is steeped in the potions and powders she can make for the book of spells that Augusta brought from New Orleans.

Nickie is aware of the curse but does not feel that will be affect her. It is only after she is abandoned in a nearby hotel that Nickie comes to understand the consequences.

This story moved slowly. It just did not engage me as much as I thought it would based on the cover and synopsis. “Black Candle Women” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Sweet Revenge

Sweet Revenge by Fern Michaels Book 188 pages

Sweet Revenge is the fifth book in the Sisterhood series. It is Isabelle's turn to get her revenge and right the wrongs done to her by her former employee, Rosemary. The sisters plan and plot a devious plan to vindicate Isabelle, all the while having to dodge two inexhaustible reporters.

I enjoyed this book as I do all the books in the series. As said in previous reviews the dialog is not the greatest, but the story is such that I can't put the book down. I enjoy how bold Michaels is with her writing, if there's something she wants in the story, it goes in. I feel like no punches were pulled. Perhaps it is her bold writing, with which I'm not 100% familiar, that makes me say what I say about the dialog. Be that as it may, there is still something quite amateurish about the writing style. As if the writer has promise when it comes to plot, but needs to find a voice that allows said plot to flow more easily. However, no matter the writing, this book was good and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.