Won this Advance Reader's Edition as a Goodreads Giveaway.

I've read a few other books by this author, and really enjoyed most of them, while others were a bit of a miss for me. This one was a hit.

Others here have given an excellent synopsis of the book, so I won't do that -- and I hesitate to give too much detail about the book, as there are several twists that I don't want to give away. I actually had to re-read some sections, because I was so surprised by how seamlessly the twists were woven in.

This author truly has a gift for writing. She describes her characters, their feelings, and the places in such evocative ways. It's not often that I really enjoy characters in a book, but she wrote all of them to be lovable but flawed, and then she wrote ways for them all to love each other, flaws and all. For sure one of the key messages in this book is that family isn't always what you're born to, but it's often who you surround yourself with. Another message is the notion that things and people are not always as they seem. The act of showing love through food is also a theme that threads its way through the story, and in some ways, food itself is a key part of the story.

"It's how Camille cooked. But it wasn't just the cornmeal that made it special. It was her whole philosophy behind food. When I was younger, food was all about trying to fill an emotional void. But she taught me food was really about storytelling. It was about creating something good, and then giving it away."

Sometimes I worry that stories that have 'magic' in them will be too cheesy or childish, but when written well, I really enjoy them. This author's trademark 'magical realism' style permeates everything, and although the mysticism is an integral part of the story, it's also benign enough to make it the icing on the cake instead of the cake itself.

Finally, a note about the dellawisps. I love them. I wish they were real. They were, perhaps, my favorite 'character' in the book, and I actually giggled out loud at some passages, or just marveled at the creative way in which she describes them:

"The dellawisps immediately flew behind him, trailing so closely they made him look like he was giving off turquoise exhaust."

"Several dellawisps were taking advantage of the open door and were hopping into the office with an air of finding something to complain about, like they were tiny health and safety inspectors."

Overall, this book was a charming, inviting tale with intriguing, relatable people and a lot of quirkiness. I'll definitely be recommending this to those who would enjoy this kind of novel.

I received this ARC from St. Martin's Press as a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

Sending this to my friend Danielle in Australia, as I think she'll like it.

Happy travels, little book!