Book: Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe

 Book: Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe

Author: Heather Webber

Pages: 336

This is my 8th read for the year

This is the story of Anna Kate.  Her grandmother has recently passed away and has left her cafe to Anna Kate in her will.  The catch is - Anna Kate must move to Wicklow, Alabama to run the cafe for 2 months before it becomes fully hers and she can then sell it or keep it.  Anna Kate has no plans to stay in Wicklow.  Her mother ran from there years ago and has never returned.  Anna Kate is set to start medical school soon, so she feels she will put in her time, and move on.

However - once she gets to Wicklow and starts to run the cafe and feel its magic pull, she is not so sure she can leave.  The more people she meets, the more she learns about her grandmother and mother's life there.  She even meets her father's family for the first time and tries to figure out where she fits in.  The true magic, however, is the blackbirds who sing everynight at midnight - and usual bird behavior - and the berry pie that is served at the cafe that brings on dreams to guide the person who eats it.  As Anna Kate gets to know Wicklow and the people, she has to decide if she should stay or go.

This was a pretty good book.  Can there be a bad book that involves food, especially pie?  Probably not.  Set up like a Hallmark Christmas movie type town and residents, the book plays out sweetly as we delve into the past of Anna Kate's family and the history of this town with the birds.  The negatives I would have to say would be too much death.  Every character had a complicated, sad story and it was maybe a bit too much.  The other was Seely - Anna Kate's other grandmother.  She was all over the place as a character that it was distracting.

Overall - a good read.  Glad I finally read this one.

Stars: 4