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Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, not only wishing to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also dreaming of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.
Purchase this book on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2JwxqBN
(This is an affiliate link which means AML will receive a small compensation for purchases made)Finished this up over the weekend. I used my free credit on Audible.com a listen on my phone. Ended up finishing it in a couple of days while folding laundry and sitting in traffic. lol
I really enjoyed this book – a nice, fun read for the summer.
Julia’s story is the one that got me pulled in the most. I liked her story with Sawyer and loved how she baked cakes so her daughter could find her. Her ending was the one I wanted more of. I want the power to find cake. That’s an awesome trait to have. 🙂
The super natural elements were just okay. I didn’t really get the point of the magical wallpaper or what purpose it served other than marking the changes to their lives. But that was minor overall. I still liked the story and found the “Mullaby Lights” interesting enough. I just wish there was more of an explanation of WHY Mullaby had this super natural element to it. The moons?
Almost done! I have a few more chapters. Trying to knock it out today…right down to the wire for June haha!…
I have just a few minutes to do a quick write-up…
I liked this book. I thought it was a good BOTM pick, and a good pick for summer. I got through it very quickly, it was a quick and easy read.
I enjoyed the story and the characters. For once, it was a book where I didn’t hate 90% of the characters haha! I thought each character had unique personality, and decent development for a fairly simple book. I enjoyed the story overall, and thought it moved well. SAA did a good job of presenting the past combined with the present without all of the annoying ways that so many books mess with time nowadays.
I also preferred Julia’s story more, mostly because she was a grown up. The teen romance thing is kind of cheesy for me, and doesn’t keep me as interested.
I agree with you Mary. I thought the supernatural elements were almost unnecessary. Other than giving Win Coffey’s family a reason to not go out at night. There wasn’t really a whole lot to the supernatural components of the story, and that was probably my least favorite party of the story anyway.
I loved the section that talked about the differences in Southern barbecue. So true! I am not a fan of the “Coastal” or vinegar based barbecue. Grandpa Vance even broke it up into specific North Carolina styles “Lexington” and “Eastern Carolina.” Loved that!
I enjoyed this one, mostly, but then I usually like Sarah Addison Allen’s books. Quick, easy and charming. The transitions from the present to the past and back again were fairly seemless. I’ve read a few authors who treat those transitions like that more as speed bumps, with the narrative either coming to a complete stop or veering in some unknown direction.
I too preferred Julia’s story to the teen drama. Normally I don’t mind the teen stuff – I read a fair amount of YA – so I expect it to lean more toward my life sucks, blah blah blah theme. But I thought the teen drama lacked something here, some kind of snap or spark. I liked the characters on their own, but together, they and the story were pretty meh.
The one thing I was disappointed with was the magic element. Normally with this author’s stories, the magic/supernatural plays a bigger part like the apple tree in Garden Spells or the magically appearing books in Sugar Queen. I’m sure the changing wall paper was supposed to highlight Emily’s story and her plethora of emotions as a teen and all the changes in her life. But it was never actually discussed or delved into. The Sweet Sense that Sawyer had was a little bit more prominent and a little better drawn, but it was still mostly in the background.
oh almost forgot, I adored Stella, the next door neighbor. In real life I’d probably do my best to avoid her, but as a character she was a fantastic addition.
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