Saturday, July 15, 2017

THE FORBIDDEN GARDEN by Ellen Herrick (Review & Dessert Pairing)

 


THE FORBIDDEN GARDEN

By

Ellen Herrick

Published by William Morrow on April 4th 2017
Paperback, 400 pages
Magical Realism, Mystery, Chick Lit


ABOUT THE BOOK


At the nursery she runs with her sisters on the New England coast, Sorrel Sparrow has honed her rare gift for nurturing plants and flowers. Now that reputation, and a stroke of good timing, lands Sorrel an unexpected opportunity: reviving a long-dormant Shakespearean garden on an English country estate.


Arriving at Kirkwood Hall, ancestral home of Sir Graham Kirkwood and his wife Stella, Sorrel is shocked by the desolate state of the walled garden. Generations have tried—and failed—to bring it back to glory. Sorrel senses heartbreak and betrayal here, perhaps even enchantment. Intrigued by the house’s history—especially the haunting tapestries that grace its walls—and increasingly drawn to Stella’s enigmatic brother, Sorrel sets to work. And though she knows her true home is across the sea with her sisters, instinct tells her that the English garden’s destiny is entwined with her own, if she can only unravel its secrets…


MY REVIEW

In her second novel, The Forbidden Garden, Ellen Herrick makes a welcome return to the quaint coastal town of Granite Point and gets us reacquainted with the quirky Sparrow sisters and their magical healing powers (read my review of The Sparrow Sisters).


Just as Patience read the people..., searching for the troubled bits in their bodies and hearts, and Nettie collected the harvest and composed meals that sustained the very same parts, Sorrel wove her plants and flowers into a tapestry of her own.


After some brief introductions, the author quickly shifts the action to an equally scenic countryside estate on the other side of the Atlantic –an enchanting English  mansion and its “cursed” Shakespearean garden serve as new center of gravity for a novel that is  handsomely written and rich in Gothic vibes.


Part landscaper, part sorceress, Sorrel Sparrow is hired by the illustrious Sir Graham Kirkwood to restore a six-century old garden to its former glory. With the help of six panels of fine tapestry depicting its original splendor, Sorrel will painstakingly resurrect the vibrancy and variety of its meanders once standing on the grounds of a Benedictine monastery, but in the process she will unearth a sinister chapter of the Kirkwood family history, and for this reason her quest to save the cursed garden will prove daunting and ultimately dangerous.


Kirkwood Hall, the ancestral estate built by Graham's predecessors during the reign of Queen Anne Stuart, is lovingly depicted in all its bucolic beauty. The author paints it with the languid and atmospheric strokes  of her artful prose and clever is also the way she concocts a mysterious (and supernatural) source of tension to tear down the veil of the apparent idyll: a garden brimming with illness and decay, and a gruesome past at its roots.


While Herrick features all those pleasures inherent to Gothic narratives (the uncanny element, the enigmas, the windswept landscapes, an eerie atmosphere), there is also great luminosity and cozy warmth in the description of culinary pleasures and romantic tension between Sorrel and her love interest (the brooding as much as attractive Andrew). Although not as taut as her previous book, Ellen’s narrative pulls together in a satisfactory way. 4 out of 5 stars


DESSERT PAIRING

 

If I could pull one character out of Ellen Herrick’s latest novel and invite him in my kitchen, it would certainly be Andrew, Kirkwood Hall’s young and dashing pastor. Brooding he may be, but also seductively proficient behind the stove! The author indulges in the description of scrumptious dishes time and again throughout the book: my favorite is a dessert, of course. Jaffa Cakes are my pick for this ‘book & dessert pairing’. In bite size or, better yet, layer cake. Enjoy!

 


 

Sunday, July 2, 2017

SILENT COMPANIONS by Laura Purcell (Book Spotlight & Dessert Pairing)



 

SILENT COMPANIONS

By

Laura Purcell
 
A nail-biting gothic mystery to look forward to: Silent Companions by Laura Purcell will be available in US only next year (March 6th 2018, Penguin Books), but if you are lucky enough to live in the UK you can grab a copy this coming fall (October 5th 2017). For all lovers of bone-chilling tales a la Susan Hill and Shirley Jackson.
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
Expected Publication
October 5th 2017 by Raven Books (UK); Hardcover
March 6th 2018 by Penguin Books (US); Paperback, 320 pages
Mystery, Gothic, Horror
 
 
 
When newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge, what greets her is far from the life of wealth and privilege she was expecting . . .
 
When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure--a silent companion--that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of The Bridge are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition--that is, until she notices the figure's eyes following her.
 
A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, this is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect--much like the silent companions themselves. Inspired by the work of Shirley Jackson and Susan Hill and set in a crumbling country mansion, The Silent Companions is an unsettling gothic ghost story to send a shiver down the spine…
 
UK edition
 
 
“If The Silent Companions lands on your night table, don't plan on leaving your bed anytime soon.  Immersive, meticulous, and reminiscent of the masters of gothic fiction—not only a compulsively readable ghost story, but a skillful, loving ode to the entire genre.”
—Lyndsay Faye, bestselling author of Jane Steele
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 
 
 
Laura Purcell lives in Colchester, the oldest recorded town in England. She met her husband working in Waterstones bookshop and they share their home with several pet guinea pigs.
 
Laura’s 'Georgian Queens' series explores the lives of royal women during the Hanoverian era. She also writes spine-tingling Victorian Gothic fiction.
 
Visit Laura's website to find out more about her and read her history blog.


DESSERT PAIRING

 
Photo source: Bing
 
 To match Laura Purcell’s spine-tingling novel Silent Companions, I would recommend a pleasurably and equally chilling dessert. Ice cream/sorbet pies are the perfect  ‘no-bake’ treat for the summer and beyond: no stress around the oven, nice and easy, all you need to do is fill, chill, and serve. My pick is Strawberry Ice Cream Pie With Corn Crust paired with a sweet and crispy Moscato wine from Italy — a lightly-bubbled Moscato d’Asti is just the ticket. Cheers!
 
Photo source: Bing