Reviews

Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown

itsreadingangel_'s review against another edition

3.0

I liked this book and gave it 3.5 stars. Granted, I am more of a romantasy, romance and thriller kind of reader so this book was a little outside of what I normally read. I chose this book because pf the beautiful cover and description.

That being said, I did enjoy the POVs from the different generations and how each of their thought processes lead to their actions. Being closer to Nickie’s age, I often sympathized with her and felt frustrated that the older women in her life never told her about the curse or their family history. Victoria often got on my nerves, her actions in my opinion a lot worse than Augusta sabotaging her daughter’s life up until the end of the book. I get she thought she was doing the right thing and was trying to protect Nickie but I didn’t like the way she handled things.

The looming threat of the curse made tensions high throughout the book and kept me guessing if there really was still a curse or just a coincidence for all the men in their lives.

Overall, it was a good book.

kaeyabae's review against another edition

3.0

I want to start this off by saying that it’s been a couple of years since I actively read books, and this was the start of me getting back into reading. The pacing of the story didn’t hold my interest until the 40% mark or so. There were moments where I felt impatient with the pacing or simply got frustrated, but I kept going until the pace started to speed up more. After reaching 50% of the book, it continued to keep me going until the very end.

I enjoyed the complex and realistic moments the characters had at times. It’s very easy to say, “they should have talked about it”, but it’s just as hard to talk things out in reality. Especially as a teenager like Nickie. All of the major revelations reached a conclusion, even if a few of them felt a bit lackluster.

Overall, the books wasn’t necessarily too overwhelming or underwhelming: it just was. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It was enough to leave me reflecting on my own life choices and how I could be better. Not deeply, but surface level. In the end, I genuinely appreciated the experience. Hell, it got me interested in learning more about hoodoo! It was insightful and had a good foundation. So, in that regard, I have no regrets about reading it.

rberdan's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The author said this book was about mothers and daughters. Through that lens, there was much I appreciated about the intergenerational love, conflict, and forgiveness in the story. Mothers do their best and are human in the process. I know this as a mother, I know it as a daughter. The story gets into that tension and weaves in unconditional love, a bit of self reflection, and a bit of understanding one another with that humanness in mind. 

This story was also about secrets and the damage they can cause, even if they are kept with the best of intentions. It’s about trying to control from a protective place. It’s about coming clean and what can be positive on the other side of doing so. Unfortunately, because that was such a strong theme in the book,

the fact that Willow never came clean about how she felt about Jimmie or why she struggled to be there for Victoria and the fact that Victoria never shared how Willow hurt her

left such a huge part of the story unresolved for me. I also found that some of the secrets that were revealed were dragged out a bit longer than was necessary… bringing the conflict forward may have given more opportunity to see what was on the other side of it in these relationships. 

I think there were a lot of interesting elements here, and I also think that there were some threads that were introduced that didn’t get to be fully woven and some that were tied up a bit too conveniently. That said, as I still struggling to navigate my grief after losing my mom, I loved how this story gets into to matrilineal magic and honours the relationships between women, mothers, daughters, aunts, nieces…

brianamorrison's review against another edition

I just couldn’t get into the story. There was zero hook for me and I generally felt bored listening to this one. 

gsharaga's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kenyahavejoy's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

widenera's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jordanmorris13's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

I think it took me a while to get into this book because I did not see where it was going. It’s very different from any other book I’ve read (not saying that is a bad thing). It is just a story about generations of women in this family that have all seem to navigate the same curse. I am still not even sure that the curse is real (kinda confused on that one). It got better at the end once there was some conflict and resolution. Not a bad book just different than my normal taste. 

katsdaysarebooked's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

batsinthecastle's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Brown Bag Book Club Sept. 2024