The Witch of Belladonna Bay

by Suzanne Palmieri

In Suzanne Palmieri's thrilling new novel, The Witch of Belladonna Bay, Bronwyn is forced to return home to Magnolia Creek, Alabama - a place she hasn't been since her mother, Naomi, died fourteen years earlier - and the troubled family she left behind. With her brother Patrick behind bars for the murder of her childhood friend and her eccentric father, Jackson, at wits end with her eleven year old niece Byrd, Bronwyn finds herself back at her childhood home, the Big House, and surrounded by ancient Magnolia trees dripping with Spanish moss. But before she can even take in what she left behind, she's wrapped up in the mysteries surrounding the murder and what the "Strange Ways" running through little Byrd might mean. As Bronwyn unravels the secrets behind the murder, long forgotten memories surface, and the magic living quietly inside of her grows stronger, creating an unbreakable bond between her and Byrd - a bond that will define both of their fates forever.

• ISBN10: 1250015537
• ISBN13: 9781250015532
• Publish Date: 13 May 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

When I signed up for Book Sparks’ Summer Reading Challenge, I was super excited! It was a chance to take part in a fantastic readathon and discover new books and new authors, something I relish more and more! The first book on the list was the fantastic Emily Giffin’s new novel The One & Only, and next on the list was Suzanne Palmieri’s new novel The Witch of Belladonna Bay. Suzanne writes under a couple of different pseudonyms and although she’s not an author I’ve read, I do have a few of her books hanging around my physical and e-copy book shelves, which was an unexpected, but lovely, surprise. Because it now means I get to go and read all of her work, and it’s all already sitting on my shelves somewhere! Awesome! The With of Belladonna Bay may have been my first of Suzanne’s novels, but it certainly won’t be my last.

In the past few years, books about magic have become a bit of a favourite of mine. I like the mysticism, I’ve found, and it’s become a very nice surprise every time I read a novel that features magic and spells and all that sort of stuff. I didn’t know what to expect when I cracked open The Witch of Belladonna Bay, although I knew from the title alone to expect witches. (Duh, am I right?) I was cool with that. I love witches. What I wasn’t expecting was the writing style. The novel isn’t written in a traditional way, instead it’s written with a very Southern twang (rightly so, since it’s set in Alabama), but it lends it an old-school feel, and it made me slightly uncomfortable to start with because it was so unexpected. But, eventually, I actually got used to Byrd’s way of talkin’, because it set her apart from most other kids I meet in novels. The girl just has a way wi’ words. She rather stole into my heart, just like she stole into Bronwyn’s heart (and anyone else who met her).

The novel had a very Sarah Addison Allen feel to it. The coming home, the magical elements, the sense that the novel was somehow taking place in an entirely different time, and I must admit, it’s becoming something I LOVE. I love being taken out of myself whilst reading and that happened whilst I read The Witch of Belladonna Bay. The plot is spellbinding, weaving the tale of Bronwyn, who has spent seven years running as far as her gypsy legs will carry her, far away from her family and her life in Magnolia Creek. Until her brother confesses to killing Bronwyn’s childhood best friend Lottie. Bronwyn is sure her brother didn’t do it, and she returns home to Magnolia Creek, desperate to set him free, desperate to finally meet her niece, Byrd. Despite the fact Bronwyn and her entire family are broken, this was probably one of the most family-oriented novels I’ve ever read. It was bizarre – of that there is no doubt; Bronwyn’s mom, Naomi, was an opium-addict, whose addicts eventually overcame her; her father, Joseph, has lost himself in the bottle; her brother Paddy is up for murder; and little Byrd is running wild and free, and the magic inside Byrd that so scared Naomi is bursting to get out, and Byrd is more than happy to use her powers.

While Bronwyn, or BitsyWyn, may have been the lead character – and was someone I very much enjoyed getting to know, it was Byrd who stole the show. I adored her stories, I adored her way of speakin’, I adored the stories she told and the way she told ‘em, and she just made the book glow, much like her hands did sometimes. She was special, and I enjoyed unravelling the mystery of who killed Lottie, and wondering where her son – and Byrd’s best friend – Jamie had got to. It was enthralling, and thrown in the magic and the family drama and you have a super entertaining novel. Honestly, Palmieri is a writer and a half and I absolutely loved The Witch of Belladonna Bay as soon as I got used to the writing, which took less time than expected because it soon just became the way! Suzanne Palmieri has a beautiful writing voice, beautiful prose, and the intricate backstory of the family and the unwinding mystery, and the powers that were flowing the entire time at Magnolia Creek made for a spellbinding, warm-hearted read. It rather took my breath away.