Bascom, North Carolina is a town where everyone is known for their family's characteristics, passed down through generations. One family's women are good in bed: they always marry well. One family gives birth to a strong man - always called Josiah - once in a generation (you go to him to help you when you move house). The Waverleys are known for their magic touch: Evanelle, who's lived in Bascom all her life, gives people what they need before they know they need it; Claire, who came to town when she was six and never wants to leave, can turn the plants in her garden into delicious food and drink with spectacular effects on those who consume it; Sydney, who ran away from her home town at 18, hasn't worked out what hers is. When Sydney returns to Bascom with her little girl, in flight from an abusive marriage, she proves a catalyst for change in the lives of all three women.
For a first novel this is very well done. I adore the way she takes intangible emotions and thoughts and things that swirl around us as human being and gives them substance and texture. More mystical than supernatural, the flourish to the world we know is intriguing; the characters are well developed and likable; and the garden is fantastic. Even with similarities to [b:The Giving Tree|370493|The Giving Tree|Shel Silverstein|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1174210942s/370493.jpg|30530] and [b:Practical Magic|22896|Practical Magic|Alice Hoffman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490354120s/22896.jpg|4030671] this is a book all its own, and an enjoyable one at that. My one caution is that the bits of sex come out of no where on occasion. It almost seemed like [a:Sarah Addison Allen|566874|Sarah Addison Allen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372537232p2/566874.jpg] felt obligated to put them in since it was supposed to be a romance, since there were moments when the story would have been perfectly complete without them.
"All my life I've chased dreams of what could be. For the first time in my life, I've actually caught one."
