●The second book in the Dove Pond series centers on Ava Dove, the penultimate sibling in a family of seven sisters. As she’s on the cusp of launching her new tearoom, her life spirals into chaos. The teas she brews, famed for their calming properties, start to trigger unexpected outcomes—inducing intense dreams, unearthing hidden truths, and prompting deep introspection among those who sip them.

●In her quest for answers, Ava must face a troubling secret she’s long concealed. Concurrently, Ellen Foster, an accomplished architect, comes to Dove Pond to navigate the consequences of her distant daughter’s passing and to decide what’s next for her granddaughter, Kristen. Their lives merge in a transformative odyssey of recovery, camaraderie, and kinship, in a place where everyday life is touched by magic

●The book is a blend of fiction, magical realism, romance, and contemporary themes, wrapped in a cozy narrative that will capture your heart. It’s a story that celebrates the power of community and the unexpected twists of life that lead to silver linings.

●This story will leave you believing in the magic of everyday moments.

A Cup of Silver Linings is the second novel in Karen Hawkins’ Dove Pond series. This novel features second youngest Dove sister, Ava. Ava owns Ava Dove’s Landscaping as well as her new Tea House in town. The story is intertwined with what happens in Ava’s life with the passing of her good friend Julie Foster and the interaction with both Julie’s estranged mother Ellen and her dear daughter Kristen.

As Ava is busy with both her landscaping firm and the work towards opening her tea shop, things begin going awry. It seems several of her specialty teas made to help certain individuals have gone wonky, bringing strange happenings to those folks. However, when Kristen uses one such tea to help her grandmother Ellen get some rest, extraordinary things occur and Ellen would give anything for more of it.
The strange things that occurred for others has really hurt Ava’s business, and her feelings. She has no heart for blending her teas, especially since the one she has hurt the most is her younger sister Sarah. And is simply going through the motions of her daily life.

This story becomes a tale of forgiveness on very many levels and in different relationships. Like the first book, this novel is laced with mystical occurrences and with that special magic possessed by the seven Dove sisters. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

The 2nd entry in the Dove Pond series, this one focusing on Ava.
Each of the 7 Dove sisters has a special gift. Ava's is plants, which feeds into her businesses of a landscape company and tea service. She makes specialty teas for the town's residents. They'll cure what ails you.
The book starts out with a funeral for her friend Julie. Julie's daughter Kristen works for Ava. Julie's mother Ellen, a renowned architect and designer in nearby Raleigh, is back in town to take custody of Kristen and see to Julie's estate. Estranged, Ellen & Julie navigate their grief and try to manipulate each other to get their own vision of the future realized.
Meantime, Ava is opening a teahouse, there is a secret she's hiding, and some of her teas have unexpected effects. Oh, and there are romances in the works!
This is a story of family, grief, and love. I enjoyed it as a break from my typical murder mysteries. The author delivers the happily ever after in a gratifying way. I am looking forward to book 3 coming this summer.

I enjoyed my return to Dove Pond and the Dove sisters. This novel focuses on Ava, who is preparing for the grand opening of her tea room when a batch of her tea is having distressing effects on her clients. As she tries to identify what is causing the disruption, she is also trying to help 16 year old neighbor Kristen navigate the grief of losing her mother and ease the tension between she and her grandmother.

Karen Hawkins continues to weave in magical realism with a deft touch. As a book and tea lover, this one hits all the right notes for me. Looking forward to the next visit to Dove Pond.

Thank you to the author, Gallery Books and NetGalley for the complimentary digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

A delightful story about a family of women with special powers living in a small North Carolina mountain community. This book focuses on the sister with the ability to make magical teas to help people in her town. When things go wrong, she thinks her tea business will come to an end, but with the help of an orphaned young girl, she finds her way.

I loved this magical story and the characterization. We all need a little bit of whimsy in our lives and this book definitely has it.
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well I loved the predecessor to this book, The Book Charmer. So I was quite excited to jump in to the world of Dove Pond again. The Dove sisters are so charming and likeable, and the idea of a family of sisters having little magical powers as they do (talking to books...making magical teas...what could be better?!) is just so fun to read about and imagine. This book, though, charmed me just as much with the story of Kristen and her grandmother Ellen as much as the Dove sister's story. In fact, for the first half of the book, I was looking even more forward to Kristen and Ellen's POVs. But then the big twist of what Ava has done to Sarah is a marvelous addition to the story. Now I foresaw who Kristen's father was, but in fact, it was as I hoped, so I couldn't have asked for a better tie up of the storyline. Just as charming as the first.
I also loved the epilogue with it's little glimpse at Ella Dove and the hope that she may be the heroine of the next book in the series! Looking forward to it already!

I have to say that "A Cup of Silver Linings" was the most kind-hearted, beautiful, magical book. Dove Pond reminds me of Stars Hollow with a touch of magic. It has the small-town feel, the quirky characters, the gossip... it's so much like Stars Hollow, but magic is all around with the Dove sisters at the center.
The theme of this novel was death and change, which was incredibly sad. Julie's death has left a hole in Kristen's life and it was just so sad to read. That being said, Ellen was super unlikeable at first which obviously was on purpose, but it was hard to read at times. Eventually, she came into her own, and knowing her backstory helped so much, as the reader.
I especially loved the ending, it was incredibly satisfying and wrapped everything up in a nice little bow... plus we got a tease of the next Dove sister and the next book which I adored. It was so great to get some insight into where Hawkins is taking the series but my goodness, I need the third book now!

If you love the Practical Magic series, Gilmore Girls, or anything whimsical, you will fall head over heels for the Dove Pond books!

The Cup of Silver Linings is the second in this author’s Dove Pond series. I enjoyed the first novel, The Book Charmer (see review on my blog or NetGalley). Each of these books has featured one of the Dove sisters. They each have a magical property so in this way remind me of books by Sarah Addison Adler.

In the first novel, Sarah hears books. They literally tell her which book a reader needs. In this new story, Ava has a special relationship with plants and teas. She has a talent for knowing what special drink a person needs for what ails them, much as Sarah knew about books.

This book tells several stories. One is about Ava and her life’s work. Another thread tells the story of Kristen Foster and her grandmother Ellen. Kristen and Ellen come together in the aftermath of Kristen’s mother’s death. Julie was, of course, Ellen’s daughter. Julie, an artist, rebelled against Ellen in every way. Ellen begins the novel as a talented architect who is precise and stiff. Kristen is more like her mother. She wants to stay in Dove Pond while Ellen wants to move the two of them back to Raleigh. Can these two disparate people come together in a way that will feel right for each of them?

In the meanwhile, Ava’s teas have gone amok. Will she be able to find out what the problem is and to fix it? Will her (gorgeously described) tearoom open on schedule?

Also, what about this book’s title? Will there be silver linings for each of these characters?

This book is good women’s fiction. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I would certainly read book 3 if/when it is published. Note however, that Julie suffered from mental illness if this is something that a reader needs as a spoiler alert.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

It was great to visit with the Dove sisters again, even though this title took place outside the immediate family. I loved the whole story, including the teen angst, the exploration of grief, and of course, the love interest. I can't wait to see what happens in the next title!

This is an emotional read. So many feelings are explored … from the loss of a child, fears, and secrets with the potential to destroy a family. There are a lot of characters threaded throughout the pages and they are well developed. The mysticism aspect is my least favorite part of the book. But as the women’s self-discovery expands, their friendship evolves. That makes for a warm feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

4⭐ - this was a great followup to the first book! I love that the magical realism affects, but doesn't take over the story and would definitely read more books in this world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I knew from the first page that I was really going to like this book...Normally if a book starts with a funeral, you would think it would automatically be a sad book...but this wasn't like any funeral I have ever attended...and the people in this town were not like anybody I have ever met...although I would actually love to meet the Dove sisters. I would love a tea that could fix whatever my problems were right up to communicating with the dead. I loved every character in this book which is very unusual for me. When I requested this title I had no idea it was part of a series but you can bet I will be going back to read the first one. I love love loved this one.

Such a beautiful story of magical realism. A story filled with love, grief, acceptance and all the tribulations along the way. With multiple POVs the story was fast and super enjoyable. I was so excited to go back to Dove Pond but experience it thru Ava's eyes.

A Cup Of Silver Linings by Karen Hawkins

A novel about a tea garden, tea leaves, and magical women. This tea garden is about to bear opened. In this story, witches are using their powers on other people. That is not allowed. I enjoyed this book.

You will like this book., especially if you enjoy magical spells, secrets, and witches. Great book to read near Halloween. Many friendly characters with a well-planned plot.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

When I think of literary fiction, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and can satisfies just about every reader's heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.

A charmer of a story. A place of humor, and magic. A place where sisters so close I’m surprised they needed words to communicate. This is Dove Pond. People come and stay. It’s a place where Ava Dove has big plans for a tea house with teas of a different sort. Unfortunately her teas are upsetting her clients by doing the opposite of their purpose. A fact that threatens her financial future and the goodwill she has enjoyed in the past. Luckily her sister is there to help her confront a secret and look to the future.

I loved this book! I've been looking forward to the second one ever since reading the first one. This book pretty much picks up where the last one stopped. I really liked the whimsical and magical characters. The plot was interesting and I was invested in the characters. There were hints at a third book and I can't wait to read it!

A Cup of Silver Linings is a "mystical realism" book that takes place in Dove Pond where the Dove sisters are from. This picks up where The Book Charmer left off so it's really best to read this series in order. There is a bit of romance in this series but it's not the main focus. You really get to know sisters Sarah and Ava along with their friends and neighbors. Here we focus on Ava and her relationship with Sarah and the secret from many years ago. A few of Ava's teas have gone wonky and aren't working correctly so there's a bit of mystery surrounding that too. Their neighbor is Kristen whose mom recently passed away and now she's dealing with grief and getting to know her grandmother who she never knew.

There was a story line resolved from the previous book and I'm assuming we'll see that happen in the next book as well. It was so nice going back to Dove Pond and I'm really looking forward to the next book and the sister who is returning home.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Published 6 July 2021.

A whimsical, charming novel. A happy read! Love the small southern town, Dove Pond. A truly magical place. I loved the quirky characters. The Dove sisters are so much fun. I loved the drama and the tiny pinch of romance. The story holds a dash of magic plus a bit of books and teas - you can't beat that! It is a story about forgiveness - families that unintentionally hurt one another and learn to forgive one another. A community that sticks together - a place where you would feel good about living. The book leaves you feeling good about life and wishing the world could be a lot more like Dove Pond! Fun, cozy, comfy read. I can't wait for the next one!