Upon her death, Eleanor Bennett leaves behind a tape recording for her estranged children, Benny and Byron, revealing some major family secrets.

Debut author, big family drama, diverse cast of characters? I’m all in.

I loved all of the pieces that went into creating this multilayered story. Each person important to the story like each ingredient is important to a recipe for Black Cake. Finding out the secrets from their deceased mother’s past, siblings Benny and Byron question everything they thought they knew about their parents.

I found the writing here to be beautiful. There are a lot of characters and a lot of moving parts - stay with it. It all comes together. My only gripe is I felt like the author was trying to tackle too many “important” issues. We had enough with the family drama, there was no need for more.

This was a beautiful story of family, hurt, acceptance, understanding. This would make a great book club choice - so much to discuss.

I love books that make me search for recipes and learn more about cultures through food…because…food! This debut is so much more than cake though. It’s the story about the life of a girl from the islands escaping to follow her own heart and dreams.

Byron and Benny have lost their mother that have become estranged. Their mother left behind a series of recordings confessing the secrets of her past. @charmspen1 does a beautiful job weaving together the past and the present, slowly revealing her life story.

“Sometimes the stories we don’t tell people about ourselves matter even more than the things we say.”

I couldn’t put this book down. I wanted to know all the secrets!

5 Stars

Thank you to @NetGalley and @randomhouse for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I truly feel lucky to have read this book. It broke me in the best way and I cannot wait to read whatever Charmaine will share with the world next.

I really like the way this book was constructed, with some stories taking place in the past (about a young girl trying to escape her destiny), and some in the present (with two whining siblings not really wanting to listen to their dead mother's final wishes that she left on a recorded audio message) . You get to know the story through the perspective of different characters. The black cake is a traditional recipe from the Caribbean that kind of binds the story together.

This was 5 stars. It was a beautiful story of culture, love, family, and the things we'll do to survive. Covey Lincook is a beautiful, complicated character. She had me side-eyeing her, crying for her, yearning to hug her and in the end, I was so proud of her. I'm so glad I got to experience Covey, the people she loved, and the people she couldn't stand. If you're looking for an introspective story of life's ferocity told through a woman and her chosen family, this is it.

A great weaving of storylines. I liked how this touched on many hardships, including those related to race. The writing was descriptive, and engrossing. This was very confusing at first, many new characters were introduced and their relation to Benny and Byron or even their parents weren’t revealed early on. I tried my best to piece together what really happened, only to have the tables turned. The depth given to the characters here was laudable though. They became more realistic and it was hard not to be sympathetic to them. Although midway through, the narrative became repetitive to the point that I wondered at the direction things were going. There was so much going on, maybe too much, not all felt necessary. But the themes of friendship, family, loyalty and a whole lot more were spot on, and incredibly relevant.

'm giving this a 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4 stars.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the characters. The story of Eleanor Bennett's life gets pieced together as she leaves a recording for her children after her death. Just like layers of a cake, this book has many layers and flavors. At times, maybe a few too many.

"Once again, I had wasted time that was never mine to squander."

This story is a beautiful and painful reminder that we are never guaranteed tomorrow. So many aspects of this story could have been solved had family members just talked to each other. Yet pride and loyalty get in the way of those reconciliations. But that is part of what makes this story so intense and engaging. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next, how all of these puzzle pieces fit together, would these siblings ever find a way back to each other.

The reason why I rated this 3.5 versus 4 stars is I felt there were a few too many layers in this story- in the manner of characters, POVs and even within each character's back stories. The author tackles a lot of issues and some of those I feel weighed down the story.

As a whole, this is a beautiful story that is extremely unique and unlike any storyline I've read lately (and that's a good thing). I would most definitely recommend this book and feel this would make a fantastic movie. I look forward to more from this author.

My thanks to Charmaine Wilkersom, Random House (Ballantine Books) publishing and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

QUICK TAKE: It took me about 100 pages to get into BLACK CAKE, but once I was in, I was in. I enjoyed the flashbacks and Covey story more than I did the present storyline featuring Byron and Benny, but overall I strongly recommend this one (and the ending was pitch perfect!).

Black Cake is another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

Byron and Benny are estranged siblings who are brought together when their mother dies. She left behind voice recordings that explained a past she kept hidden. A murder. A runaway. A long-lost child. A hidden identity. A piece of black cake with the instructions to not eat it until they “know when.” All kept secret from them until now.

This is a story that isn’t told so much as point A to point B, but more as tightly woven story from the present, to the past, and back again. Along the way, we meet friends and family members of Eleanor’s, and learn more about Benny and Byron present day.

I couldn’t put this book down. I wanted to know everything about Eleanor and her past. While the present day items were interesting, the star of the show was Eleanor and damn she led an interesting life.

I really enjoyed this debut story and look forward to more from Charmaine Wilkerson!

Black Cake was a fascinating tale of culture and family, then and now, anger and resentment, healing and love. What an interesting premise, allowing Byron and Benny to hear their mother tell her life's story in her own voice after her death, ultimately leading in the healing of their relationship and the forging of a whole new family. I learned so much about culture, island life, and black cake. This is an important book and an excellent read!

It has been too long since I’ve read a book with heart and I’m glad this was the book to deliver that emotional punch I didn’t know I needed. Black Cake was beautifully written, from the descriptions of the Caribbean island, the jumping time periods, the baking of the black cake, to what kept me wholly invested, the characters. The mystery and heart wrenching journey Eleanor takes Byron and Benny on and the way it unfolds really connects you to not only how B & B must feel listening to her story, but also their personal journeys and struggles and discord with each other. By the end, my sympathies for so many of the characters were at their peak. I was mollified with how their stories closed. I would be happy to read more from Charmaine Wilkerson as I loved her writing and story telling and am impressed it is her debut novel. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book.

This was a very fascinating premise for a book. Even the title had me curious and anxious to find out what it was about. And there's a strong undercurrent of how well do we know the parents we think we know?

Byron and Benny used to be absolute best friends. Byron adored his sister and would do anything for her. After an unfortunate conversation with her parents, Benny escapes what she sees as an impossible situation and ends all contact with her family. Even after great loss she stays away. When their mother passes, Benny finally returns home to help sort out her will. When ensues is a journey into their parents' past neither could have imagined they would uncover.

We get to watch Eleanor as she grows up and emigrates to England. We see the family ties, friendships that last all time, the struggles, the ambition, the heartache, and the coming together. Such a creative story and I love the black cake that somehow stays in the center of it all. This was a wonderfully written story!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m rarely ever entranced by a story from the opening chapter...but with Black Cake I was! The writing is filled with such beautiful vivid imagery and you can tell that a lot of care went into the characters and their backgrounds. Despite there being many names and timelines I did not find the story hard to navigate at all. I also loved reading POC characters having fulfilling careers for a change. So often stories only cover black struggles and fail to show black success stories. Black Cake does both eloquently! The plot ignites feelings of love, sadness, longing, and strength. It centers around culture, nature, family, and the relationship with food...specifically black cake. Although while reading I saw no “flaws” per se, taking a look back the story could have been tidied up more. A lot of heavy topics were covered in only a short span of 400 pages. Making it difficult to focus on a specific world issue before moving on to a new one. Other than that, I really do adore the story of Black Cake, and it’s an unforgettable read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced reader copy of this book.

This book is a phenomenal debut. It is such a beautiful story of culture and loss and food and family. It is definitely a slower paced book, but it kind of ebbed and flowed in waves of action that I thought were really well-paced. Multi-generational stories can be kind of hit or miss for me but the characters in this story were all so rich and distinct that I really enjoyed everyone's point of view and how all the storylines tied together. The writing in this is exquisite--a great blend of lyrical prose and lines that I (someone who rarely highlights in books) was marking to come back to later without being too flowery. There's a lot to think about in this book about sacrifice, where you come from, who you are and what identity is tied to. This is a book that you could pick up again and again and find something new each time. I can't wait to see what Wilkerson puts out next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of Black Cake in exchange for my honest review!

Like the majority of past reviewers have stated, Wilkerson wrote a truly stunning debut novel. I'm a sucker for a family drama, and when you weave in historical fiction and a tiny bit of murder mystery, it's the recipe for a great story.

Ultimately, Black Cake is a story about love, loss, family, and how identities can change and intersect over time. It's a slower-paced novel that I read over the course of a week or more, so don't pick it up expecting a quick, fast-paced read! This is a book you could probably recommend to your moms, aunts, and grandmas while also discussing it with your book club.

CW: Death, family estrangement, rape, racism, sexual harassment

A story of a hidden family past, deep cultural roots, intertwining fates, and how to continue on in the face of tragedy. This impressive debut dives deep with effortless prose, rich and complex characters, and captivating storytelling.

I loved the alternating stories of present day with Byron and Benny paired with past revelations of their mother Covey after her death. I loved how the black cake was a consistent theme woven throughout the novel, and enjoyed learning the history paired with it. This story didn't feel like a debut, and I cannot wait to see what is next from this author.

Her writing reminded me of The Girl With the Louding Voice, The Vanishing Half, and Homegoing (some of my favorite books). This story is thought provoking with beautiful writing in this stand-out debut that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Black Cake is an engaging debut novel about family secrets. Benny and Byron are called by their mother's lawyer to listen to a tape she made them before she died. She reveals a lot of things they did not know about their mother which makes them question themselves and their identities.

This was a phenomenal story! I loved how it was written. I enjoyed all of the characters. There are a lot of POV's and time jumps, but it was well done. Some of the things that happen did feel a bit too convenient, but I felt the author handled it all well. I look forward to reading more from her!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I had high expectations for this book and it somehow exceeded them all. A gripping family drama that spans generations and interconnected people across the globe.

Rich, delicious, and perfectly stunning writing --- no matter who's perspective we were getting.

A must read in 2022!

The writing of this book is beautiful and the plot is so clever. Long ago secrets, family, and a inheritance of a black cake recipe.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book felt a little too long, especially in the beginning, and it was hard at first to keep track of who's point of view we were in. However, it grew more interesting as more past secrets started to be revealed, and there were many interesting turns this book took.