I absolutely adore this book!

It is a beautifully written story about two estranged siblings who come together after years apart after their mother’s death. Their mother leaves behind instructions, a Black Cake, and recordings that speak of her past, and she hopes that this will help unite her children.

The recordings are so, so much more than simple tales of their mother’s life. They learn so much about what she sacrificed and lived through. This helps them to reflect on their own lives and help them heal their own mistakes with themselves and each other. Family secrets will be uncovered and steps towards healing will be made.

I don’t feel that my spoiler free description is even close to giving this story justice. It is such a beautifully written tale of family, love, and sacrifice. The cultural elements are described with such beauty and elegance. The characters are all written wonderfully and the growth that they achieve is inspiring.

Everything is just so brilliantly and richly written. I absolutely could not put this down, and read this book in one sitting. The story made me smile and sob at the same time. I found myself researching the culture as I was reading the story. This truly is such a wonderful book, and is one that can be read over and over again.

Thank you so much to Charmaine Wilkerson, Ballentine Books, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this arc in exchange for my honest opinions!

Black Cake is the debut novel of Charmaine Wilkerson. The story begins with siblings Bryon and Benedetta (Benny) Bennett meeting with their mother’s estate attorney. The two siblings haven’t spoken to each other for eight years when Benny felt rejected after revealing to her family that she was a lesbian. She did not return six years ago when her father died but has come back for her mother’s funeral. The siblings learn that their mother, Eleanor, has left them an eight-hour video to tell the two children the surprising real history of their parents. She has also left a frozen black cake for them to share when the time is right. The black cake is a rum-soaked fruit cake made from a beloved family recipe.

The video introduces a large cast of characters from Eleanor’s past, beginning with her life on an unnamed Caribbean island, traveling to London, Scotland, and eventually Southern California. There is also background information on Bryon and Benny, neither of whom seem to be able to form happy relationships.

With some restraint, it could have been a really good story. Because the author decided to cover a plethora of social issues, including an arranged marriage, parental abandonment, workplace rape, police brutality against blacks, gambling, racial and gay discrimination, forced adoption, domestic abuse, and protection of the ocean, the story seemed weighed down at times. If she had just focused on the concepts of home, identity, family secrets, second chances, and fewer social issues, I would have enjoyed it much more. Many of the chapters are short and out of order chronologically, giving the story a disjointed feeling. On the positive side, I enjoyed the historical aspects of island life and the emphasis on the importance of food and traditions. The book asks important questions about racial identity and what someone would be willing to do in the name of love.

Thank you to Kathleen Q at Penguin Random House for my Netgalley widget! The novel will be published on February 1, 2022, by Ballantine Books.

I just reviewed Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. #BlackCake #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published February 1, 2022.

The book started off a bit rocky for me: lots of short chapters and jumping back and forth in time. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, made harder due to their multiple names, but I enjoyed the book. It really picked up in the second half and was a good read. It’s a story about a family, the mother’s Black Cake recipe and how that cake reunited the siblings after decades apart. Themes include family, friendship, secrets, survival and second chances.

This assured debut from Charmaine Wilkerson shares the story of a family torn apart by strife but reunited after their matriarch's death.

Covey Lyncook spends her formative years swimming and baking her beloved black cake in the Caribbean during the 1960s. After her father gets into debt to a mobster, he promises his daughter to the man in marriage. On the day of the marriage, the mobster drops dead from poisoning and Covey disappears under the suspicion of murder.

In the present day, Covey's children, Benny and Bryon, reunite to hear a recording she made before her death. In it she reveals her life as Covey (they know her as Eleanor) and her escape from the Caribbean. She tells them more about a life they've never heard of including her years as a serious swimmer, her challenges in England, and the existence of a sister. Both kids--academic Byron and conflicted Benny--are shocked, but eager to learn more about the mother they never really knew.

As a fan of engrossing family sagas, I really liked this one. The lush descriptions of the Caribbean and food were delectable and the characterizations strong. At times the jumps between time and people (and, occasionally things) slowed the pace a bit, but otherwise this is an emotional, engrossing debut. Give me allll the family dramas, especially ones that are tinged with a bit of mystery and real-life issues like racism, identity, tragedy, and love. I can't wait to see what Charmaine writes next!

Thanks @NetGalley and @penguinrandomhouse for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This family story covers a lot of territory but at the core, it's about the family secrets -- and the memories -- we keep and how they shape us. I was really impressed with this debut. First, I enjoyed how the short chapters felt like waves crashing on the narrative -- the chapters were short, they moved around from POV to POV, they changed in geography, etc. The overall effect was very effective, especially with the significance of water in the story. I thought the family dynamics were relatable. How many of us haven't had a fight with a family member that stretched and stretched over time because of pride and distance? Really well done. The "secrets" here weren't so much hidden away as they were unveiled slowly, with the characters and the reader joining on the journey of discovery. Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Historical Fiction + Literary Fiction

Black Cake is a multigenerational story in the Caribbean. Benny and Byron are invited by their mother’s lawyer Mitch to hear the voice recordings their late mom Eleanor has left them along with a traditional Caribbean black cake that she used to make for them. The two siblings have to set their differences aside and listen to the secrets their mother will reveal in these recordings. Things they had no idea about their mom are all told through past stories.

When I started reading this novel it was so good that I thought this would be a five-star book for me. The writing of the author, which is incredible for a debut novel, the story setting, and the two sibling characters. Everything was going great for me. But the more I advanced in the story the more characters were introduced and more shifts kept happening in the timeline. It confused me and at times I felt lost. I felt that I was going to connect with the characters but I didn’t because many characters were coming and going and I ended up not feeling for them. To feel these characters’ hardships would be the main point of such stories. I feel the author has crammed many characters and a lot of social issues in 400 pages. I don’t think this was enough. However, I do appreciate that the author used third-person narration for all the POVs.

The other problem with the characters is the names the author has used. I don’t understand the use of names that start with the letter B! Byron, Benny, Bunny, Bert, etc. This was too confusing at times, especially Benny and Bunny! There is some kind of fixation with B here. Even the book starts with a B. Was this intentional? Did the author want (B)lack to be a part of all the names? I will tell you a secret! Even the publisher’s name starts with a B! 🙈🙈

This is a story that talks about various social issues that we face today. There is sexuality, race, dysfunctional family, violence, and other relevant subjects. The characters in this story are flawed which makes them feel more real. I just wish I could’ve connected in-depth with them instead of the many jumps in the timeframe. If you will be able to deal with these jumps and with the multi POVs, I think this story can be a rewarding one for you.

Many thanks to the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. First, I have to agree with Marilyn W who wrote “too much of everything.” I will also add repetitive to the point I wanted to throw the book across the room, but I read on an iPad so that didn’t happen.

You can read a synopsis of the book in most reviews as well as the official release materials. Eleanor has more secrets than a soap opera character. In an 8 hour audio she has left for her grown children (Benny and Byron) to listen to after her death, she unravels the threads of her life and the creaky foundation on which theirs was built. To be clear, Benny and Byron are estranged, Benny was estranged from her mother and father, Benny is practically estranged from herself. Byron looks successful on paper. He is not without scars.

An intricate cake is used for symbolism. Ingredients must be carefully blended together to achieve a perfect result. The one true thing Eleanor retains through her life is the recipe. She and Benny make the cake together until the estrangement at which point Benny flees. Just as Eleanor and Eleanor’s mother fled. But a better title might have been “Dump Cake” because the author just keeps dumping themes and somewhat theatrical circumstances at the reader. Some of these issues deserved far more depth and some are just ludicrous. Racial discrimination, misogyny, sexual orientation, sexual assault and not-to-be-spoken-of family dysfunction are prominent themes. None should be treated lightly, and none were treated lightly, but the book takes on too much and instead of depth the same details are repeated far too often.

I gave it three stars. There were a few times my jaw did drop and young Eleanor’s life is compelling.

“In development as a Hulu original series produced by Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Films), and Kapital Entertainment”

This book was incredibly difficult for me to read/finish. I really struggled to maintain focus on what was happening at the core of the story because there was just so much going on and the author just continued to throw in new issues without really giving us resolution throughout. This chaotic writing style may have been intentional, but it was not for a reader like myself as I was unable to really develop any connection to the characters. The story itself was really intriguing, but we could have gone without like 200 pages of this story.

Black Cake is an impressive debut novel by Charmaine Wilkerson.

Benny and Byron, the children of Caribbean immigrants have reunited after a long estrangement to deal with their recently deceased mother’s effects. To their shock, their mother has left them her story, in the form of a tape recording that she has asked them to listen to together.

This is a complicated story of love and loss, and the different ways people handle the demands and intimacies of family. Wilkerson’s character’s struggles to understand their legacy is entwined with their every day encounters with racism and sexism.

The most compelling story line is told by the dead woman. It propelled me to the end of the book in a rush to understand what she had done, and what had been done to her.

I had such high hopes as I started this book and during the initial part of my reading, but alas, it fell short for me as I continued on. There was so much potential in the initial idea of the book and the black cake, but it just become overwhelming and diluted as it went on. Too many characters, too many social issues, too much back and forth.

I'm generally glad I read it but there was so much more that could have been, based on the overall premise.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is a generation-spanning novel that grips its readers on the strengths of its character work. While the novel has the modern-tendency to eschew toward very short chapters, this works largely in its favor as it allows for us to spend smaller moments with each character that helps inform the plot and development across decades.

The novel at its core tells the story of the Bennett family’s two adult children, Benny and Byron. Benny and Byron were raised in California by their Caribbean immigrant parents. Following the deaths of their mother (preceded by the death of their father years earlier), Benny and Byron must confront that their family has secrets that they could have never imagined. The novel switches between eras, telling stories of a young woman named Covey living in the islands in the 60s to the 2018 set of Benny and Byron dealing with the estate of their recently deceased mother, Eleanor. We are also introduced to other characters who play significant roles in each of these stories and connect them in surprising ways.

Black Cake most reminded me of the recent (and superior) The Vanishing Half. It similarly wrestles with ideas of family, colorism, sexuality, and generational differences. It shares a soapy plot and twisty mysteries that Brit Bennett’s hit book used to well in 2020. Wilkerson is very talented, and has a way with creating compelling and complex characters, and I found myself intrigued by the central mystery she was weaving throughout the book’s pages. Readers who enjoyed The Vanishing Half or event Booker Prize winning Girl, Woman, Other, will find a lot to like here. While the comparison to those books may make Black Cake’s lights dim slightly in comparison, it is still an excellent work and is included in good company.

This was so well done. So beautifully written. Many pages, short chapters and the stories told is true perfection. Such a beautiful story of cultural family dynamic and decade long secrets. This book covers lots of important topics it’s educating and eye opening. This is definitely a must read and the chapters are short. At the end of the day family is family and who you are is who you are.

Wow! What a debut! I was engrossed in this multi-generational, family saga from page one. Black Cake has everything from mystery and intrigue to romance and heartbreak. It's characters are beautiful yet flawed, courageous and inspiring. I had never heard of black cake until this book and it's now on my bucket list to try. One of my favorite things about travel is trying new foods. I loved the added layer of the significance of food in culture and how sometimes it's all we have to tie us to the places we came from or even the places we've been that have become parts of who we are. The greatest works of fiction, in my opinion, have a basis in truth and Black Cake takes the truth of today's social issues and climate and looks at them in a way that promotes a broader understanding and cultivates empathy which is the purest of reading attributes.

Black Cake:
2 stars from this reader.
The premise of the novel grabbed my attention. Two siblings, male and female, come together after their mothers death to hear an 8-hour recording that she insisted they hear with her attorney present. The first half of the novel was quite interesting, as they learned some things about their mother they never knew. The second half was written in present-day mode, but not as captivating. After all the accolades, I expected more.

In fact I found myself thinking that this new author was trying too hard to entertain us or shock us, if you will, by throwing in too many social factors/dilemmas that really didn’t add to what the novel was about.

Not my style, and I was sorry I invested so much time in this. I wish the author well, as she certainly has potential. I thank the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read the preliminary e-arc prior to its publication which is right around the corner— February 1, 2022.

3.75/5⭐️

This is an amazing debut, but I did have some issues with it. There’s A LOT going on here, and it reads more like an epic saga…but at 400 pages.

This is a generational story of a Caribbean family told in various voices, in various locales and in various timelines (1960s to
present). I had to pay close attention to keep it all straight, but it centers on family secrets, lies, loyalty and love among other things.

No more specifics here because there’s really almost too much to unpack, but the writing was beautiful, and the characters well-fleshed out (with the caveat that I did become annoyed/frustrated with some). I personally felt that the chapters/storyline could have been less choppy/more streamlined, and overall it could have benefitted from more editing both for length and an unnecessary number of social issues which were overly repetitive in the story. But I do think this author is one to watch.

My sincere thanks to #NetGalley, #BallantineBooks and the author for providing me the free arc of #BlackCake for early review. The opinions are strictly my own.

This! Book! It was beautifully written-- I'm so grateful for a galley so that I could highlight to my heart's content. Charmaine drew me into this family in a way that few authors are able to do. I fell in love with these characters and their stories.

Black Cake is a multigenerational story about estranged siblings who learn about their mother's complicated past through a recording she leaves behind after her death. Fast-paced, inclusive, and impossible to put down, readers observe a family with secrets and experience with hardship become whole again. There's also an element of mystery to this story as we slowly learn who characters really are and how certain events really happened. Readers of various backgrounds will find this book full of longing, loss, second chances, and love. There is much to connect with here, and Wilkerson has penned an impressive debut novel that belongs in your TBR pile.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC via NetGalley.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I absolutely would. I truly, truly loved this book so much. A family experiencing loss and relationships mending is something I can relate to so much. This was my first book by this author and it definitely will not be my last. Adding a physical copy to my bookshelves at home. Thank you NetGalley for my early copy. 💛 this book left me feeling so much. So emotional. So gutted. Everyone needs to read this book. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Black Cake was a fantastic story about family, identity, and history. I loved the different POVs and the shifts through time as the story unfolded and we got to know the two siblings, Byron and Benny. I wasn’t sure how I felt about either character, but such is the nature of people.. we don’t always make the right decisions and we push away people who care about us and we don’t always admit when we’ve stopped being angry.

I enjoyed the way everything connected.

My only real criticism is that, despite tugging at my heartstrings and ultimately being enjoyable, it was a bit far fetched.. I wish we could have gotten the story through more.. instead of just having Byron and Benny listen to it. There were so many hardships to overcome, but it felt like the story went from a personal and difficult life to a white picket fence and we never got another POV between that and the funeral..

Still, I definitely recommend Black Cake and it was a pretty quick read overall, yet still deep and emotional.

I really enjoyed this story and how it was fed by threads of other stories and secrets. I also enjoyed learning things about Caribbean history as well as several social issues. I love stories centered around cultural or historic food, which is what drew me to this novel (as well as ::whispered:: secrets, which also piqued my interest), and the use of the black cake at the center tying everything together was engaging.

Reading this in a book club, too. Thanks NetGalley and publisher!