I really enjoyed this book, which was recommended to me by one of the publishers for it's similarities to other books I have reviewed and enjoyed. The book flows well, and is an easy and enjoyable read. The book is about a family struggling to get through the death of their matriarch, and trying to come to terms with parts of her life that they never knew anything about.
The book follows a brother and sister, Byron and Benny respectively, as they come to terms with their mother, Eleanor's death. They learn of her past life, and all of the sacrifices that both her, and their father, made for them to be safe and successful in their lives. All the secrets come out through a recording that their mother left for them to listen to together with her estate attorney, and good friend Mr. Charles Mitch. It's a long hard road for both Byron and Benny, but there is so much more they need to know, and in the end they gain so much.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Black Cake starts off as a lush, verdant story that builds off a plot similar to the Korean Drama, "Father is Strange (아버치 이상햇)" but in a different context.
Byron is a petulant child who was used to being worshiped and being deferred to until women like Benny and Lynette showed him that he wasn't the center of the universe. Eleanor/Covey's story was heartbreaking, and I liked that the pieces came together for her family in the end.

It's a solid chunk of story that starts to prevaricate as the pages go on, especially towards the end. How did I read 600 pages to completion and yet still do not know what happened to Benny? The timelines for her character are a little jumbled. I think the issue is that the book started out focused on one thing, but branched out to include many more facets. Byron's academic background, work, and success are good forms of representation (but not his attitude), but I don't particularly feel like I came away learning anything about oceans even though dialogue about it was sprinkled throughout. I'd rate the first half of the book 5 stars. The rest...well, I don't know.

Oh my! I fell in with the beauty of this writing! I fell so hard! Family issues, resentments, cultural diaspora, regrets, resentments, sexuality, freedom, child abandonment, secrets, lies, sibling bonds, motherhood, racism, interracial marriage, identity theft, climate change, environmental protection, islander life, secret recipe of black cake… Wow! I feel so dizzy! This book approaches so many sensitive issues, which were handled adroitly with care without targeting to give us full bombardment of messages.

The writing was lyrical, impeccable, sensitive, all of the characters were so easy to care for. Benny the daughter, Covey/ Eleanor the mother, Bunny the best friend, Marble the other daughter, Pearl the care taker were memorable characters broke my heart! I cried a lot when I read their struggles, their fights, misunderstandings and I absolutely got impressed with their power, resilience!

I haven’t read something so good so intense so heartbreaking so powerful for a long time!

I think Black Cake is gonna be not only my favorite fiction read for 2022 but also is gonna be one of my all time favorite books! If I could give more than five stars, I would like to give it 10! It truly deserved it!

Here’s my favorite quote: RIDE THE WAVE!
"This is what I would like to be able to say to you folks, that in life, you should just catch
the wave and ride it. But what if you don't see any good waves coming your way? You need
to go looking. Don't stop looking, all right?”

I’m so thankful to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/ Ballantine Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

5⭐
G because this is totally a book to read with your mom and grandma

HOW IS THE BOOK A DEBUT?! Charmaine Wilkerson created a masterpiece in this book as she took so many complex characters and slowly wove their lives together, introducing new people throughout the book in way that seamlessly pulled everything together. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

I will say the plot description for this book didn't initially intrigue me, so I'd honestly go in blind to read this book if you answer yes to these questions:
~Do you enjoy multigenerational stories?
~Do you enjoy being thrown into the story of multiple characters and trying to figure how they're related to each other?
~Do you like family secrets and drama and hidden identities?
~Do you enjoy descriptions of food?
~Do you enjoy redemption stories?
~Do you enjoy having a book make you feel happy, sad, angry, frustrated, hopeful and thrilled all at the same time?

I suspect for many readers like me that the answer to almost all of these questions is yes. 🙂 If that's the case, I think you'll love this book. I also would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved Mailbu Rising and The Vanishing Half,. I really think this book is going to be huge so if you like reading on trend, you need to preorder ASAP.

A great story that is unpredictable and cleverly told in basically two time frames. Siblings Byron and Benny come together following their mother’s death after being estranged for several years. Their mother, who they have always known as Eleanor left a recording with her attorney and requires that the siblings listen to it and follow her instructions. As Eleanor’s story unfolds, B and B (as Eleanor refers to them), learn shocking secrets about their mother’s past. This is how the reader becomes entrenched in Eleanor’s intriguing past. While taking breaks from the recording, we learn more about B and B and their struggles and personalities. The story in built around numerous Caribbean cultural practices especially the importance of passing the recipe and techniques for making black cake down through the generations.
I loved the characters and believe the author did a fantastic job of character development. The concepts of families, friendships and culture withstanding adversity was presented in a very satisfying and effective manner. The book kept me interested throughout and I really liked the surprises and nice (but not cheesy) ending. A great debut! I will be looking for more from this author.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for this advance reader’s copy.
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Another fantastic debut for 2022! In Wilkerson’s dual timeline generational family saga, a mother leaves behind a video message for her estranged children, revealing a lifetime of family secrets. I loved the past timeline, so maybe the current timeline couldn’t quite measure up - I found it a bit meandering at times. But there were still moments in this book that took my breath away. I couldn’t help but think about Eleanor and Benny making their traditional black cake as I prepared my own family recipes on this Christmas Eve. Beautiful inside and out, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Black Cake as a celebrity book club pick.

This was the story of Byron and Benny. Their mom has just passed away and they must come together to hear her will which includes a tape recording she left for them. In this recording, she tells them things about the secret part of her life that they didn't know about. I enjoyed this book. There are several story lines going on at once - the story of Eleanor as well as the life of Benny and Byron. The author touches on several important topics of our time (like racism and abusive relationships) in the process of telling these interesting life stories. I enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading other works by this new author. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for giving me this advanced copy.

Interesting story of deception, family drama and finding answers. Unfortunately the story just ended to abruptly for my taste leaving a lot of unanswered questions.

“Black Cake,” by Charmaine Wilkerson, Ballantine Books, 400 pages, Feb. 1, 2022.

Eleanor Bennett dies. Her adult children, Byron, an ocean scientist, and Benny, who hopes to own a cafe, are estranged. They haven’t seen each other in eight years. Their father, Bert, died six years earlier. Benny didn’t attend his funeral.

Eleanor was born and raised on an island in the Caribbean. Eleanor’s attorney, Charles Mitch, tells Bryon and Benny that their mother left a directive: they must sit together and listen to an eight-hour audio recording she made, telling them about her past. She also left a traditional Caribbean black cake, which she says they should share when the time is right.

On the recording, one of the first things Eleanor says is she must tell them about their sister. Byron and Benny never heard of a sister. Eleanor’s father, Johnny Lyncook, was a gambler. His family was from China.

Eleanor tells the story of Coventina Lyncook, a young swimmer, whose best friend is named Bunny Pringle. Covey’s mother, Matilda, had a small cake bakery. But one day Matilda disappeared. When Covey is older, she falls for a young man, Gilbert Grant.

On Oct. 5, 1963, teenagers Covey, Bunny and Gilbert are swimming in Long Bay, while two others follow in a canoe. A tropical storm is moving in faster than they anticipated. They don’t realize Hurricane Flora is coming.

Covey’s father is angry because he forbid her to swim there. A year after the hurricane, his store burns down. He sells Covey into marriage to Clarence Henry, a money-lender, to pay off his gambling debts. Covey escapes her island home under suspicion of murder.

This is a multi-generation story about family history, traditions and identity. While the characters and writing are excellent, it is slow-moving.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Heartfelt, poetic and addicting. This book truly surprised me! What a book to end 2021 with! I will gladly give this book a 5 star rating. This is for fans of The Vanishing Half and A History Of Wild Places!

Truly a great read. The dystopia of living poor with the combination of social persecution, is prevalent throughout this storyline. Loved this book, poignant and uplifting make this a “do not miss” read. Definite addition to your TBR List.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson.

This beauty of a book had me captivated from the first page. I applaud the author for putting so much care into creating a masterpiece as rich as the cake often mentioned in the book.

Benny left her brother and family years ago, having being hurt over their rejection of who she is. But now Benny has returned home after the death of her mother, leaving her and Byron orphaned. But their mother Eleanor has brought them together for a very distinct purpose, to tell them the story of her life, and to reveal the secrets of her past. Through Eleanor's culture, the legacy of the black cake, and people in her life that have kept her long help secrets, these siblings discover an entirely new world, and side to their family.

As I said, just beautiful! Great character development, excellent pace. The author knows exactly how much to reveal, but also when it's not necessary to completely expose certain details. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Easily one of the best page-turners I read in 2021, this book is a moving and relatable story about family relationships and family history spanning different countries, time periods, struggles, and successes. This family comes together to grow apart to come together to grow apart to come together again. The story follows two siblings, Byron and Benny, as they come back to their hometown to take care of the proceedings for their mother’s (Eleanor) funeral, but everything changes when they sit down with their mother’s lawyer.

Charmaine Wilkerson does an incredible job of setting up and moving along this storyline for the reader in this multigenerational and dual-timeline piece. It’s undeniable that Wilkerson is a wonderfully talented storyteller. As another reviewer here on Goodreads so beautifully stated, "Like the cake named in the title, this is a book meant to be savored." What a treat, especially for a writer’s debut novel! I can’t wait to read whatever Wilkerson comes up with next.

Every family has their secrets and this was is no different. I didn’t relate to the characters but I was so interested in them and their mother. I know what it’s like to lose a parent and learn things about them but that’s where I stopped drawing personal connections. It was written well and Eleanor Bennett was a… complicated woman. Emotional beginning so beware the note left to B&B was so tender but keep reading!

4.5/5 Stars. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is a well-written debut fiction novel. It follows two siblings as they learn the secrets their mother and father kept from them. The novel has one of my favorite ways to read historical fiction, where it switches between the past and present telling two stories of two generations. I loved the writing style and the plot, I will be reading more from this author in the future!

It didn’t take long for me to decide this was not a book I would enjoy. One of the two protagonists was an angry-in-your-face woman. And that seemed to be the way the book was written, not just the character. The first few chapters were not so much about the story as they were about hitting the reader over the head to promote various current social issues. I’m sure it will have appeal to the younger angry women.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you publisher for reaching out, or I would have missed this brilliant debut novel! I had scanned past it very briefly, but decided to pass. However, when the publishing house reached out to offer me an ARC, I decided to give it a try and am so thankful I read Black Cake. The very first page had me hooked as I wondered why there was Hakka in a book about a story set in the West Indies. often, I'm not a big fan of stories that shift between perspectives or time, but this was extremely well done and I couldn't stop reading until I found out just what had happened. This was a truly satisfying read and I cannot wait to read what she writes next for her sophomore effort.

When Eleanor Bennett dies, estranged brother and sister Byron and Benny discover she was not who they thought she was, that everything they thought they knew about their parents and therefore themselves was not entirely true and it more than turns their worlds upside down.
A wonderfully rich and and emotionally complex story of very real people. With Caribbean and British roots and modern American sensibilities, the characters past and present fight hard for love and a future in the only way each knows how. With so many secrets, it's hard to describe without spoilers, but an extremely satisfying story.

The death of their mother has sent siblings Byron and Benny into a tailspin. They meet in California for the reading of her will and find instead
a traditional Caribbean black cake, and a voice recording that her lawyer plays for them. The recording reveals a life in the Caribbean and England and many secrets that the two siblings never could have imagined. The question is, why now, and what is their mother trying to tell them?

A beautiful book, spanning many generations and continents. I just loved the writing and the tale of Eleanor. Charmaine Wilkerson is a talented author and I am shocked that this is a debut ! There is no doubt that you will feel the sand in your toes and the heat on your skin reading this novel. I personally will be asking a few of my friends about this infamous black cake!

If you like generational sagas, historical novels, Caribbean history, strong protagonists and of course family secrets, then this is a novel for you! #NetGalley #BlackCake #PenguinRandomHouse