I love discovering books that I may not have picked up on my own. Black Cake is definitely one of those books. Seeing that one of my favorite authors Taylor Jenkins Reid offered praise, and it has been compared to one of my favorite books of 2020, The Vanishing Half, I was compelled to read it.

Black Cake follows two estranged siblings who arrive at their childhood home after their mother's death, where she recorded her life story and important things for her children to know.

While the story moved a little slower than I liked, I found myself enthralled by it. It covers a lot of topics including race, sexual assault, suicide, and others. It is very much a powerful story taking you from the Caribbean, to London, and to California.

I recommend adding Black Cake to your 2022 reading list!

Thank you to Ballantine, Random House, and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After Byron & Benny’s mom dies they are left with her black cake and recordings about her past life. This story is told in dual timelines as they listen.

I love multi generational books and this one was no different, especially with such a strong sense of place ties in with the Caribbean setting. You will be captivated by this story of family, friendship, grief, hope, culture and traditions.

3.5 stars! I was emailed an advanced copy of this book and went in completely blind. It bounced around a little too much at times but the plot kept me interested & the cover is stunning. This is the author’s first novel and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to read it!

This was a fantastic novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. I had such a hard time putting down Black Cake, and following the family sage of siblings, Byron and Benny. When their mother passes away, they uncover a colorful past and leads them to celebrate their family and their individuality in an entirely different light. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel.

“What about a persons life? How do you make a map of that? The boarder people draw between themselves. The scars left along the ground of one’s heart”

A multi- layered, multi generational beautiful and emotional story of families, friends, hope and faith.

This was a fantastic book and one that will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to many more books by this author !

Pros: I really enjoyed this family drama, which examines regret and grief. The structure of the book, which flashes back and forth in time and focuses on connected characters, paired with the short chapters kept the story moving and kept me turning the pages to find out what happened and would happen to this family.

What I liked most about this book is the strong sense of place in Caribbean islands and the story of people from the islands who then move to the UK and USA. I haven't read many stories about characters from the Caribbean/West Indies, so it was refreshing to read something new. I also appreciated the author's note at the end of the book, which provided resources for further reading.

Cons: None that I can think of.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book

I’ve shared this review on Goodreads and StoryGraph.

Black Cake is an exquisite story that is both heart wrenching and uplifting all at once. I was gifted Black Cake as an advance reader copy. I wasn’t entirely sure that the story was one that I would connect with. Boy was I wrong. Learning about the suffering of a young island girl and lengths she went to persevere gave me hope. The terrible things she experienced and the lengths she went to to reinvent herself were awe inspiring. Hearing from the past and present Covey from beyond the grave added depth and emotion to the story. A heartbreaking and wonderful read.

WOW!! One of the best books I've read all year! Can I give it 6 stars?

Black Cake is the incredibly complex tale of of a young woman from The Caribbean and her very challenging and satisfying life. The story begins shortly after her death when her son and daughter are "forced" to listen to their mother's voice on a recording. Through chapters, each about the different characters in her life, the reader slowly learns "what exactly happened" to the young woman. Each section is shocking and somehow wonderful.

I LOVED this story of intertwined lives and fates, and how Charmaine Wilkerson ties all loose ends together in an awesome manner. I think I'll read it again!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to experience Black Cake!

Put this on your Feb TBR. I loved this book. An engrossing and original family/friendship story that touches on important issues including identity, racial equity and sustainability, From the Caribbean to the UK and US — through food and swimming — this is a book to savor.

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I would definitely be recommending this book to readers on my Instagram bookstagram account.

In development as a Hulu series, Black Cake takes us from present day California to a tale about a younger swimmer in the Caribbean. When Byron and Benny’s mother dies, she leaves them with her black cake and messages about her past.

Wow, what a debut! Charmaine Wilkerson has weaved an incredible tale of family, culture, tradition, and secrets. It was dual-time line and like usual, I enjoyed the past time line much more, but the current time line was necessary to get to the past. So much happened to our protagonist, but it was told cleverly and authentically. I loved learning about the Caribbean culture and the food. There was a lot to this book, but behind all that it was simply an entertaining tale as well.

“I spent so much of my life keeping this from you, but I owe this to you. I owe it to you to let you know about my past because this is your story too.”

Black Cake comes out 2/1.

This book had an interesting and absorbing plot, but in the end, I just didn't like the writing style. The writing was very clunky and awkward. I kept rolling my eyes during certain passages. I appreciate the story that Wilkerson was trying to tell, and I usually enjoy literary fiction, but this novel just felt lackluster for me. I hate to say this but I kept thinking of a corny soap opera while reading this. All the characters felt fake and wooden. The family secrets felt kind of silly to me as well. There was nothing profound and meaningful going on here. The only positive I can think of is the short chapters and that stunning cover art. Overall, I expected more, just another run-of-the mill family drama. Ho-hum.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for the digital ARC.

This book will really grab your attention. The details of the characters and how they are all interwoven were intricate and well thought out. The story is beautiful woven through different timelines and view points. It could be difficult keeping up with all the characters and connections but I think it really works well here. I can see this one receiving a lot of buzz once it’s published next year! And now off to make this Caribbean black cake!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

A multi generational saga that is initiated by the death of Eleanor Bennett and the eight hours of recorded history about her early life that she records for her children.
The themes are multiple-love, friendship, racism, misogyny,environmental and environmental issues among others. All of the characters are well developed, but it is Eleanor who is the heart and soul of the novel.The BLACK CAKE of the title refers to the Caribbean cake made for special occasions. A good read well worth your time.

<i>Black Cake</i> starts on an unnamed West Indies island. Covey Lincook is a young woman who has grown up there with an alcoholic, gambling father. While he adores Covey, his debts and troubles are large enough to get in the way. Covey has a fierce spirit. She and her best friend Bunny are serious endurance swimmers. That endurance and strength will sustain them both through all of life's ups and downs.

When Covey is married to the town thug to repay her father's gambling debts, she is distraught. But when that thug drops dead at their wedding, Covey sees an opportunity to escape. As a suspect in his murder, Covey embarks on the life of a fugitive. The story travels quickly back and forth between Covey and the people she loves--her children, her best friends, her (second) husband. The characters each bring their own story, each touched with pain and lined with inspiration.

At times, I was wrapped up in the book and the stories. At times, I felt like it dragged despite the short chapters and frequent shifts in storytelling. In all, I felt like this was a unique story with wonderful characters. There's a lot of heaviness, but also a lot of love. Recommended.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite quote:
"But in his heart, Byron is a California kid and a black man first. This is his identity. Of course, in the minds of others, he is a black man, first, second, and always, which would be fine if it weren't to the exclusion of everything else."

"Sometimes, the stories we don’t tell people about ourselves matter even more than the things we do say."

If you liked The Vanishing Half for its estranged sibling dynamic, dual past/present timelines, and themes of race, identity, and familial expectations, then Black Cake might be your next favorite read. (Even the covers are similar enough to draw comparisons!)

"The people you loved were part of your identity, too. Perhaps the biggest part."

In Black Cake, two estranged adult siblings are forced to reunite after their mother’s death. Byron and Benny learn, through a lengthy recording she prepared before she died, that their mother kept many secrets, and that their family’s history is more complicated than they knew.

"I owe it to you to let you know about my past because this is your story, too."

Black Cake is a layered and complex multigenerational story, nonlinear and very literary in style. Charmaine Wilkerson takes her time to slowly unravel the threads of the story, which makes the pacing feel a bit slow in places, especially the first third of the book.

"What about a person’s life? How do you make a map of that? The borders people draw between themselves. The scars left along the ground of one’s heart."

But Wilkerson’s prose is nuanced and evocative, and she weaves in elements of mystery, family drama, self-discovery, loss, grief, and acceptance. Her underlying message, of how our present and future will be ultimately shaped by our past, is hidden at times when the pacing slows, but is never lost. Overall, an impressive debut! Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction, generational sagas, and multicultural representation.

——

A huge thank-you to Charmaine Wilkerson, Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, this book really just blew my mind. It’s hard to believe that it is a debut writer. The story is beautiful woven through different timelines and view points. It can become difficult keeping up with all the characters and connections but it serves the story well. I would definitely recommend this book and I know it will receive a lot of buzz once it’s published next year.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of Black Cake. Living in Southern Florida, I thought I would enjoy the Caribbean theme of the book. However, what really captured my imagination was the series of intricately woven short stories that were written so seemlesslly as to heighten my anticipation of the next action. I recall the first time I encountered Eleanor thinking who is this. But her story captures and pulls together the stories of all the other characters.

Well done Ms. Wilkerson! I look forward to your next book.

I already have this book on my list of books I will discuss at our New Year New Books programs! Also considering whether I should attempt to make a black cake.

What a phenomenal book! Charmaine Wilkerson has truly wow’ed me with her debut novel Black Cake! Centering around, Byron and Benny Bennett, in the wake of the death of their mother, Eleanor. The estranged siblings know that the death of their beloved mother will forever change their lives, but what they don’t realize is that Eleanor had a lot of hidden secrets. Before her death, Eleanor audio-recorded her life story. Through the recordings, Benny & Byron discover that there was a lot they didn’t know about their mother! Wowwowow!

This novel had me at hello! Charmaine Wilkerson has knocked it out of park with this debut! The storyline does a fantastic job tackling the fragile and intricate familial bond of the Bennett family. The pacing was perfect and the character development was on-point! I found myself daydreaming about the Bennett’s when I wasn’t glued to my kindle—for me, that a surefire sign of a top read! Black Cake is a 5+++ star novel that will absolutely stay with me! I highly recommend Black Cake for a monthly book club selection! I am looking forward reading whatever Charmaine Wilkerson comes out with next!