Comfort reading personified. This Karen Hawkins read has takes on grief most can find relatable. A Cup of Silver Linings is a fabulous read, especially for book clubs.

I love this series so much! While I did read the previous, first book in this series (The Book Charmer), I believe you can read the books independently of each other, but why would you want to do that? The first book introduces this unique town and it's inhabitants. This second book builds on that foundation.

This is a series that many of the characters from the first book appear. (Unlike some series where it is just the setting that is the same.) The characters are created so well and I enjoyed reading more about their lives. There is something special about the seven Dove sisters that live in Dove Pond, and in this book we learn about the special gift that Ava Dove has. The bit of magic that exists in this book's world is just the correct touch for me. I honestly am not drawn to stories with too much fantasy. There is just enough in this series that it becomes believable to me, and I hope these gifts do exist in the real world.

The story deals with many issues, but the main focus is on grief. How each person deals with it differently and at their own pace. Also a subplot is keeping secrets and forgiveness. Just as grief takes time, forgiveness does also. The issues in the story are handle with kindness and grace.

I love the author's style. This was just the second book I read by Karen Hawkins, but I definitely will be reading more of her work. I adore the book cover and title. Great selections!

I definitely recommend this book very highly!

I want to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for the pleasure of reading the advanced reader copy. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.

A magical, cozy story with personable characters.
There is a bit of everything going on within the story. Magic, friendships, second chances, family, grief, secrets, hope and forgiveness make this a worthwhile book to read.
I do recommend you read the first book in the series as it will give you more of the backstory to the Dove Pond series.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a beautifully written story with amazing characters!! Highly highly recommend!! Written by the same author that wrote The Book Charmer!! 2 amazing books!

Loved this book. It is the second in he Dove Pond series, but you don't need to have read the first one. I am going back to read the first one while I eagerly wait for the third in the series. Dove Pond is a small, rural town set in the NC mountains, you'll be able to picture it in your mind. The title refers to Ava, the Dove sister who know plants and makes medicinal teas, who is opening her own tea shop. But the book is also about Kristen and her grandmother Ellen who must learn the art of compromise in order to become a family.

Second in a series focused around the “magically-favored” Dove sisters of Dove Pond, NC.

Ava is the 6th sister of 7 and her “gift” is nurturing and having empathy with plants. She owns a nursery and is set to open a cafe to specifically showcase her teas which can help folks in extraordinary ways.

Kristen is a teenager who works for Ava who has just lost her mom to cancer. Her estranged grandmother Ellen (and now guardian) wants to sell Kristen’s home and move her to Raleigh to live with her. Kristen is still grieving and doesn’t want to leave her friends and hometown.

There are several storylines going on here…will Ava’s cafe survive when she’s beset with problems before it opens; will Ava and her sister, Sarah, find love; will Kristen be able to track down her unknown father to challenge Ellen’s guardianship; will Kristen and Ellen put aside their differences and compromise?

Obviously there’s A LOT going on here…perhaps a bit too much. Somehow I’m not connecting with these quirky characters and unique town as I thought I would. I found myself somewhat disappointed (as I was with the first book) because I’ve always loved everything written by this author. Still, it is well written, and I’m sure there are plenty who will embrace and enjoy it.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #GalleryBooks for providing me the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I absolutely loved the first book in the series, The Book Charmer, and anxiously waited for book 2 to come out. This one did not disappoint and I love it just as much!

I am truly fascinated by the idea of inanimate objects being magical or mystical—whatever you want to call it—coming to life or offering healing and insight to the people and things around them. This Dove Pond series does just that, with books that communicate with the librarian and tea that knows just what people need.

In A Cup of Silver Linings, Ava mixes up a bad batch of tea and things really start going wrong for her, and for others in the community. As she struggles to right the wrong that has happened, a young girl, Kristin, has had her whole world turned upside down. Can the books, the tea, and the community come together to make it all right again?

I really love this whole series and hope that this author has many more stories to tell. I'm pretty sure the ending of this story sets up the beginning of the next book. Yay!

I highly recommend A Cup of Silver Linings, as well as The Book Charmer, if you like a touch of magical realism in your reading world.

After I read the first book in this series, The Book Charmer, I knew I had to read A Cup of Silver Linings as soon as possible! I've recently become a big fan of the magical realism genre, and this is a fantastic example.

The seven Dove sisters of Dove Pond, NC all have special abilities. Oddly specific, unusual abilities. A Cup of Silver Linings focuses on Ava Dove, who has the greenest thumb in Dove Pond. She is also known for her herbal teas that only work for the person they were created for. When her potent teas go awry, she has to figure out what went wrong. Oh, and she is opening a new business, facing up an old secret that would hurt the person she loves most and trying to help her teenage employee who just lost her mom to cancer.

Readers don't have to read the books in publication order; this one is fine as a stand alone. But I urge you not to deny yourself the opportunity to really dive in and get to know the quirky Dove Pond residents! Even though this book has moments of sadness, sober reflection and hurt, a reader will still see the lightheartedness and humor that Hawkins has woven throughout. Get in on this series!

Karen Hawkins's MUCH anticipated sequel to 'The Book Charmer' came out last week, and I was ECSTATIC! I have been waiting oh, so long for 'A Cup of Silver Linings' and I was NOT disappointed! (Also, can we just take a second and drool over this cover?!? I want to frame this one AND Charmer's for my wall. *sigh* Pure Delight.)

The story picks back up around 2 years after the end of 'Charmer,' with Mayor Grace happily living with Trav, Sarah still having conversations with books, and Ava getting ready to open her tea shop. However, our opening scene is the funeral for a woman we have not yet met. It may bring a sadness to your entry back to Dove Pond, but the story that is woven from it is heart-warming and magical....as are all of the stories we encounter.

This book, like its predecessor is Filled To The Brim with the magical realism that Hawkins writes so perfectly. She's quickly going to catch up with Sarah Addison Allen, the Queen of MR! It's a feel-good, small-town, Southern treat that makes you want to move in right next door to Ava, talk books with Sarah, and hug sweet, sweet Kristen, promising that life will get easier.

Another HUGE Thank You to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read and review this gloriously sweet novel. I highly recommend it and already own a physical copy for myself...and an ebook...and audiobook.

It seems forever ago the first book in the series (The Book Charmer, 2019) debuted, and it took a couple of beats for me to remember all the characters and their relationships with the Dove sisters. Once I got past the reacquainting hurtle, I was able to dive right back into the sweetness of Dove Pond; and the deep caring shared among the residents.

There is sadness, joy, laughter, and intrigue, but the feeling of belonging is what carries this book from beginning to end. Karen Hawkins does a remarkable job of holding her characters together and, as they say, “slowly peels the onion” so each layer is defined and the characters imbue their importance to each other and the community.

This is a book about women and teens coping with grief, betrayal and friendship. It could be difficult for some to read and it is NOT ROMANCE although there is relationships that will end in marriage. I chose to read this book because I love Karen Hawkins' romance stories. She had a gift of writing images that are real to life and you believe you are peeking into these women's lives.

I found it difficult to wade through the pain teen Kristen Foster is going through loosing her mother to breast cancer. Her grandmother Ellen, who is a stranger to her, comes to tell her she's leaving the life she knew to start over. Then there's the stress and guilt Ava Dove is having over trying to get her new tea house open while hiding a secret from her dear sister Sarah. On top of that her teas are going wonky. The town grows to mistrust her and life is hard for her too. Woven into this story is the loyal friendship Kristen has with her two friends Missy and Josh helping her cope. Ava has a loyal circle of friends as well. We get glimpses with old friends from the prequel Love in the Afternoon and the first book The Book Charmer. Ultimately the magic happens and Grandma Ellen & Kristen find a compromise. Then the town rallies and makes Ava's tearoom a raving success.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In book 2 of the Dove Pond series, Ava Dove - owner of Ava Dove’s Landscaping and Specialty Teas—is frantic because her famous teas have gone all wonky. All of a sudden, her sleep-inducing tea is startling her clients awake with vivid dreams, her romance-kindling tea is causing people to blurt out their darkest secrets, and her happiness tea is making them spend hours staring into mirrors. This is the last thing she needs on top of the grand opening coming up on her new tea room. At the same time, one of her employees - a teenager named Kristen Foster - loses her mother to breast cancer. Kristen's estranged grandmother comes in for the funeral and then proceeds to try to sell the house Kristen and Julie lived in, and uproot Kristen & take her back to Raleigh to live with her. Kristen wants to stay in Dove Pond where she is happy and will do anything she can to remain there.

I love the Dove Pond series. I really enjoy the Dove women - each of the seven Dove sisters have abilities, like Ava's is her special ability with plants, and Sarah can talk to books. It had a great storyine, fun characters, and it made me laugh and cry. If you love a book with a good story to it and a feel-good ending, then this is the book for you. I personally can't wait until the the next book in the series!

Seriously, this series has the most amazing covers. Once again, that’s what drew me in even before I knew it was the next book in the Dove Pond series.

Just as in the first book of this series, The Book Charmer, the first half of this book moved quite slow. Actually, it moved even slower that the first book. I actually felt there were too many perspectives. I understand how the lives and stories of Ava and Kristen overlap, but it just felt like too much to me. There was so much going on. Kirsten grieving her mom and worried she would have to move with her grandmother, Ellen (the grandmother) trying to bond with Kristen and regretting the relationship she didn’t have with her now deceased daughter, Ava trying to get her tea room ready for opening while hiding a huge secret from even her sisters while also trying to be a comforting present in Kristen’s life, Ava also losing business when she has a bad batch of teas.

While I loved Sarah in the first book, we were only given random scenes with her here that didn’t show her charm to the extent that I would have liked. With the minimal amount given, I don’t understand why any of the chapters were written from Sarah’s perspective. Again, it was too much.

When I was reading Kristen’s storyline, I wanted things to stay on her storyline. While I was reading Ava’s, I wanted it to stay on Ava. That is to say, I enjoyed both of their stories. It was the jumping back and forth that got to me. (I should note, this is not something that generally bothers me in a story.) And as the story jumped characters, it also jumped time. With the weeks flying by, it made no sense that Kristen’s story hadn’t progressed more.

Here are a bunch of positive things. Most of the characters are wonderful. I still enjoyed the quirky and magical nature of the Dove family. The town as a whole is downright charming. The concepts are original and interesting. All of that kept me coming back. It was the loosey-goosey nature of the flow of the story that had me only reading a chapter at a time.

I feel invested enough in the Dove sisters to want to know what happens next, but I’m hoping the next story is a bit more cohesive.

This is such a good story. There are several things going on, but all connected. Ava is working so hard to get her tea shop opened, but she has a secret that she put into a box that is constantly reminding her of her mistake. It is thumping constantly at her like the Jumanji game. When she and Sara have a big fight, people in town start taking sides and Ava is loosing business. Kristen works for Ava and when her mother dies, Kristen has so much sadness and anger, she doesn't know what to do. Her grandmother, that she barely knows, comes to town and expects Kristen to be happy to move to another town and leave everything and everyone she loves behind. So, Kristen decides to find the father her mother never told her about, and hope he will want her to stay with him in Dove Pond. Will Ava and Sarah reconcile? Will Kristen find her father? Kristen's grandmother is having conversations with her dead daughter about how to help Kristen. Will she listen or do what she always does, not listen and do as she pleases?

What a delightful return to Dove Pond and I will forever be a reading revisitor. I enjoyed how this had its own storyline but also continued some of the story started in the first (I either want to be or be best friends with Sarah so I was so happy to read her own chapters again). Because of this, the story structure didn’t quite mesh together as smoothly as the first.

These books are filled with magic and sweetness and a good escape for a more optimistic type storyline but that may not be for everyone. I recommend this series to anyone who wants a book in which reading it fills you with the same amount of comfort and warmth as sipping a cup of hot tea.

A special thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was a sweet, magical story focused on community, friendship and connection. It held my attention and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Fans of Dove Pond are going to love A Cup of Silver Linings. You'll find familiar characters and the fun setting of a small town. These are the kinds of books we crave to get away from our hectic lives.

I see the story as two major plotlines:
1. How will Kristen navigate grief over the death of her mother with her frosty grandmother?
2. What secret is Ava Dove keeping, and how will it change her life?

Plotline 1.
I love the tension between Kristen and Ellen. It's rough and raw, and it's so relatable. The town's Dove sister, Ava, plays an unwitting hand in their lives. Kristen's mom's house is easy to picture, and the way it was infused with memories was so powerful. They make mistakes - it's messy - and gripping.

Plotline 2
Ava is wracked with worry over her secret. We don't know what is in the box under her bed, but it's getting louder. I wish there was about one teaspoon more information about what she's hiding instead of keeping the information from the reader. (***This is a tiny spoiler: Even if we knew it was a book, we wouldn't know the magnitude of the problem.***) The resolution to her problem isn't pat and cute, but instead, feels realistic, and that's why I'd read more about Dove Pond.

This was a great read. Absorbing. Even thought-provoking. I would definitely recommend it!

I didn't know this author or series before I began A Cup of Silver Linings. I have to say that it was the title that attracted me first, that "silver lining" promise of positive things to come after the storms of life.
Next, I was intrigued by the stack of teacups on the cover. Add in some small-town charm and magical realism, and I'm going to read until I can't keep my eyes open. This book met those expectations and more.

When I opened the book to read, I felt like I'd been dropped into the small town of Dove Pond. As with anywhere new, when you meet a bunch of people, it takes a while to understand them and how they fit together. So it is with life. However, I suspected that I'd come into the stories of Dove Pond, not at the beginning. However, the author did a fabulous job referencing the first book so I didn't feel like I'd missed out. What it did by the end of the book was make me want to go back and read it.

This story had romance, intrigue, suspense, broken hearts, people from all walks of life, and magical episodes. It really felt like a real town with real people. It was beautiful seeing how the author managed telling each chapter from different points of view. Personally, I don't believe I've read a book told from so many povs. It took me a few chapters to get into the hang of it; then I appreciated being given the insightful way of learning about the characters.

I wouldn't call it the easiest of reads because of the full cast and varying pov chapters, but it was well worth the attention needed. I am one of those people that want to read about real people with real problems and how they get their "happily ever after" for real life.

So if you're looking for a book with everything plus a little magic, I highly recommend the Dove Pond series and A Cup of Silver Linings. I'm looking forward to going back to book #1 and reading future releases. I hope you do, too. And maybe, you'll open your mind to the possibility of magical moments in real life.

I absolutely loved The Book Charmer so I was super excited when I saw A Cup of Silver Linings available on NetGalley. Unfortunately, it just wasn't as good as its predecessor. I would give this a solid three stars. Maybe even 3.5, if half stars were possible. I loved all the characters; they were well fleshed out. The plot was good, too. It just didn't have the same magic for me that The Book Charmer did. I'm not sure I can put into words what was lacking, but something was just missing for me. I'm super excited to read the next book in the series though. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Deep story of family, loss, and misunderstandings while working on reconnecting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The author definitely plays on our emotions in this story which builds on loss and ultimately, fear. Loss of a child, potential loss of a grandchild, fear of change, fear of failure, and secrets that could destroy a family. That is a ton of emotion packed into this book.

With clarity and deep dives into the human psyche, Hawkins develops a tight knit family and town where everyone knows everyone, yet accepts them as they are - faults and all. That is something different from what Ellen is used to as she comes to town to attend her daughters funeral and take charge of her granddaughter and the home affairs. Finding a delicate common thread is tough but without realizing it, Ava is that thread.

One thing about reading a new series is learning all of the people. Fair warning, there are a lot of people in this book but not difficult to absorb them and follow along. I did feel like some parts were a bit sectioned apart. Ava and her story; Kristen and her story. Both critical to the plot but for some reason they didn't seem relevant to each other until almost the end when brought everyone was brought together. It seemed a bit too disjointed for some reason.

Overall, I loved this book with its delightful wander into a bit of mystical imagination and levity that balances out the heavy loss of a friend, daughter, and mother. Dove Pond is a fun series to get lost in!