This is a great debut novel by Charmaine Wilerson.
I picked it honestly for the cover and the name of the book. Neither of them disappointed me. This was a wonderful story of love, faith, endurance, hope and loss.

You can't read this book without learning something new like a delicious black cake that is made of dried fruits in rum and port. Through the interweaving stories of present day and the past you get to see a glimpse into his complicated, complex, passionate and intricate family that have experienced everything imaginable. We get to travel along on a journey that is not like any other.

The author is able to weave all of the aspects, timelines and snippets into a wonderful, colorful and soulful story. Learning the history of this family, learning about Eleanor's life, her past and how it all weaves together to place the siblings where they are now and who they have become is wonderful.

This book is fast-paces with characters. The story is unique and has historical references and points about the sea which makes it meaningful. It's the story of a family that flowed smoothly and held my attention with some complex issues like forced abortions, and prejudice.

This is definitely a book that I would recommend to everyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Ballantine Books.

Just an amazing story. So many twists that I did not see coming. The book had me engaged from the very first chapter. Highly recommend!

What a wonderful and touching book - an easy 5 star read...

This book took me three months to read, but that in no way was a reflection of the book itself. Things were busy and there were a lot of other books that got pushed in front, but I'm really glad that I picked it back up in February and finally finished it. Once I picked it back up, I went through the last 75% in not time.

This is a fascinating story and it encompasses so much. The writing style was unique and made a larger book easier to consume because it was broken up so well that it felt more manageable. I think there may be some people who disagree with how the book ended (that's all I will say to avoid spoilers), but it worked for me and I think a majority of readers will appreciate it as well.

All in all, this was a fabulous debut and I can't wait for the author's next book!

Many thanks to Netgalley and BOTM for my copy.

Review Date: 03/13/2022
Publication Date: 02/01/2022

Benny and Byron's mother has just died, leaving behind a lengthy recording and a black cake. The tape exposes a multitude of secrets and new truths to the siblings, who have been estranged for years after a blowup at a family Thanksgiving over Benny's sexuality. As readers, we get to 'hear' the tapes along with the siblings and follow along in the aftermath.

The book is well-researched and there were many threads of the story that had me riveted. However, there were too many POVs and time jumps and they could be hard to track. I think the author tried too hard to fit in every single social justice issue imaginable. Other than that, I found this enjoyable, and I learned a lot about a culture very different from my own.

If you want a book that encompasses motherhood, family, colonialism, and value of traditions this book is for you.

If you are unfamiliar, black cake is a rich dark cake of British-Caribbean origin with dried or candid fruit soaked in rum or brandy and other spices. It is a recipe passed among generations.

What I love the most is the symbol of the Black Cake throughout the shifting ideas and values of home and family. Stories are weaved together across generations but our histories and traditions have a profound ability to shape us into who we become.

4.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Format: e-book
Content ⚠️ : death of parent, sexual assault, racism, abuse, suicide attempt, sexism. (This is a very heavy read so please look up all triggers)

4.25/5 stars, I support the hype around this book. The premise and plot were intriguing. At times this felt lIke it could have been edited down further (some of the sections about Byron and Benny had my interest waning), but loved the idea that we don't really know our parents. The scenes and background on Covey's childhood on the island were enjoyable. Will be recomending this one!

This book was so beautifully written. I honestly can not believe this is the authors debut novel! The characters are well defined, captivating and convincingly flawed. The story was soooo good. A multigenerational story with just as many ingredients as Black Cake. I loved this book so much.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

When I read a fantastic book like this, I always wonder "How did the Author do it"? This is a story I'd call complete! I was grabbed from the first sentence, and it was an emotional rollercoaster for the rest of the novel. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It's a story of family, pain, discrimination and just so much more. I could not put it down! and read it in 2 days! Now I want some rum cake along with my box of Kleenex! Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for the egally, and thank you to the author, Charmaine Wilkerson! This is brilliant!

Black Cake is an amazing story about family, the traditions we hold onto and the secrets we bury. I love how the author shows the sister/brother relationship morphing from close to distant to close again. The distance swimming was a great metaphor for life which I found inspiring.

The book Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is a compelling read. It tells a story of grief and family that touches the heart.

How in the world is this a debut novel?! This story is beautifully told and had me captivated the whole time. The characters all felt so incredibly real.

Benny and Byron are estranged siblings who reunite for their mother’s funeral and to hear from her lawyer. He tells them their mother had two final requests:

⭐️ To listen to her final words to her children through a recording she left with him
⭐️ To eat the black cake that she left in her freezer when the time is right

As the siblings listen to the recording they find out a lot about their mother and where she came from. This book jumps back and forth between what is currently going on and their mother’s past. If you love beautiful stories told as layer after layer is uncovered (Malibu Rising is an example that kept jumping out) then you will love this book.

I seriously can’t wait to discuss this one with our book club next weekend. If this book isn’t on your radar it definitely should be.

This book is phenomenal. Charmaine’s writing is exquisite. Everyone is currently taking about this book and after finishing I can understand why. The way she was able to weave all of the stories together was fantastic.

Black Cake is an amazing debut! I was fully engrossed in this multi-generational story of family secrets. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

It took a bit to get connected to all the characters that were introduced in the beginning but once that happened, I was all in. Two estranged siblings are brought together after their mother's death when she leaves them two things- a voice recording telling the story of her life and a traditional Caribbean black cake made from a family recipe. As the siblings discover a mother they never knew, they begin to better understand their family history and heritage. It's rich and beautifully written. I think it would make an excellent book club choice. There is so much to discuss!

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

I was hesitant to pick this one up. I read it concurrently with WHAT MY BONES KNOW and I was nervous about the combination.

Something about the synopsis led me to believe it was going to be emotionally charged and although it was heartfelt it was written at a distance which allowed me to access the themes comfortably. And I appreciated that.

The writing was textural and rich and layered. I recommend to readers looking for solid writing, a captivating family mystery, and themes around strained relationships.

Out now!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this advanced copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you enjoy family dramas with some mystery then this is the book for you. Benny has been estranged from her family for years due to them not being accepting of her lifestyle. When she is called home after her mother's death to bury her she and her brother Byron must find some common ground on which to reconcile to move forward. What she doesn't expect is a tape left to them by their mother. This hours long tape exposes them to their mother's past which springs upon them several surprises. These surprises rock Benny and Byron's world and will forever change them.

The story winds us from the Caribbean to the US. It brings us back and time and up to the present day. It jumps from their mother's point of view starting as a young girl telling her story to the modern times conversations around dealing with the new revelations. Throughout it all is the constant of Black Cake and the importance of this dish to their history and their present day selves.

The writing in this one was beautiful and so well done. I will be looking for more from this author in the future and will not hesitate to pick up another of her books.

I highly recommend the audio version this one as well which I purchased after publication.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballatine books for a copy of this one for review.

Black Cake is excellent! I loved it from beginning to end. The characters are so vivid and so memorable, especially Mrs. Bennett. I loved the fact that the story shifted in time and to different characters. I was sad that Mrs. Bennett wasn't able to tell her story to her children in person, but I understand why she told the story the way she did to her family.

I enjoyed so many things about Black Cake: the character development, the changing timelines and narrators, and the family saga. The book is so well-written, I never would have guessed it was a debut. Wilkerson has the ability to use few words while still painting a vivid picture of the landscape and lives of her characters.

This was a book club pick for Literary League, and we had a great time discussing it. It’s definitely a solid choice if you need a pick for your book club.

Thank you @randomhouse @netgalley for my review copy!

I ended up enjoying this one, but it took me a long time to read it. I just didn’t find myself feeling like picking it up very much. I enjoyed the character development and I liked the ending, I just didn’t quite love it as much as others have. I’ve seen some really stellar reviews for this one, so if you like slower paced, family dramas then I’d recommend giving this one a try.

I grew up with a mother who told me often about the black cake made in her Caribbean homeland. It honestly sounded awful to me. A sticky cake packed with old figs and dates and bitter alcohols. But for years, I watched her soak her fruit in jars of rum, adding a splash of brandy here, a handful of raisins there. She taught me how to bake, and continues to teach me to trust my instincts in the kitchen as her mother and grandmother taught her.

Black Cake follows two siblings as they listen to their mother’s final words and the story of her journey from the islands to sunny Southern California. They discover that much of their pain is not new. They learn that parents are people, that some truths don’t ever see the light of day, and that family can be full of betrayal and love at the same time.

I picked up this book because I thought I knew what I was getting into. I thought maybe someone wrote a story about my mother, about me. Maybe someone wrote a story about having a complicated past, about kids being confused about where their people come from. About looking strange, having murky genetics. About living with a parent who longs to go home. I thought I might be picking up a book about racism, about colonization, about cultures being stolen and blended beyond recognition.

This book is all that and then some. It’s an exhaustive and colorful fable about love and lies, about loyalty and luck. My mother is maybe the luckiest and unluckiest person I’ve ever met. And I saw that sentiment echoed back at me in the pages of Black Cake. I saw how the histories and narratives of an entire people have been distilled down to “being exotic” and “being foreign” and frankly being misunderstood. And how that interpretation is projected onto them, and how hard it is to break free of it.

There are parts of Black Cake that seem far fetched. There are a lot of characters, a lot of names that change and shift over time. There are a lot of sad facts masked as fiction. The writing could be tighter, more judicious. But the fact is, anyone who has heard these stories from the mouths of their main characters knows that Black Cake, and the real lives it reflects, are tales that last a life time. They unravel through decades, through children and the children of children. They unspool in deathbed confessions and DNA tests and “your mother’s cheekbones” and “your father’s eyes.”

I found each character believable. I found them sympathetic. I found them impassioned in a way I know to be real. More than anything, I found myself staring back at me from these pages, and that’s truly one of the greatest gifts of literature - representation, acknowledgment, truth.

I might compare the scope of this novel to something like Pachinko. Both authors understand the value of lineage, the necessity to explain that where we come from directs where we go.

Whether you come from a long line of black cake bakers or whether you’ve never heard of delicacy, I highly recommend picking up this book. You may learn something about a time and place and people you never thought to consider. At the most, you may develop a compassion for circumstances unlike your own, for those of us who do not fit neatly into the boxes set out for us.