This book was everywhere in 2022, and deservedly so! I was worried it would not live up to the hype but it did. It was beautifully written and poignant--it made me laugh and cry and want to hug all my loved ones tightly. I also loved all the passages about food. Highly recommend!

Absolutely loved this one. Very good story. It took me a while to get into it, and I wish I had started it sooner!!

📚📚 BOOK REVIEW🌟 🌟 💫

An interview by debutant author Charmaine Wilkerson about going deep into her Caribbean roots to derive inspiration for her novel triggered me to pick up the book- a book long in my TBR. And I am glad I did. The book is a homage to family values and culture and drawn through the eyes of Eleanor Bennett and her last audio tape to her children. Also left behind is the last piece of a black cake made from family recipe. The king fighting their inner turmoils and try to mend broken relations- piece together a rather unknown past of their mother’s life- a journey which starts by escaping a murder charge to being molested at work- from reacquainting with lost love and friends to eventually reconnecting with an estranged child.

Through POVs of Eleanor, Benny and Bryon- the author attempts to highlight multiple issues- lives of immigrants, LGBTQIA, racism, workplace hardship, police brutality. The view points are varied and largely entertaining and to the author’s credit, the drive to fulfill the mother’s final wish holds the emotional story together. Loved it.

#NetGalley #BlackCake#RandomHousePublishingGroup #BallantineBooks

Black Cake is a wedding cake in Jamaica that takes months to make. All titles have a special meaning behind them. In the story, the couple was unable to have a wedding cake and so they celebrated every year with having a black cake for their anniversary. They have their children have the last black cake while their will was being read. That’s how the title blends in to the store. The true story is so much deeper. How a woman escapes from Jamaica and makes a life for herself and what she had to go through. How a man leaves Jamaica to go to college in the UK and how the couple grow and raise a family and reconnect. How their children never know their true heritage or history of their parents until it’s too late. I feel so many of us don’t know our parent’s stories.

Black Cake is an incredibly moving, poignant story. I cannot believe it is the author’s debut novel! A bit slow to start but by the time I hit the halfway point I couldn’t put it down. The ending really got me. Loved it!

As a Caribbean woman, this story really resonated with me. The writing was beautiful and even though the story is not the happiest one, it kept me interested.

This family's story is one that will stay with me for a long time.

Estranged siblings Benny and Byron are reunited to bury their mother, and hear her last will which will unravel decades of family secrets, reveal strength and perseverance, and bring them together to share the last of their mother's Black Cake when the time is right.

The first time I sat down with Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, I couldn't get into it. So, I set it down and moved on with my TBR. Recently, I picked it back up - much later than I should have - to give it another shot, and I loved it. I connected with Benny especially, but also Byron and Covey much more than I did the first time. Black Cake ties often taken for granted family traditions, living up to others expectations, and learning that parents are just people too, that have their own life stories in a way that's hard to put down... Well, the second time anyway.

Thanks to Charmaine Wilkerson, her publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest, albeit extremely late, review.

So. I'm really not sure how I feel about this one. I initially passed on it when it was first a BOTM offering because it didn't sound like my cup of tea. But after seeing many favorable reviews for it, I dug the netgalley offering out of my inbox and decided to give it a try.

Well. Part of me thinks that my initial assessment was correct and this just wasn't for me. But I don't think that's ~entirely~ correct. I liked the base of this story (Benny and Byron and the reading of the will) but I just didn't love how everything else was presented. There were just a few too many characters by the end and a few too many bits that just felt unnecessary.

I liked the core of this story. I liked hearing the tape and seeing how it affected everyone. But I wish this would've just stayed in the present? Because once it went back and started following Covey, that's honestly where it lost me. So I guess dual timelines just aren't my thing (because this isn't the first time I've had this problem).

So. I liked what this was trying to do. It was just the execution that didn't really work for me. I also wish this would've whole assed one thing because it definitely tried to half ass a lot of things. It should've just stuck to the kids and the main story instead of trying to pick up every little thread it came across. By the last 100 or so pages, I was just ready to be done. There were so many chapters that I had to fight to get through. This should've finished with the tape and called it a day.

So. I didn't really love this but I didn't hate it either? I guess I landed somewhere in the middle. But I also wish I would've stuck with my gut and not picked it up. This is a wildly unhelpful review. I am so sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Enjoyed the twists and turns and learning about the culture. One of my favorites of the year.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is a fabulous novel. I am not sure I can add anything to the discussion that has not already been said, but it's certainly one of the book's I've recommended the most this year. Stunning.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This book has lots of twists and turns through family drama in several generations. An interesting story throughout linked by a mystery and murder from years ago. I enjoyed the relationships between the siblings and learning about the culture of the Caribbean family and exploring how food is interwoven into our culture.

I’m sorry, WHAT? How is this books so INCREDIBLE? And why did I wait so long to read it??

Black Cake is the story of Eleanor Bennett as told to her children in a series of voice messages played to them after her death. It’s full of wild twists and turns, friendship, love, and loss, and I savored every second of this powerful story.

I loved that this story was told through multiple perspectives and over the course of several different timelines. It made the story feel like there was always something hugely important happening, which kept the pace fast and the stakes high. I loved that I never knew what was going to happen next.

I loved all of the amazing characters in this book and I loved the lyrical writing style. I loved that the central theme of this book was identity and how the sacrifices you make can define who you are throughout your life. It was just so perfect and so incredibly impactful.

If you’re hoping to read this one before the end of the year, I definitely recommend the audiobook version! I loved the narrators SO MUCH.

Overall, five gigantic stars for this one!!

Wow! I'm so glad I prioritized this. Black Cake took on a ton, but it was well worth the read. It's sweeping and I learned a lot about cultures outside of my own. The plotting was excellent and held up to the strong premise. Cant wait for this author's next book!

Cool story with an epic reach. Loved the mix between past and present and the almost fairy tale like elements. Great debut!

I'm always a sucker for a good family saga, and Black Cake did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the characters and how the story played out.

I am sure others will love it but I just couldn’t get into this one, thanks for the review copy. I really appreciate it.

This book was so not for me. I know it's getting rave reviews and it was certainly well written, but I couldn't wait for it to be done.

It felt like the author had 15 ideas for 15 different books and incorporated every single one of them into this one novel. It was long, went into extensive and detailed histories for way too many characters, and dealt with just about every issue you could come up with (race, sexism, adoption, rape, arranged marriage, domestic assault, coming out/LGBTQIA+, familial drama and rejection, murder, death, secret pasts, secret siblings.... shall I go on?).

Oddly, for a long book, many of the chapters felt like they had abrupt endings. It may have just been how the narrator conveyed the story, but it read a little choppy.

I did like the narrators - Lynnette Freeman and Simone McIntyre - and thought they did an excellent job.

Again, it was well written and I'm sure it deserves the hype, but it just was not for me.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the copy.

An impressive debut about two adult children learning about their mother's secret past. Creatively plotted and beautifully written.

Upon her death, Eleanor Bennett leaves behind a voice recording for her two children, Byron and Benny. Through her recorded recollections, we learn about the parts of her life she never shared with anyone. Benny, Byron, and the reader are taken back to an island in the Caribbean in the 1960s and move through a tumultuous life full of adventure, heartbreak, and love.

I love a good family saga, and that's exactly what this book is. There's heartbreak, miscommunication, family secrets, and serendipitous coincidences that bring characters together. Eleanor's black cake recipe is the common thread through it all. I enjoyed the use of food and family recipes as a plot device that moved the story forward because I found it personally relatable. Family history, memories, and even trauma are held in food and cooking, and this book beautifully captured that.

Although I enjoyed this read, I did find it lacking towards the end. After the major revelations and secrets had been revealed, the plot dragged a bit. Benny and Byron's inner monologues were repetitive and didn't reveal as much growth as perhaps the author intended. Also, I felt like certain connections and coincidences were a little *too* perfect. Sure, stars can align perfectly in real life, but that rarely happens. I'm a pessimist, so that's definitely a "me" problem, but it nonetheless prevented me from getting fully immersed in the story. At least everything gets tied up neatly in the end.

Black Cake was, overall, an enjoyable read. I liked it, and I think it's a great book club pick. It addresses issues like systemic racism, SA, and colonialism in a way that is easy for a wider audience of readers to digest and process.

Wow. What a beautiful and poignant debut by Wilkerson.

This is a beautiful story, one that takes place after the loss of a loved one. With an elegant writing style, Wilkerson tells the story of Benny and Byron after the loss of their mother, with a letter from her given to them along with a customary black cake. One that yields tradition and memories, as they delve into their mother's past and uncover the secret of a lost sibling.

I felt a lot of things while reading this. I felt moved by the story of Eleanor, I felt bonded by the story of Benny and Byron, and I felt intrigued by the history and culture embedded within. Overall, this was an extremely enjoyable book and I cannot believe it took me so long to read. Lesson learned, and certainly will not happen with another Wilkerson book again!

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!