The Witch of Belladonna Bay: A Novel

Magic and the supernatural are not usually things I search out in the books I read. There's magic enough just in the escape found in books for me. But occasionally a little extra magic in a book helps to drive the story onwards. In Suzanne Palmieri's new novel, The Witch of Belladonna Bay, magic and the supernatural swirl all through the characters and the plot of this novel about a family coming back together, facing long avoided truths, and learning to embrace love.

Bronwyn Whalen left her Alabama town fourteen years ago, after her mother's opium overdose and she hasn't been home since. But now she's got to go back. Her brother Paddy is in jail for murdering her childhood best friend Charlotte and Charlotte's son Jamie. Paddy's show more daughter Byrd, the niece Wyn has never met, needs her. So despite her misgivings and no desire to face the unresolved feelings that her home and family inspire in her, Wyn heads home to her alcoholic father, Jackson, wealthy and privileged mayor of the town; to her great aunt and the mysterious man she married; to her memories and ghosts, literal and figurative; to the place where her long suppressed powers belong; to free spirited and precocious Byrd; and to BitsyWyn, the sassy, determined Southerner she's been deep down all along.

Wyn is determined to discover who really killed Charlotte because she knows in her heart that it can't have been Paddy. As she digs around to exonerate her brother, she falls in love with her strange and magical niece, loving her fiercely and protectively. When Wyn's fiancé, Ben, arrives in Alabama, she learns more about herself and the heritage she's been running from forever and she knows in her bones that she can never leave Byrd, no matter what. It is only when all the puzzle pieces are in place that Wyn can see not only what happened the night that Charlotte died and Jamie disappeared but that she can start to help those she loves heal all of the hurts they have carried for so long.

Narrated in turn by Wyn, Byrd, and Naomi, Wyn's dead mother, the story is more about coming to accept and love who you are down to your very soul than it is about the mystery surrounding Charlotte's death. Wyn is holding onto bitterness and carrying a load of guilt that has left her something less than happy. Byrd is an old soul, funny, earnest, and loving beyond her years. Naomi is held back by her regret and the need to explain and ask for forgiveness for her choices. And while Jackson chooses alcohol over everything, he still loves his family, wanting the best for them. The scene is very southern Gothic with the hovering mist over the forbidding and scary island in Belladonna Bay and the characters are suitably eccentric. There are quite a few plot threads weaving through the narrative, Ben as Wyn's caretaker, what really happened to Charlotte, Wyn's childhood love and Charlotte's brother Grant and his role in everything, Byrd's powers, and more, not all of which are as fully developed as might have been. But even so the novel is enticing. The resolution of the mystery is one part predictable and another part surprise and the end of the novel wraps up tidily, moving from slightly sinister feeling to contented, a tone shift that is a bit abrupt. Over all though, a good read, this will appeal to fans of the supernatural, contemporary southern fiction, and those who like reading about families who find their way back to each other and to their hearts. show less

I absolutely loved this book! I knew I would. I loved The Witch of Little Italy. In this novel, Palmieri writes even closer to my heart- in the south. Bronwyn left Alabama at age 16, the night of her mother's funeral. Daughter of a wealthy, privileged family plagued with addiction (her father to alcohol, her mother to opium), Bronwyn runs away from her life and the only people she has ever known and loved. She is also running away from a supernatural heritage- the women in her family are all witches. Fourteen years later, she is in a loving interracial relationship in upstate New York. A successful photojournalist, she has truly left her past life behind. Then, she gets a call from her father asking her to return home. Her brother has show more been sent to prison for murdering her best friend from childhood. Her niece, who possess more supernatural power than anyone knows how to handle, is running wild. Bronwyn returns to her childhood home to face the ghosts of her past (literally) and to find the truth that will set her brother free. In order to do this, she must face her past and accept her own supernatural abilities.
This is an amazing story, full of surprising twists and turns. The setting adds to the supernatural mystery. I could not put this book down! Palmieri's books are believable. The supernatural element blends flawlessly into the story, making it intriguing and intoxicating. Now for the sad part...we have to wait until she finishes the net one.

Read this book if...
*you love southern fiction
*you love books with a supernatural element show less

Bronwyn Whalen has, what she feels is, the perfect life. She has a successful career in photography and a man that she loves. What she doesn't have is a relationship with her family. All of that is about to change with one simple phone call. It's been fourteen years since Bronwyn left Magnolia Creek, Alabama vowing never to return. She left behind her father, her brother, her great-aunt, and her best friends. One simple phone call shatters her life. Her childhood best friend has been murdered, her brother has been arrested for the murder, and her brother's daughter is left to fend for herself. The only thing Bronwyn can do is face the past and return to Alabama to sort out the truth.

The Witch of Belladonna Bay is a modern gothic novel show more with a Southern twist. Ms. Palmieri deftly blends murder, mayhem, mystery, magic, mysticism, and ghosts into a captivating tale of family and loss. Bronwyn feels that her mother neglected her and her brother by using drugs to the point of addiction. Bronwyn, in turn, neglects her family for years as she struggles to find herself. Byrd, Bronwyn's niece, is precocious, lovable, and wild. Byrd attends school when she wants, takes baths when she feels like it, and is loved and feared by almost everyone in town. It doesn't help that Bronwyn's mother, Naomi, and her entire family are descendants of witches from New England, or that Bronwyn and Byrd are recipients of that magic. Add in a family curse and legends into the mix and you wind up with a story that didn't let me go until the final page.

One of the things that kept my attention from beginning to end was the alternating perspectives of Bronwyn, Byrd, and the ghostly Naomi. Ms. Palmieri has crafted believable characters even when dealing with somewhat unbelievable circumstances. The Witch of Belladonna Bay is all about what a person is willing to do to protect their loved ones. Byrd does what she can in order to protect her father, aunt, and grandfather even if it means turning her back on the greatest love of her life. Bronwyn is forced to act to protect her loved ones even if it means losing the one person she has turned to for love and support over the past seven years of her life. I found The Witch of Belladonna Bay to be a fast-paced read and one that I completed in one sitting over the course of one evening. If you enjoy contemporary gothic fiction or are just interested in reading something a little different, then I strongly encourage you to grab a copy of The Witch of Belladonna Bay to read. You'll probably want to set aside a few hours so you can read it cover to cover, perhaps while enjoying the sun at the beach or poolside. show less

Leaving home when she was seventeen, after her mothers death and a fight with her father, Wynn moves from the sultry south to the north. She has a relationship with Ben, who hopes to marry her, but she is called back home when a young niece that she has never met, needs her. The younger brother she left behind is now in prison for killing Wynn's best friend of her youth and possibly for the death of her young son.

It was very easy to be drawn into this story, the characters and the descriptions were just fantastic. The hot, humid weather, cold lemonade, magnolia trees, and a young Byrd, aged eleven who is a wonderful little girl with an old soul. There is southern charm, and a whole lot of magic. There are spirits who talk and try to show more guide the way. Young love and a huge mystery that must be solved.

A novel about finding ones self as Wynn finally learns, "If you're broken, be broken. If you're crazy, be crazy, If you're opinionated, yell your opinions from the rooftop. If you have strange ways? See it as a blessing, not a curse."

A novel about forgiveness, coming to terms with the past. Ultimately a novel about coming home again. show less

I. received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Bronwyn Whalen left home at the age of 17, after her mother passed away. She'd stayed away until she received a phone call from her father after 14 years. Her little brother was in a world of trouble, accused of murdering Wyn's best friend Lottie, and her son Jaime. Why returns home determined to prove her brother's innocence and take care of niece she's never met. Unfortunately,, in order to accomplish this, she needs to come to terms with her past, accept who she is and embrace the future.

This was a great story about redemption, forgiveness and love. I loved the stubbornness of the Whalen women. The mystery of who murdered Lottie kept me engrossed to the very end. show more It's a great story of embracing who you are, no matter how different that may be. A beautiful and bittersweet story of love and loss. One of the best summer reads thus far this year! show less

I received a copy of The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmieri in exchange for an honest review.

Bronwyn left her home in Alabama 14 years ago and she’s never looked back. Her childhood memories aren’t the happiest, except when it comes to her brother and her two best friends. Then she gets a message from her father that her brother is in jail for killing her best friend. Bronwyn can’t help but believe in her heart that her brother is no murderer, but if he didn’t do it – who did? This book for me was as close to I get at being terrified! Yup, I’m a proud coward…The writer tells a great story of family relationships, friendships and how they shape us through time and faith in those we love. Even though I had a bit of show more the heebeejeebies I could not help but read to the very end and even when I thought I’d figured it out, I didn’t. Good storyline with a bit of the paranormal and very mysterious too! show less

I received a copy of The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmieri in exchange for an honest review.

Bronwyn left her home in Alabama 14 years ago and she’s never looked back. Her childhood memories aren’t the happiest, except when it comes to her brother and her two best friends. Then she gets a message from her father that her brother is in jail for killing her best friend. Bronwyn can’t help but believe in her heart that her brother is no murderer, but if he didn’t do it – who did? This book for me was as close to I get at being terrified! Yup, I’m a proud coward…The writer tells a great story of family relationships, friendships and how they shape us through time and faith in those we love. Even though I had a bit of show more the heebeejeebies I could not help but read to the very end and even when I thought I’d figured it out, I didn’t. Good storyline with a bit of the paranormal and very mysterious too! show less