This is the story of Bay Singer, a young girl who has many secrets, though she doesn’t know it yet. She is unaware of the magic and mystery that surrounds her, until things start happening to unveil her past. When two women who are old friends of her mother show up at her door one day, she suspects things may never go back to the way they once were.

Readers who enjoy Sarah Addison Allen’s novels will find this book to be very similar to her works. I was pleasantly surprised with the way this book played out, and how the author included some interesting tidbits about herbs and spices throughout the story. The Memory Garden makes magic seem like something that happens every day, maybe even something that is commonplace. The story was fast-paced and far from boring. I was fortunate enough to be able to read an advanced copy, and I can’t wait to recommend it to my friends. Though parts of this book are out there reality-wise, the story is so heartwarming that with a little imagination and an open mind, the characters will draw you in from the beginning and keep you enraptured until the very last chapter.

 A NetGalley Advanced Reader Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Sourcebooks Landmark

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  3 mild obscenities; 1 religious exclamation.

Violence/Gore:  An unmarried young woman has an abortion, blood is mentioned several times when referring to this incident; a woman recalls a memory of a man stabbing a woman, blood is mentioned briefly.

Sex/Nudity:  Woman referred to as having “sexual power”; a group of women wonder if there is a sexual element in their friend’s relationship with a man.

Mature Subject Matter:

Abortion.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Smoking crack is mentioned metaphorically; adults drink wine often.