Garden Spells- Sarah Addison Allen

I just spent half a day today reading this interesting book which i borrowed from Ang Mo Kio library. "Garden Spells" is the debut novel written by Sarah Addison Allen and I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read as the story is simply as irresistible as it is unforgettable. Reading it makes me wish that i also had a secret garden of my own like the main character Claire had in the story. I also enjoy following the sisters' journey towards learning to understand and trust each other and that there is nothing more important in this world than family ties and being there for your love ones when they need you. I'm definitely a new fan of Sarah Addison's and would be looking forward to reading her subsequent novel "The Sugar Queen"!

About the novel:

Welcome to Bascom, North Carolina, where everyone has a story to tell about the Waverleys. There's the house that’s been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, and the wild rumors of dangerous loves and tragic passions. Claire has always clung to the Waverleys’ roots, tending the enchanted soil in the family garden from which she makes her sought-after delicacies. She has everything she thinks she needs, until one day she wakes to find a stranger has moved in next door and a vine of ivy has crept into her garden... and Claire’s carefully tended life is about to run gloriously out of control.

When Claire's sister Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire's quiet life is turned upside down-along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart to prevent herself from getting hurt again when her family members leave her. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy-if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom-or with each other....