BLACK CAKE by C Wilkerson, The Ingredients Fall Flat

Charmaine Wilkerson's novel BLACK CAKE aspires to be a lofty read about heritage, identity and familial ties. Set in an unnamed Caribbean Island, the story revolves around Covey. Covey's childhood on the island was idyllic. She spent her days swimming and surfing in the ocean with her beau Gibbs and best friend Bunny. Her mother, an island native and her father, an Asian immigrant, fell in love and had their beloved daughter Covey. As Covey grew into her teens, her father's drinking and gambling became problematic. Covey's mother fled from the island leaving Covey behind with her alcoholic father. The island was ruled by a powerful mob boss to whom Covey's dad owed a great deal of money. Covey was betrothed to this gangster by her father as payment for his debt. At her wedding reception Covey's husband was poisoned. She fled during the commotion. Only her friend Bunny knew where she was hiding and helped her to flee to London where Gibbs had gone a year prior to study. The story becomes a saga of Covey's arduous journey to survive and conceal her identity for fear of being implicated. She was also searching to find Gibbs. Covey's bi-racial ethnicity was folded into this preposterous plot making it dense and senseless.  Intended as a lofty novel which addresses racism, bigotry and cultural identity there is too much air whisked in turning it stiff. Covey finds Gibbs in London and they're reunited. They decide to emigrate to the states settling on the shores of Orange County, CA.  Here they take the names Eleanore and Ben Bennett. The happy couple raise a son, Byron and daughter, Benny all the while keeping their true identities secret from everyone. The burning secret Eleanore kept from everyone, including her husband and children was the birth of her first daughter whom she's spent a lifetime regretting having put up for adoption. Byron and Benny learn of their parents true family history and older half-sister when Eleanore's will is read following her funeral; having predeceased her husband. The novel blends in racial discrimination experienced by Eleanore, Ben and Byron during the pursuit of their careers. Benny share's her homosexuality with her parents causing a major rift in the family which doesn't coalesce with her parent's difficult history. The icing on the cake is the overly indulgent significance of indigenous recipes as with the omnipresent BLACK CAKE. Wilkerson tells us "It was my personal familiarity with a particular Caribbean food, black cake, that led obliquely to this book. It started me thinking about the emotional weight carried by recipes and other familial makers that are handed down from one generation to the next. Then it had me writing about characters who must hold fast to their sense of self when they learn that their lives have been built on a dubious narrative."  There were too many cooky twists and neatly resolved endings that spoiled the book. What should have been a thoughtful novel rising out of a mixing of traditions, fates and migration of cultures was overcooked. It was not in the least credible. The end result was tedious and I'm advising it be sent back to a test kitchen for revising.

The LOVE of MY AFTERLIFE-Lite Feel Good Fare as a Tribute to Romance Tropes

Kirsty Greenwood's homage to romance tropes pulls out a few unique twists and turns, but never fully rises above a frothy romance and symbiotic relationships story. Before slotting this as a beach read or flight fanfare, there are a few surprises aside from, no surprise that the antagonistic neighbor downstairs and Delphie are destined to tango. Right off the bat our antisocial hermetic heroine, Delphie. dies after biting a burger chunk too big to chew. When Delphie  "comes to" she's greeted by Merritt, her guide in the afterlife. Yes, the startling realization that she died sets in, and the reel of her life plays out on the screen much like the scene in Mel Brooks' film "Defending Your Life" with Meryl Streep.  Delphie doesn't take it sitting down and somehow convinces Merritt there's been a mistake. Merritt offers a proposition to Delphie, should she find her soulmate within ten days and he kisses her, then heaven can wait and life will be great.  Wait, you've heard this theme before as in Warren Beatty's rom/com with Julie Christie? Greenwood has fun with the proverb what she's looking for was in her own backyard. Oh, wait that's a take of a different color from another genre altogether. Greenwood generates lots of winks with her nods to the memes romance novels share. Delphie googles romance novel tropes and finds "the most popular romance trope is something called 'enemies to lovers.'" In addition to Valentine's Day, Greenwood favors Easter and plants lots of Easter eggs for the eager reader. Nora Ephron, the queen of modern romance was quoted saying, "I'd tell my younger self to put on a bikini and wear it night and day." Delphie wears a dress she's been saving for a special day and tells herself, "The way the dress made me feel has solidified the notion that I should have been wearing lovely dresses every single day while I had the chance." Besides romance, life affirming epiphanies beam throughout.  "{Delphie} Marvels at the beauty of being alive." What I was living ten days ago wasn't a life at all. While I never thought my life was particularly special, these past few days have turned everything I knew on its head...somehow, I've felt more alive than I ever thought possible."  After Delphie's departure from the afterlife, her escapades on earth in pursuit of her soulmate's kiss turn into a high spirited high jinx and social interactions that cause a symbiotic chain reaction. After rethinking "The Love of My Afterlife" I've reconsidered the predictable plot with its amusing magical twists to be a delightful summer after all.  I found myself LOL. "There's something about laughing-it makes any awkwardness disappear."