Black Candle Women: A Read with Jenna Pick

Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop

Black Candle Women offers a soap opera of a novel, focusing on three generations of women and a curse that binds them.

I expected to like Black Candle Women more than I did. Unfortunately, the characters drove me away from the novel, Victoria especially, rather than drawing me in.

Unlikable Characters
Victoria was everything I hate in a character, to put it bluntly. Victoria has a career as a therapist, setting up shop in her house with her sister working the front desk. Before her daughter was born, the man she loved was involved in a car crash. It turns out Augusta incurred her mother-in-law’s wrath by running off with her son and stealing her “grimoire,” so to speak.

She cursed Augusta and her blood, saying that any man they loved would die. Augusta’s husband died, and so did Victoria’s partner.

Since then, Victoria has become adamant that the curse is real. Her solution? She locks herself away from society and keeps her daughter away, too.

Victoria is the worst. She is a helicopter mom who doesn’t let her daughter spread her wings. She wants her to go from home to school and ignore her dreams. She wants her to take over her practice, never mind that it’s not what Nicki wants; she doesn’t care; she thinks the best way to keep her safe is by not letting her live.

I hated Victoria; unfortunately, she took up the bulk of Black Candle Women because she was my least favorite character. Not only does she want to keep her daughter isolated, she wants to keep her sister isolated as well.

Victoria is self-righteous and just downright awful.


Poor Characterization
As for Nicki, this was a character that needed more…well, everything.

Nicki’s POV lacked passion, a voice, and a personality. Everything about her point of view is hollow. It makes sense, given that her mother does not let her build up an identity, but we, readers, should feel some connection to her other than pity. But considering she lacks personality and sounds very monotonous, it is hard to connect to her.

Augusta and Willow were the two best characters. Flawed but relatable and rich with personality. However, it felt like each of their storylines was overshadowed by Victoria’s domineering presence. Augusta doesn’t even have much dialogue, considering she suffered a stroke before the events of Black Candle Women. But her narrative, how she views the world and recounts her past, gives the reader something worthwhile to read.

Final Thoughts
Black Candle Women does offer up an exciting story. However, the episodic structure and poor characterization made the book feel more like a daytime soap opera than anything worthwhile.

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I couldn't get into this read but I'm going to try again based on reviews.

Predictable and stereotypical.

I loved the various points of views, however I wish the ending was a little more eventful. I want a second book!!

“healing comes in waves, and I'm allowed to feel every rise and every fall of my tide.” Alexandra Elle Black Candle Women ~ Diane Marie Brown. Book 📚 Thoughts by Fallon Vaughn. 🕯️ Black Candle Woman spoke to many generations of women who oftentimes had to shy away from their gifts in order to survive to live and love another day. It spoke to my lineage, and that of every descendant of my blood who has reached beyond the normal confines of what is right and what is wrong, for what is real. 🕯️This book follows the story of a family of New Orleanians who ultimately fled the city to avoid the wrath of a begrudging mother who lost her son to love and in turn cursed an entire line of women who now are afraid to love. All of the men who love them ultimately die, but one sister and her niece dare to go beyond the set of limitations and refuse to let a curse continue to haunt their family. 🕯️I enjoyed reading this story and found myself wanting more and more from the characters. The story briefly touches on the magic that the women possess, and left me wanting to dive deeper and deeper into the forbidden book that held all the remedies and ritual. The author did a wonderful job of laying out the city and making New Orleans as much of a character as the women in the story. It was a very easy read that satisfied my craving for something authentic. I cannot wait for the television adaptation! 🕯️ The third in of our selections, we will discuss Black Candle Women, Tuesday, May 9th. Swipe to slide 2 for details. #thisbrownegirlreads #tbgrbookclub