Review: The Witch of Bourbon Street by Suzanne Palmieri #SRC2015

Review copy granted for the reading challenge
Published: June 30, 2015 // St. Martin's Griffin
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When Frances Sorrow returns home to the now dilapidated Sorrow Estate to restore her birthright, she finds herself haunted by a 100-year-old mystery only she can unravel.

Set amidst the charming chaos of The French Quarter and remote bayous of Tivoli Parish, Louisiana, Suzanne Palmieri’s The Witch of Bourbon Street weaves an unforgettable tale of mystery and magic.

Situated deep in the bayou is the formerly opulent Sorrow Estate. Once home to a magical family, the Sorrows, it now lays in ruins, uninhabited since a series of murders in 1902 shocked the entire community. When Frances Green Sorrow is born, the family is on the brink of obscurity and the last remaining Sorrows cling to the hope that she is the one who will finally resurrect the glory of what once was.

However, Frances has no wish to be the family’s savior. Disillusioned, she marries young, attempting an "ordinary life," and has a son, Jack. When her marriage fails and she loses custody of her boy, she runs away to live a quiet life on the dilapidated Sorrow Estate, where she practices solitary magic amid ghosts and gardens. But when Jack disappears, she is forced to rejoin the world she left behind and solve the century-old murder that casts a long shadow over Tivoli Parish and its inhabitants in order to find her son.

The Witch of Bourbon Street is a story of love, family, redemption and forgiveness. It’s a story that bridges the nostalgia of time, and brings those that are separated back together again.

Haunting, Louisiana born and bread, and heaped in a musky sort of charm, THE WITCH OF BOURBON STREET didn’t stun me, but it did enchant me for a little while. Left me spinning, even with the slow parts. Had me turning the page, even while I wanted the plot to hurry along. But in the entirety, I felt that nothing was ever explained fully and was left questioning why everything was the way it was. The murder was investigated, but what about the hearts and minds of those in the present? Shouldn’t we learn about ourselves a little more before repeating mistakes of the past?

Let’s go back in time (the character’s time) to where they were young and in love and argued a whole freaking bunch. I don’t understand the dynamics of this world. I think that’s why I struggled to connect with it all. The Sorrow ladies and their estate is steeped deep in a history embellished by magic, betrayal, love, love-nots, and murder. Little ghosts litter the estate ground. Frances doesn’t want anything to do with it all. Not after a secrets she’s held onto for years. Not after she is left by and leaves the love of her life. Not after her friend swallows her hopes whole and runs with them.

This is where are story delves into. It’s where it begins and where it continues.

Let me say this, and if you read nothing else of this review then read this: this book was gorgeous. But as gorgeous as it was, nothing was actually explained. Nothing felt resolved. I love the accents and the kind of free-spirit that seeps from the pages of THE WITCH OF BOURON STREET. And I really like it. But, I don’t love it. I really don’t. I didn’t feel the need to turn the page. I mean, I wanted to. But I also really wanted a raspberry and chocolate gelato smoothie, and I didn’t mind setting down the book for an hour to go make one.

Do you understand what I am saying?

I suppose what I am trying to get across is that although it is beautiful, I wish every single little thing was a whole lot more fleshed out.