One Old, One New - The Karen Hawkins Edition

One Old, One New features two books – one old, one new, which are connected in some way. Today I am featuring two books by Karen Hawkins. Not only are these two books from the same author, they are actually books from the same series - the Dove Pond Series. You can certainly read these books separately because anything important from the previous book is mentioned by Hawkins. I have really enjoyed being in the world and getting to know everyone, and I am hopeful that we get a chance to meet all seven Dove sisters. 

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The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins
Published by Gallery Books on August 15, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism

Goodreads

Three lives converge as a wildly talented baker returns to Dove Pond to face her past in this entry in the charming series that proves that sometimes miracles really do happen...

Ella Dove is an acclaimed baker whose desserts spark vivid, cherished memories in those who taste them. A restless soul, Ella goes wherever the wind takes her—but driven by a haunting dream, she’s coming home to Dove Pond. Years ago, her mentor, Angela Stewart Harrington, falsely accused Ella of stealing her beloved family recipe book, known as the Book of Cakes. Now, Ella believes it’s time for them to reconcile.

Angela has her own share of amends to make. Her daughter Jules has never forgiven her for divorcing her father, and they’ve been estranged ever since. But just as Angela begins to hope that she and Jules might mend their tattered relationship, a miscommunication turns into a lie that could destroy everything.

Meanwhile, Jules’s son Gray is shocked that Ella, his first love and his first heartbreak, has returned to Dove Pond. But even though he knows Ella is a wanderer and will soon leave, he’s unable to stop himself from falling for her once again. Can Gray find a way to convince Ella to give him, and their town, a serious chance? Or is he once again on the road to a broken heart?

With so much at stake, Ella, Angela, and Gray must learn to accept each other—flaws and all—forgive the many mistakes of their pasts, and trust that love can, and will, always find a way. For fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen, The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove is a delicious and magical read that will warm your heart and charm your senses.

Ella was the rolling stone of the Dove family. Not one to be tied down to place or person, she found herself coming home in order to solve the mystery of her recurring nightmare. While searching for an answer to that problem, she discovered solutions to many other questions in her life.

This is my fourth trip to Dove Pond, and it was lovely as expected. This story had several concurrent storylines, similar to the structure of the other Dove Pond books, which Hawkins tied together quite nicely.

This was a story of homecoming. Both Angela and Ella were returning to Dove Pond. Angela came in hopes of mending the relationship with her daughter, while Ella was hoping to find the root cause of her cupcake nightmares. (Yes, you read that correctly)

As a mother, my heart ached for Angela. She simply wanted a relationship with her only child, and it pained her that there was a rift between them.  The issues started with Angela's divorce and departure from Dove Pond and grew due to her friendship with Ella. When she returned, there was a misunderstanding which had her daughter being quite sympathetic towards her. I didn't think it was wise of Angela to let a misunderstanding go uncorrected for so long, but it did result in some amusing situations. I was happy to see the bond between Angela, her daughter, and her grandson's grow stronger, and I had a lot of hope for this family in the end.

Homecoming is always an interesting theme, and I liked the angle explored in Ella's situation. She felt a lot of pressure in Dove Pond, the pressure of being a Dove and the expectations that come with the name. Over the course of the story, she did recognize her love for both the people and town of Dove Pond. This part of the story delighted me because this town was so charming and had won its way into my heart. I also want to see all the Dove sisters reunited and cannot help wondering what it would be like to have them all in the one place.

There was a romantic storyline at play, too. I have to give any man who makes a play for Ella a lot of credit because she was so resistant to giving her heart away. She never really recovered from the death of her father and was left a bit scarred by the way her mother suffered that loss. Why put yourself out there just to lose it all, that was what Ella thought. But, there was a man who wanted to make a life with her. This was a second chance romance (my favorite), and I was rooting for the couple the whole time. They shared a lot of history, and though I understood Ella's fears, I wanted more for her, and this hero was the right person for her to make a life with.

As with the other books, this was packed with warmth, humor, and touches of magic. I adored the rapport between the sisters, seeing Dove Pond through Ella's eyes, her friendship with Angela, catching up with characters from previous books, and seeing Ella finally find a home. This was another wonderful visit to Dove Pond, and I hope there will be more. 

*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

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A Cup of Silver Linings by Karen Hawkins
Published by Gallery Books on July 6, 2021
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism

Goodreads

Ava Dove—the sixth of seven daughters of the famed Dove family, and owner of Ava’s Landscaping and Specialty Gourmet Tea—is frantic.

Just as she is getting ready to open her fabulous new tearoom, her herbal teas have gone wonky. Suddenly, the tea that is supposed to help people sleep is startling them awake with vivid dreams; the tea that infuses romance back into tired marriages is causing people to blurt out their darkest secrets; and the tea that helps people find happiness is making them spend hours staring into mirrors.

Meanwhile, living four doors down the road from Ava, sixteen-year-old Kristen Foster’s life has just crashed down around her. After her mother’s death, Kristen’s grandmother Ellen has arrived in town to sweep Kristen off to a white mansion on a hill in distant Raleigh. But Kristen has had enough ‘life changes’ and is desperate to stay with her friends in her beloved hometown of Dove Pond. But to do so means Kristen must undertake a quest she’s been avoiding her entire life—finding her never-been-there-for-her father.

With the help of an ancient herbal remedy book found in her attic by her sister, Ava realizes that Kristen holds the key to fixing her unstable tea leaves. So Ava throws herself into Kristen’s search, even convincing Kristen’s grandmother Ellen to help, too. Together, the three embark on a reluctant but magical journey of healing, friendship, and family that will delight fans of Alice Hoffman, Kate Morton, and Sarah Addison Allen.

After loving The Book Charmer, I was excited to return to Dove Pond. I have to admit, there was a quite a bit happening in town, but I thought Hawkins did a great job tying all the different threads of this story together.

First, we had Ellen and Kristin. Ellen came to Dove Pond following the death of her estranged daughter, Kristin's mom. She desperately wanted to forge a relationship with her granddaughter who was pushing back against her grandmother's plans to leave Dove Pond. I liked seeing Ellen soften and really enjoyed the magical elements that led to her and Kristin to finding a connection to each other. It warmed my heart, and I was glad Ellen was able to correct the mistakes she made with her daughter.

A second storyline involved a secret Ava had been hiding for many years. This one was super stressful for me because of all the fallout. I thought the punishment was a bit harsh given how long ago the indiscretion occurred, but I was happy with the way it all worked out for everyone involved. 

There are a few other story threads woven in there that were a delight, but of course, this was all about the characters for me. As always, it's a thrill to catch up with those from previous books. I was glad to see them all flourishing and happy, but it was the themes of love, acceptance, and forgiveness that really made this story a winner for me. I was especially taken with Ellen's story because it showed how it's never too late to embrace change.

The epilogue provided the setup for the next book, and I know I cannot wait to return to Dove Pond once again.

How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!