Ariadne Meyers's warm and whimsical performance invigorates a colorful cast of characters. Since most of them come from the same small North Carolina town, nearly all carry Southern accents, yet Meyers makes each voice uniqueand believable: the elderly yet forceful and intimidating tone of imperious Margaret; the initially soft, timid voice of Josey, which grows stronger and more confident as the book goes on; the sassy, brassy twang of feisty Della Lee; the lazy, sexy drawl of charming-but-dangerous Julian. The abridgement is seamless. Meyers' rich, nuanced performance adds an extra dimension and will keep listeners captivated from beginning to end. A Bantam hardcover (Reviews, May 5). (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* As innocently satisfying as a gooey cupcake, as seductively indulgent as a champagne truffle, Allen's delectable follow-up to her sprightly best-selling debut (Garden Spells, 2007) is another tasty trek into a world where things are not quite as they seem. For Josey, life's disappointments are made more palatable by raiding the larder of candies and cookies secretly stashed within her bedroom closet, while Chloe finds salvation through books that seem to come to her unbidden with just the right advice at just the right moment. But there's more to life than chocolate and books (really?), and love, in all its first-blush tenderness and second-stage confusion, is a subject Allen explores with exquisite insight and winsome elegance. While Josey pines for the enigmatic Adam, Chloe aches after Jake's foolish betrayal. Helping the women weather these crises of the heart is Della Lee, a bad girl hiding out from man troubles of her own in Josey's closet, along with the MoonPies and Milky Ways. Like the most decadently addictive bonbons, once started, Allen's magically entrancing novel is impossible to put down.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2008 Booklist

Allen follows her New York Times best-selling debut, Garden Spells, with this story of love, redemption, and choosing happiness. Narrator Karen White (Luncheon of the Boating Party) gets the Southern idiosyncrasies and gentility down pat, and while she effectively creates unique male characters, she has a greater range of personality from which to choose with the quirky female protagonists. This work of magical realism will keep listeners hungry for more. [Also available from Random House Audio as a retail ed. abridged CD (ISBN 978-0-7393-6866-4. $29.95); audio clips available through library.booksontape.com and www.randomhouse.com; the Bantam hc was recommended for fiction collections, LJ 5/1/08.--Ed.]--Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Salt Lake City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.