Thanks for stopping by for my review of Rachel Linden’s newest release, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie. It’s a women’s fiction story with elements of romance and a little magical realism.
An uplifting novel about a heartbroken young pie maker who is granted a magical second chance to live the life she didn’t choose. . . . from the bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees.
Lolly Blanchard’s life only seems to give her lemons. Ten years ago, after her mother’s tragic death, she broke up with her first love and abandoned her dream of opening a restaurant in order to keep her family’s struggling Seattle diner afloat and care for her younger sister and grieving father. Now, a decade later, she dutifully whips up the diner’s famous lemon meringue pies each morning while still pining for all she’s lost.
As Lolly’s thirty-third birthday approaches, her quirky great-aunt gives her a mysterious gift–three lemon drops, each of which allows her to live a single day in a life that might have been hers. What if her mom hadn’t passed away? What if she had opened her own restaurant in England? What if she hadn’t broken up with the only man she’s ever loved? Surprising and empowering, each experience helps Lolly let go of her regrets and realize the key to transforming her life lies not in redoing her past but in having the courage to embrace her present.
I absolutely LOVED The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie! It has an engaging style, foodie elements (including the restaurant world, which Linden gets spot-on), tangible pacific northwest setting, plus a touch of wistful magical realism to explore life’s “what ifs” and regrets. I really enjoyed watching the heroine grow and learn through some introspective moments. I’d call this women’s fiction, but it does have a strong thread of a love story told through memories and a few chapters which flash back in the timeline. Of course this part made my romance-loving heart happy.
The deeper themes of the novel are explored with a good balance of hopefulness. I was rooting for Lolly’s happiness and closure through a rollercoaster of events and emotions she endured. Her plucky and inspiring Aunt Gert was a vivid side character whose influence made Lolly’s story happen in many ways. I was delighted each time she was on the page!
My favorite story element was the way Lolly’s experiences draw attention to the joys in the mundane of everyday life. Now I want to reread the novel, make a lemon pie, and grow a flower garden 🙂
Content note for my blog readers: this is a general fiction title (Linden has released previous books with inspirational publishers). The story does have a handful of very mild expletives and a vague mythical element which works as a plot device.
Thank you to Berkeley Publishing for the review copy. This is my honest review.
The Green Mockingbird 
Reading your review makes me even MORE curious about this one. I’ll have to see if anywhere has it on my shopping trip. Otherwise maybe it needs to go in my bookstore cart. 😉 Thanks so much for sharing!
*MY work here is done*
Seriously though, I hope you do locate a copy soon! This one has a few more things I LOVED about it I just couldn’t elaborate on because spoilers. I think you would really like it.