Monday 31 October 2011

Double Double Toil and Trouble!!! It's Samhain

A Tale for Samhain night curtesy of the Scottish Bard: Robert burns "Halloween"

Upon that night, when fairies light
On Cassilis Downans dance,
Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
On sprightly coursers prance;
Or for Colean the rout is ta’en,
Beneath the moon’s pale beams;
There, up the Cove,to stray an’ rove,
Amang the rocks and streams
To sport that night;

Amang the bonie winding banks,
Where Doon rins, wimplin, clear;
Where Bruc ance rul’d the martial ranks,
An’ shook his Carrick spear;
Some merry, friendly, countra-folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nits, an’ pou their stocks,
An’ haud their Halloween
Fu’ bly the that night.

The lasses feat, an’ cleanly neat,
Mair braw than when they’re fine;
Their faces blythe, fu’ sweetly kythe,
Hearts leal, an’ warm, an’ kin’:
The lads sae trig, wi’ wooer-babs
Weel-knotted on their garten;
Some unco blate, an’ some wi’ gabs
Gar lasses’ hearts gang startin
Whiles fast at night.

Then, first an’ foremost, thro’ the kail,
Their stocks maun a’ be sought ance;
They steek their een, and grape an’ wale
For muckle anes, an’ straught anes.
Poor hav’rel Will fell aff the drift,
An’ wandered thro’ the bow-kail,
An’ pou’t for want o’ better shift
A runt was like a sow-tail
Sae bow’t that night.

Then, straught or crooked, yird or nane,
They roar an’ cry a’ throu’ther;
The vera wee-things, toddlin, rin,
Wi’ stocks out owre their shouther:
An’ gif the custock’s sweet or sou
Wi’ joctelegs they taste them;
Syne coziely, aboon the door,

Wi’ cannie care, they’ve plac’d them
To lie that night.

The lassies staw frae ’mang them a’,
To pou their stalks o’ corn;
But Rab slips out, an’ jinks about,
Behint the muckle thorn:
He grippit Nelly hard and fast:
Loud skirl’d a’ the lasses;
But her tap-pickle maist was lost,
Whan kiutlin in the fause-house
Wi’ him that night.

The auld guid-wife’s weel-hoordit nits
Are round an’ round dividend,
An’ mony lads an’ lasses’ fates
Are there that night decided:
Some kindle couthie side by side,
And burn thegither trimly;
Some start awa wi’ saucy pride,
An’ jump out owre the chimlie
Fu’ high that night.
Jean slips in twa, wi’ tentie e’e;
Wha ’twas, she wadna tell;
But this is Jock, an’ this is me,
She says in to hersel’:

He bleez’d owre her, an’ she owre him,
As they wad never mair part:
Till fuff! he started up the lum,
An’ Jean had e’en a sair heart
To see’t that night.
Poor Willie, wi’ his bow-kail runt,
Was brunt wi’ primsie Mallie;
An’ Mary, nae doubt, took the drunt,
To be compar’d to Willie:
Mall’s nit lap out, wi’ pridefu’ fling,
An’ her ain fit, it brunt it;
While Willie lap, and swore by jing,
’Twas just the way he wanted
To be that night.
Nell had the fause-house in her min’,
She pits hersel an’ Rob in;
In loving bleeze they sweetly join,
Till white in ase they’re sobbin:
Nell’s heart was dancin at the view;
She whisper’d Rob to leuk for’t:
Rob, stownlins, prie’d her bonie mou’,
Fu’ cozie in the neuk for’t,
Unseen that night.

But Merran sat behint their backs,
Her thoughts on Andrew Bell:
She lea’es them gashin at their cracks,
An’ slips out-by hersel’;
She thro’ the yard the nearest taks,
An’ for the kiln she goes then,
An’ darklins grapit for the bauks,
And in the blue-clue throws then,
Right fear’t that night.

An’ ay she win’t, an’ ay she swat—
I wat she made nae jaukin;
Till something held within the pat,
Good L—d! but she was quaukin!
But whether ’twas the deil himsel,
Or whether ’twas a bauk-en’,
Or whether it was Andrew Bell,
She did na wait on talkin

To spier that night.

Wee Jenny to her graunie says,
“Will ye go wi’ me, graunie?
I’ll eat the apple at the glass,
I gat frae uncle Johnie”:
She fuff’t her pipe wi’ sic a lunt,
In wrath she was sae vap’rin,
She notic’t na an aizle brunt
Her braw, new, worset apron
Out thro’ that night.

“Ye little skelpie-limmer’s face!
I daur you try sic sportin,
As seek the foul thief ony place,
For him to spae your fortune:
Nae doubt but ye may get a sight!
Great cause ye hae to fear it;
For mony a ane has gotten a fright,
An’ liv’d an’ died deleerit,
On sic a night.

“Ae hairst afore the Sherra-moor,
I mind’t as weel’s yestreen—
I was a gilpey then, I’m sure
I was na past fyfteen:
The simmer had been cauld an’ wat,
An’ stuff was unco green;
An’ eye a rantin kirn we gat,
An’ just on Halloween
It fell that night.

“Our stibble-rig was Rab M’Graen,
A clever, sturdy fallow;
His sin gat Eppie Sim wi’ wean,
That lived in Achmacalla:
He gat hemp-seed, I mind it weel,
An’he made unco light o’t;
But mony a day was by himsel’,

He was sae sairly frighted
That vera night.”

Then up gat fechtin Jamie Fleck,
An’ he swoor by his conscience,
That he could saw hemp-seed a peck;
For it was a’ but nonsense:
The auld guidman raught down the pock,
An’ out a handfu’ gied him;
Syne bad him slip frae’ mang the folk,
Sometime when nae ane see’d him,
An’ try’t that night.
He marches thro’ amang the stacks,
Tho’ he was something sturtin;
The graip he for a harrow taks,
An’ haurls at his curpin:
And ev’ry now an’ then, he says,
“Hemp-seed I saw thee,
An’ her that is to be my lass
Come after me, an’ draw thee
As fast this night.”
He wistl’d up Lord Lennox’ March
To keep his courage cherry;
Altho’ his hair began to arch,
He was sae fley’d an’ eerie:
Till presently he hears a squeak,
An’ then a grane an’ gruntle;
He by his shouther gae a keek,
An’ tumbled wi’ a wintle
Out-owre that night.
He roar’d a horrid murder-shout,
In dreadfu’ desperation!
An’ young an’ auld come rinnin out,
An’ hear the sad narration:
He swoor ’twas hilchin Jean M’Craw,
Or crouchie Merran Humphie—
Till stop! she trotted thro’ them a’;
And wha was it but grumphie
Asteer that night!
Meg fain wad to the barn gaen,
To winn three wechts o’ naething
But for to meet the deil her lane,
She pat but little faith in:
She gies the herd a pickle nits,
An’ twa red cheekit apples,
To watch, while for the barn she sets,
In hopes to see Tam Kipples


That vera night.
She turns the key wi’ cannie thraw,
An’owre the threshold ventures;
But first on Sawnie gies a ca’,
Syne baudly in she enters:
A ratton rattl’d up the wa’,
An’ she cry’d Lord preserve her!
An’ ran thro’ midden-hole an’ a’
An’ pray’d wi’ zeal and fervour,
Fu’ fast that night.
They hoy’t out Will, wi’ sair advice;
They hecht him some fine braw ane;
It chanc’d the stack he faddom’t thrice
Was timmer-propt for thrawin:
He taks a swirlie auld moss-oak
For some black, grousome carlin;
An’ loot a winze, an’ drew a stroke,
Till skin in blypes cam haurlin
Aff’s nieves that night.
A wanton widow Leezie was,
As cantie as a kittlen;
But och! that night, amang the shaws,
She gat a fearfu’ settlin!
She thro’ the whins, an’ by the cairn,
An’ owre the hill gaed scrievin;
Whare three lairds’ lan’s met at a burn,
To dip her left sark-sleeve in,
Was bent that night.
Whiles owre a linn the burnie plays,
As thro’ the glen it wimpl’t;
Whiles round a rocky scar it strays,
Whiles in a wiel it dimpl’t;
Whiles glitter’d to the nightly rays,
Wi’ bickerin’, dancin’ dazzle;
Whiles cookit undeneath the braes,

Below the spreading hazel
Unseen that night.
Amang the brachens, on the brae,
Between her an’ the moon,
The deil, or else an outler quey,
Gat up an’ ga’e a croon:
Poor Leezie’s heart maist lap the hool;
Near lav’rock-height she jumpit,
But mist a fit, an’ in the pool
Out-owre the lugs she plumpit,
Wi’ a plunge that night.

In order, on the clean hearth-stane,
The luggies three are ranged;
An’ ev’ry time great care is ta’en
To see them duly changed:
Auld uncle John, wha wedlock’s joys
Sin’ Mar’s-year did desire,
Because he gat the toom dish thrice,
He heav’d them on the fire
In wrath that night.

Wi’ merry sangs, an’ friendly cracks,
I wat they did na weary;
And unco tales, an’ funnie jokes—
Their sports were cheap an’ cheery:
Till butter’d sowens, wi’ fragrant lunt,
Set a’ their gabs a-steerin;
Syne, wi’ a social glass o’ strunt,
They parted aff careerin
Fu’ blythe that night.

Here's two Scottish poets reading the poem on Youtube
Happy Blessed Samhain to all my pagan friends, and Happy New Year to my Druid friends, as today is the last day of the Celtic New Year, November 1st being the first of the Celtic New Year. Have a safe fun, bonfire night my loves!!

Saturday 29 October 2011

31 Days of Halloween-Day 29: The Good Witch's Family

Hello dear readers,

It’s once again a Good Witch’s Movie Premiere, tongiht on the Hallmark Channel, the new installment in the series is called the Good Witch's Family.

If you haven't seen the series before they make the day a marathon of the old movies, starting at 3pm EST with the Good Witch, the Good Witch's Garden, the Good Witch's Gift then the premiere and an encore showing at 11pm.

Last year was a blast doing the Good Witch's blog party, check out the post here, I also did my version of her store, post here. I can't wait to watch the new installation and learn what has happened to the family since last Yule's wedding.!!

Have fun watching tonight!!
Be Blessed



Friday 28 October 2011

Celtic Tree Month of : Reed

Reed/Broom/Furze  Oct 28 - Nov 23

Also called "Physician's Power".  Although not an actual tree, the profusely growing reeds were used in everyday aspects as well as spiritual aspects of the Celts of the British Isles.  Used within the building of homes, the reed which is a natural insulator helped during the winter months to help keep the cold at bay, they also lasted for years as parts of the thatched roofs and for this was ascribed the protection aspect.  

The reeds were also crushed and used as 'rushes' a floor covering, they helped to give off a cleansing smell to the home, hence the purification aspect.  During windy days, when the winds blew through the reeds, it created a tone, which the hearer believed was a message being sent from the Otherworld.  Flutes, pipes, & whistles were carved from Reeds and were used especially bu the Bards of the time, as it created a special sound when played.  Reed also had other practical applications, it was also used in broom (hence it's other name), arrows, mats, baskets, and perhaps even writing implements 

   
Irish/Gaelic name: giolcach/ giolc
Ruling planet:  Pluto, Moon, Sun, Mars
Abilities: Protection, communication, purpose, purification, clarification,
Seasons:Autumn, Spring
God/Goddess:  Lugh, Cernunnos, Mannannan Mac Lir, Epona, Morrigan, Callieach Bheur
Aspect: Masculine
Correspondences:  
Bird: Cormorant, 
Element:  Fire
Ogham/Rune:  n Getal, nGeadal

Uses: These are some ideas of how to incorporate Reed into your life

Old Healing Lore:
  • A decoction of the young branches and seeds, can be used to aide in relieving gout, sciatica (longest nerve in the body becomes inflamed or overstimulated); as well as painful joints, frequent bouts of fever and it is believed to also help in relieving malaria symptoms.  
  • It also works as a diuretic and a kidney cleanser as it aides in breaking down kidney stones. 
  • When the reed is heated over a fire, a oil appears which can be used to relieve toothaches.
  •  If the oil is collected and allowed to cool it's a good way to cleanse the skim of lice
Caution: If the dose is too strong, or too much is taken it can cause violent vomiting.
Lore:  Most older homes of the UK have a gorse bush hedging, these helped during the early days of laundry care as it held the clothing in place(they didn't fly away). The hedging could also be cultivated to be used as burning timber, although as a "wood" it burnt ouy quickly.  
 although like the plants of the mint family once planted and rooted this plant took over and was very hard to remove.

When the Winter came, gorse was mashed and used to help feed the cattle, feral/free ponies also ate the gorse bushes.  You can also use it to protect newly planted vegetable gardens or newly sown seeds from birds.  

Magical Uses:
  • Use to sweep your ritual area to purify and protect it.
  • Burn the shoots and blooms to help calm wind in elemental spells
Fun Facts:
  • In the olden days, when the Scots and Irish were travellers of the land, they would change winter camps not by the date on the calender but the appearance of the gorse flowers.
  • In Wales, gorse is supposed to guard against witches
  • Gorse is added to bridal bouquets to bring in fertility aspect to the new couple
  • The flowers were used as a dye, & was made into whiskey; the Danes used it to make beer
  • The gorse was once used to capture gold flecks from the rivers, after they were covered in gold the branches would be burned and the nuggets captured and used.  
Resources:
Druidry.org
Celtic Tree Mysteries by Steve Blamiers
The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom by Caitlin & John Matthews

My personal book of shadows
Victorian Farm



Happy New Month

Thursday 27 October 2011

Paranormal Telly: The Gates

Sweet Goddess how is it I keep missing these awesome shows??? I'm in love i need to know what the heck happened, did Devon get away? Did the wolves and vamps go to war? What happens to the Gates community?? Holy Shyt this show is amazing. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about do you? 
Well there once was a show about a community filled with 'special' people, they hire a new police chief and this is the story from his families point of view. 
From the beginning we know Devon is a witch, we meet her mentor Dr.Peg, the residential vamps Claire and her hubbie Dylan, then of course we meet the young up and coming alpha males Brett and Lucas, as well as the pack Beta that is a fine slice of dark chocolate cake ..eehhhh *wipes drool, jerks back from fantasy land* em...em what i meant was, yeah I stand by what I said I would have pegged him as Alpha any day.


Yeah I know when you first see the show's commercials it seems like a Desperate Housewives with something supernatural going on, but when I first saw them it was how do i say homogenous and looked very non interesting, well Netflix showed me just how wrong i was to make that assumption. This show is actually amazing and I'm sad it's only one season, they should have done some better advertising and maybe it would have hung around. Now it's cancelled and I only can watch reruns and I'm left with hundreds of questions. Ahh well the one thing I have learned is that eventually all shows come back around maybe in a few years some awesome channel will pick it back up and a do a good job (but Im not holding my breathe on that one)


Well that's another show for the nights with nothing on
Be Blessed

Monday 24 October 2011

Paranormal Telly: Secret Circle Review

Well it’s been a few weeks and I can now give an honest reaction to the show…..... I hate it.

I know that sounds harsh, but Sweet Goddess, this show is shyt. They took an awesome book and fudged it all up. The freaking changes are just too much for me. I tried people I really tried to watch it as objectively as possible. But I just can't do it. 


Instead of a coven of thirteen kick-ass kids who run & live in a small town off the coast of Salem Massachusetts; instead you have six whiny ass kids who live in a town where no one knows what they are (sooo not how the book went).

I can't stand Diana, Cassie is a freaking joke, Nick is an asshole, Faye is pretty much the only character who stuck to her truth (although some of her issues are so fabricated it's not even funny.  Yes I know it's a fictional story & they must find ways to hook the kids but some of this shyt is just insulting and not even worth the side effects cost, but I digress) Adam is a freaking joke & where the HELL is Raj?? What the hell is up with the parents including Faye's mom, and Diana's Dad. 

Seriously who the f**k is Melissa??? Putting a few tokens on a show doesn't make you 'hip' it makes them tokens, stick to the f**king story and stop adding unnecessary bullsh*t to be politically correct.
who the HELL is Melissa and WHY is she on the show?

Don't even get me started on this stupid Jake character, Why do they keep adding these b.s characters, but they couldn't keep the original 13 ??? For real this is some serious bullsh*t.  I get so annoyed every time I watch the show I quit watching in the middle of an episode and have no urge to go back and watch it.


It sounds mean considering some of the other shows I have loved but this is just horrible, I keep waiting for some semblance of what Ms. Smith wrote to appear on the screen but other than the names and the fact that they are witches, nothing is there.  It's like Vampire Diaries all over again, seriously where was Ms. Smith's representative?? Was she asleep during that class when they taught about how to get your clients a show/movie deal? How to help them keep creative rights? 'Cause who ever they are sucked badly at it, She has no creative input and they have shot her story to hell and back.  

This is supposed to be a coming of age story of a young woman who finds her true place in life, she learns what her strengths are and in doing so allows those around her to also embrace their truths, Diana pushes Cassie and becomes her very best friend (better than sisters), Faye is Cassie's nemesis for most of the story then she too stands up for her own rights and becomes the kick ass woman she was in the beginning of the story. The circle grows as a coven, taking two split parts and making a cohesive whole, not just in the circle but between Outsiders and the Families. Cassie's coming to New Salem changes everyone including her and this show doesn't embrace that at all, This Cassie doesn't listen to anyone, she's supposed to be shy and through the beginning of her change learn to assert herself and embrace the changes. There is the classic struggle between light and dark, the two sides of the coven, the two sides of Cassie, hell the two sides of human nature, especially in the last book.
The people who help to bring that on aren't even in the show, where is Sean the lovable idiot who reeks all kinds of havoc, the Henderson twins with their weird eyes, Susan the modern Aphrodite who seemingly is dumb but makes observations that are truly spot on, Laurel and Melody the herbs and crystal witches, Deborah the bike loving chick who can kick your ass, and Nick the Ice Man who totally takes you by surprise with his niceness.  

I know I cling too tightly to these stories, but sometimes if the fans don't demand a good product this is what comes out, look what happened to Queen of the Damned if you have never read the books, hell if you never saw Interview with a Vampire then the movie was ok, but if your an Anne Rice fan, you left that movie theater pretty freaking pissed off, hell when I went people were leaving the theater in the MIDDLE of the movie, one guy said he was writing Anne Rice to let her know how they fracked up her book. 
Seriously guys, what the f**k was this shyt?? Did any of these characters look anything like the ones in Interview?? I mean Stuart tried but he's no Lestat (but this is a whole OTHER post)
There are plenty of books I would love to see be made into shows or movies, LA Banks being the first and anything Laurell K Hamilton (pre-Bloody Noir especially for the Anita series, and pre- Divine Misdemeanors in Merry's series), but this season Ms. Hamilton shared with us how much they wished to change that she wasn't comfortable with and she said NO.

Sometimes it's ok to say NO if it means your story isn't going to be told right. In this case they should have said NO, since they aren't telling the story right.

These are my opinions and you don't have to like them, but my blog, my thought~~ as a lover of books, and these books in particular, I can't condone this show and I won't be watching it again. In my opinion find something else to watch on Thursdays. ~~ I don't like giving bad reviews, but you gotta call a spade a spade, and this ladies a gents, is a spade

Be Blessed

Thursday 20 October 2011

31 Days of Halloween: Day 20: Paranormal Telly Edition

Hey there readers

Did you get a chance to see the premiere of walking dead?? No not a fan of scary stuff?? Well then I have a show for you!!!How about a show about the Grimm Reaper that's funny as heck and no longer on the air, but if you sign up for a free month of netflix you can watch it... It's called Dead Like Me, 

why can't i seem to find these shows when they are on the air?? hmm maybe because I'm not much for following the crowd?? you say it's good, ha i will reserve the right to not watch it until i have no choice (sigh i swear I will change and grow people I will), it's like wow going off on a tangent, let's get back to the review shall we....
From the kick-ass intro song, and funny as heck opening scene, I was hooked, and such a potty mouth on such a pretty girl makes it even more hilarous cause you never see it coming and it's just too funny when she does it. can you imagine being dead and still have to have a job?? or pay bills? How unfair is that?? well why not watch and allow George Lass to tell you all about it!!!
The show apparently has a cult following which I can toatllly uncerstand heck I watched it in three days, including the follow-up movie, man this show is so good, I do hope they bring it back, which was the rumour surrounding the release of the movie so long after the show ended, but here's a preview for you.
Check out imdb for a great synopsis and background on the show. you can also check out the website that MGM has up for the series Sorry about the late post everyone, I seem to be fighting with blogger on what I wish my posts to look like, i hate the new formatting, and it apparently hates me as well. Samhain  Tip: The Celts counted their days from sundown to sundown, so Samhain actually runs from Sunday October 30th at sunset to sunset Monday October 31st. The real Witching hour will be midnight changing from Sunday to Monday not Monday to Tuesday November 1st which will be Dias de los muertos (Mexican Day of the Dead)  Enjoy the show, I know I most certainly did. Happy reaping!!!

Saturday 15 October 2011

Must Be the Season of the Witch

Hello readers


It's Samhain time and we all know there is a need for some seriously good music during this time.  a friend highlighted this song a few years ago and I immediately fell in love, it's a good song to highlight the season.
Just in case your looking for some more music here's a link to last year's post about great seasonal stuff (at least what I listen to anyway, and I thought I would share) Have a wonderful weekend  Be Blessed 

Thursday 13 October 2011

31 Days of Halloween: Movies and Shows of the Season

Hello dear readers,

What would October be without some ghouls, zombies and ghosts?? It actually would be September, just colder...ok ok I'll put away the geeky humor and get to the point.

This is the time of year when muggles allow their fears to roam free, they (we) seriously enjoy indulging in all things scary just so that the rest of the year they (we) can go about their (our) lives without that fear. This is of course one of the best time for horror film fans, I'm personally not much for the horror genre,

When I was a child the scariest movie I ever saw was Night of the Living Dead, not the new stuff I'm talking the original 1968 film version, scary as heck, watching those people try to find a way to live and everywhere they turned there were zombies.

Alfred Hitchcock's the Birds still makes me side-eye the heck out of birds especially if it seems they are following me. Talk about a scary movie, the scene with the kids in the school??!?!? To this day gives me willies.

Another one I thought I would through up as new classics are 28 Days Later, and 28 Weeks Later, horror on horrors right?? Scary part is these movies you can TOTALLY see coming true.
And of course we can't have Halloween without the King of the Season King Jack Skellington, yes I know it says the Nightmare Before Christmas, but isn't truly a Halloween movie?? 
I do have a few I will be checking out this season including the premiere of a favorite, which just the thought of that actually taking place gives me the willies. 
Well this season's premier of Walking Dead is on October 16,2011,  at 9pm EST are you excited? The Com Con video is too awesome to boot and man can I tell you, I'm scared and want to run but I just can't help but watch it. What would you do? Would you try to survive or would you quit?? If you haven't had a chance to catch up on the series, they are now available on Netflix,  They also have some web episodes to wet the appetite and answer some questions from last season's premiere, they explained all about 'bicycle girl". Can I say it's really good!! And not to be all dark and gloomy, I also have a romantic movie for the season and a link back to last season's recommendations.
Last year we had the Good Witch's Blog Party, to celebrate the premier of a new addition to the series, this year there is another installment called the Good Witch's Family, it picks up from after the family has blended together, and let's us know what has been happening since the wedding.
The Good Witch's Family is having a family coming to visit, and of course, witchyness runs in the family, 
and of course she bring mayhem right along with her,  and it seems that Cassie is running for Middleton mayor, I'm sure the mayor's wife loves that....
ohh the trouble that's a brewing in Middleton is going to be fun to watch, movie premiere's on October 29th on the Hallmark channel.
Season Survival Tip: Remember when a boogie shows up at your door and says "Trick or treat", don't answer, the tricks are deadly and the treats, well let's just say only another monster would enjoy those!! Have fun checking out the series for Samhain my loves and I will see you later.  Be Blessed

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Book Review: The Peach Keeper



Book Title: The Peach Keeper
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 288
Cost; $25.00
How I Got it:  Library 
Description:

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots. 

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it. 

For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town. 

Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living---from Goodreads.com


My take on the book:
Some Secrets will always out. This is the story of how one community and a few families deal with the fallout of this secret resurfacing.  This time the magic wasn't modern but was more a left over from the previous generation and  wasn't really something these families had within them, but something and someone from out of town brought with them. This book overall was very different from the other three she has written, this was darker than the other novels. this book really looks at what it means to be a good friend, & how the concept of friendship has changed within the generations.

I enjoyed that the characters in this novel were a lot more 'ordinary' compared to the other novels, yet, magic was still within the novel, within the town, and even within some of the families.. The love stories that formed were much quicker and in more detail than the other stories.  i personally enjoyed the story because of it's exploration of friendship, how it can take a lifetime to built, or sometimes,w hen you meet someone that single moment that lets you know that person will always impact your life.

The major characters who thought they had 'grown-up' and changed and learned that sometimes you don't have to completely abandon who you are to actually grow up. I really enjoyed the story of Paxton and Willa's friendship, Willa's relationship with her father, and what she really thought that happened compared to what really happened, and how knowing the true facts actually freed her to live the life she truly wanted. I was so surprised and happy as heck to see a former book character or two actually make an appearance in this book, and I sooo wanted to know more about them and their lives, but it was not to be.

I finished this book with a lightness in my heart because I could so see the ending Sarah wanted us to have and it was good. I am however stalking her webpage to find out when her next one comes out and I can't wait!!!!

Enjoy this novel as well as the others my loves