A Cup of Silver Linings

By: Karen Hawkins

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert, Nancy Linari, Angel Pean, Amanda Ronconi

Discover the “sometimes whimsical, often insightful, always absorbing” (Shelf Awareness) Dove Pond series with this novel that explores the magic in the tea leaves—from New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins.

Ava Dove—the sixth of the seven famed Dove sisters and owner of Ava Dove’s Landscaping and Specialty Teas—is frantic.

Just as her new tearoom is about to open, her herbal teas have gone haywire. Suddenly, her sleep-inducing tea is startling her clients awake with vivid dreams, her romance-kindling tea is causing people to blurt out their darkest secrets, and her anti-anxiety tea is making them spend hours staring into mirrors. Ava is desperate for a remedy, but her search leads her into dangerous territory, as she is forced to face a dark secret she’s been hiding for over a decade.

Meanwhile, successful architect Ellen Foster has arrived in Dove Pond to attend the funeral of her estranged daughter, Julie. Grieving deeply, Ellen is determined to fix up her daughter’s ramshackle house, sell it, and then sweep her sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Kristen, off to a saner, calmer life. But Kristen has other plans. Desperate to stay with her friends in Dove Pond, she sets off on a quest she’s avoided her whole life—to find her absent father in the hopes of winning her freedom from the grandmother she barely knows.

Together, Ava, Kristen, and Ellen embark on a reluctant but magical journey of healing, friendship, and family in a “cozy, big-hearted read” (Booklist) that will delight fans of Alice Hoffman, Kate Morton, and Sarah Addison Allen.

SWEET Story of Family, Forgiveness, Acceptance and Love

I absolutely LOVED this story — every bit as much as I enjoyed the first Dove Pond novel! It was just as full of love, friendship, learning that family and friends aren’t perfect but are still worth loving, and that sometimes, even if one doesn’t want it, one has to accept that everyone needs help once in a while. Some things are just too big to be handled alone.

I have two major complaints about this book:

1. As a teaser to the next book, there is a short section about another Dove sister, Ella, who is living in Paris in an apartment above the bakery she owns. The wind kicks up wildly and a newspaper page of lands at her feet. Ella sees a picture of a man and she says aloud, “Ella Dove is going home to Dove Pond.”

YAY, another Dove family book!!! Except there isn’t another one (unless it’s not on Audible, but available on Amazon just in read-only form)?

So WHERE IS IT Ms. Hawkins??? COUGH IT UP! Sooner rather than later please! There are five other Dove sisters besides Sarah and Ava. That should provide lots and lots of ideas for more books!

My other complaint about this book is the narration. Tavia Gilbert is one of my FAVORITE narrators! I have no complaints about her in particular (there are four narrators for this book).

Aunt Jo’s voice is so screechy that I could barely get through listening to her parts. Others character voices sound almost identical; for example, the sheriff, Dylan and Kristen’s young male friend. Sometimes Ellen and Kristen sound the same. The southern accents of Kristen and her two young friends (especially Misty) are so overdone. Grace, from the first Dove book didn’t even sound like she did in the first book. And one scene that seemed especially odd to me, when the sheriff was in the library kissing Sarah, he sounded more like Ellen than a male! Hopefully this can be improved in coming books (especially Aunt Jo)!

Despite some of the narration, I LOVED this story and can’t wait for the next one in the Dove Pond series!

Delightful!

What a charming and delightful story! It was nice to have different narrators for different characters, as well. They did a wonderful job. I am definitely looking forward to the next, and I will go back to read the book that came before this one, The Book Charmer!

Her books are always a little corny

This is the 3rd or 4th book I've read of hers. Not this one but a couple of the ones I read before were hilarious.

Always love a silver lining!

I really like stories about the Dove sisters! Well written and feel good stories! Highly recommend!

Potpourri of magic, mysteries & wondrous teas

This was a lively listen. All the characters grew throughout the story, with a steady flow of self awareness, while inhabiting the Stars Hollowlike town of Dove Pond, home of the intriguing Dove sisters, each with a miraculous talent. Not your run of the mill power to fly or be invisible, but abilities to hear books name the person who should next read them, make teas that can heal in a myriad of ways including having dreams of deceased relatives return to offer sage counsel, understand the sounds of wild life and much more for the seven sisters, who are the soul and lucky charm for Dove Pond.

Several stories told, each slightly intertwined with the other. Not confusing, but very entertaining, educational and oh so human. Was so hard to come to the end. Made me seek out every other book Karen Hawkins wrote about Dove Pond. And a fun group of reads they were.