The Witch of Little Italy in Ask Suzanne Palmieri

Jun 03, 2012 Suzanne Palmieri rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Shelves: books-i-ve-written-and-co-authored

As my amazing Author Friend Jenna Blum said about her own debut novel: "This is the BEST debut novel I ever wrote!" And... I really hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. In stores April 2013. ...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Loretta Nyhan rated it it was amazing

Absolutely amazing. I'm biased, yes, but Suzanne is a totally fresh voice in women's fiction. The Witch of Little Italy is mysterious, romantic, and will keep you turning pages into the wee hours! ...more

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Jul 02, 2015 Erica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: girlfriend-power, bffs, flat-characters, supernatural, dead-friends-and-family, audiobook, love-and-romance, witches-vampires-ghosts-werewolves, women-and-girls, magic

In honor of The Witch of Bourbon Street: A Novel having been released two days ago, I'm listening to this to see if there's anything new in here that I missed my first go'round.

I'm so glad I listened to this! That was a brilliant move on my part.
You'll note that my rating hasn't changed from the first read but my appreciation for some of the elements has.

Let's start with the bad again:
I hate Elly. I mean, I get it, she's been lost and abused for, like, 13 years of her life, or somesuch. Of cours ...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Erica rated it liked it

Shelves: dead-friends-and-family, family-saga, gardening, girlfriend-power, growing-up, love-and-romance, magic, sisters, supernatural, witches-vampires-ghosts-werewolves

Oh, please please get here this month! I've got a gap after my next book and could get this read lickety split! I can't wait!

Again, thank you to First Reads for letting me be a winner!
I read this in one sitting and would really give it a 3.5 stars right now, though after some tidying and maybe a few changes in final publication, I'd gladly bump it to 4.

I'm going to start with what I didn't like.
I didn't like Eleanor. I know, I know, that's horrible. I didn't like her romance with li'l Tony, eith Oh, please please get here this month! I've got a gap after my next book and could get this read lickety split! I can't wait!

Again, thank you to First Reads for letting me be a winner!
I read this in one sitting and would really give it a 3.5 stars right now, though after some tidying and maybe a few changes in final publication, I'd gladly bump it to 4.

I'm going to start with what I didn't like.
I didn't like Eleanor. I know, I know, that's horrible. I didn't like her romance with li'l Tony, either, because it was just too convenient, too already-in-place. She didn't have to work for it at all; he just gave her everything and that was that. I was a bored by Elly and Tony and their "No, this cannot be but..ok, let's just be boyfriend and girlfriend" relationship. Of course, I'm not a fan of romance so I'm sure that had a lot to do with my eye-rollery of their LEGO relationship.
Elly bothered me because everything that happened to her just happened; she didn't really do much to push her situation one way or another, not even after she'd found her confidence. I'm glad she ditched the "My Mom" hat, but...it wasn't enough to make me like her. Just like everything else about her wasn't enough to make me like her. Come to think of it, I probably would have been kinder to her had she been 16. This would have been a good YA book.
And the whole Cotton Mather...wait, no, Cooper Bakersmith...thing could have been much scarier, much more intense, much more believable and to me it just wasn't.

You know what I LOVED though? The sisters. And the mother-daughter relationships. And the food and the gardens and the seaside bungalow. Oh my gosh, I am such a sucker for family sagas about witchy women, especially when sisters are involved. I was not disappointed on any of those fronts. Oddly, this did not remind me of an Alice Hoffman novel, as I'd expected. Rather, it was like reading something like The Watchtower if it were written by Adriana Trigiani. I would have liked a few more food references (and maybe recipes) and a few more garden references, but that's just me. I love food and gardens.
I adored the Amore Sisters, though. I could really "feel" them as I read. I enjoyed their current story, their history, everything. They reminded me a bit of me and my two sisters. I was captivated by their mother. In fact, I really hope to see another book about Margaret Green's family (I hope I got that right; I don't have the book with me and can't look up the Amore mom's actual name)
I liked that there was a mystery going on, though not one that took up the whole story. I liked that there was a ghost story, though not one that encompassed everything. I really REALLY liked half of this book!

Now, I have to keep in mind that I have an uncorrected proof and most of the typos and errors will be fixed before final publication. Maybe Elly will be beefed-up a bit, too. I dunno. But I do know that I want to keep watching this author. I think she's going to give us some great stories and I'm going to want to read them. ...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Lesleigh rated it it was amazing

I read this book the way you eat a bar of chocolate. Not the cheap stuff you buy to fill a need or appease the kids. The good kind that you buy, on sale, as a treat. You nibble away at it, bit by bit, tucking the rest away on a high shelf where the kids can't get at it.

I savored this tale of magic and family and I enjoyed every bite. It put me in mind of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman...both the book with it's dark undertones and the film with it's lighter love of sisters and the ties that bin ...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Gina Heron rated it it was amazing

This is a beautifully written, hopeful story... magical!!

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Dec 13, 2012 Sue Gerth (The Bookalicious Babe) rated it really liked it

This book is out in paperback in March 2013. For fans of Alice Hoffman, Sarah Addison Allen, and Erica Bauermeister. The Amore sisters in the Bronx aren't your typical little old ladies--they are part of a family of women who have the Sight. Eleanor comes back to the apartment building where her Grandmother and Aunts live to escape an abusive boyfriend and face her sudden pregnancy. In doing so, she awakens her memories of a long ago summer she spent at the apartment building that she can't reme ...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Ali Trotta rated it it was amazing

This book is, no pun intended, full of magic. The prose is gorgeous -- elegant and entrancing. It is a novel that brings up questions of family, identity, the importance of personal history, as well as coming to terms with who you are. Follow the Amore family through trials and tribulations, hauntings and homecomings -- and yes, learn the importance of magic. Most importantly, perhaps, for Elly (aka Eleanor aka Babygirl) learn what it's like to find yourself in the most precarious of circumstanc ...more

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Mar 31, 2013 NPRMommy rated it it was amazing

Love this lost witch!! Her journey to unlock the secrets of her past led me back to my love of reading! Elly is delightfully self-deprecating and unsure at the start of the novel, and surprisingly self-possessed and comfortable in her own skin by the end.

Along the way you'll love meeting Itsy, Mama, Anthony, Carmen, Fee, Mimi and the whole Amore family. They are all very REAL people despite their magical qualities. Each has their own idiosyncrasies that make you love them (or, in the case of Coo ...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

I now have a new definition of "unputdownable." When you sit all sweaty in the fitness center locker room after your cycle workout staring at your kindle because you're about 80% into The Witch of Little Italy and you just. Can't. Stop. A student says "must be some good book." You nod vigorously, barely looking up. "Almost at the end," you tell her. Almost at the end of the book you started last night, the book that deprived you some serious sleep, the first book in years that you read in a day ...more

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May 14, 2012 Barbara Sissel rated it it was amazing

A daughter ought to be able to rely on her mother, especially when she is in an abusive relationship with a man who assaults her, when somehow, she finds herself pregnant by this very man. But suppose your mother turns her back? Where can you go then for help? With your questions about why you and your mother are so estranged and your sad, frightened heart? Not back to the boyfriend. At least you know that much. An ordinary woman in such circumstances would be very limited in her options. But su ...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Sheila rated it it was amazing

Part of my could identify with a couple of the characters, I laughed, I cried and cried. It was an easy read for myself, and I loved it... I also sat up part of the night just to make sure I finished the book. I wish it could be made into a movie. Was worried for a minute there that there was going to be a tie left unconnected, but everything seemed to come together. On occasion I could see things to come in the story, for example the character that may or may not have been a ghost who was her f ...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Cassandra rated it it was amazing

There was magic in the force of this story that kept me turning pages and finding reasons not to hurry onto errands. Filled with whimsy, love, humor, and - of course - magic - I was delighted from start to finish by Suzanne Palmieri's first novel and look forward to reading more! I'll miss Elly, Itsy, Mimi and Fee. ...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Malorie Gresham rated it it was amazing

I was lucky to receive a advance reader copy of this book. I was in love with this book from beginning to end! I cried like a baby and loved every minute of it! Such a great story with rich characters that keep you wanting more!! Can't wait to read more from this author!!! ...more

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