Black Candle Women: A Novel

Written by Diane Marie Brown

Narrated by Bahni Turpin

A Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Seen on the Today Show

“If you like Practical Magic… you will love Black Candle Women.” —Jenna Bush Hager

Named a Best Book of the Month by: Shondaland, MS. Magazine, TODAY.com, Reader’s Digest, Katie Couric Media, AARP Sisters, Goodreads, BookRiot

A warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women, a family love curse, and the secrets they keep for and from each other over one very complicated year

Generations of Montrose women—Augusta, Victoria, Willow—have always lived together in their quaint California bungalow. They keep to themselves, never venture far from home, and their collection of tinctures and spells is an unspoken bond between them. But when young Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, their quiet lives are thrown into disarray.

For the family has withheld a crucial secret from Nickie all these years: any person a Montrose woman falls in love with will die. Their surprise guest forces each woman to reckon with her own past choices and mistakes. And as new truths about the curse emerge, they're set on a collision course dating back to 1950s New Orleans’s French Quarter—where a hidden story in a mysterious book may just hold the answers they seek in life and in love…

“Richly imagined and elegantly told, with plenty of satisfying secrets, heartaches, and twists.”
—Sadeqa Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve, a Reese's Book Club Pick

“Propulsive and poignant, Black Candle Women concocts an intoxicating potion of warmth, wisdom, and wonder.” —Ava DuVernay

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin Audio
• Release date: Feb 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781488215216

Diane Marie Brown

Diane Marie Brown is a professor at Orange Coast College and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department. She has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program. She grew up in Stockton and now lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, their four daughters, and their dog, Brownie. Black Candle Women is her debut novel.

Reviews for Black Candle Women

[BWRT · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great audio book ! With 4-5 different women as main characters the reader did a great job at voicing them. The book was a good young adult read. I read with my book club.

[vallenwork14 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful story!! The characters are well written. Love all the hidden jewels of wisdom.

[Booking It With Shane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love reading a story with black people and magic! Especially when it’s not stemmed in racism or black trauma caused by racism.

[debbaworks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a okay read. I liked the cultural background stuff about Hoodoo and New Orleans. But I've already read Alice Hoffmann's "The Rules of Magic," featuring the same curse and I liked her book better.

[justmyopinion · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was intrigued hearing some Nigerian deities being mentioned in the book.
The book was a lovely read.

[Adrienne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What an amazing story! I loved every moment of it!

[Katrina Thaxton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read. Loved the connection between the sisters,grandma and granddaughter.

[Lisa Ryan-Herndon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun book enhanced by yet another terrific audio performance per usual by Bahni Turpin.

[Dream Love · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was really good, but it seemed a bit long to get to the meat. Overall, it's a good, safe story.

[Carrie Jaffe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was slow to get going, the ending got better. If you want a light read where you're not that invested in the characters this is the perfect summer read.