The Will of Wisteria

The Will of Wisteria ****

by Denise Hildreth Jones

I’m joining Jain at Food for Thought, a delicious blog for readers with an appetite for the written word.

“Four headstrong siblings must satisfy their father’s dying demands–or risk losing his fortune. Let the clash of wills begin.

Charleston blue blood Clayton Wilcott ‘got religion’ late in life; so late, it turns out his kids never took to it. So he’s left a provisional will delivered in a highly unorthodox way.

Now they’re going to have to honor Daddy’s commandments from beyond the grave–for a full year–or be cut off from their substantial inheritances.

The scent of wisteria lingers in the air as the four spoiled Wilcotts battle for their birthright. Told in Denise Hildreth’s trademark blend of humor and heart, this Southern tale is about learning to love, learning to live, and learning to bend.”

I enjoyed this book~ set in one of my favorite places, Charleston, SC~ a weekend destination for us when we’re lucky enough to get away!

This is a story you can sink your teeth into literally and figuratively and there is plenty to tempt your taste buds among the pages. I was longing for a Lowcountry High visit, which I’m overdue for, taking in the scenery & history, where we graze our way across the Charleston Peninsula :)

You can visit Charleston in some of my previous posts: Charleston Whites, Charleston Green and Seeking Indigo.

I didn’t cook this book, since it would have been a poor substitution with my taste buds primed for a few favorite Charleston restaurants mentioned. . .

 Hominy Grill’s Fried Green Tomato BLT. . . Brunch at Poogan’s Porch enjoying Crabcake Benedict. . .Mussels & Frites for lunch at Rue de Jean and Seasonal Fine Dining for dinner at Tristan’s and FIG, where Food Is Good!

Instead of dining in downtown Charleston, I had to satisfy myself with the delicious fragrance of wisteria for this review. . .

Like wisteria, the Wilcott siblings grow wild and untamed, without direction from their inattentive father:

“…the wisteria Mr. Clayton loved so much still bloomed and gave off that sweet fragrance, like they were honoring his memory.”

“Even before Jeffrey’s birth his father had begun cultivating it, binding it on large stakes until eventually each woody stalk was able to stand on its own.”

“At the curve of the driveway she caught a glimpse of something expansive and purple and brilliant. Her father’s wisteria, its flowers draping like bunches of grapes.”

“All her life it had been there, growing, multiplying, blossoming with wild abandon, yet beautifully molded, and she had never really seen it before.”

“Little vines spread out from the tops of sculpted plants, connecting one plant to the next, encircling the driveway. Encircling her. Embracing her.”

“The purple of the wisteria mesmerized him. He studied the stubborn vine, amazed at how it had been pruned and woven in directions it would have never gone on its own.”

 “It was pliable, and because it could bend, it had become all the more beautiful.”

“A unique page-turner about the beauty of a place called Wisteria, the wild landscape of the human heart, and how sometimes it’s only the miracle of a human touch that can lead someone home again.”

~ River Jordan, author of The Messenger of Magnolia Street

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