A House Between Sea and Sky by Beth Cato
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Blurb
In 1920s California, two people in need of healing find strange refuge in a house with a mind of its own in an enthralling fantasy by the author of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge.
Grieving Hollywood writer Fayette Wynne arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1926 to finish her latest project in peace. All alone, save for the preternatural sourdough starter her family has nurtured for years, Fayette is also resentful. The proven healing powers of the bread made with her starter were insufficient to save her beloved mother. For Fayette, it’s time to try and push past the pain and anger and move on.
Then, during a violent storm, Fayette saves rising star Rex Hallstrom during a moment of crisis. Their shelter: a peculiar cliffside house, its door flung open as if beckoning them. Sentient, curious, and lonely, it recognises in Fayette a unique magic even older than its own.
In the days that follow, as a friendship grows between Fayette and Rex, they discover local legends surrounding the isolated house: It appeared in the span of a single night, its cursed origins said to be Hell itself. But for two souls who need to move forward, it provides unexpected comfort and hope. In fact, Fayette and Rex have never felt more alive. Neither has the house, whose mysteries are unending and whose wicked history may be too powerful to ignore.
Review
This was a book that I chose from Amazon’s First Reads series. I am loving the First Reads series currently as they make the perfect books to read on my phone when I am nap trapped. Beth Cato is a new author for me but when I read the blurb of this book it sounded just like my cup of tea.
The book is set in the 1920’s and although it isn’t set in Hollywood the two main characters have lived their lives working in Hollywood and so we learn a great deal about what life is like in 1920 Hollywood for actors and writers and why these two characters need healing. I always find it so shocking how much Hollywood controlled the lives of their actors in the 1920’s and 30’s.
Fayette is a writer for Hollywood and because of her grief for her mother she has fallen behind with her work and she knows she must find a way through her grief and anger to get back to work so she decides to hide away at Carmel-by-the-Sea to finish her latest project. However, Fayette is not alone because she has brought with her the family sourdough starter which also has preternatural powers.
The other main character is Rex Hallstrom. Rex is a successful actor in Hollywood but he is also struggling with his personal life and on one stormy night Fayette saves Rex when he is most troubled and they seek shelter together in a strange house on the cliffside.
Now for my favourite character of the book, the house. The house that Fayette and Rex shelter in on that stormy night is very special. The house is sentient and lonely and realises it might have found a friend in Fayette because it can sense the magic of the sourdough starter in her. I loved the house because all it wanted to do was good. It wanted to make friends and help people. I loved hearing the story from its point of view and learning more about the wicked history of the house.
This was such a beautifully written story and one that I really struggled to put down. In fact I would love a second book where we learn more about what the house is up to and of course the sourdough. There wasn’t a character I didn’t like or love in this book and loved learning more about Hollywood in the 1920’s. I will definitely be reading more books by Beth Cato. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Beth Cato hails from Hanford, California, but currently writes and bakes cookies in Red Wing, Minnesota. She usually has one or two cats in close orbit. A 2015 Nebula finalist, she is the author of the cozy mystery CHEDDAR LUCK NEXT TIME as well as fantasy like A THOUSAND RECIPES FOR REVENGE. Her short stories can be found in publications ranging from Beneath Ceaseless Skies to Uncanny Magazine. In 2019 and 2022, she won the Rhysling Award for short speculative poetry. Her website BethCato.com includes not only a vast bibliography, but a treasure trove of recipes for delectable goodies.
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