Critical Praise

"[An] enchanting debut... Smyth’s deftly captured tropical landscape and superstitions….keep things interesting."

—Publishers Weekly

"Smyth writes entrancingly on tropical heat and light, indolence, vengeance and desire."

—The Guardian

"The Caribbean's tropical sights and smells permeate Smyth's moving debut novel, but all is not paradise…Smyth paints a vivid portrait of a naive young girl who learns some hard truths about herself and her family, but though Celia's story is not always happy, it's arresting and powerful, a shining testament to human resilience."

—The Miami Herald

"Like Alice Walker, Smyth vividly and empathetically re-creates the gender and racial tensions in a culture’s past, making them newly relevant. Smyth is so attuned to the texture and flavor of Caribbean life, and she mimics the island patois so well."

—Elle