The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Where Wild Peaches Grow" by Cade Bentley, Sered with Links to Five Favorite Southernesque Recipes

I can't believe September is already here! I think a good southern fiction story is a great way to ease out of summer and into the fall season. Lucky for me, I am on the TLC Book Tour for one, Where Wild Peaches Grow by Cade Bentley. Accompanying my review are five southern-inspired recipes that match the vibe of the book.

Publisher's Blurb:

In a deeply emotional novel of family, cultural heritage, and forgiveness, estranged sisters wrestle with the choices they’ve made and confront circumstances beyond their control.

Nona “Peaches” Davenport, abandoned by the man she loved and betrayed by family, left her Natchez, Mississippi, home fifteen years ago and never looked back. She’s forged a promising future in Chicago as a professor of African American Studies. Nona even finds her once-closed heart persuaded by a new love. But that’s all shaken when her father’s death forces her to return to everything she’s tried to forget.

Julia Curtis hasn’t forgiven her sister for deserting the family. Just like their mother, Nona walked away from Julia when she needed her most. And Julia doesn’t feel guilty for turning to Nona’s old flame, Marcus, for comfort. He helped Julia build a new life. She has a child, a career, and a determination to move on from old family wounds.

Upon Nona’s return to Natchez, a cautious reunion unfolds, and everything Nona and Julia thought they knew–about themselves, each other, and those they loved–will be tested. Unpacking the truth about why Nona left may finally heal their frayed bond–or tear it apart again, forever.

Lake Union Publishing (August 30, 2022)

Paperback 301 pages

 

 My Review:

At its soul, Where Wild Peaches Grow is about family drama and dysfunction, something I think most everyone can relate to, at least a little. In this case, although the family discord exists in a few generations, it centers around the two main characters, sisters, Nona (known as Peaches in her hometown of Natchez) and Julia. Julia is the older sister who stayed in Natchez and took care of Nona when their mother deserted them and she wears her bitterness like a shawl, holding resentment for Nona for leaving and never coming back for twenty years, and even more for her mother, who she assumes is dead. Nona has her own resentment for Julia, who she thinks betrayed her by telling their father than she was going to elope with her first love, Marcus that lead to her leaving town for Chicago where she threw herself into getting her education and is a successful professor of African American studies, but is living an unfulfilled life with an inability to write the book she wants to and mixed feelings about her somewhat controlling fiance. The sisters are brought together when their father dies, Nona returns to Natchez. and a whole host of secrets and betrayals unfolds.

I enjoy books that expose me to pieces of culture and history that I am not familiar with and Where Wild Peaches Grow is tagged as "cultural heritage fiction" and illuminated me to some of the black history of Natchez, Mississippi. I only wish it had gone a bit deeper. Both into the relationship between the sisters and with the many assorted side characters (grandma, neighbors, friends, former and new romances), and more importantly the whole Natchez history of the Devil's Punch Bowl which was in effect a concentration camp where slaves, newly freed during the Civil War were rounded up in a walled encampment of a "pit" surrounded by bluffs, and many (some estimates claim 20,000) slaves died of starvation and diseases such as smallpox because of the conditions of the camp.The title of the book refers to the wild peaches that were grown there that people weren't supposed to cook with or eat due to the atrocity that took place there. As much of American history gets "white-washed" I had heard very little, if anything, about this horrific incident. I ended up Googling information (as I am wont to due when reading historical fiction-here's a good brief article), but I think the book would have benefited from more information about it being included. At just about 300 pages, I wouldn't have minded an afterword about the history and more development of ongoing relationships with the characters. 

All in all, I enjoyed the book and Bentley's writing and will look from more from her. (Apparently she is published as Abby L. Vandiver and Abby Colette). I think this book is good for someone who wants a summer read that goes a bit deeper than other domestic/sisters fiction and is trying to read more diverse novels and books.

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Author Notes: Cade Bentley is a novelist and editor who is also published as Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Abby L. Vandiver, as well as Abby Colette. When she isn’t writing, Cade enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. She resides in South Euclid, Ohio. For more information visit www.authorabby.com.

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 Food Inspiration:

There is plenty of southern food in the book from fried chicken to ribs, collards, mac-and-cheese, casseroles and honey dishes galore from the community for the family's bereavement with the loss of Jasper, red velvet cake, cornbread, banana pudding, deviled eggs. There was peach pie but since the rumor was that it killed the family patriarch, and the history was that the peaches were grown in the Devil's Punch Bowl (see above), that didn't seem like the best dish to make.

I decided to feature five "southernesque'  dishes that I have enjoyed on the blog for my bookish inspiration. Recipe photos and links are below:

As an appetizer, vegan soul food chef, Bryant Terry's Crispy Okra Strips with Lime-Thyme Vinaigrette from "Vegan Soul Kitchen" seem like a good match. 

I have plenty of pimento cheese recipes on my blog but these Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs are a favorite and I think the perfect party or bereavement dish.

 Also from Bryant Terry and Vegan Soul Food, these Pan-Fried Grit Cakes with Caramelized Onions, Garlic & Thyme and Spicy Smothered Green Cabbage are true comfort food.

Now I know you shouldn't mess with Sweet Tea in the southand no self-respecting southerner will find it sweet enough, but I really like my Healthier Sweet Tea with Honey and Mint.

  OK, I will sneak in a peach dessert but this Quick Peach and Pear Crumble with Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel uses canned peaches, so I feel it's OK. 

 

Note: A review copy of "Where Wild Peaches Grow" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.  

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and learn what other reviewers thought about the book below.

 Reviews:

 Monday, August 15th: @blackbiracialandbookish

Tuesday, August 16th: @karendeeandabc

Wednesday, August 17th: @merewordsinarizona

Thursday, August 18th: @booksnbikram

Friday, August 19th: @hoardingbooks.herdingcats

Saturday, August 20th: @welovebigbooksandwecannotlie

Monday, August 22nd: Lit and Life

Monday, August 22nd: @mississippimomreads

Tuesday, August 23rd: IG: @bookish_afrolatina and TT: @bookish_afrolatina 

Tuesday, August 23rd: @runhideandread

Wednesday, August 24th: @wonderousreads

Thursday, August 25th: @whatkarinareads

Friday, August 26th: @bookn.all.night

Monday, August 29th: Run Wright

Wednesday, August 31st: Eliot’s Eats

Thursday, September 1st: Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, September 6th: Books and Bindings

 

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: "Mr. Perfect on Paper" by Jean Meltzer

Happy Aloha Friday! I'm happy to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer

Publisher's Blurb:

From the author of The Matzah Ball comes a pitch-perfect romcom following a third-generation Jewish matchmaker who unwittingly finds her own search for love thrust into the spotlight…

The perfect Jewish husband should be:

• A doctor or lawyer (preferably a doctor)
• Baggage-free (no previous marriages, no children)
• And of course—he must be Jewish

As the creator and CEO of the popular Jewish dating app J-Mate, matchmaker Dara Rabinowitz knows the formula for lasting love—at least, for everyone else. When it comes to her own love life, she’s been idling indefinitely. Until her beloved bubbe shares Dara’s checklist for “The Perfect Jewish Husband” on national television and charming news anchor Chris Steadfast proposes they turn Dara’s search into must-see TV.

As a non-Jewish single dad, Chris doesn’t check any of Dara’s boxes. But her hunt for Mr. Perfect is the ratings boost his show desperately needs. If only Chris could ignore his own pesky attraction to Dara—a task much easier said than done when Dara starts questioning if “perfect on paper” can compete with how hard she’s falling for Chris…

Publisher: MIRA; Original Edition (August 9, 2022)

Paperback: 416 pages

My Review: 

OK, confession time. I had a really long and busy work week and I only made it through about half of Mr. Perfect on Paper as every time I sat down to read after work, I promptly fell asleep. Not the fault of the book at all; it's a cute and engaging romance. This book is fun with a likable main character. Dara Rabinowitz, is a successful matchmaker and entrepreneur, the creator and CEO of a successful Jewish dating app, but also a bit of a mess with extreme anxiety issues. Her sister and her best friend, her beloved bubble, (grandmother) think she  needs to find a husband. Dara's bubbie shares the list of "The Perfect Jewish Husband" she put together with her sister after a night of drinking on a television talk show which causes a bit of a sensation. The show's host, Chris Steadfast, thinks that profiling Dara and leading the search to find her a perfect Jewish husband is what will save his morning show from cancelation and she reluctantly agrees, hoping it will boost the sales of her app. Sparks begin to fly between Chris, a non-Jewish widower with a young daughter and Dara but he definitely isn't perfect on paper.

It's a romance so I am pretty sure we all know where this book is heading but the journey to get there is. entertaining. I'm going to finish the book this weekend and I'll write the rest of my review then and update this post. Until then, I'll leave you with a couple favorite Jewish recipes below. 

8/14 Update: I just finished the book and really enjoyed it! It's a rom-com but I also felt like I learned a lot about Jewish history and culture from it. Dara was a great relatable main character who I was rooting for. It's a little predictable but gave me many of the feels. I thought I had listened to the author's first book The Matzah Ball, last December but I mistook it for another Jewish rom-com, so I will be looking for it and adding it to my TBR. 

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Author Notes: Jean Meltzer is a nice Jewish girl with a not-so-secret love of Christmas. After a childhood steeped in Jewish tradition, kosher food, loving bubbes, and awkward Jewish summer camp romances, she found her way to NYU Tisch, where she studied dramatic writing and earned numerous awards for her work in television, including a daytime Emmy. She spent five years in rabbinical school, finally discovering the magic of Hanukkah for herself, before her chronic illness forced her to withdraw, and her father told her that she should write a book—just not a Jewish one because no one reads those. The Matzah Ball was her first novel. It combines all of the things she loves: warm and supportive families, tight-knit Jewish communities, Ashkenazi baked goods, big and swoony endings, Jewish shtick and humor, Judaism… and, of course, Christmas.

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Food Inspiration:

There is definitely food in Mr. Perfect on Paper, lots of mentions of traditional Jewish dishes as well as other food. Here are two recipes I have made and enjoyed in the past that I think suit the vibe of the book. 

Ruth Reichl's Matzoh Brei: If you have never made or tried matzoh brei, I highly recommend this simple dish of matzos and eggs. 

These Easy Vegan Potato Latkes from Vegetarian Times are delicious served with applesauce and cashew sour cream.

Note: A review copy of "Mr. Perfect on Paper" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.  

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and learn what other reviewers thought about the book below.

Reviews:

Monday, August 8th: @subakka.bookstuff

Monday, August 8th: @onemused

Tuesday, August 9th: @pocketsized_pageturner

Tuesday, August 9th: @books_n_yogapants

Wednesday, August 10th: @whatkarinareads

Thursday, August 11th: @bookswithnopictures

Friday, August 12th: @runhideandread

Friday, August 12th: Kahakai Kitchen

Monday, August 15th: @plottrysts

Tuesday, August 16th: @brianas_best_reads

Wednesday, August 17th: @books_wine_and_sunshine

Thursday, August 18th: @parksidereads

Friday, August 19th: Books, Cooks, Looks

Monday, August 22nd: @nurse_bookie

Tuesday, August 23rd: @marensreads

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "This Place of Wonder" by Barbara O'Neal, Served with Three Garlic Soup Recipes

Aloha! I am excited to be today's stop on the TLC book tour for This Place of Wonder, a new novel by Barbara O'Neal. Accompanying my review are a few recipes for Garlic Soup, inspired by my reading.

 Publisher's Blurb:

In the wake of a personal tragedy, four women face the past, their futures, and each other in a novel of broken ties and healing by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

When famed chef Augustus Beauvais dies, he leaves behind a celebrated reputation?and four women grappling with loss, anger, pain, and the question of how the world will turn without him…

Meadow, the ex-wife with whom Augustus built an empire–and a family–still holds a place for him in her heart, even as she continues to struggle with his infidelities, which ended their twenty-year marriage. More unforgiving is Maya, his estranged daughter, who’s recently out of rehab but finally ready to reclaim her life. Norah, his latest girlfriend, sidelined her own career for unexpected love and a life of luxury, both of which are now gone with Augustus. And then there’s Rory, Meadow’s daughter, the voice of calm and reason in a chorus of discontent.

As Meadow, Maya, Norah, and Rory are flung together by tragedy, grief, and secrets yet to be revealed, they must accept–or turn away from–the legacy of great intentions and bad decisions Augustus left them. And when the circumstances around his death are called into question, their conflicted feelings become even more complicated. But moving forward is the only choice they have, and to do so, they’ll need to rely on family, friendship, and inner strength.

Set on the stunning, rugged California coastline, This Place of Wonder is an emotional, lush, and empowering story of four women finding their way in a changed world–and what a wondrous journey it will be.

Hardcover: 316 Pages 

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (July 19, 2022) 

 My Review:

I love Barbara O'Neal's books. I think I have read almost all of them and reviewed three here (The Art of Inheriting Secrets, When We Believed in Mermaids, and Write My Name Across the Sky). She writes about families and family dramas, relationships and romance, and often about second chances and characters forging new paths and finding themselves. They are wonderful summer reads and usually contain some delicious food mentions woven into the story. 

This Place of Wonder contains all of the above, about four women according to the blurb (but told from the viewpoints of three of them), all impacted by the life and death of one larger-than-life famous chef. Augustus Beauvais was married to Meadow and together they created a California food empire with a restaurant and a farm. They also created a blended family, his daughter, Maya and her daughter, Rory. Augustus left Maya's addict mother for Meadow and then ultimately cheated on and left Meadow for a string of younger women, lastly Norah, a writer who journeyed to California to meet and write about Meadow and ended up living with and loving Augustus. Maya is in rehab for a drinking problem that reached the tipping point when her husband cheated on her and she burnt their vineyard to the ground. Estranged and bearing resentment for Augustus's betrayal of her and the family, her world is rocked when he suddenly dies. Meadow still loves him and grieves him despite their breakup, and Norah has her settled life with Augustus torn away when Meadow kicks her out of the house to make room for Maya, who leaves her recovery program early with his death. The story is told from their points of view and Rory, happily married with her third child on the way doesn't get to tell her story, but grieves her adopted father heavily. 

There are lots of secrets and family drama which only escalates when the police investigate Augustus's death, believing it was more than a heart attack. I was immediately caught up in the story of the women who loved a very complicated man. Barbara O'Neil's writing is beautiful and evocative whether sh is describing the California coast, a bowl of soup, a growing garden, or a family home. There is romance for one character in the book but the relationship between the women is what stands out and watching them grow. This Place of Wonder is the kind of book that sneaks into your heart as you read it, and it made me wish it was longer so I could spend more time with these strong and endearing women. 

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Author Notes: Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen novels of women’s fiction, including: Write My Name Across the Sky, The Lost Girls of Devon, When We Believed in Mermaids, The Art of Inheriting Secrets, and How to Bake a Perfect Life. Her award-winning books have been published in nearly two dozen countries, including France, England, Poland, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Brazil. Barbara lives in the stunningly beautiful city of Colorado Springs with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent.

Connect with Barbara on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Food Inspiration: There is plenty of food in This Place of Wonder as it centers around a restaurant/farm family. It was a passage about Maya cooking her father's famous garlic soup that made me crave a bowl. 

"...I taste the soup, garlic sprinkled with Parmesan, layered with parsley, and I have to pause and close my eyes." 

Garlic soup is comfort food--simple fare that is restorative and perfect for when you don't want to make a huge effort. Here are three Garlic Soup recipes I love: 

Richard Olney's Garlic Soup, Heidi Swanson's Variation: A lovely bowl of creamy garlic heaven!

Garlic Soup Adapted from Jacques Pépin: Simple and flavorful!

Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup) From Love Soup by Anna Thomas: A few more ingredients but still simple and delicious!

While none of these soups are exactly like the one in the book, they are all like a tasty hug in a bowl.   

Note: A review copy of "This Place of Wonder" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.  

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and learn what other reviewers thought about the book below.

Review Tour Stops: 

Monday, July 11th: @books_wine_and_sunshine

Wednesday, July 13th: @purrfectpages

Friday, July 15th: Living My Best Book Life and @livingmybestbooklife

Monday, July 18th: @books_n_yogapants

Tuesday, July 19th: @booksandcoffeemx

Tuesday, July 19th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Wednesday, July 20th: Reading Reality

Thursday, July 21st: The Baking Bookworm

Friday, July 22nd: @aimeedarsreads

Monday, July 25th: @jenniaahava

Thursday, July 28th: @bookshelfmomma

Friday, July 29th: The Bookish Dilettante

Monday, August 1st: @cmtloveswineandbooks

Wednesday, August 3rd: @kristens.reading.nook

Sunday, August 7th: @welovebigbooksandwecannotlie

Monday, August 8th: 5 Minutes for Books

Friday, August 12th: Girl Who Reads