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The Enchanted Orchards
Deep in the heart of Georgia where the oaks drip with Spanish moss and the scent of peaches wafts through the air, bitter teenager Fern Merris is trying to survive the breathless heat of summer and all the trials and tribulations of a small-town Southern life. But she is haunted by the tragic secret of her sister’s death and even her beloved orchards can’t seem to save her.
Refusing to give into sorrow, a desperate Fern goes in search of the courage she once had in order to live and dream again. She gets more than she bargained for when she finds friendship, understanding—and even love—in unexpected places. Soon, her summer of hopeless grief turns into an enchanted journey of healing that will be life-altering and unforgettable.
Sometimes all of life’s answers can be wrapped up in one hot summer. Especially if peaches are involved…
Refusing to give into sorrow, a desperate Fern goes in search of the courage she once had in order to live and dream again. She gets more than she bargained for when she finds friendship, understanding—and even love—in unexpected places. Soon, her summer of hopeless grief turns into an enchanted journey of healing that will be life-altering and unforgettable.
Sometimes all of life’s answers can be wrapped up in one hot summer. Especially if peaches are involved…
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2012
21 people are currently reading
548 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
January 7, 2015
"Every single day I have missed you. I grieve for the moments we have had together and I long for the moments we will never have."
This book accomplished something not many books can. It has raw and real emotion buried within the pages. It made me laugh and cry and ignore most things until I finished it. I definitely recommend it.
This book accomplished something not many books can. It has raw and real emotion buried within the pages. It made me laugh and cry and ignore most things until I finished it. I definitely recommend it.
December 17, 2016
This is an excellent novel. As the blurb says straight out, it deals a lot with death, and that's a serious subject.
In the first few chapters the book pulls away very slowly, like a heavy-laden freight train, because the story Fern has to share weighs about the same. Small town life in Georgia is very well portrayed, and just about as laid-back as one might expect. That does not mean that there are no secrets, or no tension. Something is very wrong with Fern's family, what's left of it, and there seems to be no way she can find to fix what's broken. Thank heaven for Fancy, who offers to the troubled reader the same refreshing relief she gives to Fern! Bloody Mary, anyone?
The oppressive heat of a Georgia summer persecutes the reader as much as it does Fern, as one follows her odyssey through these pages. Again, Ms. Maddock uses this very effectively in the novel as a whole. The story has a dreamlike quality to it in many places, which I'm fairly confident is intentional on the author's part. (No one writes a book this good by accident.) In these passages we see Fern in a mystical relationship, almost symbiotic, with the peach orchards. There are some short chapters which are journal-like, and often poetic in style. Some of these feature the most outstanding prose in the book.
The story also shares the growth of real love between Fern and her long-time crush (since she was eight), Rocky. This sweetly developing romance pressures Fern to be more urgent in seeking her answers, and someone unexpected provides a key.
Characterization is excellent, and the portrayal of different facets of grief is superb. The plot is straight-forward, but carefully layered, and so it has impressive depth. The pace is just as slow as it needs to be to reflect how one wishes that the weight of summer's heat would pass, but that freight train I mentioned earlier slowly builds up speed until there is such a mass in irrevocable motion that something's just gotta give. The final chapters go by with a rattle and a clatter, bringing the reader not so much to a destination as to a point of departure which will encourage and inspire.
In the first few chapters the book pulls away very slowly, like a heavy-laden freight train, because the story Fern has to share weighs about the same. Small town life in Georgia is very well portrayed, and just about as laid-back as one might expect. That does not mean that there are no secrets, or no tension. Something is very wrong with Fern's family, what's left of it, and there seems to be no way she can find to fix what's broken. Thank heaven for Fancy, who offers to the troubled reader the same refreshing relief she gives to Fern! Bloody Mary, anyone?
The oppressive heat of a Georgia summer persecutes the reader as much as it does Fern, as one follows her odyssey through these pages. Again, Ms. Maddock uses this very effectively in the novel as a whole. The story has a dreamlike quality to it in many places, which I'm fairly confident is intentional on the author's part. (No one writes a book this good by accident.) In these passages we see Fern in a mystical relationship, almost symbiotic, with the peach orchards. There are some short chapters which are journal-like, and often poetic in style. Some of these feature the most outstanding prose in the book.
The story also shares the growth of real love between Fern and her long-time crush (since she was eight), Rocky. This sweetly developing romance pressures Fern to be more urgent in seeking her answers, and someone unexpected provides a key.
Characterization is excellent, and the portrayal of different facets of grief is superb. The plot is straight-forward, but carefully layered, and so it has impressive depth. The pace is just as slow as it needs to be to reflect how one wishes that the weight of summer's heat would pass, but that freight train I mentioned earlier slowly builds up speed until there is such a mass in irrevocable motion that something's just gotta give. The final chapters go by with a rattle and a clatter, bringing the reader not so much to a destination as to a point of departure which will encourage and inspire.
September 6, 2012
The Enchanted Orchards by Kristine Maddock is a sweet and tender story of love, loss, and spritual revival.
The main character, Fern, has just the right balance of honesty, integrity, vulnerability, and wit. Her sassy best friend, Fancy, provides the perfect counterpoint.
The summer in Calcutta is hot, Fern is searching for answers to tough questions, and the peach orchards are a haven of beauty and mystery. Highly recommend.
The main character, Fern, has just the right balance of honesty, integrity, vulnerability, and wit. Her sassy best friend, Fancy, provides the perfect counterpoint.
The summer in Calcutta is hot, Fern is searching for answers to tough questions, and the peach orchards are a haven of beauty and mystery. Highly recommend.
August 2, 2012
Fun and easy read. Love all the characters and wish I could meet them. This story elicits many emotions and kept me thinking of it long after reading. Kind of steel magnolias meets nicholas sparks:) Look forward to the next novel.
September 10, 2012
The Enchanted Orchards had me at the prologue. It's this tiny thing—not even a page—yet Kristin Maddock has your heart aching before you get to Chapter One.
Then it struck me. I've read a book that hurt so much to read in that first instance. Fans of Rosamund Lupton (Sister and Afterwards) and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards will, guaranteed, be left sleepless whilst reading The Enchanted Orchards.
Let me describe. This book is genius, yet easy to read for hours at a time. The message Kristin spills onto every page about death not defining how people live after suffering such loss is just ... magical. It's magical that she can make you feel that sense you've actually lost someone—that empty, angry, guilty distant-from-everyone-else feeling.
The Enchanted Orchards is many things. It's a self-help for those struggling to find who they were, who they feel they should be after losing someone. It's watching your heart break page after page. It's a warming love story. It's a story about how humans are living without life when too focused on the death.
Most of all, this story feels like my past memory, and something I'll forever treasure, and always keep in mind for the rest of my life.
Fern, the main character, is too easy to fall into. That's the trouble with this novel. She speaks directly to you, and you love it or hate it. Let me tell you, this isn't someone else's story. The Enchanted Orchards is already within your heart from the moment you open it.
Fern's pain, grief, loss and misplaced feelings towards her sister's, Lily's, death is yours and you ride this journey with Fern meeting Rocky, who should be her match made in heaven; with her best friend, Fancy, who's old enough to be her grandma in biological years, but is an eighteen-year-old in her heart; and with the parents who live quiet, mechanical lives, living each day because it'll come and go regardless, while Fern is forgotten and left to drown in her own grief and trauma about Lily who's forever changed her family's lives.
Best of all, this novel is also about love romantically (Fern and Rocky) and platonically (Fern and Fancy), and will make you as giddy in love as it will be raw through troughs of rip-your-heart-out sadness.
I can't praise this book enough.
Then it struck me. I've read a book that hurt so much to read in that first instance. Fans of Rosamund Lupton (Sister and Afterwards) and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards will, guaranteed, be left sleepless whilst reading The Enchanted Orchards.
Let me describe. This book is genius, yet easy to read for hours at a time. The message Kristin spills onto every page about death not defining how people live after suffering such loss is just ... magical. It's magical that she can make you feel that sense you've actually lost someone—that empty, angry, guilty distant-from-everyone-else feeling.
The Enchanted Orchards is many things. It's a self-help for those struggling to find who they were, who they feel they should be after losing someone. It's watching your heart break page after page. It's a warming love story. It's a story about how humans are living without life when too focused on the death.
Most of all, this story feels like my past memory, and something I'll forever treasure, and always keep in mind for the rest of my life.
Fern, the main character, is too easy to fall into. That's the trouble with this novel. She speaks directly to you, and you love it or hate it. Let me tell you, this isn't someone else's story. The Enchanted Orchards is already within your heart from the moment you open it.
Fern's pain, grief, loss and misplaced feelings towards her sister's, Lily's, death is yours and you ride this journey with Fern meeting Rocky, who should be her match made in heaven; with her best friend, Fancy, who's old enough to be her grandma in biological years, but is an eighteen-year-old in her heart; and with the parents who live quiet, mechanical lives, living each day because it'll come and go regardless, while Fern is forgotten and left to drown in her own grief and trauma about Lily who's forever changed her family's lives.
Best of all, this novel is also about love romantically (Fern and Rocky) and platonically (Fern and Fancy), and will make you as giddy in love as it will be raw through troughs of rip-your-heart-out sadness.
I can't praise this book enough.
August 29, 2013
I always have a little trouble falling in love with the first person perspective. If the story is strong enough to draw me in, however, I find that I can get past my issues and really enjoy the book. After I got used to the way the narrator switches from what's going on in her life to talking to her sister, I really began to fall for the telling of the tale. There's tons of really beautiful prose in the book that adds magic and poignancy to both the setting and the characters. This book was really about the struggle for the spirituality and renewal of the characters in the long run.
There was an interesting list of characters. Everyone was just a little quirky, which just made it seem all the more real. Just when I was starting to lose patience with the main characters, things began to happen. I really enjoyed Kristin Maddock's writing, and the plotline. And as a writer, I envied her the gift of writing a story that centered so much on the setting. If she based it on a real place, I'd love to visit there some not-so-hot end of summer day.
There was an interesting list of characters. Everyone was just a little quirky, which just made it seem all the more real. Just when I was starting to lose patience with the main characters, things began to happen. I really enjoyed Kristin Maddock's writing, and the plotline. And as a writer, I envied her the gift of writing a story that centered so much on the setting. If she based it on a real place, I'd love to visit there some not-so-hot end of summer day.
September 13, 2012
This book describes what a loss of a loved one (in this case a sister/daughter) must feel like in depth. I spent more than 1/2 the book wondering if the main character, Fern, would EVER pull out of it (I'm not trying to be insensitive, I swear!). I almost put it down a couple of times, but decided to keep reading because the author did keep me hooked wondering what exactly did happen to Fern's sister. Plus, I'm a sucker for young love and that part story also kept me reading. Ultimately it was o.k. and I'm glad I hung in there.
July 31, 2012
The book starts out with really strong imagery and mystery. It catches your attention and holds it till the last word. The characters were amazing (especially Fancy). The plot was different than what I expected and I loved that. The book also made me laugh and cry a few times. All in all a really great read.
February 1, 2013
At first, I didn't fall for this book - but when I did, I fell so hard it would have broken a glass table (had I been standing on one).
Milljay perfectly captures the grieving progress in a world that is painted perfectly. Her characters are complex and all so believable I was very sad to let them go.
A book that will stay with me forever.
Milljay perfectly captures the grieving progress in a world that is painted perfectly. Her characters are complex and all so believable I was very sad to let them go.
A book that will stay with me forever.
March 2, 2013
This book was so good, I cannot even begin to explain how it drew me in. It was beautifully written, the descriptions of the orchards - I felt like I was there. I love love love this book. I just finished it last night and want to re-read it today.
November 17, 2013
A compelling read about letting go of grief and finding yourself after the loss of someone dear to your heart through the eyes of a teenager who has lost her younger sister who was also her best friend.
August 4, 2012
It's ok. Not my cup of tea but still a well written book about what it takes to get over something horribly tragic.
August 14, 2012
Amazing. I laughed and cried.
October 26, 2012
Wow...this book will make you cry...this book will make you laugh. It is now one of my favorite reads and I highly recommend it!
December 23, 2020
Summer Magic
Growing up in a small town, I completely understand the potential of long summer days and warm summer nights. Fern is trying to figure out how to go on living without her sister and that summertime feeling helps. I wasn't really sure initially where this book was heading, but I enjoyed the journey.
Growing up in a small town, I completely understand the potential of long summer days and warm summer nights. Fern is trying to figure out how to go on living without her sister and that summertime feeling helps. I wasn't really sure initially where this book was heading, but I enjoyed the journey.
August 18, 2018
A compelling tale of love and loss and the journey of a young girl to find herself again. I loved every part of this story and would definitely recommend it! I’m craving peaches!
April 10, 2019
What a hidden gem. This was on my kindle for free. I had downloaded it years ago. Superb!
October 16, 2020
Lots of feels!
A great read with lots of feels. We’ve all had loss, how do we recover, how do we go on?
A great read with lots of feels. We’ve all had loss, how do we recover, how do we go on?
February 1, 2015
I downloaded this book because the premise intrigued me: A young woman and her family dealing with the aftermath of the death of the younger daughter.
A year ago, Fern's younger sister, Lily, drowned in a pond near their rural Georgia home. In the year since, their father spends all his time at work and their mother spends all her time cleaning and reading the Bible: "Her days consist of a thousand scriptures and a bottle of Clorox." And Fern herself didn't return to college; instead, she remained home with her parents and her grief. She doesn't socialize much, but unlike her mother, who refuses to leave the house except to go to church, Fern visits regularly with an older neighbor, Fancy, who is every Southern Belle stereotype imaginable rolled into one flamboyant package. Fancy is fun, and good for Fern. But Fancy has issues of her own.
The story starts out beautifully, almost lyrically:
And:
Okay, both those paragraphs could use a little editing, but do you see what I mean? There's good stuff in there. But then we start getting this:
And this:
And so on and so on throughout the rest of the book.
If I hadn't liked our narrator and the rest of the characters so much, I'd have given up before getting to the 25% mark. But the story itself is good, and there are bits and pieces of some fine writing in here. Unfortunately, it's all mixed up with the plethora of not-so-fine bits. This is a failing with nearly all of the self-published novels I've read: they suffer from a desperate need for a good editor and an anal-retentive proofreader.
A year ago, Fern's younger sister, Lily, drowned in a pond near their rural Georgia home. In the year since, their father spends all his time at work and their mother spends all her time cleaning and reading the Bible: "Her days consist of a thousand scriptures and a bottle of Clorox." And Fern herself didn't return to college; instead, she remained home with her parents and her grief. She doesn't socialize much, but unlike her mother, who refuses to leave the house except to go to church, Fern visits regularly with an older neighbor, Fancy, who is every Southern Belle stereotype imaginable rolled into one flamboyant package. Fancy is fun, and good for Fern. But Fancy has issues of her own.
The story starts out beautifully, almost lyrically:
It was sunshine that liked you best. It followed you wherever you went, turning to you like the sunflowers turn their faces to the sky. With your obsidian hair and ivory skin, you were like an ethereal sunlit goddess, too beautiful and too perfect for this world.
And:
You didn't leave me utterly alone. Still, there are times I forget that detail. It feels odd to think there are others with me in the house. But there are. I have two parents and I suppose in a way they disappeared the same day you did. Though here in form, their bodies are like empty, listless shells. Something inside them has been extinguished and they move about like shadows, dull fragments of their former selves. It isn't a particularly large house, but apparently it is big enough for three people to lose each other in.
Okay, both those paragraphs could use a little editing, but do you see what I mean? There's good stuff in there. But then we start getting this:
I scrape the remaining bit of pie into the trash very conspicuously so that Luanne and the other cooks won't see...
And this:
He makes me weak in the knees, he makes it hard to breath...
And so on and so on throughout the rest of the book.
If I hadn't liked our narrator and the rest of the characters so much, I'd have given up before getting to the 25% mark. But the story itself is good, and there are bits and pieces of some fine writing in here. Unfortunately, it's all mixed up with the plethora of not-so-fine bits. This is a failing with nearly all of the self-published novels I've read: they suffer from a desperate need for a good editor and an anal-retentive proofreader.
May 26, 2014
This is the story of Fern, an 18 year old girl who we first meet several months after the death of her sister Lily. It tells how Fern, and her parents, are struggling to come to terms with, accept and move on from Lily's death. The story is told in Fern's voice, as a series of monologues to her sister. With the exception of Fern's parents, who were a bit "cardboard cut-out" and very much in the background of the story for most of the book, I liked most of the characters, especially Fancy - the larger than life southern belle who I pictured in my mind as a Dolly Parton type figure.
I found the book extremely hard going unfortunately as it very quickly became very repetitive. It seems that on every page we are reminded by the author that Fern misses her sister and, indeed, nearly every other chapter is just Fern reminiscing or philosophising to Lily about death and how much she misses her. Whilst it is beautifully written it soon became very boring to be honest and I found myself skimming through chapters to try and get back to the story of what is happening to Fern now, and how she is - slowly and unwillingly - starting to learn to live again. Unfortunately it didn't make me emphasise with Fern at all, I ended up just wanting to shake her and tell her to get her act together. Without meaning to sound heartless, although it is a book about the grieving process - it is also a work of fiction - page after page of plain misery just doesn't make for a gripping read. At some points, I was putting the kindle down and really avoiding picking it up again.
To sum up, with fewer chapters consisting of nothing but philosophising about death, and a cull of the constant reminders that Lily is dead it would be a much improved book. The reader knows that Fern is grieving and doesn't need constant reminding - just let the story flow of how she and her parents move on from the death. As it stands, it is rather boring and just plain depressing unfortunately.
I found the book extremely hard going unfortunately as it very quickly became very repetitive. It seems that on every page we are reminded by the author that Fern misses her sister and, indeed, nearly every other chapter is just Fern reminiscing or philosophising to Lily about death and how much she misses her. Whilst it is beautifully written it soon became very boring to be honest and I found myself skimming through chapters to try and get back to the story of what is happening to Fern now, and how she is - slowly and unwillingly - starting to learn to live again. Unfortunately it didn't make me emphasise with Fern at all, I ended up just wanting to shake her and tell her to get her act together. Without meaning to sound heartless, although it is a book about the grieving process - it is also a work of fiction - page after page of plain misery just doesn't make for a gripping read. At some points, I was putting the kindle down and really avoiding picking it up again.
To sum up, with fewer chapters consisting of nothing but philosophising about death, and a cull of the constant reminders that Lily is dead it would be a much improved book. The reader knows that Fern is grieving and doesn't need constant reminding - just let the story flow of how she and her parents move on from the death. As it stands, it is rather boring and just plain depressing unfortunately.
August 9, 2013
I have never felt so satisfied and yet confused at the same time after completing a book. Kristin's style of writing this book works perfectly for her subject matter, working with a semi-flow of consciousness, where some chapters may only be one paragraph about a dream that the main character had, in between 2 chapters of the actual plot. However, for me, this book, while being extremely realistic, was also completely unrealistic, causing my internal confusion. The situation, setting, and characters are all unbelievably real, but there were some details that threw me off completely. For example, some of the main character's thoughts about her love interest contained a Twilight level of stupidity and ridiculousness. Also, she runs away with him in the end, and with her family finally deciding to fix the problems between their family, and knowing the characters of her mother and father, I feel that they probably would not have allowed her to go in reality. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer the ending written in the book, I just feel that it is very unrealistic.
Although occasionally feeling the realism of the book was being ruined with occasional details, I did greatly enjoy this story, and would recommend it to anyone dealing with depression because the story contains great inspiration for learning how to believe in yourself.
Although occasionally feeling the realism of the book was being ruined with occasional details, I did greatly enjoy this story, and would recommend it to anyone dealing with depression because the story contains great inspiration for learning how to believe in yourself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2013
This book started off really depressing. I almost put it back on a "shelf" for a while having just come off a book with a happy ending, but I pressed on. Fern was an interesting character to relate to. There were times where you could feel her pain, and having the whole book told from her perspective as if she were telling her dead sister made it all the easier to relate to. But having never experienced the loss that she is wrestling with, I couldn't understand how frustrating it was for her to want to be happy but not feeling like she was capable of it. The character interactions were wonderful and I love how Rocky Lee was there to "catch her when she falls" through the whole book. And his final push was telling her that he doesn't want to just catch her, he wants to help pick her back up too was one of the sweetest things I've read, and also one of the most heartfelt character moments I've read in a while. It felt nice to read a book that wasn't 100% a romance novel. The love story wasn't the main focus and it felt nice to have that bit of a change.
October 6, 2012
I wasn't sure I was going to like this at first. The first person narrative usually doesn't bother me, but I found this a little harder to adjust to. Eventually though I came to appreciate it, and realized how well it worked to convey the emotions of the main character Fern.
In a nutshell, this book is about a 19 year old girl dealing with the loss of her sister. But she's also dealing with the emotional disconnect within her family as a result of this loss. The relationship that evolves between Fern and Rocky is sweet, though I wasn't so sure about it at first. I'm very glad there was no second love interest, as I was afraid there was going to be for a time.
I gave this 3 stars, but it was closer to 3.5 for me. The emotions were very well done in this book, and I found it funny, sweet, and heartbreakingly sad. I'm glad I found this in the kindle store and went with it.
September 25, 2013
I absolutely LOVED this book! It pulls you in from the start. Fern is searching for answers to death Why? Where do we go when we die? Fern is a strong minded girl and doesn't just take everyone's polite answers to death as truth nor do they comfort her. I love that about her.. she knows there is more to it.
I absolutely loved this book. I'm not usually drawn to this type of book.. (more mystery/thriller) but I found I couldn't really put this book down until I was finished with it. I fell in love with all the characters.. in fact I don't know I could pick a favorite if I had to. I would almost lean towards the Rev.. a smaller part he may have of the story line but leaves the biggest impact. I have not been able to look at a peach and not think of this book. Am so excited for more from Kristin Maddock!
I absolutely loved this book. I'm not usually drawn to this type of book.. (more mystery/thriller) but I found I couldn't really put this book down until I was finished with it. I fell in love with all the characters.. in fact I don't know I could pick a favorite if I had to. I would almost lean towards the Rev.. a smaller part he may have of the story line but leaves the biggest impact. I have not been able to look at a peach and not think of this book. Am so excited for more from Kristin Maddock!
January 5, 2015
My Full Review can be found on my blog
http://priscillasbookshelf.weebly.com...
This is a book about love but not necessarily the romantic kind. I really love when I come across a book that shows a different version of what the heart feels and was really excited to dig into the book. This is a story about love but within the first few pages i realized that it was going to be a happy story. In fact it was really sad and depressing but it was also interesting and intriguing at the same time. I kept reading because i kept getting a glance of something peeping through the pages and i had to know if what i thought was going to be what the author had written. It was a true coming of age story with the back drop of tragedy. The love for a sibling is strong and this story showed it wonderfully.
http://priscillasbookshelf.weebly.com...
This is a book about love but not necessarily the romantic kind. I really love when I come across a book that shows a different version of what the heart feels and was really excited to dig into the book. This is a story about love but within the first few pages i realized that it was going to be a happy story. In fact it was really sad and depressing but it was also interesting and intriguing at the same time. I kept reading because i kept getting a glance of something peeping through the pages and i had to know if what i thought was going to be what the author had written. It was a true coming of age story with the back drop of tragedy. The love for a sibling is strong and this story showed it wonderfully.
January 13, 2014
I loved this book. The style of writing is both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Its a very dark book, dealing very heavily with death and loss. I love how the author can write a beautiful paragraph filled with hope, but then the last sentence changes the entire mood immediately. Loved this author's style and want to read more.
Quote "I begin to realize how completely absurd it is that something as trivial as a watermelon can bring forth your ghostly presence in a world in which you no longer exist."
"You are always in my head, a constant form of solace and torture."
"Since you have been gone people have been filling my head with all kinds of words and thoughts and scriptures. But I am not so easily comforted."
Quote "I begin to realize how completely absurd it is that something as trivial as a watermelon can bring forth your ghostly presence in a world in which you no longer exist."
"You are always in my head, a constant form of solace and torture."
"Since you have been gone people have been filling my head with all kinds of words and thoughts and scriptures. But I am not so easily comforted."
February 26, 2015
The Enchanted Orchards was a different read for me, never the less I did fall in love with the characters and the story. The tragedy brought light, growth, anger, much grief, and finally love.
Fancy had me in tears laughing most of the time and to be honest I was more drawn to her then Fern at the beginning.
Oh and Rocky Lee... Please just let me sit in that mans truck and admire him for awhile!
The beginning was a little redundant and I was a little flustered because you had to read on for a little to fully understand Fern's loss and understand the depth of her pain. But once she started to break out of her shell I loved the sass that she showed!
This book really does teach you valuable lessons and is definitely worth reading!!!
Fancy had me in tears laughing most of the time and to be honest I was more drawn to her then Fern at the beginning.
Oh and Rocky Lee... Please just let me sit in that mans truck and admire him for awhile!
The beginning was a little redundant and I was a little flustered because you had to read on for a little to fully understand Fern's loss and understand the depth of her pain. But once she started to break out of her shell I loved the sass that she showed!
This book really does teach you valuable lessons and is definitely worth reading!!!
April 21, 2013
I have read lots of romances lately. They are cute and sweet but I love this author for her different style and how she wrote this book. The style hurt to read but in a good way because I haven't felt so strongly about a book in ages.
Fern is great to read. She doesn't do annoying things like many do like being a hypocrite and saying this but doing that and going back and forward with her choices as many females tend to do. The writing took a few pages to get in to but then I was hooked!
This book is a beautiful, tender story too. Although it's surrounded by death there is a beautiful love story and it will stay with me forever. Thank you, Kristin Maddock!
Read it!!!
Fern is great to read. She doesn't do annoying things like many do like being a hypocrite and saying this but doing that and going back and forward with her choices as many females tend to do. The writing took a few pages to get in to but then I was hooked!
This book is a beautiful, tender story too. Although it's surrounded by death there is a beautiful love story and it will stay with me forever. Thank you, Kristin Maddock!
Read it!!!
July 15, 2015
I was pretty excited about this free Kindle book, but as always, it turned out to be a disappointment.
This is a story about Fern, a sister who is grieving after her sister's suicide. Fern claims to be severely depressed and withdrawn, but from what I understand about depression the author's got it all wrong. In any event, the book continues on in the most predictable way possible- Fern falls in love and pulls out of her depression, and they all live happily ever after.
I really wish the author would have focused more on the suicide and the reasons behind it, not just that it happened. I think that may have improved the story a little. Either way, not that impressed. Eh.
This is a story about Fern, a sister who is grieving after her sister's suicide. Fern claims to be severely depressed and withdrawn, but from what I understand about depression the author's got it all wrong. In any event, the book continues on in the most predictable way possible- Fern falls in love and pulls out of her depression, and they all live happily ever after.
I really wish the author would have focused more on the suicide and the reasons behind it, not just that it happened. I think that may have improved the story a little. Either way, not that impressed. Eh.
September 2, 2013
You might see this book labeled as a romance, and yes, there is definitely a romance (or two or three), but it is so much more that. The Enchanted orchards is a story about searching for meaning in the death of someone you love more than life. It is the story of coming to grips with the fact that you might never find know the meaning of their death, but that you can find strength will to let go, move on, and keep living.
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