Beneath the Apple Blossom

The Hopeful Years #1

by Kate Frost

Four women. One affair. Four lives entwined.

All Pippa's ever wanted is marriage and kids, but at thirty-four and about to embark on IVF, her dream of having a family is far from certain. Her younger sister Georgie has the opposite problem, juggling her career, her lover, a young daughter and a husband who wants baby number two.

Pippa's best friend Sienna has a successful career in the film world, and despite her boyfriend pressurising her to settle down, a baby is the last thing she wants. Happily married Connie shares the trauma of fertility treatment with Pippa, but underestimates the impact being unable to conceive will have on her and her marriage.

As their lives collide in a way they could never have predicted, will any of them get to see their hopes realised?

Genres: Fiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2016

About the author

Kate Frost has wanted to be an author ever since she wrote her first novel during the long months she spent off school following open heart surgery when she was seven. The novel was called London's Burning and was a time travel story set during the Great Fire of London.

Over the years Kate has worked in a cinema, a bookshop, a factory and as a part time lecturer at Bath Spa University teaching lifewriting to Creative Writing undergraduates. She's also worked as ground staff at Edgebaston Tennis Tournament, as a Virgin Vie consultant and as a Supporting Artist in the films Vanity Fair, King Arthur and The Duchess.

Kate has a MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and has had articles and short stories published in The London Magazine, New Welsh Review and QWF. She now works as a freelance writer/author and lives in the UK with her husband, her son and their dog.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

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[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In it we meet four very different women who have very different lives and very different hopes for their futures and the story follows these four woman as they face the many highs and lows that beset their lives.

Pippa is thirty four and has been trying for a baby with husband Clive for over 3 years and is about to embark on IVF treatment for the first time. A family is all Pippa has ever wanted and IVF is her last chance at achieving her dreams.
For her sister Georgie, married young and pregnant within a few years of being married, it is a different story. She loves her daughter Daisy but also resents that she has to give time to her when she could be pursuing a great career in advertising. Her husband is pressuring her to have another baby and Georgie is not ready and not sure she ever will be.
Pippa's best friend Sienna is another for whom marriage and a child are low on the agenda. She loves her job and her boyfriend but values her independence and nothing would make her give up her high flying career in the film industry, even when boyfriend Ashton wants more.
And finally Connie, who is also undergoing fertility treatment. She and Pippa become friendly through an online fertility group, sharing their experiences. Connie's husband is the infertile one but Connie is the one who has to go through the treatment in their quest to become pregnant.
Life is a mystery and none of these four women know what is in store for them but there are more than a few surprises and plenty of disappointments.

Fertility is a very delicate subject, everyone knows someone who has fertility problems and so probably has some broad idea about what it means but this book does a fabulous job of, not just telling a story, but educating the reader about the nitty-gritty of fertility treatment. It is plain to see, during the reading of this novel, that a great deal of thought and research has gone into it to make it very true and sympathetic, so it comes as no great surprise that the author herself underwent fertility treatment and is now, happily, the mother of a little boy. The pain, despair and longing she writes about in Pippa's and Connie's stories are tangible; you'd have to have a very hard heart not to feel their anguish and want their dreams to come true. The more I read, the more involved I became with their hopes and fears and when hopes came to a big, fat bloody nothing, I really felt for them and it really brought home the fact that this happens day after day after day in real life. And yet, Connie and Pippa carry on, never giving up, wondering if there will come a day when they have to face the reality that they will never have a child of their own.

Of course, there is very much an opposite to wanting a child and that is not wanting one. Another taboo subject which Kate Frost writes about with as much empathy and knowledge as she does the urge to have one, and one in which I was equally enthralled. In Sienna and Georgie, Kate Frost has created two very different characters, one has had a child she has struggled to bond with and emphatically does not want that experience again, and the other never wants a child to get in the way of her life. Each situation leads to difficult decisions as it becomes clear that their choices affect not just themselves but their partners and their commitments to them.

Although the book is focused on the four women and their choices, their men do get a look in and again Kate Frost writes a very clear and insightful portrayal of their feelings about having children, wanting children and not being able to have children. If you think men can't get broody and don't have a natural urge to have children, think again. The partners of the women, Clive, Felix, Ashton and Nathan have a variety of emotions and feelings as to what it means to have or not have a family.

Kate Frost has written very realistic characters for her book; characters who have flaws and faults and behave just like anyone would. They are not always likable or admirable but they are relatable and you can at least understand the reasons for some of their actions even if you don't agree with them. I absolutely got involved in their lives and the more I read the more enthralled I was, not least because the writing was fresh and interesting and I just wanted to keep following their stories. Subject wise, I found it fascinating; I often found myself thinking about people I know who have been through fertility treatment, thinking that I never really knew what it involved and wondering how much or little they had kept to themselves. It has been very eye opening and informative.


I am hoping that we might see more of Connie, Pippa, Sienna and Georgie and get to find out what happens next. Their lives seems so real with stories that could be continued......maybe? I hope so because this has been one of the most refreshing books I have read this year for it's subject and depth of feeling and knowledge. It's really touched me and I hope that you will all buy it, read it and be as moved as I was.

[Wall-to-wall books - wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Wow, this book got into my head! I have to be honest, I wasn't so sure at first. It started real slow for me and I didn't think I was going to like it. Then 1/3 of the way through it did a full 180. I think I read the whole last half without stopping. I didn't think it would be possible to base a whole book only on pregnancy - but Kate Frost not only did it but successfully kept it interesting.

You have three women (well 4 really). One disparately wanting to have a baby and going through IVF (several times) along with another woman she meets online. Another so desperately trying not to have a baby or relationship. And yet another who gets pregnant after giving up on her marriage and is now unsure who the father is. So much stress and drama! To me this was like a season of Mistresses! The good news - I love Mistresses!

Excellent character development. I really liked all the women. There wasn't one that I didn't like and yet they were all so different. And I could really understand what they were going through. I sympathized with one. They were all trying to do what was right for them. Wanting a baby or not wanting one isn't right or wrong - it is different for everyone.

This story was very heartfelt. I loved sharing in these women's stories. I'm glad I got to know them.
This is a very emotion driven story. It did focus a lot on pregnancy but also was about marriage, love, friendships, and just finding out who you are and what you want in life.

I do hope I get to read the next book in the series!
Thank you Kate for sending me a copy of your book for my honest review!

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath the Apple Blossom is, in many ways, a very modern story which highlights the predicament of four very different women who try to juggle work, relationships and the pressure of commitment. It’s also about the anguish of infertility and the effect this has on a relationship, particularly when things don’t go as planned.

I enjoyed reading the story from the different viewpoints of Pippa, Georgie, Sienna and Connie and even though all of their stories are quite different, there is a common theme which runs throughout and which pulls the focus of the book together. The author has done a good job of combining their stories together, whilst at the same time keeping their individual stories entirely unique. I liked a couple of the women more than others, but I think highlighting their faults and foibles makes them believable and this is what makes the story work so well.

The author writes convincingly about the emotional cost of motherhood, about the worries of infertility, the temptation of infidelity, and ultimately of the heart-breaking choices that some women have to make in order to be happy with themselves.

[Elizabeth Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a great book. Main character Pippa begins writing a blog about her attempt to get pregnant and begin fertility treatments. Through the blog, she meets a friend named Connie, who is also trying for a baby. Meanwhile Pippa's sister, Georgie, is trying to fight off her husband's attempts for them to have a second. She feels overwhelmed by the one she already has and thinks it all happened too young. Pippa's best friend, Sienna, never wants children, although her boyfriend wants marriage and a family. All of these ladies go through a journey of difficult circumstances (through their own making or otherwise) and come out the other side with storms weathered and lessons learned.

I loved the hope that was present in this book, even as each woman's life wasn't turning out the way they expected it to. I also loved the lessons and examples of friendship. I think any woman can really relate to what the characters are experiencing and that feeling of being "stuck." It was an engaging story, despite the serious topics covered. I would highly recommend this books to those who love women's fiction.

[Emily Wrayburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted on A Keyboard and an Open Mind 26 June 2017:

The experiences depicted in this book are worlds away from any experience I have had, and worlds away from what I usually read, and yet I found myself unable to put it down (I’m starting this review at 12:54am after staying up to finish it, because I’m still thinking about it, and wide awake).

Beneath the Apple Blossom depicts the lives of four women with four very different experiences of motherhood and the journey towards it. Pippa and Connie meet online through a forum for women undergoing IVF and bond through the ups and downs of treatment. Georgie feels she had her first child too young, and isn’t ready for the second one her husband clearly wants. And Sienna has her heart set on never having kids, when her life is thrown into turmoil…

Frost presents these four women and their stories without any judgement, leaving the reader to form their own opinions. I think this is an advantage of the novel, as seeing the way things panned out and the way the characters reacted to events and to each other was what made me want to keep reading. I didn’t always agree with the choices the characters made, but I couldn’t really fault any of them for making them (well, maybe sometimes, but only a bit).

The only real qualm I had with the novel was that sometimes the characters’ thoughts got a bit repetitive. While I can appreciate that women going through the sorts of things that these characters are would have quite cyclical thoughts, as a reader, I sometimes found that returning to the same “Why did it have to happen this way? What am I going to do now?” trains of thought chapter after chapter became a bit stale.

I definitely recommend this book, even if motherhood and constant talk of babies isn’t really your thing (it’s not mine). This gives insight into the struggles all sorts of women go through, as well as identifying those “what not to do” moments for the rest of us (I already knew this, but for anyone else, don’t say “You can always adopt”, no matter how good your intentions are by it). After giving five stars to Kate’s debut novel, The Butterfly Storm, a few years ago, I was fairly confident I would enjoy this one, and she does not disappoint.

[Kerstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beneath the Apple Blossom" erzählt eine Geschichte, in der Mutterschaft in verschiedenen Formen eine entscheidende Rolle spielt. Es geht um Pippa und Connie, die beide mithilfe von künstlicher Befruchtung versuchen, ein lang ersehntes Kind zu bekommen, jedoch auch um Sienna, die auf keinen Fall Mutter sein will und Georgie, die ihre Tochter zwar liebt, aber mit ihrem Leben und ihrer Ehe trotzdem nicht glücklich ist. Der Leser begleitet die vier Frauen über den Zeitraum von etwas weniger als zwei Jahren und verfolgt, wie ihr Leben sich entwickelt und dass nicht immer alles so verläuft, wie sie es erhofft oder geplant hatten.

Die Protagonistinnen sind sehr unterschiedlich und haben Ziele, Hoffnungen und Träume, die teilweise kaum gegensätzlicher sein könnten, doch sowohl Siennas Wunsch nach Kinderlosigkeit als auch Pippas und Connies Sehnsucht nach einem Baby wurden als völlig normal und absolut nachvollziehbar dargestellt, was mir sehr gefallen hat. Aus diesem Grund muss ich sagen, dass ich nicht hundertprozentig glücklich damit war, wie sich einer der Handlungsstränge entwickelt hat, selbst wenn er gut zu dem übergreifenden Thema und der Unvorhersehbarkeit des Lebens passt und ich verstehen konnte, wieso die Autorin diese Entscheidung getroffen hat. Dennoch kam es mir irgendwie so vor, als würde die Botschaft hinter der Geschichte ein wenig untergraben werden, was ich schade fand, da die Umsetzung davon abgesehen sehr gelungen war.

Die vier Frauen waren mir weitgehend sympathisch und es war leicht, mit ihnen zu fühlen, allerdings hatte ich ein paar Probleme mit Georgie und konnte ihre Entscheidungen, gerade in Bezug auf ihre Affäre, nicht immer verstehen. Deshalb habe ich ihre Kapitel vergleichsweise ungern gelesen und die Geschichten der anderen Protagonistinnen konnten mich viel mehr fesseln und auch bewegen. Die Charaktere müssen einiges erleiden und Tiefpunkte überwinden, was zu aufwühlenden, emotionalen Momente führt. Ich fand besonders toll, dass die künstliche Befruchtung realistisch dargestellt wurde und man gesehen hat, wie zerreißend der Versuch, auf diesem Weg schwanger zu werden, für die Frauen und ihre Partner sein konnte. Frost hat hier nichts beschönigt, ist aber sehr einfühlsam mit den harten Realitäten umgegangen. Man hofft und bangt mit den Figuren und will unbedingt, dass sich ihre Wünsche erfüllen, sodass man bei jedem Rückschlag mit ihnen leidet. Die Geschichte ist jedoch nicht deprimierend, da es zugleich auch hoffnungsvolle und schöne Momente gibt.

"Beneath the Apple Blossom" bekommt von mir 4 Sterne. Ich fand die Geschichte sehr emotional, die Charaktere sind gut ausgearbeitet und es war interessant zu verfolgen, wie sich die einzelnen Handlungsstränge entwickelt haben.

[Ritu Bhathal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book!
Having been through fertility struggles of my own, it was amazing how I related to a lot of the issues faced by 2 of the main characters in this book.
It's very true, that as much as some women crave to be mothers, there are those that really don't feel it's for them, and this book explored both sides of the same coin.
The realistic writing brought back some painful memories for me, but also that sense of camaraderie that I too felt in a very special online forum that I had also joined while trying to conceive.

[Devonna Bess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think I would like this book when I started but I devoured it. It tells a story of four women, with completely different lives and completely different desires. Two desperately want to have children, one desperately wants to avoid commitment and children, and another who has one child, doesn't want any more and is tired of her husband.

Their lives intermingle in ways that you would't imagine when beginning to read. Well done Kate Frost!

[Jane Ramsell]

As a happily childfree person through choice, I found this book really fascinating and compelling - seeing the varying viewpoints of the four main characters and how they developed.

I adore Kate's beautiful, descriptive writing style and this didn't disappoint on that front either. I found myself really caring about the characters and willing them to get good news, from whatever angle they approached fertility.

A thoroughly enjoyable book ❤️

[Martha Graham-Waldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and Real

In Beneath the Apple Blossom, Kate Frost has woven a tale of women's lives interconnected by fertility and relationship struggles. It is real and poignant throughout, including happy as well as unhappy endings for the characters. It was a pleasure to read and I look forward to enjoying more of her novels.

[Greg Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath the Apple blossom

A good read for people who are in to the series recommend highly can't wait for the next one of the series a really enjoyable read but quick shaping up to be a enjoyable series must read the next one of the series some stories are better than others but enjoyable shaping up to be a enjoyable read

[Bj Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim and I am so glad I did. This is one of the most relatable books I have ever read and the emotions of the characters are raw and real. Some times I wanted to smack Pippa but I understand where she was coming from, emotionally. I could not put this down.

[Kerry Hemmings · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I loved this book! A must for anyone going through pregnancy, ivf or who just want an interesting, thought provoking read like me. I loved it so much, I’m reading the next book in the series

[G. Medford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected

This book is not usually a book I would have chosen to read. I'm glad I decided to give it a try. It's well written with wonderful characters.

[Erica Roszko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful and heartfelt

Very touching and a test jerker if you can related to any of the characters. I always love s happy ending eben if this one had many twists.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly moving story! This was a book I really couldn't put down and got a strange look from my hubby when he woke up at silly o'clock and caught me still reading. Not only that, I picked it straight back up when my alarm clock reminded me there was much more important things to do that day. Like reading this book!
A character driven plot, you are introduced to Pippa, who had always yearned to become a mother and becomes distant with her sister, Georgie, who seems to have everything that Pippa and her loving husband yearn for. Georgie, though she loves her daughter dearly, wants to enjoy her career and has no intention of producing a sibling as her husband wants. Her life has changed so much already.
Attempting IVF treatment for the first time, Pippa wants to connect with other women who are experiencing the same thing, the same emotions - the same fears. She also expresses herself through her blog. Though her family and close friend, Sienna, are supportive, they can't fully understand her desire for having a child and how it affects her life. Especially as her sister has a child and Sienna has no intention of ever having one. It's through a forum that Pippa meets Connie, who is also at the same stage of IVF as Pippa.
What I love about this story is that it is very real. Life isn't all about living happily ever after and this book stays achingly true to that. There's plenty of conflict and an unexpected twist to make you emotionally invested. These four women become connected in many ways. Some tragic, some hopeful and some very unexpected. With relationships fracturing, their journeys become a tangled web as they fight for what they need.
I'm lucky to be a parent and Pippa's story reminded me of that. Her yearning, her pain, is palpable through the authors wonderful voice. I have friends who have experienced tragedy and loss in a similar way to the characters and this book makes you realise how difficult it can be. From the insensitivity, the shattered dreams and the physical pain. Yet, as the title states - there is always hope. It's that hope that makes this book a beautiful read.
Beautiful and poignant!

[Akeisha -Til' The Last Page BB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ratings:3.5 stars

Firstly, If you follow my reviews you know I hate to restate a blurb. I think the author gives you a great insight into what the story is about.

My views on the story:
The blurb for Beneath the Apple Blossom grabbed my attention initially. I always love a book with struggles and a story with depth. Kate does a good job by keeping me interested in each character. I also enjoyed that each Heroine seemed so real.

If there was a character I felt most connected with it would be Sienna, which was so scary. I have always been career orientated and also 30 years old chasing a dream and running away from a family and such. We had a lot in common which was refreshing to read.

Georgie another female lead was my least favourite. She seemed so lost, selfish, naive and at times I wished I could skip her point of views. She reads as a 18 year old girl instead of a woman with responsibilities.

Overall, the Plot for Beneath the Apple Blossom flowed well and was full of surprises.
Beneath the Apple Blossom is full of drama, friendship and an overall feeling of hope even though there was that hint of darkness lurking.
The story is told in the third point of view which is my least favourite however I was able to look pass this and rate the book a decent star.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming !

This was a truly great story of loss and how different people handle the different things that life throws at you. I experienced 3 miscarriages before I was able to have my 2nd daughter and this is so how it felt to me! Great telling of the hurt and emptiness one feels. Wonderful read!

[J.B (Debbie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

review to follow

[Linda Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling & very emotional story extremely well written.