The Sweet Taste of Muscadines
"Maybe the wisest thing any of us can do is listen to our own soul's voice while we can still hear it."
I’m in love!! I’m in love with the characters in this story, I’m in love with the plot, I’m in love with the setting…I’m just in love with absolutely everything about this book!
The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is a phenomenal debut novel by Pamela Terry. Her writing is fresh, witty and impeccably detailed. I cannot rave enough about her character development and her ability to weave a complex yet beautiful story full of drama, suspense, and characters dealing with a very complex past.
Lila Bruce Breedlove never quite felt at home in Wesleyan, Georgia, especially after her father's untimely demise when she was a child. Both Lila and her brother, Henry, fled north after high school, establishing fulfilling lives of their own. In contrast, their younger sister, Abigail, opted to remain behind to dote on their domineering, larger-than-life mother, Geneva. Yet despite their independence, Lila and Henry know deep down that they've never quite reckoned with their upbringing.
When their elderly mother dies suddenly and suspiciously in the muscadine arbor behind the family estate, Lila and Henry return to the town that essentially raised them. But as they uncover more about Geneva's death, shocking truths are revealed that overturn the family's history as they know it, sending the pair on an extraordinary journey to chase a truth that will dramatically alter the course of their lives.
I could not put this book down once I started it, and I just immediately fell head over heals in love with the siblings Lila, Henry, and Abby. The writing is just exquisite. Not only are all the characters well written, real, and full of life, but I was instantly swept away by the detailed scenery. I was right there feeling the heavy heat in Georgia and the cold and ferocious wind in Scotland.
I loved following Lila and Henry as they worked together to uncover the mystery their mother left behind. As they begin to unravel the truth, they discover quite the web of lies, and I was right there with them feeling all the emotions (and it was the full spectrum). The mystery itself kept me on the edge of my seat as they begin to peel back the layers of their mother’s secrets and realize that all may not be as it seems in their own family, so of course I stayed up late into the night to finish this book.
I don’t know how Terry wrote it all so well as the story also explores and weaves in the meaning of love, family, homosexuality, and compassion. She also explores how blind hate can really limit a person’s ability to think rationally and logically.
If you love stories that are full of compassion, mystery, and dive into the ever so complex world of family relationships and dynamics with a splash of humor then this book is for you. Actually, this book is for everyone, so just go read it NOW! As for me, I’m eagerly awaiting Terry’s next publication!
"Maybe home is more something you carry inside you than the ground on which you stand."
