Honeysuckle Season

Kat

Rating: really liked it
In the present day, this is the story of Libby McKenzie, a single wedding photographer coming off three miscarriages and a divorce and hired by Elaine Carter Grant, the owner of the generations-old Woodmont estate to record the estate's renovation. In the 1940's wartime past, this is primarily the story of Olivia Carter, Elaine's grandmother, and Sadie Thompson, a young, spirited teenage girl hired by Olivia's husband Edward to drive his wife where she needs to go. Thrown into the mix are the Reese family: Margaret, who cooks and cares for the house, her widowed son, Colton, who lives on the estate and cares for the grounds and buildings, and a healthy dose of other characters who keep things interesting. It's the story of how all these people interconnect that makes this book such an enjoyable read.


My best advice for this book? Pull out a notebook and start writing down the character names and who they are early on, because it's a puzzle of inter-connectedness that you're going to be putting together to the very end. Personally, I loved every second of it, and unpeeling the layers was delightful. I don't think all the family connections were terribly difficult to figure out, but I don't know that the reveals were meant to be those shocking "a-ha!" moments. Rather than playing like a mystery, it was a gently unfolding story with charm and intrigue, full of (mostly) likeable characters and back-and-forth story lines that wove past and present together seamlessly to reveal the whole picture. They're different stories, but it reminded me so much of the feeling I had when I watched Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time, as the story played between the past and present. If you've ever read that book or seen the movie, my mind thought of Olivia Carter and Sadie Thompson a lot like I though of Ruth and Idgie, and the special friendship they had.

This book has a little bit of everything: humor, drama, intrigue, mystery, romance, power dynamics, historical references, sad moments, feel good moments, and adventure. It also has some grim reminders of 1940's misogynistic viewpoints towards women/wives and societal views and behaviors towards the poor. That's not an area of history that's particularly enjoyable to revisit, but it does play some role in the events of the story. If you enjoy historical fiction and an overall warm-hearted family/friendship drama, this really is a wonderful little book.

★★★★★ Stars ❤️

Jennelle

Rating: really liked it
The cover made me do it

Okay, lets be honest. It was the cover that got my attention.The turquoise blue against the pale pink. It was beautiful.I needed to know what was inside.
Although, it was unlike anything I have ever read.

In the end It just feels incomplete to me.
Don't get me wrong, the loose ends of the past tied up.
I'm just left needing to know more.

Alayne Emmett

Rating: really liked it
Ooh this was a lovely book to read, I loved it from the first page to the last even though some of it was a little predictable I still enjoyed it . I hadn’t read this author before and this one came from Prime First Reads so I thought I’d try it, I’m so glad I did and I’m sure I’ll read more of hers in the future.
Here’s hoping there is a second book in this series.

Cherie

Rating: really liked it
A southern tale of secrets, family, and friendship. This is told thru alternating time lines of the 1940s and present day, which the author detailed well. It is an engaging and interesting read, it grabbed my attention right from the start, and held me captive throughout. The details of how women and wives were treated in the 40s was at times shocking, and made me thankful to be a woman of the present day.

Kat (Books are Comfort Food)

Rating: really liked it
Relaxing read

I selected this book because I need a nice, relaxing read. I loved the premise of the book, where history reveals past secrets and where the past aligns with the current times. Enjoyable characters, strong, female characters with depth. I’m grateful the author didn’t dwell on romance, as I don’t like that genre. Definitely recommended.

Deacon Tom F

Rating: really liked it
An Experience Generations of Family Struggles

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I am not a fan of multiple time frames and multiple characters combined in one story. To be honest, it often confuses me early — that’s the case here.

However, the ending was powerful yet,emotionally draining. It touched me deeply.

I recommend this book

Kristi Lamont

Rating: really liked it
Alas, all good things must come to an end. And that is exactly what happened to my good-luck streak related to reading fluffy and "free" Kindle reads/Prime books from Amazon, all because I read Honeysuckle Season.

I can't get too detailed or there will be spoilers, and I know that lots and lots and LOTS of people enjoy Ms Taylor's writing and want to read this book. So, on the off-chance they read this reaction to it, they should have no worries.

On characters: Two seemed totally superfluous, one seemed a caricature of a certain type, many were supremely forgettable.

On connections: In many cases, tenuous, at best.

On structure: I always enjoy when a story alternates between time periods. In this one category, the book did _not_ prove the exception to the rule. I just wished our author had not tried to put such drama and mystery in places where they really were not necessary. Instead, she should have fleshed out characters and some minor storylines that had potential at the outset, but went nowhere. Very slowly.

Overall: Forgettable, for the most part. My mother should not waste her time on it, and instead should be patting herself on the back that she did not select this book as her August freebie.

Joni Mayhugh

Rating: really liked it
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope there will be another book or two in the series, there are definitely more stories to be told. Like the other books I've read by Mary Ellen Taylor, this book has a current setting with a link to a backstory in the past. This one's backstory was in the 1940s.
Rather than being an overly "sweet" romance where all of the characters are pretty and a broken fingernail is the biggest problem anyone faces, these folks have some challenges going on in their lives and they are working through them the best way they know how.
My only complaint about this book was that it wasn't longer and that I'll have to wait a while to find out if there is going to be a follow up book in the series.

Kelly

Rating: really liked it
Another in a long line of free duds from Amazon Kindle First Reads. This was my Aug choice, and in keeping with my rotten streak of luck with this program, yet again I did not choose wisely.

I had a lot of problems with this book:

Pregnancy was heavily emphasized throughout - so many pregnancies, miscarriages, and one-night stands! Olivia and Libby had repeated miscarriages, although after 3 miscarriages Libby gets pregnant in a potentially one-night-only fluke, with what turns out to be a distant cousin (ok with the author, but gross to me). Elaine gets pregnant in a one night stand with a married man. Sadie gets pregnant after a rape. Even a random 19 yr old waitress at a pizza place was pregnant.

Olivia’s husband, Dr. Carter, was involved in eugenics, a practice in the 40’s where simple-minded (mentally disabled) and ‘troublesome’ (needed to be punished or controlled by a husband or family) women were sterilized. Of course, on the surface this sounds like a terrible cruelty, and certainly as a punishment or means to control a woman I would agree it is horrible idea, but do not be so quick to judge. As the mother of a mentally disabled grown (male) child, I don’t think I should be ruled out automatically. Because if a mentally disabled individual gets pregnant or becomes a father, who is likely to become responsible for the child if the parents are incapable of taking care of themselves, let alone raising that child? The grandparents, of which I would be one, and so I feel it would be in my best interest to do all I can to prevent such a thing from happening. Raising my own has taken all I’ve got, and I do not want to be forced or feel compelled to take on raising someone else’s baby, even a grandchild.

I find it hard to believe that a 22 yr old college grad single mother in the late 80’s was so horrifying that she had to be sent away to have the baby in secret shame! Inconvenient and life changing, yes, but scandalous? It was absurd for her grandparents to so severely over-react.

I did not care for Libby, and found it hard to believe that she grew up in a very small town, with the local pediatrician as her father, yet knew absolutely nothing about the townspeople or it’s history/lore. She seemed to continuously be meeting old timers and learning old stories and local history like she had just moved in.

Also another book with incredibly stupid soap opera names, like Colton, Tanner, Lofton. Autocorrect doesn’t even like Lofton. And the stilted, awkward dialogue read like a soap opera, as well. Sometimes it felt rather juvenile. This is apparently a popular author, but I will not be seeking out more of her books. Happy to put this one behind me.

Brandy

Rating: really liked it
I was pretty bored throughout this whole book. The twists were pretty easy to see coming. The ending tied up everything in a rush but none of it felt really...wonderful?

Chatting About Cozies

Rating: really liked it
An interesting story of secrets and generations. Flashbacks aren’t my favorite type of novels to read; however, I was able to keep up with the past characters and the current characters and the author wrapped it all up well at the end. It’s a good, solid story, and I do recommend it to those who enjoy women’s fiction.

Carolyn

Rating: really liked it
Every single time I pick up a book by Mary Ellen Taylor, I am always blown away. And, here we go. This book grabbed me from the very first page. A complex mystery is presented from the beginning. Startling family secrets come into view. Locations are described with clarity. Complex, intriguing, life like, flawed characters appear. You are not only glued to the pages as they fly, you are immediately invested in each character and the story line itself. Emotions are engaged. And, when the whole story comes full circle, you are amazed. Geez, she is a good writer and story teller. Yep, another winner!!!

Kerri

Rating: really liked it
I’m on a bad streak of books I guess. I feel like this is the fourth of fifth book in a row that I can describe as having so much potential, yet being a letdown. I felt like the blurb was fairly misleading too; I wouldn’t describe this as a romance at all, which is what is to be expected when it mentions a male character in the synopsis of a book like this.

Let’s start with that. Honestly, despite the fact that it ends with Libby’s marriage, she and Colton barely interact. There’s one entire scene, right before they admit they’re into each other, where their dialogue consists of a myriad of trite phrases, like “Not your first rodeo”, or “Never a dull moment.” There’s no depth there, and very little chemistry evident. It’s almost like the author realized it too, and didn’t bother to waste much time on them. And then, of course, Libby’s knocked up and he’s proposing. Nope, not rushed at all 🙄. You don’t even have to be a teenager in a YA novel to have instalove. The funny thing is, she won’t agree to marry him at first, not because she doesn’t love him, or because they’ve known each other for five seconds, and have had little to no meaningful conversation (other than her unloading a crap ton of her personal life on him all in one fell swoop in the last thirty or so pages), but because she doesn’t want to bind him to her because she’ll probably lose the baby. Give me a freaking break. And lastly, her cousin?! I don’t care how distant, YUCK.

I didn’t feel like Sadie and Olivia spent enough time together to really warrant the supposed lifelong connection. Or at least the time they did spend didn’t feel meaningful enough. It was painfully easy to guess what would happen to Sadie, and Olivia both, and I just wasn’t invested enough in them to care. Elaine was not really all that interesting to me. Overall, too many perspectives, not enough individual character development.

Then there was the writing. I’ve read a few other books by this author and liked them, so I know what she’s capable of. This book had some lazy writing. Repeated words in sentences, rather than finding a different word. Lots of telling rather than showing. Confusing passages where you weren’t sure what was happening. Too many people introduced too quickly whose names were too similar. And honestly, not a lot of likable characters. I’m all for a flawed protagonist, but I just couldn’t relate to Libby, or Elaine, or Sadie, or Olivia, or... anyone. Colton might as well be a handsome blank slate. Edward Carter is an A-hole. There wasn’t really someone here to love, though I think you were supposed to. And the conclusion felt really rushed and tied all to neatly. Meh. Solid meh, and that’s it.

Gail Chianese

Rating: really liked it
I devoured this book. Mary Ellen Taylor has a magnificent talent for weaving the secrets of the past into the present.

This was such a wonderful story of five women, their friendships, their familiar ties, their strengths, weakness, and their love. I enjoyed each and every character equally. When I was in Libby’s point of view, I was lost in her life, yet I couldn’t wait to get back to Sadie. The same for when I was reading Sadie’s chapters, and wanting to know what was going on with Olivia, and so on.

My heart broke for each of these women over the blows that life as dealt them. Sadie and Olivia have such a wonderful, unexpected friendship. While their story clutched at my heartstrings, I couldn’t help cheering on their resolve to succeed and their devotion to each other. Libby’s story is equally touching with the trials and tribulations she’s suffered. I just wanted to hug her and tell her it was going to be okay. And it was fun watching her come back “to life” as sweet sparks flew between her and Colton. While Margaret and Elaine are more secondary characters, by the end of the book, I felt like they were old friends.

Overall, this was a fabulous tale of how women can and do endure, how we are not the weaker sex, and most importantly, that love, whether it is the romantic kind or more often that of friends, can and does win in the end.

I highly recommend any book by Mary Ellen Taylor.

Linda

Rating: really liked it
Another book by Mary Ellen Taylor that just draws you in and teases you along as storyline is enticingly revealed. Similar to her books Winter Cottage and Spring House, this story weaves together characters from two time eras: this time, present day and the 40s. Great character development, heart-tugging storylines, and locations beautifully described.

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.