The Peach Keeper in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 26, 2013 SarahC rated it really liked it

This is my first Sarah Allen novel, but she has been on my interest list for a long time. I am so cautious of novels that appear to be about women dealing with their lives in a small-town setting, resurrecting the past in some way. They often do not seem genuine and create a plot by the characters acting stupidly just for the sake of interest. Instead the characters of The Peachkeeper deal with realistic pain and danger, struggle with the passage of time and with regret, and look for their truer This is my first Sarah Allen novel, but she has been on my interest list for a long time. I am so cautious of novels that appear to be about women dealing with their lives in a small-town setting, resurrecting the past in some way. They often do not seem genuine and create a plot by the characters acting stupidly just for the sake of interest. Instead the characters of The Peachkeeper deal with realistic pain and danger, struggle with the passage of time and with regret, and look for their truer selves, past and present. They make the same small but crucial mistakes that many of us do. They struggle with their own history and their families and their identities. Allen gives her characters brains and hearts though. In their confusion, they do know some distinct truths about themselves. The character Sebastian has struggled with how he appeared to others all his life, but he does know certainties about love: about his great aunt he says "She was the only person in my family I knew loved me without reservation." Allen's characters aren't elaborate, instead they are sound.

This Sarah Allen book may suffer from not being too much one certain thing. It is not supernatural, nor mystery, nor pure chicklit, nor Southern writing. I think these are more reasons for me personally to like it and maybe that is why the story does not exhaust itself by telling us too hard, as some books do, for example, how Southern a Southern community is. But I do think some readers like their books categorized, so some of the less positive reader reviews seem to stem from that.

One of the most enjoyable things of Allen's writing is that she has spot-on dialog. These conversations are how people really talk, and they mean something for that being the case. As the characters Willa and Colin go through those dizzying moments of trying to find a relationship in what they are feeling for each other, the dialog really seems to be that of people saying on the inside, "should I or shouldnt I?" She turned back around and finished making her sandwich, flustered now. "You shouldn't come to see me when you're so tired. I think you say things you probably wouldn't say otherwise." She heard the scrape of the chair legs as he got up. "Did it occur to you that that's why I come here when I'm tired?"

This is a recommended read. A good story that transcends the genre a bit, and with a really appealing voice. ...more

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Mar 20, 2014 Windy rated it really liked it

Usual fare from this author: light, easy, entertaining read with a magical twist.
I guess the love stories were a bit too predictable but that didn't mean the results weren't satisfying.
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Sep 22, 2011 Sera rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, library, other-fiction, fantasy-magical-realism-fairytales

This book is my first one by SSA but I will definitely read more books written by her. Walls of Water reminded me of Star's Hollow from the Gilmore Girls. The characters were wonderful and the story very charming. I had a constant smile on my face during my commute while I listened to this one on audio. I would recommend this book as a nice change of pace for readers of heavy material. ...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Erin (NY) rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, read-in-2012

Very cute book. I liked the story, very nice. The writing is also beautiful! I liked also how some of the charactes from Garden Spells appeared. And I love magic realism! ...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic, southern, magical-realism

Better than your average romance, particularly because Allen gives equal weight to friendship. The mystery element, such as it is, feels slapped-together, but there are enough good qualities here to outweigh the bad.

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Apr 22, 2012 Stephanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-lit

Cute story - great beach read. I listened to the audio version and my only real complaint is with the narrator. I think this book would have been better to read, or they could have found a different narrator.

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