Perennials by Julie Cantrell is a book written by a master storyteller. Julie Cantrell can develop characters so full of life that they remind you of someone you know. She weaves deep, multi-layered stories so skillfully and can keep your rapt attention. And she writes vivid descriptions that make a setting come alive. But I would not call this a Christian book in any way. Yes, it had yoga in it. But more importantly there was a lot of mention of a spirit that leads her-- this is why I would not call it a Christian novel. The ending was also oddly written with so much alliteration that it distracted from the beautiful ending that the author had just crafted. I loved this book but was also disappointed in parts of it. The author is very talented but this book had some very weak points for me personally. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I look forward to finding other titles by her. The Perennials is a great account of a family that could be real with crisis, infighting, sadness and ultimately love of family prevails.

Lovey (Eva) is called home to Oxford, Mississippi about 2-3 weeks in advance of her parents' 50th wedding anniversary. She knows there is a big party coming as she's been working on it with her sister, Bitsy. However much she loves her parents, Lovey has been at odds with her sister since their teen years. Now in their mid to late 40s, the sisters are still grating on each other. Lovey resents Bitsy's stance which keeps Lovey away from home and away from her niece and nephew whom she adores. Without a husband or family of her own, Lovey has tried to build a different life in Arizona. Professionally, she is a success. in love, though, she's a mess.
Back at home at her parents' request, Lovey reunites with her high school love through a landscaping project Lovey's dad (Chief) outlined. Unfortunately the love is involved with another mutual acquaintance and that complicates things.
I know this sounds like a romance, but I would say it's more about the marital love of Lovey's parents, parental love, the missing sibling love between Lovey and Bitsy, and Lovey's need to accept her situation and release herself from expectations.

This book did the impossible and made me cry. Maybe because I too am seeing some of the situations in the book and can relate. Even without that though, the characters feel real and all of the local colour added only fleshes them out more. The gardening metaphors were apt, and the book has a very circular feel that plays out in the metaphors of the seasons and plant germination. This book has appeal to the mass market, as anyone who has absorbed some Christianity through pop culture should be able to pick up on the biblical allusions. Highly recommend.

Julie Cantrell has told another outstanding story in her book, Perennials. I must admit I could not wait to read this one and I devoured it in no time. The heart wrenching story of a family torn apart over the years and forced to face hard painful trials.
I was rooting for Eva from the beginning and though there were times I wanted her to react differently, her strength in her quiet responses was what made her character so powerful. The love in the Sutherland family was incomparable. The kind of people you wish lived next door because they would provide a cup of iced tea and wisdom in every interaction.
Perennials is totally worth every single second spent reading it. Definitely a five out of five stars.

Sweet, fun, easy read. Just enough depth to give you all the feels, but nothing heavy. Really enjoyed it!

I don't usually read reviews before reading a book I've asked to review, because I don't want to be influenced (in contrast, I do read reviews before buying a book. Call me weird, but I find it easier to ignore a book's faults if I know them before I start reading page one).

Anyway, if the review I read was accurate, this book had a lot of faults. The chief fault appeared to be that it was from a Christian publisher, yet was not Christian fiction.

Well, sold.

Okay, not sold. But I requested a review copy from NetGalley, because I wanted to find out for myself.

The writing was brilliant.

Julie Cantrell has a gift with words, with emotion. The plot was generally strong. I thought the plot device used to get Eva home to her family was contrived almost to the point of being unbelievable, but the writing was outstanding and the characterisation was solid enough that I was prepared to let a less-than-believable plot point pass.

Perennials is the story of a middle-aged professional woman who learns the hard way success isn't defined by your salary or your job title (or your ability to life a Pinterest-worthy life), but by being true to yourself. She also learns that we can't judge and resent others for their Pinterest-perfect lives, because we don't know what they're hiding.

These are powerful lessons.

Eva, the main character, wasn't the most likeable person to begin with. She has a chip on her shoulder the size of a small planet, and even at forty-five years of age, it's never occurred to her that her outlook on life and on her family (especially on her family) is anything but right. Being home again forces her to review and rethink some of her perceptions. The more I saw of her in her home town, the more I was able to sympathise and empathise with her situation.

Overall, I'd classify this as an inspirational women's fiction version of Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh. It definitely doesn't fit in the narrow echo chamber of Christian fiction. If it was a romance, I'd say it was angling for a RITA nomination for Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements, because it had plenty of spiritual elements—but most of them weren't Christian:

Namaste. The light in me sees the light in you.
The ancestors have a lot to teach us.
Kachina Woman, Hera, Kuan Yin, Mary. Whoever she is, she is timeless and omnipotent, representing all things feminine and calming and wise.

Definitely not Christian—and that last quote is in direct contradiction to the Gospel of John, which makes clear that Jesus is the way. Not one of many. Yet there were also lines like this:

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

And:

Jesus experienced the worst. Betrayed by someone he trusted, destroyed by the people he loved. Public shame, humiliation ... but despite it all, he chose to love.

No, Perennials doesn't fit into the shiny bucket that is CBA fiction.

If you're looking for a typical Christian fiction novel, then I wouldn't recommend Perennials. But if you're looking for something that doesn't fit the Christian norm—perhaps as a gift for a non-Christian friend who appreciates good writing and enjoys books such as Eat, Pray, Love—then Perennials may be a good option.

Perhaps Perennials does present Jesus as an option to be considered rather than as the answer. But in doing that, it may attract readers who wouldn't ever pick up a 'Christian' novel. And if those readers are true to themselves, they will consider Jesus. And I believe we need more books written by Christians for a general market audience, books that address real-world problems and present Jesus as an option.

As Perennials does.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

A mesmerizing Southern coming of age story.Lovey and her three years older sister,Bitsy grew up in Oxford, MS. Theirs was a typical childhood catching fireflies and getting dirty with the neighborhood boys,brothers Finn and Fischer. That all changes the day elegant Blaire moves into the neighborhood. That's the day Bitsy's childhood was over she wanted to be just like Blaire,fancy,wearing nail polish and showing interest in boys. Lovey isn't interested in all that though she wants to still get dirt under her nails and help her mother in the perennial garden. I love the research the author has done in reference to the flowers and it's mentioned throughout the book. The cover is gorgeous and very eye catching! Leaving MS at age 18 Lovely moves to Arizona and settles in . Making a life for herself she is a yoga instructor and has successful career at an advertising agency in Arizona. After recently celebrating her 45th birthday she is summoned home to help celebrate her parents 5oth wedding anniversary. She is hesitant to return home because is estranged from her sister. Her sister blames her for a shed fire that happened during their childhood and won't stop bad mouthing her and telling lies about her. Once home her parents are so happy to see her Chief her father and her mother. Her mother has always been thin but she notices her picking at her food and getting thinner,her energy lags also. She wants to make a new start with Bitsy but Bitsy has the perfect husband,big house and lots of money,she just doesn't seem to need her sister or want to reconcile with her. After having a heart to heart talk with her father she feels better and sees things with a new perspective. After going back home and talking to her family she sees things with a new perspective through adult eyes now. Her eyes are opened as she realizes things about herself,her sister and her parents she hadn't known before.
Pub Date 14 Nov 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson--FICTION for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Perennials is a story of family loss, lies, dedication , transformation, blame, reunification and most and for all forgiveness. Bitsy was Missy good too shoes – everything was given to her – her way for Eva – lovely – things became harder for her and she was blamed for something horrendous that she did not do but she did not correct them though – she took on the blame and let the guilty party get away with it – meanwhile she moves away and excels and is as executive – very far from Mississippi where she was from and has estranged herself from her family. Now her father wants her back home for their 50th anniversary. She goes and so does her sister Bitsy and the drama between her and her spoiled sister starts will they ever repair their closeness ? Will they ever find out the truth about the shed ? Will there be redemption?

The story is simple, Eva avoids going back home to avoid both her sister Bitsy and memories of her broken relationship. But her parents' 50th marriage anniversary forces her to attend and come back home.
Julie Cantrell has written this book on family well, she has described the process of self discovery of Eva beautifully. Eva grows up as the pages turn.
Going back home is a dose of reality for her, where she is forced to view the circumstances and instances with an adult eye. Eva learns the importance of family, she reconciles with her sister and even becomes friendly with her ex.
I like the fact that the author Julie Cantrell has made Eva look deep within herself and realise the importance of family. Eva is forced to examine her life minutely and she understands that everything is different when viewed as an adult with a greater perspective. Life at home becomes pretty good and Eva learns to enjoy herself, including her relationship with her sister.
A great family saga

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed a wonderful and powerful stories about the flowers and the family first.
It was an amazing book to read!

This was my first book by Julie Cantrell and I enjoyed it so much that I just ordered her older books. Perennials is a heart warming story about an estranged family that is trying to become a whole family again. Plus, it has beautiful descriptions of flowers and gardens - if it wasn't winter, I'd be out planting flowers after reading it.

Eva (known by her family as Lovey) is 45 years old. Right after high school, she left her home in Mississippi to make a life for herself in Arizona. She is single, very successful in her advertising career and teaches yoga to seniors on the weekends. She has been hurt by her older sister and felt that her parents never took her side when they were growing up. Her parents have a 50th anniversary and they ask Lovey to come home early and spend time with them before the anniversary party that her sister is arranging. Lovey continues to be rebuffed by her sister when she tries to be friends with her again.

This is wonderful novel about family and love and forgiveness. You CAN go home again but it's never exactly the way you remembered it from years before. Wonderful!

What a beautiful book! I loved everything about it. I was hooked from the beginning. The characters were well developed to the point where I honestly felt as if I knew them. They felt as if they were family and I loved then all.

I love gardening and there is lots of flower info. The author describes the flowers, town, gardens, and houses so well, you will see it all in your mind.

This isn't just a book. It's also filled with lots of inspirational sayings and quotes. This is going to be a book that I won't soon forget!

Highly recommend Perennials and keep a tissue handy!

* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.

Perennials is a new novel by Julie Cantrell. Eva “Lovely” Sutherland grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. Thanks to her sister, Bitsy and her lies, Eva was quick to move to Phoenix when she turned eighteen. Laurel and Chief Sutherland will be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary soon and they would like Eva to return home early. Eva just landed the account of her career with a tight deadline, but she agrees to return home. Unfortunately, Bitsy has not changed and is antagonistic (bitter, nasty, jealous). Eva helps her father plan a special memory garden as a surprise for her mother. It gives Eva a chance to work with her friend and former boyfriend, Fisher Oaklen as well as remember her dream of becoming a flower farmer. Eva is given an opportunity to look back on her life and decide what she wants for her future. Is it possible to go home again? Can Bitsy and Eva get past their differences?

Perennials is a spiritual novel (not Christian) with focus on Buddhism. Yoga and Buddhism are frequently mentioned throughout the story (Buddhist prayer wheel, yoga poses, etc.). The one Christian thing mentioned repeatedly is “Judas has a story” (two sides to every story). Julie Cantrell is a descriptive writer. She paints a picture with words. Ms. Cantrell describes nature (flowers, trees, birds) and the town in detail. Some of the flower descriptions are lovely (people who enjoy gardening will appreciate it). I found Perennials to be a slow-paced story that failed to capture and hold my attention (it actually put me to sleep which is hard to do since I suffer from insomnia). It is basically a story of sibling rivalry (I could go down the street to my sisters to experience this type of behavior) with a predictable ending (it turned out exactly as I predicted when I started reading it).

It was very difficult for me to forget this book once I’d finished it. Julie Cantrell is a prolific writer, and she does it in such a way that it makes you think…and reflect…and compare your personal life to those of the characters and wonder if you too need to improve.

Lovey represents many of us – in that we’ve been hurt in our past and have no idea how to move on. To hold onto those hurts and allow them to shape our words, thoughts and actions seems childish, but the pain is very real. Although she had become a successful business woman, she had never really managed to move on – choosing instead to hide from the sources of her pain. But, her past was ever present.

Her sister Bitsy was extremely difficult to like. She was mean and spiteful. Lovey took the blame many times from the hands of her only sister. Even worse, their parents often seemed to take Bitsy’s side and fully expected Lovey to “suck it up,” with no explanations. They made me angry many times because it seemed that they would work a little harder at doing their part. I appreciated the heart-to-heart talk she had with her father near the end.

Even in the resolution – after Lovey found her own happiness – I could not help but wonder what would have happened if the resolution had been discovered a little sooner.

I think the lessons Julie Cantrell intended for us to learn were very well addressed. First of all, family should always come first. Life is short, even when your parents have lived long, full lives. Secondly, don’t hide from your problems. Address and face them head-on. Thirdly, it’s never too late, not even for love.

This was a solid effort from Julie Cantrell. It did not captivate me as much as her past works, but the message was well thought out and received.

First of all, who says you can't judge a book by its cover? The cover of this book has to be the most beautiful I've seen on a work of fiction.
And the storyline- not bad either!
Julie Cantrell is a very good writer, and this story of a family torn apart by lies, but led by two warm and loving parents, really drew me in. Lovey, the absentee daughter for many years, returns at her father's request for the 50th anniversary celebration of her parents. She and sister Bitsy have long had a contentious relationship, and her parents are hoping to restore family harmony. Lovey gets more than one surprise during her homecoming, and the book definitely kept me turning pages.
I will say that this book lacked the Christian themes of the author's other books I've read. Nonetheless I purchased it for my church library.
Note: I received this book free of charge from netgalley. com in exchange for an honest review.

Eva is going home for her parents’ 50th anniversary. Lovey, as she is called back home, has some trepidation. She is in the middle of closing a big client for her firm. She has such a contentious relationship with her sister Bitsy. And she is still getting over being fooled by her ex-boyfriend Reed. She thinks it will be just a short trip but when her parents beg her to stay, she does so warily. Lovey begins to notice something is not right with her mother and she also notices that she still has feelings for her long ago boyfriend Fisher, who is so much more than just a family friend.

Her father is going to surprise her mother with a memory garden and he enlists Lovey and Fisher to help. Gardening and flowers has always been a big part of Lovey and her mother’s life. I love how throughout the book, the author uses metaphors about flowers and life. It really is a lovely touch.

This is one of those reads that will make you feel all the feels. I was angry for Lovey and how hurt she had been by her sister. I was sad in quite a few parts and yes, I cried. I was happy for reasons you will find out when you read this lovely book. This is in a Christian genre so if that is not your thing, you should know going into it. I felt my faith renewed. It left me feeling hopeful and with such a warm, fuzzy feeling. You will not be disappointed.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson and the review is my own humble opinion.

I was drawn to Perennials by the lovely cover and the intriguing title. Julie Cantrell is a powerful storyteller, with rich dialogue and a wonderful southern style.

There are parts of this story that aren’t my personal taste – a lot of Buddhist influence and other things that don’t particularly jive with my beliefs. It is difficult for me to overlook these things for the story’s sake, but there are many parts where I was deeply moved and sympathized with Lovey’s difficulties and pain.

I really enjoyed the references to gardening and the southern atmosphere. I will read more from this author, but with a high hope that her other books holds closer to common Christian Fiction.

3 Stars


Cover: Love
Title: Love
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 368
First Lines (Prologue): “Four!” Bitsy cheers, twisting the lid to her firefly jar. I race behind my only sister.

I received a complimentary copy from BookLookBloggers and NetGalley.

After a hard week, there’s nothing better than sitting down with an easy read, that you can pretty much get down in one. Perennials is one of these: a really sweet book about the power of family, love and second chances that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy afterwards.
Family is one of the main themes here: we start the novel introduced to sisters Bitsy and Lovey, once inseparable and now divided by sibling rivalry gone sour, culminating in a childhood incident where one of their friends is injured in a fire that Bitsy says Lovey caused. Forty years later, Lovey is living the good life in Arizona, far from her childhood home of Mississippi, working in advertising and trying to get over a particularly vicious breakup. But when her family call her home for her parent’s 50th anniversary, the past will come back to haunt them all, and force them to reexamine their lives.
One of the things I liked so much about this novel was the time that Cantrell put into giving her characters real nuance: backstories, foibles and lots and lots of flaws. As the main character, we get to see into Lovey’s past, and find out just why she ran from her family and why her relationship with her sister is so complicated. She’s a likeable main character, despite her rather passive stance when it comes to her family: feisty, troubled and with a character arc that ultimately ends in redemption and a way forward for her. Similarly, her sister Bitsy is a great foil to her, with a mysterious hatred for her sister and reasons for acting that humanises her and is a fantastic way of exploring the love-hate relationship that many sisters have.
Indeed, relationships are very much at the centre of this novel. I liked the fact that Cantrell made her characters so old: Lovey is forty-five, her parents are in their eighties and Bitsy is almost fifty. Though they do act rather immaturely at times, doing this brings the themes of growth, renewal and second chances to the fore (summed up through some at-times heavy-handed flower imagery) and explores the way that family shape you, and important it is to let go of the past. That does make for some beautiful moments: Lovey’s family are realistic, beautifully realised and make for a very comfortable, lived-in atmosphere that makes the ending feel all the more poignant.
The little things matter in this book: from the lovingly-realised setting in Oxford, Mississippi, with its rich history, to the fact that nobody is what they appear to be, to the importance that flowers and spirituality hold in the novel. Cantrell does have a knack for capturing the ins out outs of family in a very sensitive and loving way, and though some of her scenes can be a little too saccharine for my taste, overall it’s a very sweet novel about opening up and reconnecting that I really did enjoy. For people wanting something to curl up with, Perennials is the book for you.

Family, you don’t want to live without them but many times they are hard to live with as in the case of Perennials by Julie Cantrell. A poignant story of sisters, coming home, jealous, bitterness, forgiveness and God’s love.

The poetic writing with memory garden analogies, along with the deep South setting, make this story a pleasure to read. A pleasure very much so, but an easy read not so much. Secrets revealed, truths seen and Eva viewing her childhood past through now adult glasses make Perennials a thinker’s read. Underlying it all, is a spiritual journey for Eva and her family.

Perennials is the first book I have read by Julie Cantrell but I highly recommend it to fans of women’s fiction. It is not necessarily a strong Christian book.