"Family first". This is a beautiful story of family and healing. Lovey leaves home when she is 18 to get out from under her older sister's shadow. She has made a new life in Arizona. She goes home for her parents 50th wedding anniversary. Lovey helps her Dad plant a beautiful flower garden for her Mom and during this time of family finally finds her place in the world. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Set in Oxford MS, this is the story of 2 estranged sisters, but everything is not as it seems. In high school one was the popular girl who blamed her sister for her mistakes. After high school, the younger sister flees the south , moves to Arizona and becomes successful. When they both are planning their parents 5oth anniversary party, both sisters learn what really matters---not the big job nor the "perfect marriage.," but family, roots and relationships.

A story rich in detail and lilting storytelling, Perennials is a beautiful story about a woman (Lovey), her tenuous relationship with her sister and hometown, and the discoveries she makes regarding pain, love, and family.

To cut to the chase, Perennials is a story I highly recommend. Cantrell's trademark poignancy and subtlety weave together to create a moving story that details one woman's journey through pain and on toward the other side. Without trivializing difficulties, Cantrell successfully portrays emotional injury and suffering that are not easily explained, nor fixed. Lovey's relationship with her sister is a painful one (even painful to read) - full of frustrations and moments you can't understand the hatred spewing from one character onto the other. It echoes beautifully the reality of life - the unfortunate fact that we are often viciously maimed by those who should love us best. And in the realistic world of irony - it speaks of how often we're ignorant of the reason others lash against us.
Perennials offers no pat answers. Lovey's relationship with her sister (Bitsy) is raw and real and as frustrating as some of our own family relationships. The regrets Lovey harbors also speak true of our own seasons of sorrow and debilitating pain. Sometimes life just doesn't make sense. Sometimes life tries to kill you where you stand. And sometimes family is the biggest disappointment of all. This story is a testament to how our lives are a continual cycle through which everything plays a part...even devastating pain.
Perennials is a contemporary work I'd highly recommend - particularly for those who enjoy deep women's fiction reads. If you've enjoyed Cantrell's other novels, you should love this one. And if you haven't yet dived into one of her books, pick up any of the four - they're all excellent. (Though Into the Free should be read before its sequel, When Mountains Move).

Oh My! What a great book! This was my first Julie Cantrell book so I didn't know what to expect. I loved it! I recommend it if you love God and nature.

On the outside, Lovey appears to have it all. Underneath, she is confused in every way. She returns home and undertakes the task of helping to create a memory garden for her parents’ 50th anniversary. Along the way, she learns about her own roots. Can she find healing and purpose through it all?

The cover is gorgeous and grabbed my attention, but this wasn’t my favorite Cantrell book. The research is well done, and the botany references are nicely integrated. If you love gardening, you’ll likely enjoy this book.

Some of my favorite quotes:

• “Happy is a choice.”
• “Sometimes the best thing is to just let go.”


Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review.

Lovey—as the folks back home in Mississippi call her—receives a series of phone calls from her father, urging her to drop everything and come home early for her parents 50th anniversary party. Eva—as she’s known in the cut-throat world of advertising in Arizona, doesn’t know what to think.

One does not just leave one’s job in the middle of a big pitch to run back home to a place she fled years before. A place filled with recriminations, a perfect older sister, and parents that seem bewildered by her choices.

I had mixed emotions about the book. I kept checking to see if Thomas Nelson had actually published it. The protagonist struggles to find healing for her past hurts through yoga and a visit with a healer in Sedona. Ultimately, she finds healing by returning home and reconnecting with her roots—even if it involves some painful gardening, weeding, and replanting.

If you pick the book up expecting to read a typical ‘inspirational romance,’ you’ll do like I did—check the spine to see who published the book. The references to yoga, meditation, visions, and native philosophy might bother you. If you don’t mind following one woman’s unconventional path to home and healing and faith, you’ll love this book.

3.5 stars. I loved The Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell, and was very happy that Netgalley approved my request for Perennials, to be released later this year. The author has a beautiful, straightforward and emphatic writing style. I enjoyed all the historical information about the South, it's museums and famous authors. The botany references was interesting and well-integrated. Lastly I liked that the christian element was never preachy and was beautifully balanced with a more spiritual, almost buddhist, outlook. The reason I did not rate this book higher is that the jumping from then to now sometimes felt a bit forced, and I would have liked Lovey to have more character flaws. All in all Perennials is a welcome escape from our rushed and stressful lives.

From the beginning this book pulls you right in. The descriptions and characters are so relatable and the challenges they face are so real. Two sisters are brought together to help plan their parents 50Th anniversary celebration, but what happens next is a rollercoaster ride of family, the past, feelings, loves that have come and gone and good ole life. Julie is an amazing writer and the lessons she weaves into these pages go way beyond an enjoyable read. I really enjoyed exploring the characters, their challenges and the lessons they learn as they do family first. Love, loyalty, faith and commitment are all areas they explore. The book will surely make a great gift and would be a perfect book club read.

Cantrell did an amazing job in character description. I found there to be so much love in this story. Some is outwardly evident and some of it is hidden. When Eva (Lovey) is called to come back home to Mississippi, she relives childhood memories, childhood love and experiences tragic loss. Her relationship with her family runs deep. Flowers are a powerful bond in this family and Eva finds she may have escaped to Arizona to build her own life but coming back home she has to decide where home really is. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly especially if you enjoy flowers.

Thank You to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. So many beautiful words of love and forgiveness and life lessons. The descriptions were so vivid. Wonderful read.

Perennials by Julie Cantrell
Forty-five year old Eva seemed to have an idyllic childhood with her sister Bitsy and parents in rural Mississippi. But when she was old enough to leave home, she fled and returned home very seldom. Now her parents are asking her to come home—in the middle of the most important deal of her career. They are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary and want her help with the arrangements, even if her sister Bitsy does not. Eva reluctantly gives in and goes, despite knowing that Bitsy will make life there miserable for her. As it turns out, this is a life-changing trip for Eva.
This book explores the relationship between two sisters and the past that made it so. The author does a good job of developing the sisters’ personalities. Their sibling rivalry isn’t always understood, but the author keeps peeling away at the layers of the past until the reader and the characters finally understand it.
Besides the complexity of the sisters’ relationship, the book also explores marriage relationships. Eva’s parents have an enviable marriage, while both Eva and Bitsy struggle unsuccessfully to replicate it. Eva is recovering from an abusive relationship and Bitsy’s husband is chronically unfaithful. There is hope, however, for Eva to have a happy marriage with Fisher.
Yoga figures prominently in this book, which surprised me. Eva is a yoga instructor for seniors and she teaches her parents some of the poses. Her ninety year old friend, Marian, practices yoga with her and is also a spiritual guide, walking her around a medicine wheel. Given that opinions on yoga are a bit contentious in some Christian circles, I am surprised that the author included it so prominently.
Perennials is well-written like the other of Cantrell’s novels. It addresses family and relational issues that many readers are sure to identify with. If you are a fan of Julie Cantrell, don’t miss this one! I received this free copy from the publisher for my honest opinion.

"Family first" is the mantra of loving parents for their two young daughters. It took both girls a long time to understand and appreciate that.
If you love flowers, plants and gardening you will delight in this story of family, friends,forgiveness and reconciliation.
There are many wise sayings told by Mother and Dad. "Happy is a choice.","We are here to love and be loved ",and "Sometimes the best thing is to just let go." are some we should heed.
If you give yourself the pleasure of reading this novel, you will find many more beautiful quotes.

A moving story filled with life lessons told in a lyrical Southern style. Loved all the lovely garden metaphors used to express a spiritual or inspirational message. They were fitting for the situations, and a perfect way to drop a bit of truth in the moments. Family dynamics, sibling tension, and emotional/psychological struggles made this a story to perfectly illustrate grace and forgiveness, the choice to let go and move on in life, overcoming the past. The beautiful historical setting of Oxford, Mississippi with its literary fame sounded like a perfect place for a road trip too.
Recommend to readers who enjoy contemporary women's fiction with some romance and a spiritual message.

I have fallen in love with this author! This is the first book I have read from her and now I am a life long fan! What a great book, about friendships! I read this book in one sitting I highly recommend it!

This story captured my attention and i enjoyed the family interactions. It is always good to learn from stories about how families interact and I learnt many things about my own family from this book.

Oh my! Julie Cantrell has done it again. PERENNIALS is a lovely and sweet story of enduring love populated by well-written characters. Lovey carries the narrative and her struggles between career/Phoenix and returning home to Oxford are understandable, as are her past hurts with Reed, Fisher, and of course, her sister Bitsy who seems determined to play the villain role even as an adult. I have a few quibbles--some of the scenes involving Lovey's career don't ring true and some of the discussion about her having established a life away from Oxford comes across as a bit judgmental. But overall, these concerns are minor. The message here is one of love and in Cantrell's sure hands it resonates beautifully. And I won't soon forget the symbolism of perennials and how it plays out in this story.

I fell in love with Julie Cantrell's writing when I first picked up "The Feathered Bone" and the love affair continues with Perennials! Ms. Cantrell weaves words to form an intricate masterpiece, one that you cannot put down. The reality and emotion of Perennials made this book the perfect way to end my Southern Summer reading list!

Filled with charm this book was well written but a rather sad read and I could not stand the sister! The author did a great job at making the good characters likable and the bad characters to where you can't stand them!

Perennials is very poignant story full of emotions and family drama. It was very well written and the plot moved along well. Although, I was disappointed with emphasis on New Age Religion and yoga. In my opinion, it showcased very confusing values of religion.