This book had everything I love: tangled romance, magical realism, stunningly beautiful prose, Iceland - just everything. I am going to should about this book forever. This is the Chocolat/Sarah Addison Allen inspired YA of my dreams.

I find it difficult to write a coherent review of this quiet, beautiful book since so many aspects delighted me. The characters were so compelling: Evie is a fierce and feisty heroine; Oskar's choices and insecurities are understandable (even when problematic); & everyone should have an Agnes. The way Hawkins switches the narrative voice between her protagonists is so compelling. Oskar's voice, at times, was heartbreaking beautiful - and written with an austerity that seemed to amplify and reflect the Icelandic setting. The slow burn of the romance kept me engaged from the start.

Chocolat and Garden Spells are two books I love so incredibly much - and the "food magic" utilized in THE LANGUAGE OF CHERRIES feels like visiting an old friend. I have already ordered and can't wait to have a final copy in my hands.

So grab a very large slice of homemade cherry pie and prepare to be enchanted by THE LANGUAGE OF CHERRIES.

**I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. **

I'm speechless. I just want to tug myself in bed and cry for the rest of the day. If I could, I would give this book more than 5 stars.

***Actual Rating: 5++++++/5 Cherry-on-Top Stars***

I’d like to start this review by saying that it’s been forever since I last experienced something so incredibly heartfelt, unbelievably touching, and extremely emotional by reading a book. In fact, I was stunned speechless by this earth-shattering piece of story so much that I came up with a short playlist 100% inspired by Evie and Oskar’s, the protagonists’, tales of cherries; thus, I hope you’ll enjoy this book, my review, and my song choices as much as I like putting them together. 🙂

Long story short, the journey of The Language of Cherries began when Evie Perez, a Cuban-American teenage girl residing in Florida, was sent to Iceland to live with her estranged father for her summer vacation since she chose not to stay with her terrible mother in New York. As an aspiring artist, Evie discovered a beautiful cherry orchard right next to her dad’s house, which served as a perfect inspiration for her right when she needed it most.

Little did she know the cherry tree she randomly sat under was…a little different from others. According to Evie, aside from its juicier, riper, and plumper cherries, the fruit itself possessed the magic power of materializing dreams. After having a little taste of a few stolen cherries, Evie’s paintings came to life as if some invisible forces wielded her paintbrushes mysteriously.

Enter Oskar Eriksson, a handsome 17-year-old Icelandic guy who owned the orchard with his aunt but secretly battled against his stammer. And by “battling” against, it was more of “escaping” from reality when all Oskar did was keep his thoughts in his English, poetry-formed journal while pretending he didn’t understand the beautiful language, a.k.a. the one Evie spoke in.

See, they were easily one of my top favorite OTPs (one true pairings) thanks to all the swoon-worthy yet hilarious moments. I honestly LIVED for Evie and Oskar’s ridiculous encounters and cute banters.

All right, before I was carried away by their adorableness, I’d like to talk about how this book had had such an incredibly positive impact on me and what I loved most about it. Since this book is partly composed of *ahem* “journals full of bad poetry, unfinished songs, and scattered thoughts of a sad guy who lost everyone he ever loved” (Oskar’s words, not mine), I really loved the lyrical literary notes as well as Evie’s unfiltered inner thoughts throughout the story.

In case you’re wondering, this book was told from both Evie and Oskar’s perspectives, which was undeniably a brilliant arrangement to make everything clear for the readers. The light-hearted tone of the narratives really brought out the best of Evie’s down-to-earth personality and Oskar’s overall broody-yet-caring-enough vibe.

To my astonishment, Evie’s paintings and her insatiable desire for cherries from that special tree may have something to do with Oskar’s traumatic experience and that’s all I’m telling you right now. *wink* Aside from the non-spoilery teaser above, I also appreciated the truth in these tales of cherries. The author somehow flawlessly elevated the essence of such a fictional, Nordic folklore regarding Oskar’s family roots as the one and only cherry orchard owner in Iceland, and brought life to Evie’s paintings inspired by the cherries-infused dreams.

In short, The Language of Cherries was a book about friends, family, relationship, first love, and most imperative of all, forgiveness. The depth of these concepts was splendidly presented by Evie and Oskar’s way of story-telling, and I found myself gravitate towards their self-exploratory journey right after jumping on board of this wild, memorable cruise full of diverse cultural backgrounds. As much as I’d love to better represent the general idea of this book, I know no words can do justice to this beautifully written masterpiece.

Therefore, I decided to share my mini playlist inspired by this book with you and hopefully, you’ll give Evie and Oskar’s “Aisling” cherries a taste. To put it differently, this book wasn’t just one that’d stay with me for a long time; I would artfully weave the amazing experience and lessons into my own life in reality as well. After all, just as Oskar quoted from Bob Marley, “You just got to find the ones (the people) worth suffering for,” and this book I’m holding right now, is a story worth fulfilling.

Lastly, needless to say, The Language of Cherries is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED read from me and I’m certain you’ll feel the contagious happiness, sense of achievement, and self-betterment at the end of the story.

***Thanks to the author and Owl Hollow Press for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

This is a beautiful story. Set in the gorgeously described Iceland, girl meets boy with a twist. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

I absolutely loved this touching story that shows us you don't always need words to fall in love; you can also communicate through art, music, and yes--cherries. Written in two viewpoints, one lyrical and one prosaic, The Language of Cherries unfolds slowly against the backdrop of Iceland in summer, which is beautifully described.

Evie and Oskar, teens who are each struggling to figure out their next steps in life, meet in Oskar's family's cherry orchard. Evie, straight from Florida and still experiencing culture shock, tries to introduce herself, but Oskar just wants to be alone, so he pretends not to understand English. He expects that will be the last time he has to see the beautiful girl he doesn't want to talk to. However, Evie is tired of being lonely and drawn to the cherry trees that somehow enhance her ability to paint, so keeps finding excuses to return to the orchard.

What could just be another classic boy-meets-girl tale is elevated by the complication of Oskar's silence as well as by the touch of mysticism that winds through the book--just enough to complement the sense of wonder and magic at falling in love for the first time. The ending, too, was very touching and struck just the right chord--pun intended. I will definitely be following this author, and I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

I thought the book was very difficult to get into. The writing style in the beginning seemed like the author was trying to hard to use larger/fancier words instead of letting it happen naturally which took away from the book. I struggled to get through the first 20-25% of the book but after that point the writing relaxed to sound more like a young adult novel and I enjoyed it much more. The storyline was well thought out and there were some good lessons that the main characters learned. Both of them grew exponentially from where they were in the beginning of the book. I loved the the way the author interwove the characters with Evie painting scenes of his family so ultimately he can learn from them and begin to live his life again.

If you’re looking for a contemporary YA story with a touch of magic, look no further. Evie, a mysterious girl from Florida, finds herself stuck in Iceland for the summer. Fearing eternal boredom, abandonment by her so-called friends, and the looming tragedy of moving in with her mother, Evie has low expectations for this summer. Until she finds a cherry tree and inspiration for her paintings. A handsome boy becomes her first subject, though she has no clue who he is. Oskar finds his summer filled with a heavy grief that holds him to his family’s unusual cherry orchard, bogged down by a speech impediment. When the two meet, Oskar doesn’t say a word. As the summer continues, Evie finds herself falling in love with this silent, enigmatic boy. But as their time together nears its end, Oskar is faced with a decision. Does he tell Evie the truth, that he’s understood her all along, or does he hold on to the lie?

This is a stunning novel, written from two points of view, one prose and one poetic. Hawkins beautifully captures the emotional gravity of many types of grief, and shows how language doesn’t have to be a barrier to real communication. The story began a bit slowly, but as the urgency of the summer and its secrets goes on, the story picks up intensity as well until you find yourself entangled in the romance, and wishing that it could be summer in Iceland forever.

This beautifully-written novel revolves around young love, betrayal, family drama, and reconciliation. In short, the typical young adult novel. However, The Language of Cherries is a poignantly written story of Evie and Oskar’s interactions as young adults from two different walks of life. While their relationship is wrought with deceit, they learn to communicate and fall in love in their own way. With beautiful descriptions, a glimpse into Icelandic and Gaelic culture, and the scent of cherries, Jen Marie Hawkins weaves a beautiful tale that I couldn’t put down until the last line.

This book was wonderful, from the Icelandic setting to the well developed quirky and different love story of the two main characters Evie and Oskar, I was fully enveloped into their world. I will definitely recommend this book to others.

A coming of age story that had me laughing and also pulled at my heart strings. When Oskar is caught up in a white lie, he never thought that things would get so out of hand, but the more time he spends with Evie the deeper in his lie he finds himself. The two share experiences with out sharing words. This story is unique in that way. These two characters are young and yet they have been through so much. They each must come to terms with their family relationships, the loss of in Oskar's case, but the lack of a relationship in Evie's case. Forgiveness is also something that the two must learn to do. Forgive themselves, forgive each other, and forgive their families. Only when they begin to let go of the anger they have held on to for so long will they begin to learn to live and hopefully love. This book held my interest from start to finish. I was caught up in the magic of it all even before I realized there was even magic involved. Oskar and Evie will stay with me for a while to come.

Thank you to Owl Hollow Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written YA love story that slowly unpacks its story and reveals hidden depths as the two main characters, coming from two very different cultures, meet and get to know one another. Lots of unsaid things drift along just below the surface, and the reader slowly realizes how brokenness can heal as the characters discover their intense attraction to each other. I loved the way the geographical setting was an important part of the feeling of the story - and the ending was immensely satisfying without falling into the trap of being cheesy or easy. Highly recommended!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

Thank you Netgalley and Jen Hawkins for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know what to really expect for The Language of Cherries, but the angstiness of our main character drove me into the reading right from the first pages- I mean, which of us would like to leave their world behind for the summer? Evie made me remember how I felt when I started spending my summers in Belgium instead of at home- and I commiserated with her, Her relationship with her parents and not wanting to be bought for the time lost was a sentiment I felt with Evie, and I loved that we got a character with dementia here, and how it can affect a family.

The dual POV adds a spark to the story, as we get more depth and a better understanding of Evie and Oskar, as they start their story not communicating verbally, but still finding a way of understanding each other. It's a bit of an Ariel moment, but in a way you don't want to put your book down for being so good.

The Language of Cherries is a romantic ya story that shows us the power of connection and healing through companionship, without the need to be verbal all the time and make us think how sometimes, we don't need to fill the silence to feel understood.

Evie is forced to move to Iceland for the summer when her father gets work there. She leaves behind her Abuela, her friends and school.

She decides to visit a cherry orchard behind the guesthouse they are staying in. She gets a feeling that she has to paint there. Here, she meets Oskar who lives on the orchard and is surprised to see her on his family’s orchard and more surprised to see that she’s painted him.

Evie becomes comfortable with Oskar and eventually starts telling him everything about her. Oskar pretends he’s can’t speak English, and conveys what he’s feeling through music instead. Will Oskar come clean and be able to talk to Evie?

This was a really cute story! I loved seeing Evies personality come out as she and Oskar spent time in the orchard. The ending was perfect too.

Evie Perez, a seventeen year old girl from Miami, finds her summer in hot pieces when she's forced to go to Iceland with her dad. In Iceland she knows nobody, spends her days indoors and thinks about her friends and grandma in Miami. However, one day she decides to go to a cherry orchard to paint - only to discover a strange force at hand and a handsome guy among the cherry trees.
Oskar doesn't utter a word to the enigmatic girl, afraid that she'll judge him for his stutter. Thinking Oskar doesn't understand her, Evie spills her darkest thoughts to him and an unique bond forms between the two. Sometimes words are not needed.

I had no clue what to expect when I found this book on Netgalley. Thought it sounded like a cute read, and it really was. It was difficult to get into the story at first, the prose was too intricate with the detailed descriptions, it sometimes made it difficult to read without stopping every now and then to try and comprehend what had just happened. This is a common issue among writers I think. Because this is something I myself do to make my prose more exquisite. Yet, too much of this kills the prose. As the story unfolded, the prose got much better and had hints of exquisite sentences. I sometimes would stop and reread these sentences and think "what a beautiful sentence". And that is what makes a book so great, when you stop and admire the author's work.

I liked this story more than I originally would've thought. And seeing as it is the author's first book, I'm very excited to see what she will write next. This was a beautiful story and I can see it becoming a huge summer read.

My first 5 star read of 2020!

I will openly admit right here that this book goes completely against my reading grain. I am 25 years older than the main characters, so teenage romance has not been an interest of mine in a loooooong time, and I don't normally like mysticism as a genre, even in teeny tiny doses like this. However, a few months ago, I stumbled across the premise and it just called out to me, so I added it to my TBR immediately. I am SO, SO happy I got to read an advanced copy because I was waiting on pins and needles for its release!

OMG, this has to be one of the most beautiful and romantic books I have read in a very long time! I absolutely adored the author's lyrical style of writing!

Told from dual POV, we first meet Evie. She is in Iceland with her father for the summer because of a project for his job and is completely miserable. She misses Miami, where she is from, and she misses her abuela and friends back home. On top of the usual teenage angst and boy drama, she is dealing with her grandmother being put into an assisted living facility for early onset dementia and she is battling resentment against her parents for both being absent in her life. Her mother abandoned her when she was younger to pursue her own interests and her father is always working and never around. She is lonely, frustrated, and confused and it causes her to lose her passion for her main love, which is painting. One day, about a week after arriving, she finds out that not too far from the rented house she is staying in, there is a farm with the only cherry orchard in all of Iceland. Hoping it will motivate her to paint, she sets out to explore and when she finds it, she is overcome with inspiration. Images flood her mind at lightning speed and she must rush to get them onto the canvas as quickly as possible. One of the images is of a beautiful blond haired boy her own age, who shortly after her painting is completed, she comes to find out is real. Curiosity about the boy and how she painted him with such accuracy before ever laying eyes on him, causes her to want to get to know him.

Oskar, although young, is the epitomy of a tortured hero. An insanely talented singer and musician, he is ostracized and outcasted by almost everyone around him because of a severe stutter that makes it very difficult to communicate with people verbally. He finds companionship in his journal and uses it to express all the feelings he cannot put into words. He lost his parents and younger brother several years before and now lives on his family's cherry farm with his aunt, who tries her best to bring him out of his shell and move past his tragedy, but is unsuccessful. When Evie appears in his orchard one day while he is working, he is completely fascinated by her. She is the first person he has met in a very long time that doesn't know about his stutter or his family, and although it is deceitful, he finds a way to spend time with her without having to actually speak.

This is where the book becomes unputdownable because these two characters find a way to fully connect and communicate without words and in a way that is totally believable. I found myself hanging onto all of their moments together because they use eye contact to do most of their talking and it speaks volumes. There are very, very few books that could ever be this romantic without the character's ever conversing with one another.

So without giving away any of the plot (because there is a mystery element to this story), I will simply say that it is entrancing, swoony, and just so beautifully and realistically written that I cannot stop thinking about it. The only thing that could make it more perfect would be an epilogue. I really feel this book needs one. The ending is a bit abrupt, so while we can kind of tell how things turn out for our main characters, I would much rather actually know.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book. It was a real honor to be one of the first to read and review it!

Follows two creative teens from different worlds and different ethnicities discovering each other and trying to communicate without words and falling in love.

Oskar has a stutter and choses to communicate with evie through music. Evie is an artist and paints images from her dreams that turn out to be Oskars deceased family.

The setting if Iceland was beautiful. I could truly picture the orchard and the lighthouse with all the beautiful scenery.

I also loved that not only were they of different ethnicities and backgrounds but they were both creatives. Which to me helped even more with the way this book was beautifully written as theres so much talk about colour and painting. I wouldnt be able to pick one line that stood out as there were many.

There was talk of consent too and respect within a relationship or friendship which I appreciated as well, especially in these times.

However to me the story fell a bit flat but I didnt really mind as I enjoyed the writing so much. The setting stood out to me more than the character's did.

But all round i did really enjoy the book and could quite easily see this being made into a movie.

After the first book I finished this year, I longed for a more quietly paced book. 'The Language of Cherries' turned out to be the perfect choice for that.

I liked the surroundings, and the way old words were spilled throughout (and explained at the end of every chapter). I also liked how Oskar's journal entries were like poems. Sometimes the language was just a bit too simple and childish to my taste, especially when I take the themes of the book into account.

I would recommend reading this book to a couple of readers I know, of whom I know they would love this book. I cannot say that I did, but I did enjoy it.

"The earth shifts on its axis, breathless. Jealous of our gravitational pull."

That was such a sweet, quick read. I've read a fair amount of young adult contemporaries so I am not easily impressed anymore but I have to admit this was a great debut touching on the themes of grief, family, first love and the power of forgiveness. Even though it's short I didn't feel like it was missing anything. The flow felt right and the events natural.

The Language of Cherries follows two teenagers, Evie and Oskar, as they try to find their place in the world; Evie coming to terms with her grandmother's illness, and Oskar redefining his life after the death of his parents and younger brother. I loved the dual pov and especially Oskar's as it was in verse. The writing was incredible in general. The words were simple enough but carried so much power. I have to admit, visiting Iceland has been a lifelong dream of mine but even if it weren't I'd add it to the list after the author's descriptions of the scenery, the culture, not to mention the food. All those pies... Dean Winchester would be proud. In conclusion, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this book. I will also be looking forward to Jen's next books.

Theme Song: My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words

*Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.*

I don't think I have enough words for the emotional rollercoaster of this book.

I was actually, a little less than halfway through, going to DNF it. Because I felt like nothing was happening and the characters were dull and there was nothing for me in this book. But soon I b
realized that this is not just a book you read and walk by unscathed. No. This is a book that leaves it's mark in your mind, it captures your soul and engraves itself inside your heart in the best way possible.

I absolutely loved the way Oskar's parts were told in a lyrical/poetic style. I don't even know if I should say his words or Jen Maries', hit me so hard that I found myself sobbing at the middle of the night.

This is a masterpiece, that should be devoured not because it's just a story about two sad hurt grieving people, it should be devoured because it's a story that might just give you a new perspective. Trust me this is a book that when you reach the end of it, you can't not be affected by it's beauty.