Pamela Terry’s debut novel, The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, had me at hello. My great thanks go to Net Galley and Random House Ballantine for the review copy. You can buy it now.

Lila Bruce Breedlove (I even love the characters’ names) hasn’t gone home to Georgia in a good long while, and it’s not accidental, either. Her home in Maine with her dogs and fond memories of her late husband are the furthest thing from her mama’s censorious gaze and the smallminded thinking of the people of Wesleyan, Georgia. But now Mama has been found facedown in the Muscadine arbor, and Lila knows there’s nothing else to do. She packs her bag, gets a friend to look after the dogs, and buys a ticket. Her brother Henry, who has also made a permanent home up north, does the same, but he advises his life partner, Andrew, to stay put. Their sister, Abigail, is the lone family member that didn’t flee. She and Mama were best friends, as they told everyone constantly, including Lila and Henry. Still, duty calls. It wouldn’t be fair to leave Abigail to do this on her own.

The whole story is told by Lila in the first person limited. I find this refreshing. The tone is intimate, confidential at times, and downright conspiratorial at others. Lila lets us know that “Growing up in the South is not for the faint of heart…When you’re the slightest bit different, you stand out like a monkey in a chorus line.”

Before they’ve even touched down, Lila and Henry have questions. For example, why was Mama in the Muscadines at all? The arbor is nowhere near the house, and she never chose to visit it when she was a younger woman. It had been Lila’s special place. Once they arrive in Georgia, they confront more questions, and though not all of them are answered, a plethora of surprises greet them, some of them hilarious, others shocking. Lila tells us that

“Secrets are spilled at southern funerals. Death, particularly when its inevitability has been ignored for generations, possesses a power to snap diffidence and dignity right in two, causing those left behind to be overcome with the need to unburden their consciences before they themselves are found sleeping in a slick, shiny coffin in their best Sunday suit.”

The first surprise, it turns out, is that Geneva Bruce left an advance directive specifying no funeral at all upon her demise, which she had known to be imminent. For the widow of a Southern Baptist Georgia preacher to bail from her own funeral is unheard of! However, the lack of a proper funeral does not, cannot prevent family secrets from unspooling, and some of them are bombshells, too.

Terry is a gifted wordsmith, and her figurative language is original and at times, drop dead funny. The pacing never flags, and the transitions that take us from raucous levity, to bittersweet reflection, to aching sorrow, and then back again are buttery smooth. It was like hearing from my best friend. I generally read several books at a time, but this one proved to be the one I read when I would not be interrupted, and I was sorry to see it end.

It was only at about the eighty percent mark that I realized that one of my least favorite elements was included here, that of the Bad Mama. This is a trend right now, and I’m ready to be done with it. Novelists far and wide have enjoyed crafting stories centered around unworthy mothers, and when I see one coming in advance, I consider it a deal-breaker. But almost any device, character, or plot point can be forgiven when a novel is of exceptional quality, and that is what I see here.

Highly recommended.

When Lila gets the call that her mother has unexpectedly passed away, she is forced to go back home to a place she would rather forget. Once there, she and her brother uncover unsettling information that tilts their world on its axis. It turns out their mother held secrets that would change their world forever.

Beautifully written, the book follows Lila as she works through everything she thought she knew to make peace with what turns out to be reality. Set in the south and then later in Scotland, the descriptions of the scenery are amazing and really make you feel like you are there.

Heart wrenching as much as it is uplifting, I highly recommend The Sweet Taste of Muscadines.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Title: The Sweet Taste of Muscadines
Author: Pamela Terry
Genre: Southern fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

Lila Bruce Breedlove never quite felt at home in Wesleyan, Georgia, especially after her father's untimely demise when she was a child. Both Lila and her brother, Henry, fled north after high school, establishing fulfilling lives of their own. In contrast, their younger sister, Abigail, opted to remain behind to dote on their domineering, larger-than-life mother, Geneva. Yet despite their independence, Lila and Henry know deep down that they've never quite reckoned with their upbringing.

When their elderly mother dies suddenly and suspiciously in the muscadine arbor behind the family estate, Lila and Henry return to the town that essentially raised them. But as they uncover more about Geneva's death, shocking truths are revealed that overturn the family's history as they know it, sending the pair on an extraordinary journey to chase a truth that will dramatically alter the course of their lives.

I love the voice in this! Granted, Southern fiction is one of my absolute favorite genres, but the voice is phenomenal. The author does a wonderful job of portraying life in a southern town—with all its vivid, memorable characters—as well as the beauty of Scotland and its people. Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about this. Just go read it!

Pamela Terry is a lifelong Southerner. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 3/22.)

If you are looking for a feel good read, “The Sweet Taste of Muscadines” is the book for you. The book is about love, forgiveness and living your true life. I throughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHouse and #PamelaTerry for the advance readers copy of this book for my honest review.

“Once again the old longing for home was whispering, but for the life of me I just didn’t know where home was.”

THE SWEET TASTE OF MUSCADINES centers around siblings who come back to their Southern hometown as adults when their mother suddenly passes away. the story unfolds amidst family drama, secrets, and scandal, giving the book great pacing and making it a really entertaining read. I am always drawn to stories that feature sibling relationships, so I loved that aspect of this book. I was also so drawn to how @pamelaandedward wrote about the South. she captures the beautiful parts of it without shying away from the ugly parts, and I found it to be so true to life. I highlighted so many great passages on grief and the complexities of home and belonging. I enjoyed this debut novel, but I really loved part one of the book in particular.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry is a sweet story of a family trying to function in a time when homosexuality is a topic not spoken of and the mother ran the family with an iron fist. There are three grown siblings, around 40: Henry, Abby, and Lila. The story is told from Lila's point of view. Her mother was a widow and had raised the three of them by herself. She was a Southern lady and she wanted her daughters to be Southern ladies as well. Only one was. Lila and Henry had gotten away from home as soon as they were able, both going to art school. Lila met her husband there, by accident. He was older and a widower and they spent 22 happy years together until he died unexpectedly of a stroke. Now she lived by herself in their home in Maine, working as a weaver, along with her friend Maureen to raised the sheep from which the wool came, and generally ran their business. She had been in marketing. One day the phone rang: it was Abby telling her their mother had died. Lila arranged with Henry to meet at the airport upon their arrivals and drive home together. Henry had left his significant other, Andrew, behind, as he knew there would not be a warm welcome for him in this town.
By putting together a series of clues, Lila and Henry unraveled family secrets kept for decades. Despite having been reared in a largely dysfunctional household, Lila and Henry had positive relationships and good friends.

Although their mother had been controlling, they had largely escaped her. Not so for Abby, who was different than the two of them and had been her mother's best friend, living as her mother wished rather than how she wished. Upon her mother's death, Abby went nuts: dyed her hair red, bought totally inappropriate clothing, and got drunk. She got so drunk she said things at the get-together that opened the doors to just how dysfunctional the family was. It really was a mess, but all Lila and Henry worked together to ferret out of secrets their mother had held and dragged Abby back to sanity and happiness. There were surprises ahead, for all of them. This was a compelling story about secrets and the damage they can do. Somehow, getting away from home brought sanity back into the lives of Lila and Henry so that when the secrets revealed themselves, the two of them were mature enough, and well adjusted enough to manage them. It was a thoughtful and intelligent read. There is so much more to say. I truly enjoyed it.

I was invited to read The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Netgalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own. #netgalley #thesweettasteofmuscadines

I enjoyed reading The Sweet Taste of Muscadines. I would love to read more by Pamela Terry in the future. Five stars.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is the debut novel of emerging author Pamela Terry. This is a very original story. Although, honestly, it didn’t capture me immediately, when it did I was in 200%, trying to keep my eyes open late into the night because I would rather read than sleep, not wanting to be separated from these wonderful characters!

An early morning phone call brings the sad news that Geneva Bruce has died. When her youngest daughter, Abigail, calls older sister, Lila, to tell her, she also relays the very unusual circumstances where she found their mother face down under the muscadine arbor very early that morning. Lila and their brother, Henry, fly to Atlanta to drive on to join the family in Wesleyan, Georgia.

As the story unfolds, the reader discovers a multilayered story and how Geneva has orchestrated so much of their lives without regard for her children’s needs or feelings. Above all, appearances matter! Her children seem to be secondary.

Lila escaped from home when she went to college, met, and married a college professor much her senior and then settled in Maine. Henry also went away to college and ended up with his own art gallery in Rhode Island, settling with his boyfriend and renowned artist Andrew Gant. Abby is the only one to stay in their hometown and is closest to their mother, although it was Geneva that separated Abby from the one she loved.

Ever since their father reportedly died at the hand of a sniper’s bullet in a jungle half a world away, their mother had been distant, especially to Lila and Henry. When Lila and Henry discover what was under the muscadine arbor, it leads them to find answers where they didn’t even know before that there were questions.

This is one of the best books I have read this year! If this is a debut novel I can only imagine what wonderful things Pamela Terry has in store in the future for her readers! I very much enjoyed this beautiful story and I do recommend it!

Thank you Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book.
Lula and Henry return to Wesleyan, Georgia after the sudden death of their mother. Both had moved away as soon as they could and mostly stayed away. Their sister Abigail stayed behind loving the southern way of life, dress and act properly at all times. Abby took care of their mother Geneva being the good southern girl. But then their mothers body was discovered in the Muscadine field and no one could understand why. Lila and Henry return and the world has changed. This is an amazing g story of love and family, growth and acceptance.
#Netgalley #BallentineBooks

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, a debut novel by Pamela Terry, is the best of southern family drama but also part travel book. The scenes that unfold for the Bruce family, upon the unexpected death of the matriarch sport characters authentic, lovable and embarrassing, just as we’d expect in a story of a family.

Where Terry shines most, though, is in her descriptions and sense of place. Lila, our main character, begins the journey at her late husband, now her, home in Maine, where we as readers would be just as happy to stay, with the artists and all the great canine friends.

But then she travels “home” to Wesleyan, Georgia, and she not only enchants us with the tasteful homes and small town, but also lets us visit the low country Marsh. The writing in this section felt very much like Pat Conroy could have been nudging the author as she typed.

But she saved the best for last, as our characters travel to the Hebrides in Scotland, to the actual island (but fictional community) of Eynhallow, where the beauty makes the reader, and probably the writer, breathless.

Encapsulated in these lovely settings is a very real story of loss, mystery and acceptance. In these pandemic times, I’d give it five stars for the chance to “travel” alone, but the story is well done. Especially if you love dogs!

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines will be published March 16, 2021 by Random House/Ballantine. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to preview.

This book started off with a slow build that gave a lot of information about the narrator and her take on her life so far. About halfway through the story really picked up steam and I started to have a hard time putting it down. It is an interesting story that illustrates a couple of points - you never really know anyone else's life (even your immediate family) and home is where you make it. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Beautifully Written Southern Story

Lila, her brother Henry, and sister Abigail grew up in Wesleyan, George, a lovely Southern town. Lila and Henry never felt comfortable with the constricted atmosphere, particularly after their beloved father’s death when they were very young. They both headed north. Lila married and moved to an island off the coast of Maine where she remained after her husband’s death. Henry went to New York. Abigail felt differently and stayed to become her rather rigid mother Geneva’s best friend.

When their mother dies suddenly, Lila and Henry reluctantly return home. They’re shocked to find out that their mother died in the muscadine grove with a digging spoon in her hand. As the siblings seek to discover the reason for Geneva’s uncharacteristic behavior they uncover long held secrets that change their perception of their childhood.

This is a beautifully written book. From the descriptions of the small Georgia town to the chill landscape of an island off the coast of Ireland the details are so alive that you feel as if you’ve known these places and want to go back. I hated putting the book down because I missed the vivid atmosphere.

The characters are well written. Each sibling has their own characteristics and demons. They are quite different, but by the end of the book I felt like they were family. I particularly liked Lila. I liked her independence and they way she made her own decisions such as becoming a weaver and remaining in Maine.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Epic Story of Family Secrets, Lies, and Love
I loved this book. The first of the book is so slow, wordy, and maybe tiresome. But it is the calm before the storm. In setting the scene so thoroughly, we are encompassed in the Southern Way. In a world where politeness masks the knife in your back and pretending not to notice the elephant in the room allows you to gossip later. A land where one has to fit in on the surface or be shunned out of existence. Suddenly, the story turns on its axis and we are as sucked into the void as the characters are. Their lives are turned upside-down and they struggle to make sense of it all. What a rollercoaster of emotion! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

(4.5) What a wonderful debut novel. I loved the characters and the settings, and the writing was beautifully done. A little humor amidst the grief of the death of a mother, and a bit of mystery as well that was quite entertaining. This was a great southern read that kept me captivated from the very start. Very moving and showed how important family really is. I highly recommend this book.

A big thank you to Ballentine Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

This is the story of Lila and her family. What an interesting story it is! Growing up in the south in a small town can be an adventure in itself. Throw in being a preacher’s kid and there you go. This is only the beginning for Lila, Henry and Abigail and the ups and downs of their family. I loved their story and could feel their emotions. I enjoyed how true to life this story is and I’m sure many families have dealt with similar situations and secrets themselves. I really didn’t want it to end because I liked hanging out with them. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Lila and Henry. I think you will enjoy their story also. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own. I love finding new to me authors. Don’t be afraid to try an author you haven’t read or even heard of. You may just find a new favorite.

I am always so amazed when a debut novel knocks my socks off and that is exactly what The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry did. Southern charm permeates the story of three siblings after the sudden death of their very proper mother. The circumstances of her death are not so "very proper." As they try to figure out why their mother was outside in the muscadine vines after midnight in her nightgown and with a spoon in her hand, there are many revelations about the family history that are unearthed--things Lila and Henry must explore, even as they leave their other sister, Abigail, behind and possibly in the dark.
I loved the writing style of Ms. Terry. She took me on a lovely journey of discovery. Not only did she do a wonderful job of imparting the qualities and lives of the siblings, but she took me on a trip to another land. The descriptive segments of the book were superb. I believe I felt exactly what she wanted me to feel. I really liked that she didn't seem to rush things at the end of the story. It all unfolded at a lovely pace. I highly recommend this book.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Random House via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Title: The Sweet Taste of Muscadines
Author: Pamela Terry
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"The Sweet Taste of Muscadines" by Pamela Terry

My Opinion:

'The Sweet Taste of Muscadines' was indeed a delightful, good family mystery read that will keep you turning the pages in this southern drama. I enjoyed how Lia finally found answers that would give her the peace she so needed. The story really turned from an unexpected death that would lead Lila and Henry to Scotland to get all of the answers needed to complete this well-told story. One thing to get out of this story was that one never knows about one's kinfolk and when the secrets come rolling out! I will say that 'The Sweet Taste Of Muscadines' will pull one 'in just like the taste of sweet tea and southern charm.' So be prepared for a read about a 'family, their history, drama, and oh yes, dysfunction' in one way or another.

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is not my normal type of book, but I figured I'd give it a chance as it sounded interesting. It took me until more than 50% to really get into the story, it seemed like the whole first half was information being repeated over and over again which made it hard to read. I think Part 2 was more interesting to me, when Lila and Henry go on their trip. It was a good book, just a little slow for me.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is a beautifully written debut novel that tells the story of a southern family with many secrets. After the death of their mother, three siblings have to find a way through the secrets and realize just how important family really is.

"Seems you're always braver the farther you are from home."

Lila Breedlove and her brother, Henry return to their hometown of Wesleyan, Georgia after learning of the sudden death of their mother. While Lilia and Henry both moved North, their younger sister,
Abigail (Abby) stayed behind with their mother. As they begin to learn more about their mother's death, they learn more about their family's history, its secrets, and surprising truths.

"Maybe home is more something you carry inside of you than the ground on which you stand."

What a wonderful debut novel which touches on many issues such as family, religion, expectations, love, acceptance, judgement, home, forgiveness, the consequence of actions, and secrets. The tail is carefully woven between the past, growing up and the present. The characters will grow on you and their tale was pleasing. Plus, that cover!

I really enjoyed the pace of this book and how secrets and truths came into play. Like a beautifully woven tapestry, this book was put together with care. There are some aha moments and some quiet moments where you want to give the characters a hug for their care for each other.

Home is a resounding theme. I loved this aspect of the book. The Sweet Taste of the Muscadines is beautifully written and well plotted. When I finished this book, I leaned back and let out a sign of content. It's always nice to read an enjoyable book.

I hope to read more of Pamela Terry's work in the future.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.