This is a fascinating, unique story that I enjoyed. We follow various members of Bridge family through time as they face the challenges set upon them by a family curse. The curse sends one descendant from each male line back in time. The time spans range from late 1700s to 1960s. The curse enacts itself and like the snap of a finger, the person is transported back in time. Additionally, the Bridge family are black.

The time jumps are shocking and heartbreaking, even though you know they’re coming. No spoilers, so I’ll spare details but this book is gut wrenching at times. The historical aspects well done, little bits about the land & life in the various time periods were wonderful.

Leaving off a star because it’s a very confusing book. Quite a few characters and of course so many time jumps. Along with changes from 1st person to 3rd, it was difficult to follow at times.

If the premise interests you, I’d recommend the physical book. You want to jump back to previous chapter a lot, which is harder to do with the ebook.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of "The Fallen Fruit" by Shawntelle Madison. In this review, I aim to highlight the notable aspects of the novel.

"The Fallen Fruit" delves deeply into the theme of time travel, offering a captivating narrative that held my interest from start to finish. The premise of time travel, particularly within a historical context, intrigued me greatly. The novel follows the Bridges family across different time periods in a fantastical manner, where a member of each generation is unexpectedly transported back in time, spanning from the late 1700s to the 1960s.

Throughout the story, Madison skillfully navigates through various eras, including those marked by slavery and civil rights movements, while exploring the challenges faced by the Bridges family in coping with their temporal displacement.

For readers who appreciate a blend of historical fiction and science fiction, "The Fallen Fruit" offers a compelling narrative that is sure to captivate and engage.

I received an ARC of The Fallen Fruit by Shawntelle Madison

Kindred light. Less graphic than Kindred. Instead of one person time traveling, and only to a certain location/time, one sibling from the family born of the male line is cursed with the ability to time travel. They never know what year they will end up in, so there are rules put in place (including always carrying free papers). I enjoyed the different perspectives of the members that went back in time, and those that were left in the "present." If you enjoy black history, time travel, and searching for answers, this book is for you.

The Fallen Fruit follows the Bridge family and the curse that’s caused them to fall into various time periods for centuries. This book was phenomenally written and immersive in character development. Following Cecily and her journey through finding out about her family was gripping. I do wish I had had this a physical copy, being able to flip back to the family tree and keep notes of everything would have kept everything on track for me a bit better.

The Fallen Fruit is a really well executed historical fiction chronicling generations of members of an extended family anchored in a piece of land in Charlottesville purchased by one woman who earned her emancipation to establish a Free State family farm — true story. The story goes back and forth in time, as do the characters, through an unfortunate wrinkle in time of sorts causing one-way, involuntary time travel — not true! It’s a fascinating concept with believable, interesting, likable interwoven characters, and a plot line that kept me turning pages to find out what happens.

I keep thinking this is what I expected Sing Unburied, Sing to be like, except that that book had no likeable characters, was bleak to no end and the magical realism didn’t make any sense.

In The Fallen Fruit, on the other hand, the magical aspects are the canvas for the story upon which characters act believably as they move through time. In different sections of the book, stories unfold for different family members of different generations who are linked together by lineage. The way the scenery and changes in laws, culture, treatment of Black Americans, rights and access to voting/education/civil rights for Blacks and women provided a fascinating, well researched backdrop reminded me some of Homegoing in how well done it was.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fallen Fruit uses the story of a family of time travelers to capture the lives of African Americans in Virginia from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. Rather than having one main character, the book follows several key characters in the Bridge family and how their lives and choices shaped the family curse.

I expected the book to have a more mystery element, maybe following Cecil’s as she uncovers for herself the time traveling mystery, but that isn’t what happens with how the book is organized. Instead I found myself a bit lost as to where the story was going. Because of that I think readers will enjoy the book most if they have the expectation of a story focused on the lives of the characters themselves, shaped by time travel rather than a mystery that drives the book. I do think reading a physical copy would help so you could go back and reference past sections and the family tree.

For me I wish there had been more time spent on unraveling the curse and I felt like it ended with a lot of unanswered questions. Still it paints a detailed picture of life in Virginia for free African Americans at that time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad for the ARC!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

The Fallen Fruit is a historical fantasy about the Bridge family who has been cursed for one member of each family unit from the male line to fall back in time. Cecily Bridge has inherited her family's farm and is on a mission to figure things out before she succumbs to the family curse.

I was really interested in reading this book. The concept was very intriguing to me. I love the mix of fantasy with historical fiction which is a genre I have come to love. The pacing is slow and the timeline is not linear; if there was not a family tree in the beginning of the book I would have been completely lost. There were so many characters to follow too some I wasn't even for sure why we were reading about them. The ending also left me unsatisfied because it felt like there were too many loose ends still not answered. Maybe some of the answers were explained and I just missed them. This is definitely the type of book that deserves several reads.

This is definitely a good read that I do recommend if you like historical fiction. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Fallen Fruit.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked how immersive the different time periods were and the character development within each family grouping. It was a little hard to keep track of the family sometimes and I had to keep referring to the family tree, but that’s why it is there. Thank you Amistead and Shawntelle Madison for the opportunity to read this book!

This story follows several family members of the Bridge family as they navigate life with the knowledge that they or their relatives could be sent backwards through time, and how to be prepared for such inevitabilities. Do they interfere with past events, try to change history, or mind their own business? Read and find out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I wanted to love this book because the tagline reminds me so much of Kindred by Octavia Butler. And while I do get threads of that, this book fell far short of that mark. I thought that it jumped around too much, and in a way that didn't make sense to me. I also wished there was more explanation for why this family kept falling through time. It felt like it wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been. I also didn't feel connected to the characters. Don't get me wrong, the book has good bones, but I think it could have been better. Rating: 3.5

This genre isn't my typical pick - and this was a little too slow paced for me. I had a hard time coming back to it.

4 stars that probably would have been a 4.25 of GoodReads had a modern starring system…

I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I want to start off by saying that this isn’t my typical genre to enjoy but the description piqued my interest. I am so glad that I came across it.

Reading the multi generational story really allows the reader to get to know the family as well as some real history. It’s how an inclusive book should be written where it is a natural reflection of life and important educating information is weaved throughout where you don’t ever feel like you’re being “taught at”.

The best part of the book is in its characters. Even with flaws you want to live them and spend time with them.

The issues I had was that the pacing is very slow. Now that can go along with the genre for sure but also there is a lot of information so going back to reread passages for clarity slowed it down even more. I agree with other reviewers that the digital format of the book works against it. Because it’s broken up into 5 parts but also lending itself to wanting to look back at sections, I think it would be best consumed in physical form and with a writers journal.

This book would be great for studying in a book club or for older high school or college students as there is a lot to unpack even with the fantasy time travel element.

I recommend this book with the warning that it’s not a fast read and that you really need to pay attention as it’s easy to get lost. Maybe have a notebook nearby to take notes!

This was such a beautifully written piece of women’s historical fiction with some fantastical aspects. Who doesn’t like a bit of time travel thrown in?!

The Bridge family is cursed with a member from each generation being whisked back in time. Cecily sets out on a quest after uncovering said curse to see if it can be broken. Is history determined to repeat itself or can the actions of oneself change the outcome?

First, the cover is gorgeous! Second, the writing is just beautiful! So well written and extremely detailed with bits of historical history and the history of the Bridge family themselves. This story jumps between timelines and I do think it would be much better to read in a physical format to keep up with all of the characters and timelines better. But outside of that I really enjoyed this story!

There are themes of grief, love, hope, family bonds, and perseverance and while it mainly focuses on the journey of each woman along with the challenges they face and overcome, this book also had a bit of a romantic subplot. Just a bit. The narrative is in third person and I think that works so well for this book. While it does move kind of slowly pace wise, the complexity of each woman and the emotions they bring to the reader I think combats the slowness. This book is not meant to be devoured at a fast paced. Fully recommend this book if you enjoy a captivating family saga with historical fiction featuring time travel.

4/5 stars
-Historical events told through time travel
-Interesting characters and backstories
- Relatable heroine/main character
- Beautiful writing
- Slow pacing
- Tricky to follow

I enjoyed this book and thought the writing was top-notch. The pacing was great at the start, but slowed a little for me as it was difficult to recall dates and timelines, and there are so many characters to follow. It felt like a lot of work to reorient myself so often. The characters are complex, and I loved that Cecily was a mother and wife, I felt so connected to her and her plight against the family curse. What a fantastical idea and concept, but time travel novels are tricky.

Cecily Bridge inherits a ramshackle farm from her family, with the intent of selling and moving on. A visit to the property has her unearthing a map, a bible, and an old spool, leading her to discover that she is unwittingly part of a family curse that causes her to travel back in time at odd intervals. She is determined to break the curse, trying to avoid the same fate. Her ancestors are in varying points of time, each going through trials that are heartbreaking, with an undercurrent of danger.

3.25 stars. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book. I enjoyed this book, and the time-travel premise had me intrigued for sure. It was a interesting historical fiction that follows the Bridges family through time in an fantastical way. One family member from each generation of Bridges randomly gets sent back in time and there's no way to stop it. This book deals with the different eras of slavery, civil rights movements and coping with all that while getting thrown into time. This story has you following Bridges from the late 1700's to the 1960's. I would recommend it if you're into historical fiction/sci-fi

The Fallen Fruit was what I would consider very slow paced. I wanted to love it so badly.
Seeing the slave trade through several different slave perspectives was fantastic at first, but then the different characters became overwhelming. It was still good but it was a lot of information to take in.
The time traveling felt almost like a second thought, it didn’t feel like other time traveling books for me. It felt as though there was no reason for it.
I feel like this would be better suited in a physical book where you can easily go back. It was just very hard to follow. I appreciate you the opportunity to read this.

The Fallen Fruit follows the Bridge family who are under a curse: each generation a member of each Bridge man falls back in time. They don't know at what age they'll fall or how far back in time they'll end up. A decade? A century? They don't know until it happens. The terror of being ripped away from their present-day home, family, and friends is compounded by the fact that they're a Black family and risk being enslaved depending on when they end up.

The story follows men and women in generations spanning from pre-Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights era. There are themes of grief, hope, and familial love. There are a couple of romantic subplots but they are not the point of this story. I cried more than once and felt terror at a couple of points while reading The Fallen Fruit, but also felt soaring joy at times. I felt deeply connected to every character, which is amazing since the story follows 6 or 8 characters over the course of the book.

The moment I read the last page, I put The Fallen Fruit on my re-read list. It's a 5 star read and I can't wait for it to come out so I can recommend it to friends and family.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A captivating and thought-provoking historical fiction that follows the Bridge family and their journey through history. When Cecily Bridge-Davis begins to dig through family history, she uncovers a family secret better kept hidden: one offspring from each Bridge family unit mysteriously vanishes and gets whisked back in time. As Cecily uncovers more and more of the Bridge family history, be prepared to become emotionally attached to each protagonist. Absolutely riveting and enthralling - this family saga will keep you up all night.

Spoilers ahead (Not included in Goodreads or Amazon reviews):
I enjoyed this book quite a bit but that ending made me want to throw the book against the wall and scream, “No!” I needed a few days to recover from the shock and calm down enough to reflect on the story. I wanted something else and was emotionally wrecked but there is something to be said about choice. I think that ending really makes you consider your own choices what kind of impact the what ifs would have had.

The Fallen Fruit is broken up into 5 parts, each following a different Bridge relative (or in the case of Part 2, two Bridge Relatives. The story is mostly told in 3rd person POV.

The Bridge Family have a curse. The first Bridge ancestor fell 22 years in the past in 1780. Since then, one child born of a Bridge man from each generation is cursed to fall back through time. It isn’t known when they’ll fall and how far back they’ll fall. Cecily Bridge-Davis was raised by her aunt and was unaware of this curse, but when she goes back to settle the estate left to her as a Bridge, she slowly discovers the curse and her soon to be fate.

This story was so interesting and I loved meeting all the characters. Emily’s part was my favorite, but my heart absolutely broke for Luke as well as for Rebecca. It was hard for me to imagine what these characters went through, knowing that at any moment they could fall through time. The author did a beautiful time describing historical events, especially as it pertained to Black History, as the story unfolded, covering the late 1700s, early 1800s, 1910s-1920s and the 1960s. If you love history, you’ll enjoy this story.

It was challenging to read as a digital book and I’d much prefer this book in hard copy as there were times I wanted to flip back to the family tree or to some of the ancestors, which is somewhat more difficult on digital format. This was a slower read for me too, I believe due to trying to keep dates and numerous characters straight in my head as I read. However, it was still a wonderful read.

Fallen fruit is a masterfully created novel. The pages turned easily as the story unfurled into a plot deeply rooted in family history and the relationships impacted as a result of an inescapable family curse. As I transported through history with the characters, I appreciated the nuggets of historical references that complimented the overall feel of the novel. I felt as though I was there with the characters on their individual journeys. I definitely recommend this book.