The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper is Sarah Addison Allen’s fourth novel but is the first book by her that I have read.


Plot
Welcome to Walls of Water, North Carolina, a place where secrets run thicker than the town's famous fog.


Once upon a time, Willa Jackson's family owned the beautiful house on the top of the ridge. Now it symbolises her family's ruin and a legacy Willa longs to escape from.


Paxton Osgood also yearns to break free, especially from her parents' expectations, and the heartbreak of unrequited love. Desperate for a distraction, she decides to restore the empty mansion to its former glory.


But the discovery of a long-buried secret, a friendship that defies time, and a touch of magic, will transform both women's lives in ways they would never have expected.

My Opinion
Having been the first book I have read by Sarah Addison Allen I was unsure what to expect from her book by looking at the cover it gave the impression of a very gentle and fresh read. Based on the cover it wouldn't be one of the books that would shout out to me from the shelves but I was about to learn the age old lesson again of not judging a book by its cover.

The author manages to create a charming if somewhat quirky town which made for a great setting for the book. The book centre’s around two main characters, Paxton and Willa whose personalities are two worlds apart. I found I connected with Willa right from the start of the book but it took a while for some of Paxton’s barriers to come down and to get to know her a little more before she became a likeable character. What I loved about the book is seeing relationships and friendships slowly developing, it was quite different to most romance books to not feel the rush of a relationship developing everything was set at a beautiful pace.

I loved the mystical feel to the book it is very carefully written without being over done which gave a real enchanting feel to the storyline. I did find the book was overly predictable but I did still enjoy the storyline I just think with a little bit of suspense it would have made the perfect book. I found it a very quick and easy read with it only being 273 pages long and each chapter short enough to be able to pick up and put down easily without losing the flow of the book. Any of you who were lucky enough to get a kindle for Christmas you will be happy to know this book will also be available as an e-book.

I would like to read the authors first book Garden Spells to see if the suspense element is in this book. This book is well worth a read if you are looking for a laidback easy read with a mystical feel for a fresh change.