'When The Apricots Bloom' - such a beautiful title. In fact the title was one of the reasons why I requested it. Moreover it has three women as central characters, another plus for me. Plus, the setting and the background. However, I didn't really enjoyed reading it. It started on an intriguing note but then it gets slow and a little boring, like the story is going nowhere. Mainly, because of the dull storytelling and execution. I couldn't connect with the characters. The dialogues are uninteresting. I expected it to be a beautiful read but I'm sorry to say that I am disappointed.

This novel left me speechless. It awakened the ignorance I had for women's life in Iraq whole under Saddam Hussain's rule. Terrifying. Having to watch everything you do. Which is something us Americans take for granted. Today, after reading this book, I am thankful. Thank you #Netgalley for this awesome ARC.

I appreciated the setting and story line of When the Apricots Bloom, which gave a glimpse into life under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. However, something felt missing to me. It didn't captivate me as much as I anticipated from the book description. It was still a highly readable debut that actually draws from the author's real life experiences.

A very engaging read. This has interesting characters in an interesting setting. There's some suspense, and I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the differences in culture (vs the West). I look forward the author's future work.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

I want to start this review by saying that I immensely enjoyed the setting of this book. Despite priding myself in reading excessively and always trying to read outside my "comfort zone" - genres I am not an expert on or even ones I don't particularly like, trying to read books set in as many countries as possible etc - I will admit that I had never read a book set in Iraq before; at least, not a non-academic one. However, I am really interested in Middle Eastern cultures, so this book was very close to being my exact cup of tea. Wonderful setting? Check. Women-focused? Check. Really good prose? Check. And yet...

It all fell a bit flat for me. Despite taking place during Saddam Hussein's regime, the stakes never felt particularly high. I believe the author could have focused a bit more in creating a claustrophobic, terrifying atmosphere, in order to better explain, or even justify to an extent, her characters' actions, feelings, and fears.

Even a dead man could feel the tension in the air. And the regret, thicker than the scent of orange blossom.

Out of the three main characters, my personal favourite was Rania; the better developed one, however, was Ally, probably because the author could relate to her a bit more. I found both Huda and Rania lacking the delicate nuance, the understanding that comes with experiencing something for yourself firsthand, rather than having someone explain it to you. They were in no way written in a disrespectful or belittling manner, but since the author herself is white, I think Ally's experiences were just closer to what she herself had experienced as a foreign correspondent in Baghdad.

Overall, I found When the Apricots Bloom to be a very enjoyable book. Perhaps enjoyable is not exactly the right word to describe the experience of reading this particular book - the subject matter is, after all, quite "heavy" - but I adored the setting, and thought it made some very interesting points and observations. Could it have benefited from another round of editing to add a bit more depth to its characters? Most definitely yes, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a really good book anyway.

Let me start by saying I absolutely loved Gina Wilkinson’s new book When the Apricots Blume.

I demolished it in two sittings which says a lot about Gina’s ability to suck you into the lives of her three main characters: Rania, Huda, and Ally. It follows their lives in Baghdad during Saddam Hussein’s totalitarian reign. It is about friendship, informants, and fear for your family. It is a story about what a mother will do for her family. It is also perceptions of the past and what they mean for the people of today.

When the Apricots Bloom comes out in December - keep an eye out for it as it’s going to make waves.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

Beautifully written, suspenseful exploration of secrets and betrayal in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, where every friendship is a risk.

Huda is a secretary at the Australian Embassy. She's grateful for the job, as her finance analyst husband has been unemployed because of the American economic sanctions. But there is a problem: the Iraqi secret police are pressuring Huda to spy on her boss' likeable young wife. As the menace and mistrust intensifies, Huda reconnects with a childhood friend, whom she blames for a terrible loss. How will these different women navigate such a brutal and uncertain world? What will survive of their friendships, their families, their sense of self?

This is an exceptional book. The characters have deeply grounded arcs, making difficult, life-changing choices that are understandable and relatable. It was informed by the author’s own experiences, but each main character is fully realized and sympathetic. Iraq is almost its own character, its beauty, elegance, and history still apparent in the lovely bookstores, the bright blue sky, but encroached all around with the ugliness and corruption of the regime.

Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When the Apricots Bloom by Gina / G.D. Wilkinson

This novel focuses on friendships new and old, with a backdrop of modern Iraq and flashbacks of the Iraq of years past. Although from very different backgrounds, Huda and Rania were friends from early childhood and marked by a blood oath they undertook together. Political turmoil and perceived deadly betrayals tore these blood sisters apart and only one thing could ever bring them back together.

Drastic times call for the unlikely reunion of two the women who struggle to consider that they could still trust and have loyalty to one another. They are forced to deceive and cooperate with the regime in order to save their children. Their relationship with Ally, a complicated Austrialian diplomat’s wife, becomes very important and the reader sees that anyone can lie in the face of fear and when faced with the opportunity to do what is just.

While the reader easily becomes invested in these fascinating characters, it is clear that Iraq herself is another character in this story. She has undergone a transformation that makes her unrecognizable to those that only experienced her past or her present. The reader is left rooting for her to return to her prior glory when the land was lush, society was lively, and her people were much more free.

The author’s note is not to be missed and provides a wonderful context to the story, making it even more rich and meaningful. I highly recommend this fast paced female character-driven book!

I saw this book on Netgalley and I had to request the publisher to read it because I was drawn to two things on the blurb: the fact that it’s set in Iraq during Saddam’s reign and the second aspect involved three different women. I asked myself what could a secretary, an artist and a diplomat’s wife have in common?

The story delves into the need for control by Saddam’s government, enforcing rules and corrupt police officers who demand that people do as they ask and if they do not, someone close to them or simply the people themselves disappear. The diplomats are also spied on by the Iraqis and the police visit anytime to glean information from the Iraqi spies- mostly in their homes, reminding them of the hold they have on them.

As the story begins, the author introduces us to both Huda and Rania, as young girls who take a blood oath to always protect each other’s secrets. As the story unravels, Huda comes off as the one who would go to any lengths to protect her family, including blackmailing her former childhood friend, Rania, and it does not help that she is also working for the police as an informant- giving details of Ally’s life.

In reading this book, Huda was ice cold towards Rania and you could not help but wish that she could take a step back and soften towards her friend. Rania on the other hand is the artist, both wise and calm and she knows when to push and when to refrain. What I found oddly satisfying was that both women had suffered the loss of their loved ones at the turn of Saddam’s reign, yet their approach towards this loss was utterly different. Rania was warm towards people while Huda was aloof. Her words could slice you open.

Ally, the diplomat’s wife, is noted as ‘housewife’ on her Australian passport- but her coming to Baghdad is not just to support her husband, Tom, but it’s to find out about her mother- a child’s last hope of trying to put together the pieces of her mother’s life. She starts asking questions and soon learns that in a dictatorship, your words could make you or kill you, literally.

The story of these three women is both nostalgic as it is heartbreaking and it reminded me of the countless number of lives that are affected in war-torn countries, countries facing civil unrest, and more so dictatorships.
This book is also beautifully written that you cannot help but urge Huda, Rania and Ally on, in their quest and their friendship.