“Of all the powerful spells that fiction casts upon us — absorbing plots, believable characters, vivid language — one of the least celebrated is its ability to make us feel transported to another time and place. Most avid readers have had the experience of setting down a book and needing to shake off the sights, smells, and sounds of a world they haven’t actually been to, or that may not even exist.” — Laura Miller, general editor of LITERARY WONDERLANDS

I have just emerged from a weavers’ island in the far-flung Scottish highlands, a sun-drenched deep Southern town in Georgia, and a spruce covered rocky island on the sea in Maine in THE SWEET TASTE OF MUSCADINES by Pamela Terry. As Miller above so eloquently spoke of books painting such vivid pictures of place that the reader can easily imagine them and/or submerge themselves in the author-created surroundings, so has Terry masterfully spun the places we travel to with the sibling characters of her debut novel. Place almost becomes a character in itself and becomes a force affecting the lives and emotions of the Bruce family central in the book. As we follow Lila Bruce Breedlove, unmoored with a sense of hiraeth, the reader can feel the tension in her search of these vastly different places for a home that can provide peace, comfort, respite, and truth. A feeling of home, as the author shows, can be in a place that you have never lived in, been to, or were born in - but the bones of generations before you haled from that same soil and can awaken a deep connection and stirring of home that touches your heart and aches your soul. My family and I share those same feelings about Scotland as do Lila and her family in the book.

The author also sets herself apart with her distinctive writing style (I.E. in weaving similes of unique pairings in her descriptions) and by provoking thoughtful discussions (I.E. by not being afraid to discuss and point out the dichotomies of the South). She addresses a place of contrasts - on one hand beautiful in its landscape, gracious and charming in its etiquette, slow and relaxed in its lifestyle, and as sweet and iconic as the tea its known for. However, on the other hand, it has a horrifying history that includes slavery, segregation, and prejudice with a past that can still circle to the present with celebration and remembrance of the confederacy. Pamela Terry also tackles the ramifications and ripple effects that can occur when people aren’t able to live honestly and be authentic to their true selves, or are constricted by societal or religious standards and views. She particularly highlights these struggles through the lens of being gay in the South, in bucking Southern tradition by not having a funeral, the unearthing of family skeletons and secrets after the passing of a loved one, and loving a Jewish man in a small Baptist town.

In conclusion, the reader will travel not only through various feelings of contemplation, humor, intellect, satire, and surprise with the Bruce siblings; but be rewarded with travel through the pages to both sides of the Atlantic. Still wondering if this is the book for you? Yes, it could be if you enjoy books like:
*MUSICAL CHAIRS by Amy Poeppel where hijinx and chaos ensue when families gather together for weddings or funerals
*HOW LULU LOST HER MIND by Rachel Gibson where secrets are revealed and lifestyles clash when one returns back home to the South

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines drew me in immediately. Lila is such a believable character. I was rooting for her to find answers and gain peace from page one. While I loved all the drama of an unexpected death in a small southern town, the book really soared when Lila and Henry went to Scotland. Now I must go and explore the little islands and the people who weave. Overall, just a beautifully written book.

Pamela Terry's penned an amazing mystery of hidden family secrets in her sweet Southern drama The Sweet Taste of Muscadines. Wow! You just never know about your kinfolk, do you? The muscadines are waiting for you to give them a try. t will be a delightful read.

Lila and her brother Henry both left their small town Georgia home as soon as they became adults. The gossip and the strictures of the town's culture were not something they wanted to live with. There was also the problem of a Mother who never seemed to like them, while she doted on the blond, blue-eyed baby sister that existed under their mother's thumb. When they learn that their mother has been found dead under the muscadine arbor on her property, they both return home. Lila travels from her home in Maine and Henry from the West Coast. They dread the big production that they expect the funeral to be. The high emotions at funerals often have people revealing secrets that have been hidden for decades. Surprisingly, their mother has left firm directions that there should be no funeral. Mystified, but relieved, the siblings ponder another mystery. Why was their mother in the muscadine arbor with a digging tool? The secret that comes to light changes them forever.

An enjoyable read with an uplifting ending. Took a long time to get to the core of the story with too many words. The prose borders on "purple" with too detailed lengthy descriptions of the scene and surroundings. The first third to half of the book was so dense in description that it did not make me want to continue. Once the story took over from the background, I was brought in and wanted to read more. The story was very timely and simple. I could see the character''s history and motivations clearly and cared for them. Once the story started to be laid out, the flow was good and kept me engaged. I would have preferred some of the details to have been laid out in a narrative format rather than simply stated as reminiscences. That would have removed the slow. "purple" prose reading of the first part of the book. The ending was uplifting, but abrupt. I would have enjoyed the books more if the epilogue was actually fleshed out into a few concluding chapters. Use the same number of chapters; condense the first part and expand the parts after the visit to the island and the climax of the book. There is a good core there, but the execution is flawed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Sweet Taste Of Muscadine by Pamela Terry is a story set in the South as seen through the three children returning home to their small town in Georgia to celebrate the life of their deceased mother at her not-quite-funeral. Mom decides, just before she dies, to write a will instructing her children not to hold a funeral for her. For those of us born in the south, a funeral is a rite of passage, a common occurrence, and on occasion, a time when the deceased’s past life is remembered and stories are shared. At mom’s celebration of life service, her three surviving children get clues that their widowed Mom had been holding back some truths. Mom wasn’t easy to live within the best of times, but there weren’t many “best” times, and the kids didn’t know why. Not having a father certainly didn’t make things easier. As the story builds, we find a “shocking” secret that will change their lives forever. Also, the writing style was off-putting and written in a flowery and vivid style which is not to my liking. The shocking ending wasn’t as surprising as I imagined—a good book but not great. Thank you to @netgalley but the review and my thoughts are my own and without bias. #netGalley #releaseMarch2021 #Thessweettasteofmuscadine #funeral #iseedeadpeople #secrets #familydynamics #dsyfuntionalfamily
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“Truth can be elusive” from the epilogue of the beautifully written debut novel by Pamela Terry, is the theme of The Sweet Taste of Muscadines. From the opening sentence “The first time Mama died, I ran off to hide in the muscadine arbor” to the last, you are swept up in a dazzling, funny, sad story of a family trying to find itself.

Both Lila and Henry left Wesleyan, Georgia as soon as they could. Henry and his partner Andrew live in Rhode Island and Lila, now widowed, is a designer and weaver on an island in Maine. Their sister Abigail has stayed in town and it is she who calls them to tell them that she found their mother dead, lying face down in the muscadine arbor, holding a soup spoon. Lila and Henry return home for a quickly organized wake since their mother did not want a funeral. (Trust me, what happens at the wake is with the price of the book!) While Abigail is dealing with grief and anger, Lila and Henry discover some long buried family secrets that will tear apart everything they know about their family.

Pamela Terry is a Southern fiction powerhouse. She makes life in a small Southern town sparkle with life. The hair! The casseroles! The gossip! The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is laugh out loud funny and tragically sad at the same time. 5 Stars for sure. The About the Author note says Pamela Terry is working on her second novel. Write faster, please!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Pamela Terry for this ARC.

I didn't know what I was going to think of this book when the first Sentence was: "The first time mama died, I ran off to hide in the muscadine arbor." A little slow to get into but once I did I ended up loving this book.
Lila and Henry are called home by their sister Abby when their mother dies. Then the secrets begin to come out. I loved the descriptions of southern living and the customs. Many emotions explored in this one and I will look for future books by Pamela Terry.

Why would Geneva be out in the muscadine grove with a spoon in her hand when they found her. What even possessed her to go there in the night?

Geneva’s three grown children were puzzled about why, but did one of them have an idea?

Lila and Henry hadn’t been back to their Southern hometown in Wesleyan, Georgia, for ten years.

Abigail had never left Wesleyan and was the one who found their mother the morning she stopped to pick her up for their breakfast outing.

Abigail was the one who was most out of sorts especially since her mother didn’t want a formal funeral. Abigail couldn’t understand why because that was just what you did.

We follow the children as they unravel the lives of their parents and try to make sense of it all.

The writing in THE SWEET TASTE OF MUSCADINES is absolutely marvelous, beautifully detailed, and pulls you in just like the taste of sweet tea and Southern charm.

If you grew up in the South, you will love this entertaining book that has life-changing, heartbreaking secrets revealed after many years. It is truly an enjoyable, thoughtful read.

If you have ever been to Scotland, this book will also take you back to its magic and beauty.

A do-not-miss, heartwarming read. 5/5

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

I usually do not read books like this, that is mystery genre, but the description grabbed me and decided to give it a try. I am sorry I did, but I had to finish it to be able to write this review. Lila and Henry, brothers and sister return to their hometown in the South upon their mother’s sudden death. Within a day they unearth long lost family secrets, including what might have happened to their father who was supposedly killed in Vietnam 30 plus years ago. The plot is entirely unrealistic, unbelievable as well as the happy ending. Sorry, but 2 stars is a generous best I can give this novel.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadine
Pamela Terry
March 16. 2021

Wesleyan, Georgia - the heart of the south, a place where growing up meant following family rules and church canons. Growing up in such a small town was not an easy task for Lila Bruce Breedlove. Her daddy was the pastor of the local Baptist Church. His sermons lead to simple explanations on what to do and who to ask for guidance but when he left the family when Lila was nine, she felt it was her job to take care of Henry, her little brother. Mother had told them that daddy had joined the service to help soldiers transitioning home. Parishioners were shocked with the pastor’s departure but Geneva, that would be Mrs. Bruce, calmly persevered and encouraged her children to do the same. Abigail, the youngest, could not know the burden her siblings carried. Lila was so close to her father and missed him dearly. There seemed to be secrets that the Bruce children were not privileged to even as they became adults, Geneva failed to provide necessary answers. When Lila and Henry left for college neither came home to Wesleyan except perhaps at Christmas. Abigail continued on to college although she and her mother remained ‘best friends’. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is their story, their lives all spelled out for others to see, all confidentialities revealed.
This is Pamela Terry’s first novel, she is a magical storyteller. The gifted writer gives us blogs with awards from London’s The Telegraph. When presented with the opportunity to read the ARC last November I accepted via NetGalley. Purposely I put off the read until weeks before the publishing. It is a remarkable story with well-built characters and powerful prose. This novel of literary fiction is a family’s conflicting journey en route to an amazing finale. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry will be published by Ballantine Books of Random House on March 16, 2021. Truly this is not a book to miss. If you are a fan of Barbara Kingsolver or Kristan Hannah select this new one by Pamela Terry.

Families, you know I love 'em! This is a story about family, their history, drama, dysfunction etc...Who doesn't have some family drama within their family dynamic? We all have 'that' cousin or 'that' sibling.

While women's fiction is not my usual genre, I will say that I was sucked into the story and enjoyed going where Ms Terry wanted to take me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in March 2021.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines
By Pamela Terry
Publish Date: March 16, 2021

If you grew up in the South, you would know the proper way to brew iced tea is on a porch under the sun and family secrets are meant to go to the grave with you.
As soon as Lila receives word her elderly widowed mother has died under the muscadine arbor under the night sky, she returns to her hometown to take care of arrangements. But when Lila and her younger siblings, Abigail and Henry, find out their mother did not want a “proper southern funeral,” they know something is amiss. Lila decides to investigate further which unleashes a tidal wave of events that will force her and her siblings to reexamine their whole childhood.
I was pleasantly surprised with this debut novel. The scenery and dialogue were refreshingly authentic while the characters and conflict were completely relatable. If you enjoy beautifully descriptive writing and the topic of complex family dynamics involving social issues, this is for you. This title will be available on March 16, 2021.

*Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for allowing me to read and review this book. It was a pleasure to read this debut novel by Pamela Terry.

What a stunning book! Terry is a master at describing scenes and characters so that in a few words, the reader instantly understands all that is needed to be known. The plot was engaging and interesting in a particularly memorable way but it's Terry's use of language that sets this novel apart. I would highly recommend!

Not your typical, sweet Southern tale. Ugly truths carefully hidden are exposed when Lila and Henry are called home after their mother's strange death. A slow moving story that as not for me.

Lila Bruce Breedlove grew up in Wesleyan, Georgia, but left as soon as she could manage when she finished high school, never looking back. Until she receives a phone call from her sister, Abby, that their mother died. Steeling herself for the small-town Southern way of life that drove her away in the first place, Lila returns home to find out that her mother didn't want a funeral. She also discovers that her mother died somewhat mysteriously, out in the muscadine arbor at the back of their property with a spoon in her hand. Lila and her brother Henry begin to investigate why their mother was in the arbor in the first place... and uncover a secret they never could have expected.

The author uses such beautiful language in her writing - I could practically feel the warm southern air and smell the flowers in her descriptions of Wesleyan. I am usually not a woman's litfic reader, but a review likened this book to Where the Crawdads Sing, and I had to check it out. There are definitely some differences between the two books, but I enjoyed watching Lila and Henry explore their mother's death and the secrets that she kept hidden. I also appreciated Abby's very realistic battle with her emotions as she tried to accept the loss of her mother and best friend, while also learning that there were many things that her mother kept hidden from her.

This was a beautifully written book and I enjoyed the quick departure from my usual doom and gloom thrillers and mysteries.

I loved this book. The secrets that appear after death. The strong family bond of people who love without rules. It was so well written. I hope there are more stories by this author in the future!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of this book. The comments and review are my honest opinion.
Death often brings not only memories but sometimes also things that you thought were true, but in truth were lies. Such is true for Lila, Henry and Abby after the death of their mother.
A small southern town, family secrets and heartache over years lost are brought to life in this debut novel by Pamela Terry. Maine, Georgia and Scotland are described in beautiful sights and sounds. But it is the relationship of the three siblings with their mother that is part of the heartbreak of this story. Lies were told and then too many years passed and they could not be taken back. Only hidden deeper, literally, until Lila and Henry decide to take a journey in the hopes of finally finding the truth.

This is a southern family drama about family love, forgiveness, family secrets and what is home.

Lila is a widow that lives in Maine. Upon the death of her mother, Lila returns to her childhood home in Georgia. Lila's mother was found face down in the backyard under the muscadine arbor. She was holding a large kitchen spoon in her hand. Lila remembered the spoon from her childhood. She had used it to dig in her summer garden.
Lila her brother Henry and younger sister Abigail return to the backyard and dig to find a tin box under the muscadine arbor. In the tin box are letters that tell the secrets none of the children knew about the family. This leads the children on a journey to uncover the truth.

Author Pamela Terry's description of life in the South was so true. She truly understands the idiosyncrasies of the people and the southern culture. I even googled the author to see where she was from, Georgia.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an opportunity to read and review this book.

There was so much I loved about this book. My mama is from Alabama so I loved all the deep south references and traditions and things talked about.

I actually loved that Lila never really felt at home in the small town where she grew up. So many people have such connection to where they grow up but when you have hurts and unsettled matters growing up sometimes you never feel that. This was definitely true in my own life.

I love when there is something, some kind of symbolic place or item that plays a big part in a person's life and I loved that the muscadine arbor symbolized so many things for Lila.

I love that it is where she and Henry find what turns out to be a huge secret that their mother hid that changes their whole family history.

I really loved the relationship between brother and sister and how this revelation leads them on an adventure together and what they find and learn on that adventure.

Families are messy and people are imperfect. It was a beautifully written story about secrets and lies and the power they have over us, forgiveness, accepting ourselves and others, and love