I picked up and put down The Sweet Taste of Muscadines SO many times and it ended up taking me 20 days to slog through it. I can finish a good book in a few days if I'm interested. The story gets off to a very slow start, with little to no plot movement. The style of writing immediately turned me off. It's overly descriptive, bordering on inane details, and it only serves to slow down the flow of the story. Examples of this style...
"her straight back slicing through the gelatinous air like an ice-cold butter knife."
The Southern matriarch of the family dies unexpectedly and in an unusual location....out back in the muscadine arbor. Once the plot twist was revealed, the story started to build some momentum, but it was too little and too late. The characters are interesting and unique, but there is little character development. The book takes place in 2011, but I'm not sure why?? Was it written that long ago and just got published this year?
I'm not Southern, nor do I know much about typical Southern families, but the story seems very dated. The shock over someone being gay is just not a unique or surprising plot line these days. Overall, the cover is stunning and really caught my eye. The novel's ending is satisfying, but due to the style of writing and dated subject matter, I would likely not read anything else by this author. Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Sweet Taste of Muscadines.

The tears came then. Like a great wave that rose up and broke across the flimsy dunes of pride and composure behind which I'd been sheltering, they flooded my brain, erasing all thought, all control; they ran like a river whose source was the loss of my father, a river that coursed through the shadows of my childhood, past the loss of my husband, and alongside a mother I'd never really known. I wept the tears of shock, of betrayal, of anger. I wept because my life had been built on lies, and I didn't know if I had what it was going to take to rebuild a new one on the foundation I'd just been given.

A true southern tradition of family, faith and finding the truth. Lila Bruce Breedlove has come back home to Wesleyan, Georgia. A place of painful memories. Things left unsaid and not settled. Her mother has died in her own garden of their home among the Muscadines. A strange place to have died and apparently digging something from her garden of the past. Her gay brother and younger sister are handling the death of their mother in different ways. A contrast of characters. You get a deep sense of who Lila Breedlove is before and after. Her childhood. The untimely death of her father and the coolness of her mother. The protectiveness of her brother, and the flightiness of her sister. It is easy to get caught up in their pain and the discovery of a deep secret of her father's death.

It reminds me of death of what should have been but was lost because of circumstances. Their can be many types of death. The journey that Lila went on also dealt with faith. Her father was a preacher in Baptist church. The expectations of church. God verses religion. These can be conflicting issues for a reader like me but most would gravitate towards it because it makes God acceptable to us. It goes against how we are acceptable towards God. These are deep issues that cannot take up space in a book review such as this but I hope people would read the bible for themselves and reason with God. Reasoning with God is a wrestling match. It ultimately is surrendering our will to who He is. Lila journey was a wrestling match that many can relate to. It might give different results but I think it is important. I appreciated the journey!

A special thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

rThank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This story didn’t pull me in as much as I would have expected from the synopsis. It was heavy on descriptive writing, almost too much so.

I started this book months ago and I'm actually still trying to push through it. I'm not sure if it's the timing of me trying to read it or if it's just not for me. I'm struggling with the elaborate detail in the book and it almost feels like overkill. I'm getting lost in the description that the plot itself is hard to focus on. The amount of metaphors is too much to handle for me. I'm honestly not sure if I will continue reading or just put it away altogether.

This is a women's fiction with some suspense. This book is all about family secrets coming out after the Mother passes away. I found this book very different from most of the books I read, but I really enjoyed reading this book. This book is everything wrapped up in one book (sadness, happiness, suspenseful, little mystery, family secrets, love, and family drama). I think this was very well written and has great characters. This book will keep you reading, and the ending is everything. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Ballantine Books) or author (Pamela Terry) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

To say that I wasn’t expecting this roller coaster of a book is an understatement. The characters were complex and had worthwhile backgrounds (here’s a hint that I’d love prequels on each sibling’s life!!!). Overall I just loved this book and I’ll absolutely be purchasing a copy for my home library. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to enjoy this book.

Really enjoyed this debut women's fiction novel with some suspense surrounding the story. The story revolves around Lilia and her two siblings that come back home after their mother dies. The setting is set in the south, Georgia and is all about the family dynamics, the past and what was like growing up… and there are secrets… every family has them.
The beginning was a little slow, but soon I was captivated and wish I had more time to read. It was very well written with great character development. It was emotional and touched my heart. I usually read mystery/suspense/psychological novels but I really enjoy a good chick lit/women’s literature and this one was perfect and was just what I needed for a summer read. I’m only sad it took me so long to read it. I received an advanced readers kindle copy, but soon I purchased the Audible version so when I couldn’t read I could listen. I love Xe Sands as narrator. She was perfect.
A very special thank you to Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my HONEST review.

This was a lovely read. It has a little of everything: family drama, suspense, heartbreak, and hard-won happiness. The plot was interesting, especially in that it's hard to put down simply because it's just straight-up good. It's compelling without feeling rushed.

I really enjoyed all the characters, the three totally unique settings, and the ending was a wonderful place to leave it all. I'd absolutely recommend this read to any reader as there's something for everyone to take away from it.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

sweet book but sad. Overall well written and enjoyable. The characters grew on me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

Learned so much by reading this enduring story of friendship,family,love and forgiveness that has to be experienced in order to be a family! Pamela Terry has a way about her writing to bring you into the story and to see the characters as real people with real emotions. Follow these three..one brother and two sisters as they find out more about their own family and the secrets their mother and father hid from them that the town knew but didn't tell!! Really enjoyed reading this story and had me thinking long after the book was finished ..be surprised at what secrets families keep right under your noses as you are growing up! Sometimes one brother or sister know some of the secrets but they don't tell you and maybe they should have or maybe not.. Received this fantastic story from Net Gallery and sorry it took me so long to read and review but it's better to be late in reading than to not have read at all!! I know that's not the point of receiving the book before it was published but again I do not behind in a lot of things and this was one of them.. I so apology but it really is a good read!!

The sense of place in this novel is lovely, but the overly detailed descriptions throughout really start to grate after a while. A little slow, and I didn't love the grandiose statements about what being Southern means throughout. Would recommend for readers of Southern fiction.

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 the facts 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. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines reminds us all that true love never dies.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Such a pleasant read. Deals with a serious subject and characters dealing with weighty issues and yet served as a reprieve from the spate of difficult books I have been reading.
Likeable characters who are living life the best they can.

After a sudden death in the family, a woman comes home to face the memories of a childhood full of contradictions. As she and her siblings try to navigate their small town, secrets come to light and dispel everything the woman thought she knew to be true. Author Pamela Terry’s debut mines the reality of small-town living in the slightly plodding novel The Sweet Taste of Muscadines.

When Lila Bruce Breedlove gets the news about her mother’s sudden death, it lands in her stomach with a single, sinking realization: she’s going to have to go home to Georgia. Her little sister, Abigail, is devastated. Lila’s feelings on her mother’s death and her family in general are much more complicated.

Although Lila and middle child Henry left the small town of Wesleyan as fast as they could after graduation, Abigail stayed in the south with their mother, Geneva. Everyone always called Abigail Geneva’s almost-twin anyway, and Geneva never let go of an opportunity to let Lila and Henry know Abigail was the favorite. Abigail, being Abigail, basked in the attention and did everything Geneva did.

Now Geneva’s gone—dead without warning or illness—and Lila knows it’s her responsibility as the oldest to go back to Wesleyan and take care of everything. As much as she adores her life in Maine, as a young widow Lila also feels the loneliness of a solitary existence. Her successful weaving business keeps her busy but can’t chase away the memories of her husband who she loved with that old-fashioned, fairy-tale feeling.

Drawing her down south, too, is the mystery of Geneva’s death. Abigail found her in the muscadine arbor behind the family home. As far as Lila knows, Geneva never went out there. Ever. It was one of Lila’s favorite places to play as a child, hiding among the grape vines and letting her imagination lead her. Yet Geneva never showed much interest. So what was she doing?

Lila and Henry arrive in Georgia together to face the questions and the town. Everyone in Wesleyan has always thought Lila was a little odd, and they willfully looked the other way from their suspicions that Henry was gay. Neither Henry nor Lila wants to handle the meddling neighbors and curious onlookers, but Abigail is in no state to do anything.

When Lila and Henry stumble upon a secret about their father, everything changes. Geneva told the kids their father had died while serving in Vietnam. During the course of dealing with Geneva’s memorial service, Lila and Henry come across the shocking revelation that maybe that isn’t true. So what happened? And if their father didn’t die, why would he and Geneva lie about it?

As Lila and Henry work through the bits and pieces of memories and information left behind, they make one discovery after another. Along the way, they’ll learn more about themselves than they ever thought existed.

Author Pamela Terry writes in prose rich with fresh, vivid descriptions. Her measured pace will remind readers of the southern region where the book is set. As a protagonist, Lila gets the bulk of development. Henry is next in line in becoming a full-fledged person, followed by Geneva.

Surprisingly, despite being one of the three siblings, Abigail doesn’t get her due later in the book. Her antics early on shock other characters and will entertain readers; yet her character arc fizzles with hurried explanations and dialogue later in the novel. What starts as a dynamic person becomes more of an afterthought by the time the book ends.

The book leans more heavily in a literary direction than one of mainstream fiction. Readers will learn quite a bit about Lila and her thoughts on her hometown, but the action is comprised of simple moments and conflicts that get resolved fairly easily. As an author, Terry clearly wants readers to focus on the internal journey and not so much the outer one.

Readers who enjoy books set in the south and that expose the contradictory nature of life in that area will want to check this one out.

If the reader has never visited the south, this book provides a crash course in Southern culture and later such vivid descriptions of Scotland the reader will feel like they`re there.
The combination of distinctive atmosphere with intense family drama and a bit of mystery kept me up way too late.

Terry's work is excellent at providing descriptions of the surroundings. I felt like I was there. This is a beautiful story about family and forgiveness!

I was looking for a lighter women’s fiction, and I got it! #thesweettasteofmuscadines is lighter in the sense of it being an easier read, but plenty of events to keep you on your toes - deaths, sibling dynamics, coming out stories and more. I also loved that we got a taste of a few different places - Maine, Georgia, and Scotland (made me especially want to visit Scotland). A great read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!

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The Sweet Taste of Muscadines by Pamela Terry is a women’s fiction novel that is full of family secrets giving this contemporary a touch of suspense. Seeing that I love novels full of family drama and secrets I picked this one up thinking it would be right up my alley.

Lila, her brother Henry and their little sister Abigail grew up in the southern small town of Wesleyan, Georgia with their over the top mother, Geneva. As soon as they could after school Lila and Henry took off away from the town and their mother heading north where they stayed rarely thinking of the home they left behind.

One day however Lila gets a call that no one wants to hear and that is that Geneva has passed. The strange thing though was she was found out behind the family home near the muscadines. As Lila and Henry head back to their small town they weren’t prepared for what they would find when secrets begin surfacing.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines is another case of finding myself in the minority when I look around at other reviews for this novel. When I finished I had one of those cases of feeling a bit meh as the book felt very slow moving to me which is the type that I have a hard time getting into. The story was fine but normally family secrets draw me in and have me completely engaged but this one was easy to put down and take a break from. I’d say if this one sounds good to you to form your own opinion though especially if not minding a more slow burn pace.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The art of storytelling is different to everyone. "The Sweet Taste of Muscadines" is not so much a story about a family that discovers secrets and lies but more about the time that the story occurred and how they each dealt with their own truths and love.

Pamela Terry’s storytelling starts at the very beginning. She weaves a story that pulls you in slowly and holds you until the very end. I could hear and picture the conversations of that time, that judged harshly, which drove to the decisions which were taken.

Lila returns "home" with her brother and sister after the sudden death of their mother. They each are impacted differently from her death and the days after. Secrets will be discovered and the journeys they take will finally give them the peace and understanding of the importance of acceptance and love.

I enjoyed the family history and the mystery that unfolded. I appreciated the skills with the flashbacks. I was involved with the current story and the mother's story. I would recommend this to anyone who likes books that shows how the stories of earlier generations impact their lives today.