THE PEACH SEED tells the story of the Freedom Movement of the 1960s and the 1700s abduction of Black people from their African homes, and later sold into slavery in the American South.

Told in multiple POVs, this was a family saga rooted in history that details the symbolic power that family heirlooms can hold.

I listened to the audiobook format and thought the narration was so good! I would definitely recommend this reading format. I love to immerse myself this way with a book and let the story tell itself.

*many thanks to Netgalley and Holt for the gifted copy for review

I ended up dnf’ing this book. I just couldn’t get into it. The writing seemed like it was a bit over complicated for my liking and it might’ve been getting into the way of me wanting to continue.

I listened to The Peach Seed on audiobook and I'm not sure that that is the best format for this type of read. While the narrator did a fine job, the nonlinear timeline made it a little bit hard to follow and left me feeling like I missed a few things. It also felt a bit overlong. The overall concept for the book is really interesting and I love the tie in to Gail Jones' family history revolving around carved peach seed monkeys. I think in reading a physical copy of this book, you would be able to go at your own pace, reading a section or two at a time and it might be a bit easier to follow. All in all, a solid historical fiction read.

I received this digital ARC free from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for an honest review. Anita Gail Jones did wonderful job narrating her book. I truly enjoyed listening to her. I found it wonderful to listen to and deeply interesting. This heartfelt story is well written and easily draws you in. I learned many interesting things and found the storyline to be very engaging. I would recommend this read to all.

Generational tales pull me in, and this one did. The idea of the tangible talisman of carved peach seeds beckoned also. . . .it's a real thing, I'd never heard of it.

Within the covers of this book are generations that go back to the shores of Africa, to a person who doesn't know the taste of a peach, although he holds a carved seed in the shape of a monkey. . .the pages bring readers across the ocean to southern states, where all freedoms are removed. The years flow forward and bring readers through difficult times, in everyway, where everything is fought for with blood, time and effort. And through it all is family, and love.

I particularly loved the father that broke the rule that dictated that the carved peach seed tradition moved between father and sons only - no daughters. And then he did gave a carved seed to his daughter. . . .it seemed like punishment happened due to his non-compliance with historical boundaries, but time showed that's all they were. . .someone else's boundaries. Someone else's buggaboo. Time for a change. . .my heart swelled when he created change for his girl.

*A sincere thank you to Anita Gail Jones, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for a free ARC to which I could listen and voluntarily review.*

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the audiobook version of this story in exchange for an honest review.

The author beautifully narrates her novel and between the prose and her voice this is a very lovely book to listen to. It’s a book about family and time, hope, dreams and a peach seed monkey that is the symbol of this family.

This novel took me a long time to finish, not because I disliked it, but because I wanted to have the focus to hear the author’s descriptions as I felt this book warranted the extra attention. The drawback to this way of reading is that I did occasionally mix up characters as some had similar life stories. It’s a novel I recommend reading or listening to - only with more ability to concentrate.

This was a very interesting multi-generational story that detailed the long-lasting effects of the transatlantic slave trade. It was inspired by the author’s personal family lore and emphasized the importance of tradition and family heirlooms. The multiple POVs were hard to follow, and I didn't love the narration in the audiobook. I was lucky enough to also receive a physical copy and had better luck following the story that way. Overall, I enjoyed this character driven story.

Audiobook received for free through NetGalley

I great read that was hard to put down. Loved following the story of the family and imagining all the future generations.

The Peach Seed was a beautifully written, multigenerational family story. The author did both a fantastic job executing this story, and the audio narration.

Not only is this story well done and a story that a reader can easily fall into, but it also handles many very relevant and very important topics. I can personally see how this story could impact many, and help teenage and adult learners alike to develop an understanding of our society, and how far we’ve come and still need to go.

I really enjoyed this story. It handled the hard topics with care, and wove in elements of love and joy for balance, just as life often does. It left me crying on an airplane (on my way home from a conference) several times in the last 20% of the book.

The author is also the narrator of the audiobook. She did an outstanding job! I did listen to this story at 2x speed (my normal is 1.75x speed). However, I think I’d recommend listening at 1.5x or 1.75x for fast listeners like me, so you can more easily absorb all the fine details.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this advanced audiobook copy. And so sorry for my delay in getting my feedback submitted.

Rating: 3.75⭐

As the novel begins, we meet seventy-year-old Fletcher Dukes, a widower and resident of Putney, Georgia. It’s 2012 and Fletcher lives alone with his dog Rockhudson for company One of his three daughters, Florida, who often checks up on him, his grandson Terrence aka “Bo D” and his older sister, Olga all live in close proximity. Olga, an accomplished academician and Civil Rights activist, is working on tracing their family roots, taking the help of modern methods using DNA for researching ancestry.

When Altovise Benson, with whom Fletcher shares a history, returns to Albany, she opens a floodgate of memories for Fletcher dating back to their school years and romantic relationship, their activism and participation in the Albany Civil Rights Movement and Altovise’s decision to leave Albany and Fletcher in search of a new life for herself taking with her secrets that have been buried for almost five decades.

The narrative follows Fletcher and his family as they grapple with Altovise’s return and the ripples it creates in Fletcher’s family life, long-buried secrets that lead to surprise revelations, Bo D’s struggles with addiction and much more.

At the center of this story is the family talisman- a hard-carved peach seed monkey that is presented to the sons in the family as a rite of passage when they turn thirteen. Fletcher, who was father to three daughters, did not bend the rue for them but passed one down to his grandson Terrence on his thirteenth birthday. Unbeknownst to everyone in his family, he had gifted a special peach seed monkey to Altovise decades ago – a gift that will lead to shocking revelations and connections that will alter the dynamic within the Dukes’ family. Flashbacks take us back to the history of the family talisman and story of a Senegalese man who was abducted from his homeland in 1796 and sold into slavery in the United States and the legacy he carried with him throughout his new life in a foreign land – a legacy of pain, resilience and survival that he passed down to his descendants. The past and present timelines felt a tad disjoint and I wish the historical storyline would have been explored further and we could get a glimpse into the stories of a few more generations of Fletcher’s ancestors and the significance of the peach seed talisman in their lives. I was especially hoping to know more about Akunna’s story.

With its elegant writing, well-drawn characters and engaging narrative, The Peach Seed by Anita Gail Jones is an immersive multi-generational family saga. The author’s masterful storytelling, superb characterizations, and the vividly described setting make for an engaging read. The author addresses several sensitive issues such as segregation and racism, the slave trade, addiction, loss and trauma with insight and compassion. The narrative does suffer from minor repetitiveness, which does not detract from the overall reading experience.

Many thanks to Henry Holt and Company for the gifted copy.

I paired my reading with the audiobook narrated by the author. Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of The Peach Seed. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

3.5 stars
I took my time to work through The Peach Seed. It was a multi-generational saga that felt more like connected short stories than one cohesive novel. Each character’s tale took us on a different journey of some stories emblematic of the African-American experience from abduction and transportation in centuries past to present day issues. All of these stories are joined together by the peach seed monkey that generations of men have carved for their sons, in the hope that it will help keep the monkey off their backs.
I received an audio copy of this book. Authors narrating their own works is a mixed bag. With a few exceptions, I find it really only works with memoirs. I probably would have enjoyed this book more had the author done more training as a narrator, or had a professional narrator been hired. Jakobi Diem would have been a wonderful choice!!
*Thanks to MacMillan audio and NetGalley for this audiobook copy for review.

I received an audio ALC from Netgalley, but do not see audio listed here as an option on GR.

This book is beautifully written.

It is told in multiple POVs in different time periods. It is very character driven, but there were a lot of characters to keep up with. I particularly liked Fletcher and Altovise and their storyline which lasted over decades.

I had never heard of the peach seed monkey, and that part of the storyline was so interesting!

It deals with some very heavy topics, so know that going in, but it is a beautiful book and great story!

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars.

Based on the premise, I thought I would love this book. It combines many elements that I typically enjoy, including historical fiction, multi-generational family sagas, and various timelines and character POVs. However, this novel just fell short for me. I listened to the audiobook, and while I enjoyed the narrator, who is also the author, the story was slow, too long, and convoluted at times. Despite the length of the audiobook, I just did not connect with the characters. Nonetheless, as a psychologist, I appreciated the author's unique take on how the history of racism and the slave trade impacted one family's generational trauma, mental health, and relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Henry Holt for an arc to review!

THE PEACH SEED by Anita Gail Jones and read by the author is a family drama unlike any I have read before.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Fletcher Dukes is a widowed man who comes across the scent of his lost love while grocery shopping. Ms. Altovice Benson has returned to the south and she brings with her a new spark, and also secrets long left silent. The stories about their courtship were beautiful and moving, their partnership strong through the Civil Rights years until one dustup changed their course.

Fletcher gave his carved peach seed, a family tradition from beyond memory, to Altovice before she left. This little peach seed monkey with the diamond eyes, which tradition dictated should go his sons, becomes a talisman of more than just family legacies of the past.

I loved the Southern Georgia setting and the peach seed carving tradition. The parallel history of the first carving was another historical fiction addition that was lovely. I felt carried away by Jones and the way she told this story. It felt like I got to sit at the feet of a master storyteller. It was beautiful and hard and all the things that bring family legacies to light with history and secrets revealed.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio for @henryholtbooks for sharing this audiobook with me and let me share my thoughts! This was published August 1st and for fans of family dramas with a fantastic historical addition, pick this up now! And check out the very real peach seed carvers out there!

Thank you MacMillman for the audiobook copy of The Peach Seed (note, I also had a physical copy from Henry Holt Publishers, that I started and read while listening to this audiobook, both formats are great options for this rich story).
I really enjoy a character driven story that examines relationships, southern contexts, and brings in diverse voices and lived experiences that help reveal the impact of decisions, trauma, and context/events on individuals over time as well as over generations. The Peach Seed has this and it's a quickly engaging and moving story, one that drew me in with little details about the setting and time and people, and kept me engaged as the story unfolded. I have to say that Anita Gail Jones' narration really added to my not just enjoyment but more my appreciation for the book and her writing... This is a case where an author is the perfect voice for her work (it is evident indeed that she has voice training and a richly resonant storytelling style) and I am glad I had this format to hear her celebrate her characters and give them voice.

The writing is beautiful as is the story, which jumps POV from different time periods. There were some characters I found myself more drawn to, like Fletcher and Altovise, and Siman, than others. I did enjoy the descriptions of life in 1800s Senegal. The concept of the peach seed monkey was new to me and I spent some time looking it up on Google because I wanted to get a better idea of what this talisman was to the characters in this novel. I really enjoyed learning about that.

This is a very character driven story which I enjoy, but I felt bombarded with characters throughout this novel and, at times, I found myself confused as to who was who and why they were important. Perhaps there were too many POVs? I felt muddled going through some parts of this novel but overall did enjoy the story.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this ARC

Beautifully written. The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

This was a messy, emotional, multigenerational African American family drama that spans decades and tackles tough subjects from intergenerational trauma, addiction, adoption and the Civil rights movement. The story alternates POV and timelines which made it a bit hard to follow on audio but overall it was a moving family story that was extra heartfelt read by the author herself. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!