The book's main characters are Madilyn and Dylan.
Madilyn is staying with her grandfather at the estate for the summer per his request. She feels a pull to look in the attic and in a trunk she finds a diary. It is her great grandmother's and she writes of her love for another woman, Lorah. Her grandmother loved the apple orchards when she was alive, however, they have now fallen into disrepair. Madilyn wants the apple orchards to be what they once were. She needs someone who can help her replant and tend to the orchard. She hires Dylan, even though Dylan has never tended to an orchard of the size she has envisioned. She feels a draw toward Dylan and even begins to help her with planting the 300 trees.
The two women start spending a lot of time together and find out that Lorah is Dylan's great aunt. That is possibly why the two women feel drawn towards each other.
I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Madilyn Marak came home for the funeral for her beloved Grandmother Belle. Seeing as she had nothing on her plate, beside working for the Marak Foundation where she helped select where the grants go every year. Her mother and older brother barely made it home for the funeral, leaving immediately after.
Her mother was spoiled and only cared about partying, traveling and she fully expected to live her life the same way. Maddie’s brother was made of the same cloth as their mother making him waste his time doing nothing.
Maddie decides to stay for a while at the family estate so she could spend some time with her elderly grandfather. It also gave her a chance to find out more about the family tree. When she finds the diary of her great-grandmother, Isabel. What she found was a whole lot of history that she didn’t know.
Dylan Hayes was hired when Maddie decided to bring the apple orchard back to life. Dylan loved her own apple orchard but that was going to come to and end now that her uncle has died. Selling her uncle's farm in order to pay the medical bills compiled when her uncle was sick. Luckily it was at this time Maddie advertised for a person to help her bring her Great-grandmother's orchard back to its previous condition.
M s Hill has yet to write a book that I didn’t love. Everything about this book was different. Yes we know how this will probably end but she instead made this book by writing about the two couples, past and present to life. What a wonderful romance.
Arc via NetGalley, Bella Books

Madilyn is trying to find herself when she reads her great-grandmother's diary. She finds out that her great-mother, Isabell, had fallen in love while she was married to her husband. This is a very beautiful and emotional book. The plot was great as well as the characters. The story of Madilyn and Dylan makes for a very good read. I recommend this book for romance readers.

Romance is the foundation of this read. Madilyn Marak, heiress with much responsibility. Maddie is lonely with a future she feels she cannot control. Dylan Hayes, moves from the city to live with her ailing uncle. Maddie finds a diary written by her great grandmother Isabel. She is pulled in and wants to honor her by rejuvenating the apple orchard. Not knowing anything about orchards, she hires Dylan. Maddie and Dylan hit if off right away and they share stories and experiences. This love story within a love story was beautifully written. There is sadness but also joy.

One of my favorite books this year! It kelp me so incredibly invested in the characters. I love the historical aspect of this story too!

𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦: ꜱᴀᴘᴘʜɪᴄ. ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ. ⁠
📚 ᴀʀᴄ 🏳️‍🌈⁠
⁠
𝚂𝚄𝙼𝙼𝙰𝚁𝚈/𝙿𝙻𝙾𝚃:⁠
The first part was good, the second part as well but it was so expected that I didn't need to wonder of anything else. The story between Isabel and Lorah was indeed sad that I am glad it didn't hinder Dylan and Maddie but made them more determined to not repeat history. ⁠
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It was a simple romance with little angst and a backstory connection with the main characters. ⁠
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𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

The liberation of Madilyn M.
There is fine dining and there is fine writing: The Apple Diary by renowned author Gerri Hill is a great example of the latter. It is a subtle exploration of 100 years of female/female love, of finding yourself and coming out then and nowadays. It is about external and internalized expectations and pressure. And first and foremost it is the story or better a celebration of great love that transcends time.
Madilyn Marak comes from a very rich family and her name is legacy and expectation at the same time: She is lonely, quiet and reserved, living in a gilded cage, trying to live up to expectations from her society conscious mother. She is living a loveless life, aiming for a loveless marriage.
With lovely, heartwarming strokes of her plume Gerri Hill brings Madilyn into our lifes: we follow her as she discovers the tragic love affair of her great-grandmother with a woman and we follow her as she discovers herself, as she discovers her passion for her great-grandmother‘s orchard and as she discovers love itself.
It is a slow journey, tender and tentative. The writing does this discovery full justice and is a joy to read. I loved every minute of reading this fine book. Kudos to Gerri Hill for the superb intertwining of two timelines and two great love stories.

I received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.

A new book from Gerri Hill? Say no more. Murder mysteries? Check. Intrigue? Check. Smoking hot romances? Check. Holiday? Check. Paranormal? Check. There is no genre that she isn't a master of. And now, add Historical Romance to that list. From the cover and the premise, I never would've guess this is a Gerri Hill. But just get a few chapters in, and you know it is - there is literally no other author who can set a scene like she does. I became so immersed in the apple orchard and the old estate that I found myself visualizing it as if watching a movie in my head.

The Apple Diary is a sweet, slow-burn romance that is a joy to read.

Gerri Hill is always a must-read, and while this book is definitely predictable, it is also enjoyable. I liked the dynamic between Maddie and Dylan as well as Maddie's relationship with her grandfather. The historical fiction aspect with the diary was interesting as well, and I wish Hill had delved a little deeper into the relationship between Lorah and Isabel too.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

The was an old fashioned romance story set on an estate in Pennsylvania. Madilyn Marak is an heiress to a very wealthy family that she has never fit in with. She’s lonely and feels unfulfilled with her society life and comes to live on the family estate with her grandfather. One day she finds an old diary and begins reading it. Gerri Hill wrote the first half of the book with us reading this 100 year old diary.

Dylan Hayes lives with her uncle tending his apple orchard. She answers an add for an Orchardist at the Marsk estate.

Hill is at her finest with her description of the 1000 acre estate with the old orchard and the other trees and wildlife.

I enjoyed this book very much as I have all of Hill’s stories. I can always relate to the characters she writes and her love of nature. I love being outside and feel at home with all of writing.

ARC received from Net Galley for an honest and voluntary review.

A heartwarming, well written historical and contemporary romance in a beautiful setting. Its touches on sadness, joy, love and grieve. Gerri this did an amazing job with this one. Well done. 5 stars across the board. I recommend.

Thank you, Bella Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Over the years, Gerri Hill has scared me silly with her paranormal tales, thrilled me with her intrigue and mystery stories, and made my heart melt many times with her romances. With her newest novel, The Apple Diary, Ms. Hill has introduced us to the wealthy Marak family, and pulled us into not one, but two multi-generational love stories.

This is a slow-burn romance that begins with present day Madilyn (Maddie) Marak finding her great-grandmother Isabel’s diary in the attic of her family’s mansion. It tells of the love affair Isabel had with a woman named Lorah in the summer of 1933. Many of Isabel and Lorah’s meetings took place in an apple orchard on the property.
Later, when Maddie found the orchard in ruins, she hires Dylan Hayes to help her restore it to its former glory. As the two work together, they form a connection that Maddie finds is eerily similar to Isabel and Lorah. The question is, will Maddie follow in her great grandmother’s footsteps, or will she shake off her family’s expectations, and choose happiness instead?

This is such an enchanting story, a pair of romances, filled with joy, sadness, love, grief, and pretty much every emotion in between. This novel has everything I expect from one of Gerri Hill’s love stories; a gorgeous setting, enchanting and realistic characters, and of course a heart stirring romance. I highly recommend The Apple Diary.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bella Books for allowing me to read and honestly review this novel.

Great scene setting at the start.
I enjoyed this book. It was nicely paced and most loose ends tied up at the end. There wasn’t really any drama with the main’s relationship. I barely raised my head after starting this good length book. I also barely made any notes while reading, which is quite unusual for me. 3.5 up to 4 for the emotions.

Gerri Hill will make you believe in reincarnation and that true love never dies.

Maddie a wealthy city woman moves to her grandfather’s estate in the country to keep him company after her grandmother dies. While sorting through her grandmother’s things she comes across a diary that her great grandmother wrote about the love of her life, a woman, not her husband. She decides to honour her by resurrecting the apple orchid where the couple fell in love. So she employs Dylan, a woman who has just lost her last relative and home to give new life to her apple trees.

Dylan awakens Maddie in so many ways and the two discover their lives are intertwined. Hill once again weaves her magic in this sapphic love story. I enjoyed it.

A sweet love story with the usual Gerri Hill style. If you've read a book by Gerri Hill, I need say no more.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gerri Hill wrote an excellent blend of 1930 historical and contemporary romance. Maddie and Dylan get the chance to re-write the story their grand-grandmother (Isabel) and great-aunt (Lorah) lived in 1933.
Maddie and Dylan meet on the same estate and are bounded by the same orchard like their ancestors. The historical romance is tragic and the contemporary one is angst free but the story captivated me. Hill is a solid writer and this has to be one of the best books I read this year, cannot recommend it enough.

Free ARC via NetGalley

I requested this book more for the author than the synopsis. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this story. Its a nice tale about restoring an apple orchard. Doesn't seem interesting but Maddy reads her great grandmother. Izzy's diary and is so sad about how her life had gone Maddy decided to restore the orchard as that is where Izzy was happiest. The story is mostly set in the present with just some flashbacks from the diary. Dylan, who Maddy hires to do the restoration, becomes friends with Maddy as they find out more about Izzy and Dylan's great aunt. I definitely recommend this especially if you just want an interesting but not angsty read.

Madilyn is mourning her grandmother and decides to stay a bit longer at her family estate to be with her grandfather. While exploring her family estate she founds a diary that belong to her great grandmother Isabel and although she feels that she shouldn’t read it feels compell to and is shock to learn that Isabel fell in love with a woman name Lorah. As she read her story she heart broken for her great grandmother and decided to rebuild the orchard in honor of both women. Dylan drop everything to be with her uncle and is about to lose last member of her family and worry she won’t be able to find a job or place to live when she learns about a job about overseeing the replanting of the orchard. Madilyn and Dylan grow closer as Madilyn starts to realize she experiencing the same feelings her great grandmother was feeling for Lorah and she realizes she have to live for herself not for someone else and to honor Isabel and Lorah she will follow heart. I love this read and Madilyn relationship with grandfather was adorable and sad to see him heartbroken over losing his wife but I’m happy he had Madilyn because his daughter is selfish and right along with his grandson even though we didn’t get to meet him but heard a lot about him.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

The Apple Diary is a heartwarming romance as only Gerri Hill can offer. She gives us Madilyn Marak, the daughter of a wealthy family who is seeking purpose in her role as the responsible one. There is also Dylan Hayes who is burying her last known relative as she looks for a job and a roof over her head. These two are at opposite ends of society yet find each other when they need to the most.

Hill’s magic is that she makes us care deeply for her characters. We all see bits and pieces of ourselves in Maddie and Dylan and so we are invested in their story.

The Apple Diary is beautifully written with attention to nuance and descriptive detail. The storytelling is at the finest level.

I received an advance review copy from Bella Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A glimpse at the past opens new possibilities for heiress Maddie when she discovers her great-grandmother's diary from 1933.

This boss-employee descendants romance is emotional while dealing with themes of grief and loneliness. While I appreciated Maddie's personal growth, I preferred the sections from Dylan's perspective. The writing was repetitive at times but overall peaceful. I also liked the lack of a third-act breakup. Maddie and Dylan's power dynamic seemed almost non-existent despite Maddie being Dylan's boss. I do think their relationship was natural, even if the dialogue was a little stilted at times. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would read another by the author.