Pros
- The female main character was a force to be reckoned with and her story arc was very enjoyable to read.
- The Southern setting was well written and didn't feel forced or contrived and as a native Northeast Alabama gal, I certainly know about the kinds of churches who handle snakes (although I have never been to one)
- It's a good reflection on the fact that the #ChurchToo movement sadly has deep roots (I know this is in the pro section, but bear with me, it does highlight that church hurt goes back much further than we have originally imagined and maybe explains some of the ways we've wound up where we are now)
- The writing was so descriptive and it certainly felt like you were in the places she described (for better or worse)
- It does have a happy ending, if you're into that kind of thing, which I am.

Cons
-Lordy mercy it needed some trigger warnings. It is just slap full of abuse of all kinds that weren't really evident from the description of the book.

Loved, loved, loved this book! Genevieve will stay with you, as will many other characters, all of which are complex and well-developed. This content is heavy. There are trigger warnings that should be called out: child sexual abuse, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, horrors of war, radical religion/ abuse by religious leadership, and snakes immediately come to mind, but there may be others I missed ( would love my mom to read this but she has a deep fear of snakes, and their role in this novel would likely send her over the edge!) The plot focuses on people broken in many ways (see list of possible triggers!) but who continue to persevere and look for and find the good in life and in people. I found it compelling with a satisfying ending. Highly recommended.

"Disguised by a name she found on a tombstone and accompanying a Vietnam vet she met in a graveyard, an unconventional young snake-handler who talks to the dead returns to the ghosts of her childhood home in 1967 Arkansas...

Readers of Delia Owens, Barbara Kingsolver, Kelly Mustian, and Quinn Connor will be captivated by this haunting Southern debut about found family, folk magic, the long shadow of trauma, the salvation of human connection, and the transcendent beauty of nature.

Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes. In her travels, she's wandered throughout the South, escaping a mental hospital in Alabama, working for a Louisiana circus, and dancing at a hoochy-kootch in Texas. Now for the first time in a decade, she's allowed her winding path to bring her to the site of her grandmother's Arkansas farmhouse, a place hallowed in her memory.

She intends only to visit briefly - to pay respects to her buried loved ones and leave. But a chance meeting with a haunted young Vietnam vet reconnects her with the remnants of a family she thought long gone, and their union becomes a catalyst for change and salvation. An abused woman and her daughters develop the courage to fight back, a ghost finds the path away from life, and a sanctimonious predator becomes the prey. In the process, Genevieve must choose between her longing for meaningful connection after years as an outsider and her equally excruciating impulse to run.

Written by a naturalist and set on the land where her family roots stretch back two centuries, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is a haunting story about letting go and the things we leave behind, the power of names, and the ties that bind. It is both harrowing and triumphant, a visceral Southern debut as otherworldly and beautiful as it is unflinching and wry."

When roots run deep.

This is set in 1967 Arkansas. It is about Genevieve and her trauma and running away from her life. She meets a guy named Mercer and realizes he and his siblings and mom are all being abused by his father. He has just returned from Vietnam so he is no condition to help his mom and siblings. I laughed, I cried, I was angry. This book has so much going on but I could not put it down because I had to see that Mercer's dad got his in the end. This book is a wild ride.

Genevieve has returned to Arkansas after a long absence. Mercer has just returned from fighting in Vietnam. When the two meet, Genevieve is drawn to some of the members of Mercer’s family, a family Mercer wants to escape. Mercer’s father, John Luther, is an abusive fundamentalist preacher. Wreath, his wife, and her two youngest daughters are victims of his wrath.

Told with warmth, mysticism, and a much-needed occasional touch of humor, this is a compelling story. My desire to find out what happens to this family kept me engaged to the last page.

Just a warning: this book contains a lot of physical and sexual abuse. It also talks a lot about snakes. If you make it past all of that, it is definitely worth the read.

This was a DNF for me at 20%. I enjoy a clearly written story. The figurative language the author used did not appeal to me. Thank you NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

A recommendation from Shelby - thank you, my friend (follow her on IG to get links to Shelby's own writing) - I loved Genevieve and her whole story. Women of strength and magic vs. cruel men hits right now. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, book publishes March 25

The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree by India Hayford

Set in the 1960s, a young girl, unwanted by her family after her mother and grandmother passed, tries to make her own way in the twisted world she lives in. When she landed in a distant relative’s home, she is abused. Eventually, she escaped and lived in exile, and took up a name she found on a gravestone and tries to start a new life. But hers is not a world of normalcy – the recurring perversion being extreme Christianity who indulge in domestic violence and snake handling. Genevieve often slept in cemeteries, and she began talking to ghosts.

The first 2 chapters into the book, I got SCARED and shut it. It’s not horror, but it struck me in a way that I think, any young girl should not have to go through such story.

Genevieve’s story is heart-breaking and depicts religion twisted and abused into a weapon and tool for control, manipulation, violence and perversion. I got confused at some points, but pushed through. This was a difficult read and I don’t think it worked out for me, but ultimately I appreciated Genevieve’s character not giving up in fighting for her own footing and discovering her strength.

I’d give this 2.5/5

My thanks to @kensingtonpublishing and @netgally for the advanced copy.

#bbbreviews #TheSongoftheBlueBottleTree #NetGalley #IndiaHayford #ARCreview #KensingtonPublishing #bookreviews

I didn’t know if I was going to love this book at first, but once it pulled me in, I couldn’t put it down. The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is one of those books that sticks with you—heavy, emotional, and impossible to forget.

The story follows Genevieve, who loses her family young... She then ends up (unfortunately) in the care of a violent, nasty preacher.
When she finally escapes, she’s completely on her own, renaming herself after a tombstone and figuring out how to survive. She crosses paths with Mercer, a Vietnam vet carrying his own scars, and his family, who are trapped in their own cycle of abuse.

This book isn’t an easy read. There’s a lot of abuse—physical, emotional, sexual—so definitely check the trigger warnings. The religious themes are grossly disturbing, showing how faith can be twisted into control and cruelty. And honestly, the men in this book? Way scarier than the snakes they handle.

But despite all that darkness, there’s so much light & love. Genevieve is strong, smart, and refuses to let the awful things that happened to her define her. The writing completely pulled me in, and even when parts of the story felt a little scattered, I didn’t care—I just had to keep going. I laughed, I cried, I got so angry I had to put the book down for a second. And the ghosts? Such a unique, eerie touch.

If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing this is one you should pick up. It’s raw, powerful, and completely unforgettable. I’d love to see it as a movie, and I’ll definitely be reading more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing.

Wow . Just wow. This book was amazing and I'm so glad I read it. A must read for historical fiction lovers ! I couldn't put it down!

This was a really well done novel, it had that beautifully done concept and had characters that I was looking for. I was invested in what was happening and enjoyed the overall storyline going on. India Hayford has a strong writing style and was glad it worked overall. The characters felt like they belonged in this universe and was glad everything worked well overall.

Rating this 4 stars with some quibbles.

There is a really beautifully written, lush, and evocative novel here, hidden under a lot of meandering prose. Which is still beautiful, but just easy to get lost in. I found myself skimming through a lot of Genevieve's recollections because I wanted to get back to the actual plot, and because she often repeated herself or jumped back and forth between her past and the present in a confusing way.

The characters themselves are strong and memorable, and probably my favorite part of the whole book. Despite her rambling, I did really love Genevieve as a protagonist, and few antagonists have elicited such feelings of hatred in me as John Luther did.

Overall I enjoyed my time with this book quite a bit, despite losing my focus here and there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is the best kind of “southern book” filled with a special kind of mysticism only found in this sort of book.

A haunting story of family, redemption, and magic set in a beautifully described southern setting. This story will grab hold of you and not let you put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
A little convoluted and too long but an interesting read.

**Features:**
- Strong female character who reinvents herself and forges her own future
- Explores corruption and abuse in extreme Christian sects and the leaders they revere
- Magical realism and poetic prose
- Set in the American South in the late 1960s

**Synopsis:**

Genevieve got her name from a gravestone. Fitting for someone who can hear ghosts whisper and far better than the name she buried along with her old self. Despite leaving her past behind, she is eventually drawn back to Arkansas where her grandmother’s house once stood. After a chance meeting with a Vietnam veteran, what was supposed to be a quick visit turns into something much more.

**Thoughts:**

This stunning book is a difficult but rewarding emotional journey. Its poetic prose and wandering storyline makes this a more ‘literary’ read that makes even the ugly or mundane feel magical. Though beautiful and thoughtful in the way it portrays its setting and themes, this book depicts death, abandonment, sexual assault of a minor, and PTSD all within the first couple of chapters. The story is ultimately about overcoming and forging new paths forward, but it is definitely important to know your sensitivity as a reader before embarking on this particular journey.

Though Genevieve plays a central part in the story, it is told from multiple perspectives. Each character draws you into both their inner and outward experiences in a way that creates a deep and fast connection. They are all flawed and have their own struggles, but I found myself fully invested in each finding their own sense of peace and belonging. Hayford’s writing style helps avoid a lot of the pitfalls and cliches I see a lot of others fall into when dealing with these difficult topics. The voices of ghosts are an interesting touch that is never deeply explored, but I think the story benefits from some of that ambiguity and it never really feels disconnected from our reality. Overall, this is an emotional historical fiction read that I would definitely recommend!

The story itself was very well written. The way ot deals with abuse, addiction, and trauma was beautiful and as someone that grew up in Arkansas, I found a lot of this story nostalgic but in a good way not a wow look at the rampant abuse and religious ferver in the south kind of way. 4.25

Nestled in a storied, rural Arkansas town lies a tale of resilience for the ages. Genevieve Charbonneau has led a colorful life of snakes, circus tents, cemeteries, and unsavory Texan night clubs. She's spent her entire adult life trying to shed her rocky upbringing and the noisy ghosts that haunt her - sometimes for worse, sometimes for better. However, a chance meeting with a distant family member brings her home to the Arkansas of her youth, right back into the arms of a past she'd much rather forget. Despite her biting exterior, Genevieve can't help but fall head over heels for the family she didn't remember she had, and will stop at nothing to protect them from their cruel, venomous patriarch. Aided by her unbridled empathy, righteous anger, scrappy survival skills, and a few ghosts by her side, she sets out on a mission to liberate these people she has come to love so dearly - and maybe even herself in the process. Packed with heart, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is love at first sight. Each character compelling, each setting so richly flushed out you'll think you're walking right alongside them. As the title suggests, this novel is music - and a roaringly fantastic debut.

Oleana is young when she looses her mother and is living with her Meemaw and Papa while her father is off driving a truck. She looses her Papa and then realizes she hears voices and can talk to ghosts. After a tornado hits there home and she loosed he Meemaw as well she is forced to go and live with distant family where she endures terrible traumas. After spending time in a mental hospital she wanders through life. Eventually she changes her name to Genevieve after she finds the name on a tombstone in a graveyard where she meets a Vietnam Vet. named Mercer who is dealing with his own issues. At times hard to read but glad I stuck with it. Great Read.

So this was not a book I would normally gravitate towards, which is why this book is that much more special because I didn't want to put it down once I started reading. But oof, this could be a hard read at times...not only touching on the traumatic aftermath riddling the minds of those returning from the Vietnam War but also abuse (!!!) and persecution under the guise of religion and a very wicked man. In contrast, this is also a novel about a brilliantly fierce young woman with a bit of a sixth sense and her journey to find her place among this world.