This book read odd to me, so I think that was ultimately why I couldn't get into the story. While I found the characters more immature than I expected, even given the Teens & YA category, it was more the style of writing that kept me from really enjoying it. Oskar's entire POV is written from his diary, in an odd poetry-like format. However, we get conversations in there, so it doesn't truly feel like his diary. It was just written in a very unusual way that didn't appeal to my eyes or mind. Evie's POV was written in typical prose, but it felt very disjointed. Both main characters were so bitter and angry, I never really felt like their romance made sense.

In all honesty, it could just be me and my own preferences, but I felt like this book had a lot of potential and simply didn't live up to it. Great idea but execution wasn't to my liking.

The setting to this one was amazing. I couldn't put it down and I loved the characters and the story. I loved the verse and prose and it was just so beautiful!!


Go Into This One Knowing: Stutter, Story in Prose/Verse

The Languages of Cherries is one heck of an addictive and phenomenal book. I could not put this down! It’s so beautiful in every possible way.

The book is temperamental but in a good way. I loved every moment of it.

The story begins with a girl called Evie who’s father has forced her to spend the summer away in Iceland. Evie thinks she is being treated as a prisoner by her father, but with unstable friendships, an ill Abuela and a psycho mother she had no other choice but to stay with him. Once she gets to Iceland she finds an orchard and begins to paint the remarkable landscapes, all while slowing falling in love with a mysterious boy, who can’t even speak the same language as her.

Jen Hawkins has done an amazing job in making this book not too heavy on the romance but just enough to make it perfect. I loved how both Oskar and Evie had their own personal problems but intertwined into each others lives just when they needed someone the most.

I really do hope Jen writes more books because this was such a breathtaking and sensational read.

Stars ~ 5

The Language of Cherries is a beautifully written YA novel that I'm sure is going to be a big hit. The writing is stunning and the descriptions and metaphors used to bring everything to life on the page. The story is told in dual POV between the two main characters Evie and Oskar.

Evie has been forced to travel to Iceland with her father and spend the summer there. She feels isolated and alone and misses her grandmother terribly. She spends her time alone in their guest house as her father works but when he brings home a cherry pie, it reminds her of home and her grandmother. Her father gifts her with new paintbrushes and canvases and tells her of the cherry orchard. Evie visits the orchard and while there eats some of the fruit and paints. To her amazement, a picture forms without any effort and she is soon looking at the image of a boy she has never met.

Oskar is grieving the death of his parents and younger brother. He's sullen and doesn't speak much due to a stutter. He prefers to turn his pain into songs that he writes in his journal. When he stumbles upon Evie in the orchard and a painting of himself, the story really starts to unfold.

Oskar pretends he can't speak English and over the course of the summer, Evie reveals many hidden secrets to him while finding herself falling for his unique charm.

This story is beautifully written and tackles a number of different issues. Evie feels alone and unwanted believing that only her grandmother truly loves her. She feels neglected by her father and forgotten by her friends. Her relationship with her mother is strained. Oskar is grieving and through Evie's paintings and her company, he begins to heal even if he doesn't realise it.

There is so much to love in this story and I found myself in tears towards the end. The themes covered include death and grief, lack of confidence, dementia, and depression. It's a stunning debut that I'm sure teen readers will devour and relate to.

I want to say thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers Owl Hollow Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Language of Cherries. I have read almost every title Owl Hollow Press has released to date and I have yet to be disappointed. I always know when I pick up one of their books that I am in for a wonderful story.

Giving The Language of Cherries five stars is easy and if you are looking for a realistic story about being a teenager, this will definitely resonate.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a Contemporary YA novel. It is written in the voices of the two main characters Evie and Oskar. Each chapter alternates between the characters.
Evie travels to Iceland with her father who is working there for the summer. She is very reluctant and refuses to enjoy her experience there. She misses her Grandmother, who has been put into a retirement home. She is alone for many hours each day due to her father’s absence at work. That is until she encounters Oskar, a cherry orchard and eats the cherries. She suddenly enjoys painting unlike ever before and her paintings are quite magical. She and Oskar become very close and romance blossoms. Oskar is a musician. When Evie has to return to the USA, she doesn’t expect to hear from Oskar or see him ever again! Poignant story, beautifully written. Great setting in Iceland and the characters are well portrayed. Really enjoyed this book.

"The Language of Cherries" by Jen Marie Hawkins was such a beautiful story, and, as only appropriate, a book about language has beautiful language in both prose and verse. It was a semi-unique format where the male protragonist, Oksar's POV was entirely in verse, representing he struggled to speak through his stutter but was only able to fully express himself through song lyrics. It was also supposed to be what he wrote in his journal. But it was beautiful and so easy to read, and contrasted with the female protagonist, Evie's straight prose it was easy to follow the narrative and get sucked right into their sweet story. Both had their share of tough heartbreak and Oskar's particularly was so poignant and his revelation toward the end was absolutely moving. These two had the sweetest, most heart-wrenching romance that made this book hard to put down, especially toward the end. I highly recommend this book about what connects us as humans and why it's worth it despite the pain.

The Language of Cherries is one of the most refreshing love stories I’ve read in a long while. Hawkins paints the unlikely romance between Evie and Oskar in beautiful and painstaking detail and her gorgeous prose takes readers on an intimate journey through Evie and Oskar’s alternating perspectives as they fall in love over the course of a summer. Full of all the most affecting secrets, passions, and struggles of the heart, this book is human on a level that aches. Perfect for readers who like their romances with a touch of magic and no guarantees for dry eyes.

This book had everything I love: tangled romance, magical realism, stunningly beautiful prose, Iceland - just everything. I am going to should about this book forever. This is the Chocolat/Sarah Addison Allen inspired YA of my dreams.

I find it difficult to write a coherent review of this quiet, beautiful book since so many aspects delighted me. The characters were so compelling: Evie is a fierce and feisty heroine; Oskar's choices and insecurities are understandable (even when problematic); & everyone should have an Agnes. The way Hawkins switches the narrative voice between her protagonists is so compelling. Oskar's voice, at times, was heartbreaking beautiful - and written with an austerity that seemed to amplify and reflect the Icelandic setting. The slow burn of the romance kept me engaged from the start.

Chocolat and Garden Spells are two books I love so incredibly much - and the "food magic" utilized in THE LANGUAGE OF CHERRIES feels like visiting an old friend. I have already ordered and can't wait to have a final copy in my hands.

So grab a very large slice of homemade cherry pie and prepare to be enchanted by THE LANGUAGE OF CHERRIES.

**I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. **

I'm speechless. I just want to tug myself in bed and cry for the rest of the day. If I could, I would give this book more than 5 stars.

***Actual Rating: 5++++++/5 Cherry-on-Top Stars***

I’d like to start this review by saying that it’s been forever since I last experienced something so incredibly heartfelt, unbelievably touching, and extremely emotional by reading a book. In fact, I was stunned speechless by this earth-shattering piece of story so much that I came up with a short playlist 100% inspired by Evie and Oskar’s, the protagonists’, tales of cherries; thus, I hope you’ll enjoy this book, my review, and my song choices as much as I like putting them together. 🙂

Long story short, the journey of The Language of Cherries began when Evie Perez, a Cuban-American teenage girl residing in Florida, was sent to Iceland to live with her estranged father for her summer vacation since she chose not to stay with her terrible mother in New York. As an aspiring artist, Evie discovered a beautiful cherry orchard right next to her dad’s house, which served as a perfect inspiration for her right when she needed it most.

Little did she know the cherry tree she randomly sat under was…a little different from others. According to Evie, aside from its juicier, riper, and plumper cherries, the fruit itself possessed the magic power of materializing dreams. After having a little taste of a few stolen cherries, Evie’s paintings came to life as if some invisible forces wielded her paintbrushes mysteriously.

Enter Oskar Eriksson, a handsome 17-year-old Icelandic guy who owned the orchard with his aunt but secretly battled against his stammer. And by “battling” against, it was more of “escaping” from reality when all Oskar did was keep his thoughts in his English, poetry-formed journal while pretending he didn’t understand the beautiful language, a.k.a. the one Evie spoke in.

See, they were easily one of my top favorite OTPs (one true pairings) thanks to all the swoon-worthy yet hilarious moments. I honestly LIVED for Evie and Oskar’s ridiculous encounters and cute banters.

All right, before I was carried away by their adorableness, I’d like to talk about how this book had had such an incredibly positive impact on me and what I loved most about it. Since this book is partly composed of *ahem* “journals full of bad poetry, unfinished songs, and scattered thoughts of a sad guy who lost everyone he ever loved” (Oskar’s words, not mine), I really loved the lyrical literary notes as well as Evie’s unfiltered inner thoughts throughout the story.

In case you’re wondering, this book was told from both Evie and Oskar’s perspectives, which was undeniably a brilliant arrangement to make everything clear for the readers. The light-hearted tone of the narratives really brought out the best of Evie’s down-to-earth personality and Oskar’s overall broody-yet-caring-enough vibe.

To my astonishment, Evie’s paintings and her insatiable desire for cherries from that special tree may have something to do with Oskar’s traumatic experience and that’s all I’m telling you right now. *wink* Aside from the non-spoilery teaser above, I also appreciated the truth in these tales of cherries. The author somehow flawlessly elevated the essence of such a fictional, Nordic folklore regarding Oskar’s family roots as the one and only cherry orchard owner in Iceland, and brought life to Evie’s paintings inspired by the cherries-infused dreams.

In short, The Language of Cherries was a book about friends, family, relationship, first love, and most imperative of all, forgiveness. The depth of these concepts was splendidly presented by Evie and Oskar’s way of story-telling, and I found myself gravitate towards their self-exploratory journey right after jumping on board of this wild, memorable cruise full of diverse cultural backgrounds. As much as I’d love to better represent the general idea of this book, I know no words can do justice to this beautifully written masterpiece.

Therefore, I decided to share my mini playlist inspired by this book with you and hopefully, you’ll give Evie and Oskar’s “Aisling” cherries a taste. To put it differently, this book wasn’t just one that’d stay with me for a long time; I would artfully weave the amazing experience and lessons into my own life in reality as well. After all, just as Oskar quoted from Bob Marley, “You just got to find the ones (the people) worth suffering for,” and this book I’m holding right now, is a story worth fulfilling.

Lastly, needless to say, The Language of Cherries is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED read from me and I’m certain you’ll feel the contagious happiness, sense of achievement, and self-betterment at the end of the story.

***Thanks to the author and Owl Hollow Press for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

This is a beautiful story. Set in the gorgeously described Iceland, girl meets boy with a twist. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

This beautifully-written novel revolves around young love, betrayal, family drama, and reconciliation. In short, the typical young adult novel. However, The Language of Cherries is a poignantly written story of Evie and Oskar’s interactions as young adults from two different walks of life. While their relationship is wrought with deceit, they learn to communicate and fall in love in their own way. With beautiful descriptions, a glimpse into Icelandic and Gaelic culture, and the scent of cherries, Jen Marie Hawkins weaves a beautiful tale that I couldn’t put down until the last line.

This book was wonderful, from the Icelandic setting to the well developed quirky and different love story of the two main characters Evie and Oskar, I was fully enveloped into their world. I will definitely recommend this book to others.

A coming of age story that had me laughing and also pulled at my heart strings. When Oskar is caught up in a white lie, he never thought that things would get so out of hand, but the more time he spends with Evie the deeper in his lie he finds himself. The two share experiences with out sharing words. This story is unique in that way. These two characters are young and yet they have been through so much. They each must come to terms with their family relationships, the loss of in Oskar's case, but the lack of a relationship in Evie's case. Forgiveness is also something that the two must learn to do. Forgive themselves, forgive each other, and forgive their families. Only when they begin to let go of the anger they have held on to for so long will they begin to learn to live and hopefully love. This book held my interest from start to finish. I was caught up in the magic of it all even before I realized there was even magic involved. Oskar and Evie will stay with me for a while to come.

Thank you to Owl Hollow Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written YA love story that slowly unpacks its story and reveals hidden depths as the two main characters, coming from two very different cultures, meet and get to know one another. Lots of unsaid things drift along just below the surface, and the reader slowly realizes how brokenness can heal as the characters discover their intense attraction to each other. I loved the way the geographical setting was an important part of the feeling of the story - and the ending was immensely satisfying without falling into the trap of being cheesy or easy. Highly recommended!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I enjoyed this story very much and felt like I knew each character personally due to the description of them. I enjoyed the storyline. This is not my usual genre but in this instance I am extremely pleased and grateful for opening up my mind to something totally different. Thanks again.

Evie is forced to move to Iceland for the summer when her father gets work there. She leaves behind her Abuela, her friends and school.

She decides to visit a cherry orchard behind the guesthouse they are staying in. She gets a feeling that she has to paint there. Here, she meets Oskar who lives on the orchard and is surprised to see her on his family’s orchard and more surprised to see that she’s painted him.

Evie becomes comfortable with Oskar and eventually starts telling him everything about her. Oskar pretends he’s can’t speak English, and conveys what he’s feeling through music instead. Will Oskar come clean and be able to talk to Evie?

This was a really cute story! I loved seeing Evies personality come out as she and Oskar spent time in the orchard. The ending was perfect too.

My first 5 star read of 2020!

I will openly admit right here that this book goes completely against my reading grain. I am 25 years older than the main characters, so teenage romance has not been an interest of mine in a loooooong time, and I don't normally like mysticism as a genre, even in teeny tiny doses like this. However, a few months ago, I stumbled across the premise and it just called out to me, so I added it to my TBR immediately. I am SO, SO happy I got to read an advanced copy because I was waiting on pins and needles for its release!

OMG, this has to be one of the most beautiful and romantic books I have read in a very long time! I absolutely adored the author's lyrical style of writing!

Told from dual POV, we first meet Evie. She is in Iceland with her father for the summer because of a project for his job and is completely miserable. She misses Miami, where she is from, and she misses her abuela and friends back home. On top of the usual teenage angst and boy drama, she is dealing with her grandmother being put into an assisted living facility for early onset dementia and she is battling resentment against her parents for both being absent in her life. Her mother abandoned her when she was younger to pursue her own interests and her father is always working and never around. She is lonely, frustrated, and confused and it causes her to lose her passion for her main love, which is painting. One day, about a week after arriving, she finds out that not too far from the rented house she is staying in, there is a farm with the only cherry orchard in all of Iceland. Hoping it will motivate her to paint, she sets out to explore and when she finds it, she is overcome with inspiration. Images flood her mind at lightning speed and she must rush to get them onto the canvas as quickly as possible. One of the images is of a beautiful blond haired boy her own age, who shortly after her painting is completed, she comes to find out is real. Curiosity about the boy and how she painted him with such accuracy before ever laying eyes on him, causes her to want to get to know him.

Oskar, although young, is the epitomy of a tortured hero. An insanely talented singer and musician, he is ostracized and outcasted by almost everyone around him because of a severe stutter that makes it very difficult to communicate with people verbally. He finds companionship in his journal and uses it to express all the feelings he cannot put into words. He lost his parents and younger brother several years before and now lives on his family's cherry farm with his aunt, who tries her best to bring him out of his shell and move past his tragedy, but is unsuccessful. When Evie appears in his orchard one day while he is working, he is completely fascinated by her. She is the first person he has met in a very long time that doesn't know about his stutter or his family, and although it is deceitful, he finds a way to spend time with her without having to actually speak.

This is where the book becomes unputdownable because these two characters find a way to fully connect and communicate without words and in a way that is totally believable. I found myself hanging onto all of their moments together because they use eye contact to do most of their talking and it speaks volumes. There are very, very few books that could ever be this romantic without the character's ever conversing with one another.

So without giving away any of the plot (because there is a mystery element to this story), I will simply say that it is entrancing, swoony, and just so beautifully and realistically written that I cannot stop thinking about it. The only thing that could make it more perfect would be an epilogue. I really feel this book needs one. The ending is a bit abrupt, so while we can kind of tell how things turn out for our main characters, I would much rather actually know.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy of this book. It was a real honor to be one of the first to read and review it!

Follows two creative teens from different worlds and different ethnicities discovering each other and trying to communicate without words and falling in love.

Oskar has a stutter and choses to communicate with evie through music. Evie is an artist and paints images from her dreams that turn out to be Oskars deceased family.

The setting if Iceland was beautiful. I could truly picture the orchard and the lighthouse with all the beautiful scenery.

I also loved that not only were they of different ethnicities and backgrounds but they were both creatives. Which to me helped even more with the way this book was beautifully written as theres so much talk about colour and painting. I wouldnt be able to pick one line that stood out as there were many.

There was talk of consent too and respect within a relationship or friendship which I appreciated as well, especially in these times.

However to me the story fell a bit flat but I didnt really mind as I enjoyed the writing so much. The setting stood out to me more than the character's did.

But all round i did really enjoy the book and could quite easily see this being made into a movie.

After the first book I finished this year, I longed for a more quietly paced book. 'The Language of Cherries' turned out to be the perfect choice for that.

I liked the surroundings, and the way old words were spilled throughout (and explained at the end of every chapter). I also liked how Oskar's journal entries were like poems. Sometimes the language was just a bit too simple and childish to my taste, especially when I take the themes of the book into account.

I would recommend reading this book to a couple of readers I know, of whom I know they would love this book. I cannot say that I did, but I did enjoy it.