Great book!! Grabs you from the start and really pulls you in. The language is so descriptive that you can picture the entire scene easily in your mind. The characters are endearing, in depth, and easy to love. You are shown both sides of the story and can easily see the human dynamics in us all. Great read!!!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

Sadly, I don't know if it's my state of mind right now but I just couldn't get into this story. I'm really sorry.

This was such a fantastic story to read. The importance of truth, the problems with lies, and the danger of false narratives. The characters are very complex and have a lot going on, although this helps to tell the complexities of truths and families. I could not stop reading this story once I started. I would say this is one of the best books of 2022.
Thank you to Cade Bentley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this story.

This one wasn’t for me and unfortunately had to DNF. I wish there was more to say about this book but unfortunately I was unable to complete the book so I don’t believe I have much to review

Family secrets, lies, and estrangement look large in this novel about sisters who took different paths that are now colliding. Nona "Peaches" left Natchez for Chicago,. where she built a life in academia, while her sister Julia remained. Now, their father has died, Nona must confront her past, and the two of them must reconcile. There's a man involved and past misunderstandings, which this moves back and forth in time to explain. It would have benefited from additional editing to smooth it a bit but on the whole it's a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

The book takes place in the present, enriched with vivid flashbacks to create a story of love, heartbreak, devastation, redemption and healing.
Nona left Natchez fifteen years ago, never looking back. The death of her father brings her back to confront her past, her sister Julia, her beloved grandmother and a myriad of secrets. The story is rich in drama, angst, emotions and revelations.
The author created characters that are complex, messy, and ultimately resilient works in progress. I enjoyed following the journey of Nona and Julia as they grappled with long held grief, resentment, anger and misunderstandings. The book held my interest from the first page to the last. I would enjoy reading a follow-up book featuring the same characters.

This story follows Nona, who left her home after her boyfriend didn't follow her to Chicago to elope, like they had planned. She is returning after being away for twenty years, due to the death of her father. It is upon her return that we see her try to heal some of her past relationships and become the person she was prior to running away to Chicago.

There were a few things I struggled with in this book. The misunderstanding that Nona had between her sister/dad/boyfriend felt like it wasn't big enough to cause someone to essentially disappear for twenty years. There were multiple times I had to flip back to re-read a section because the book felt a bit choppy and didn't always make sense. And - as a person who loves historical fiction, I was looking forward to that piece in the book. However, that was randomly brought up at the beginning of the book and then not really discussed until the end.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Oh, I loved this book! It took me a few chapters to get going, but once I was in, I was hooked.

Julia and Nona (aka Peaches) are estranged sisters of twenty yerars from Natchez, Mississippi whose lives have taken remarkably different paths: one is a recently-tenured professor in Chicago and the other is a successful realtor who still lives in their hometown. Their father Jasper dies and Nona gets the call that the funeral is coming so she goes. But she hasn't seen or spoken to anyone other than her grandmother in decades. There's so much anger, hope, misunderstanding, and love to wade through for Julia and Nona and their extended family. And Cade Bentley does a phenomenal job of weaving the layers of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and desperately hurt feelings between a family. Can Nona and Julia get through the funeral? Can they find their way to apologize and learn from their mistakes? Can they take the portion of the blame that's theirs? Can they find a way to forgive and love each other again?

This book was beautifully written, giving me a real sense of Natchez and its history (and its kudzu which was mentioned a lot). Bentley captures the intricate and delicate relationship between sisters in a way I've not read in a long time and is able to emphasize that no misunderstanding is ever just one person's fault. This family saga is one that stretches generations and pages to truly understand.

I loved this book. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for making this novel available for review. Where Wild Peaches Grow is a story of two estranged sisters and how lies, miscommunication, and misunderstandings can ruin a family. I love the descriptive details in this novel. It is never over the top. The characters are very relatable, especially if you have any first hand knowledge of messy families and the drama that they can bring. I found myself recognizing some of my own family within these pages. The story starts strong and I enjoyed the tidbits of information about revisionist history that is included. However, I wished it had been weaved in a bit into the story instead it felt like we were just told this information (there is a particular character I wanted Nona to OFF on. You’ll find out when you read it)

As revelations came about at times I felt they were rushed. I actually would have been just fine had it dragged out a little longer, allowing more time for the story to develop. I enjoyed the flashbacks that allowed some of the characters to be fleshed out more and you understand their motivations (right or wrong) for their actions.

All in all I enjoyed this read. I finished it in one sitting, and I would read more works by this author.

I received a digital ARC of this novel from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley.

This is a story of sisters, of family, and of how lies can leave an impact. I appreciated Nona and Julia’s relationship and watching them come to terms with their childhoods.

I think this is a solid start but I did felt the story did not flow as well as it could have. The setting is fabulous. The premise of such a long estrangement over what was basically a teenage tantrum was a little hard to swallow. I think the writing is strong and I will read more in this genre by this author. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. I leave my review voluntarily.

This book was really a great read and covered a lot of important topics along the way. The main character has not been home in over 22 years until her father passes away. Returning home not only brings up past buried feelings, she also meets new family members she knew nothing about, her perception of events were not true all those years ago, and two of the people she deeply cared for deceived her in the worst way possible in her absence.!

This book gave me all the feels. I started out feeling one way about certain characters but as more was revealed about why they did the things they did, my heart started to soften towards everyone. Without giving away the story, I felt so sorry that so much time had passed and with her father being gone, there were just some things she would never get answers to or be able to make right. I think when this book is released it's going to be on many booktoks and bookstagrams for sure !

I recieved a copy of this book from @NetgalleyUk in return for an honest review, so here goes...

I always finish a book, whether I like it or not. This story simply left me bewildered. I can't help feeling that the ending was rushed.
From the last few chapters, I felt the author had lost direction. So many important 'conclusions' missed. Without giving too much away, I wanted to know more answers than it gave.
Up until around the middle of the book, I was really enjoying it. It had so much potential, but then it went downhill quickly. Characters who should have, in my opinion, figured prominently were brushed aside, where the ones who added little impact to the story were given word space.
There was so much more I would have liked to have known, so much that needed clarifying and so much wasted potential, I was left feeling frustrated and disappointed.

This is a story between two estranged sisters--Nona known fondly as "Peaches" and Julia. Nona left the small town of Natchez after feeling betrayed by her former lover Marcus and moved to Chicago, working as a professor .. When her father dies, Nona returns back to the small town. Julia meanwhile wasn't very welcoming as Nona left Julia when she needed the most and wasn't forgiving.

The writing was really great and the story is told between Nona's and Julia's perspectives. The description of the Natchez town felt like I was actually in the small town with the characters. Initially, maybe it was just me, the first portion of the story was slightly confusing but as I started reading, it got interesting. I do like the setting of the other characters and how they are all connected to both Nona and Julia in some way--Marcus who was Nona's lover and Julia's husband, Jayden, and all the other characters. I also like the funeral scene the most. The only thing is, maybe again it's just me, I don't understand why Nona was called peaches and the connection it has with the peaches tree. The ending was really great.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book--a story about two estranged sisters and how their relationship grew towards the end. Worth 4.5 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

family-drama, family-dynamics, soap-opera, social-issues, socioeconomics, estranged, siblings****

One sister left feeling betrayed by her family and went as far away as she could in distance and education from her rural roots. The other sister remained with feelings of abandonment as she struggled to take care of aged relatives and the family farm. They are drawn back together by the death of their father. An interesting read, but not my thing at this time.
I requested and received a free e-book from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

I really enjoyed this book! The story and the characters were perfect. I couldn’t stop reading. I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to buy a finished copy for my library.

I’d describe this book as realistic fiction. The author has done an amazing job at creating imaginary characters and situations that depict the world and society. The characters focus on themes of growing, self-discovery and confronting personal and social problems. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is my first book to read by this author but I cannot wait to read more by them! This is such a uniquely written story that you will find yourself thinking about long after you finish it. Highly recommend!!

This is an emotional story about two sisters coming back together after a 20 year estrangement based on misunderstandings and miscommunications. Nona left her Mississippi hometown and fled to Chicago where she has become a African American Studies professor. Her younger sister Julia stayed behind and is full of resentment after being deserted by Nona and ther mother. Once their father dies, Nona returns home and they are slowly begin to communicate and mend relations. The Mississippi setting and many side characters add depth and resonance to the story.

Nona “Peaches” Davenport is a complex woman. She finds one can never put the past behind them when she travels back to her home in Natchez, Mississippi to bury her father. Peach's relationship with her family, fraught with emotions and misunderstandings, reaches the core of our being as we experience them with her. It touches on the feelings many have experienced in their own lives.

As the story unfolds, it also reveals differences in culture that many don’t think about or turn a blind eye to because we don’t want to see, always through the years unspoken but silently simmering. The characters come to life, working together so the reader can visualize every scenario.

Where Wild Peaches Grow is by far my favorite book by this author. It has heart, it has soul, and is memorable. I would also put it at one of my top favorite books of the year. I highly recommend it.