A special thank you to Edelweiss, NetGalley and Graydon House HarperCollins/HarperCollins Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you also to Harlequin for the opportunity to be a part of the Blog Tour.
Hope arrives at her aunt's estate—the Orchard House—late one night with her young daughter and a terrible secret. She is worried that her aunt, whom she barely knows, will turn them away.
Peg has lived in the Orchard House all of her life and like Peg, it is starting to show its age. She agrees to take in her Hope and her daughter if, in exchange for room and board, Hope helps with this season's cherry harvest. Out of options, she agrees.
Working alongside her headstrong aunt, her daughter, Tink, and a kind man who she can't stop thinking about, Hope begins to feel the promise of a new life. But the past always seems to have a way of catching up with you...
Fader's narrative is told in alternating third person limited points-of-view between Hope, Peg, and Tink. These strong women are the backbone of the story, however, their strengths are also their downfall. Peg is a complicated character and her relationships with Hope and Hank play out over the course of the story. Hope is on the run and her relationship with her daughter is strained.
I enjoy Fader's writing. She is engaging and her characters are authentic—they have distinct voices and personalities and are fully developed. Her excellent ear for dialogue translates well to the page. There are some heavy topics (domestic abuse, depression, and addiction) and Fader handles them with the care they deserve.
The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season is about three generations of women that come together at the family orchard to face secrets, and learn about the power of hope and forgiveness.
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MOLLY FADER is an award-winning author of more than 40 romance novels under the pennames Molly O'Keefe and M. O'Keefe.
The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets was her first women's fiction novel.
Q & A with Molly Fader
What message do you hope readers take away from The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season?
Oh wow! So many! I hope they think about about the power of memory in their own lives. That memories are what make us—good and bad. Mothers are fallible in a million ways and most are just trying their best. Grace and forgiveness feel better than resentment. When times are tough—get yourself some chocolate cherry brioche? :)
What's the story behind the story/how you came to write this novel?
Well, the opening scene literally just arrived in my head. Mom with a dead cell phone driving through the dark dark Michigan night. She’s absolutely out of options. Her daughter isn’t speaking to her. And she’s been beaten up.
As far as opening scenes go it’s one of my absolute favorites. Women out of options, out of pride, trying SO HARD to do the next thing… I love it.
Do you have any specific writing rituals (outfit, snacks, pen, music, etc.)?
I wake up early, make the coffee and go. Sometimes the internet is a little too distracting so I need to turn it off. But most days, that’s how it works. Some days—when I go on retreats or I’m really behind—I work in the morning, go for a long walk, come back and have a beer before writing some more. When I was a newbie writer I had a few more tricks I needed—there were books I wrote listening to the same album on repeat, but now I can’t have any music. I’ve written some books in different rooms in the house because for whatever reason, that’s where the writing magic happened.
The McAvoy Sister’s was written almost entirely in my daughter’s bedroom… I have no explanation for it.
Which character do you most relate to and why?
Honestly, all of them in different ways and in different parts of the story. I have never been in the situation that Hope has been in but there have been parts of motherhood when I find myself in situations outside of my control and I have to treat my kids like adults. Or expect them to act like adults. And I know it’s not fair, but it’s what happens sometimes. I can also really relate to how she can find a million reasons to beat herself up as a mother—but struggles to see what an amazing job she’s doing. I think most mothers understand that reality.
I also understand Peg’s reluctance to open herself up to more pain. And how what she thinks is keeping her safe is actually a prison. And I can also appreciate her—if I don’t talk about it, it didn’t happen—stance. I think that’s a very real part of human nature.
And frankly even Tink—I LOVED how she used what power she had to make her point clear. The story about Tink and the broken leg, that came from real life. My kid’s friend spent most of a year wrapping his leg up in an ace bandage and telling everyone it was broken, it was like he was conducting a very specific social experiment on us. And then one day…done.
What can you tell us about your next project?
Oh, I’m so excited about it. The title is always changing…so we’ll skip that part and get right to the good stuff...
Sarah Beecher has died and everyone in Greensboro, Iowa has shown up for her funeral. She was a beloved Administrator and Nurse at the Nursing School who has lived almost the entirety of her life in this small town. Her daughter’s are there—each battling some real life demons but supporting each other, despite old resentments and feuds. They are absolutely firm in the knowledge that Sarah Beecher had no secrets.
Into this funeral walks Kitty Deveraux—legendary star of stage and screen. And she’s there to tell Sarah’s daughters their mother was not who they thought she was.
And neither are they.
It’s got two timelines! Family secrets! Twists! Seriously, I enjoy it so much. AND it’s based in part on my mother’s experience at St. Luke’s Nursing School in Iowa.
Have you been to the cherry festivals in MI?
I have! I’ve been to the cherry festival in Traverse City. I competed in a cherry pit spitting contest and ended up spitting the pit on my shoe. I was an embarrassment to my kids and husband. Luckily there was plenty of cherry ice cream (thank you Kilwin’s!) around with which to console myself after that poor showing.
Actually I spent part of almost every summer of my life in Michigan. First along Southern Lake Michigan: St. Joseph’s and South Haven. And then in Northern Lower Michigan: Traverse City, Boyne City and Petosky. A few summers on Beaver Island. I have enjoyed The Cherry Festivals, The Tulip Festivals, a million Beer Festivals, and the odd Elvis Festival.
Why did you decide to use a cherry orchard?
I wanted to set the book in Michigan. I knew I wanted it to be rural and agricultural and lots of hard work. And after all the summers in Michigan—picking up bags of fresh washed cherries from road stands all over the state—a cherry orchard seemed perfect!
