The Peach Keeper Paperback – 5 Jan. 2012

I am a fan of Sarah Addison Allen, I enjoy the quirkiness of her stories, which sets them apart, for the moment, from other author's books. I have always had a great imagination and so for me the element of dark fanciful magic running through all her novels, keep my attention and imagination fed. This is an engaging tale of four women, from two generation, two grandmothers and two granddaughters all strong but vulnerable. the older pair having held a dark secret since their friendship in their youth, bring about events that will change all their lives, in the end, for the better. The grandmothers are both living in the same Care Home though not together, one far down the road of dementia, so their secret is locked away in the remnants of her memory. The other, is protective of her and as sharp as tacks, so their secret past is always with her. Through this secret, the granddaughters who lives hugely different lives from each other, forge a bond that is quite touching. The story takes place in New England, in a small tight-knit town, where social standing is all. Not a book for pragmatists, but let your imagination have reign and is it a very engaging quick read.

I've read a few of Sarah's books now and enjoyed them all but I think this is my favourite up to now. I love the element of magic in them and have to say they've transported me to another world whilst going through a bit of a tough time.

Absolutely loved this book. All Sarah Addison books are like a warm cup of tea on a very cold day. If you like a bit of magic, romance and mystery this book is for you.

When I started reading this book I kept thinking Magic?? I want a good story that could actually happen. However as I read on i realsied that the friendships in the book can actually happen and little bit of magic in everyday life just adds to it. It made me look for more of Allen's books and I read The Sugar Queen after and was glad when the magic re-appeared.

I enjoyed this book, I always enjoy Sarah Addison Allen's books, but it fell flat. It was simple and nice but not as magical as I would have liked it to be. Good for a summer read but not much substance. I did like the message about women sticking together though. And Allen always rights steamy love interests!

An amazing story of the true meaning of friendship with a little bit of magic thrown in. I loved it.

As always I get lost in Sarah's books they take me to a magical world, one where everyone should have the chance to visit at least once in their life time.

Sarah Addison Allen does it again. I read this one on holiday and couldn't wait for the next one to come out. I recommend any of her books to anyone wishing to find the magic in the mundane of life as it unfolds day to day.

This book was a heartache to read. It shows how shallow some people can be, but also how resilient and caring they can turn out to be. This shows what true friendship can bring. And it makes you wish you had a friend just like Agnes. There is romance, thrillers and enough mystery to keep a hold on any reader. It's a ride from start to end.

This was a magnificent magical book. I found myself caring for all the characters (unusual) and when I was finished I had a new understanding of friendships and being true to oneself...

Was interesting to see the back story in this novel as interesting as the main story....Sarah's description put you right there in the moment. I enjoyed the read and the mystery story

a very pleasant and beautiful read. Good condition.

I love this author. I was hooked after Garden Spells, and have waited anxiously for each of her new books to come out since. The superstitions and magic are great, and take me to another place. I hope that she has already started on her next book!

great book, read it in the past and then had to buy it! daughter loves it too.

An absolutely engaging read, Sarah Addison Allen combines lyrical writing, intrigue, and lush stories in this beautiful narrative about solidarity.

Mit Abstecher zum ersten Buch Gardenspells findet sich hier wieder eine wunderbar plätschernde Geschichte um 4 junge Leute und die Vergangenheit. Auch wenn ich dieses Buch gern gelesen habe, hat es mich doch nicht so überzeugt wie die anderen, also so 4.8 Sterne. Es bleibt eher harmlos, auch wenn es das gar nicht ist. Ein Plädoyer für die Freundschaft, manchmal etwas zu einfach.

Dies ist das vierte Buch der Autorin das ich gelesen habe und bin diesmal enttäuscht. Wieder ein reiches Mädchen um die 30 das noch Zuhause wohnt (siehe Sugar Queen), diesmal aber schön. Die Story ist dünn, der kleine Exkurs zum ersten Buch "Garden Spells" ist auch ganz nett, aber alles wirkt süßlich-klebrig und am Ende bekommen Aschenputtel und die Prinzessin ihre Prinzen....

How does one leave a 4 or 5 star review without sounding like all of the other 4 and 5 star reviews?I mean … yeah … this was a really good book. It was a captivating story with a little mystery, love, romance, friendship, magic and even a little frustration.And even though it is a little similar to all of Sarah’s other books, this one was very different. I truly loved the plot of sparking a new friendship, denying one self their true desires, discovering a hearts true desire and the dirty little secret that required some detective work to uncover.The setting was delicious where two different worlds wove together and out of that weaving, a new garment was created that bonded relationships together for life.There was a tickling, little surprise where a character from another book made an appearance and all I could do was smile because it surprised me and delighted me. Of course this character would be here! Who else could show up at this event better than her? (I’ll leave that delicious, little, surprise to the reader.)Do yourself a favor, and set aside any ideas about the way you think things should be … whether it’s realistically accurate or socially acceptable to behave a certain way or believe a certain way. None of Sarah’s books allow a reader to dwell in reality. She rather opens up the door for the reader to create a new inner world where the reader is whisked away to another place and time, only to lose themselves in a fantasy that can quite possibly be reality … if we want it to believe in such a world.I’m saving this remark till the end of my review for it is the reason I left off a star.As the book began coming to a close … the chapters were wrapping up and all of the loose pieces were being tied up, I found myself a little disappointed. Perhaps Sarah wrapped up this book a little too quickly. It was almost like she was running out of room so she threw everything together in order to end the story and for me, I felt a little cheated. It was almost like Sarah lost interest in writing the story so this was the quickest way to wrap things up because she was done with it. It felt rushed.And yet, as I sit here staring at the book as it lays in front of me … speaking to me as I write this review … it beckons the invitation to be shared with all those who want to believe in the good things in life and the things that invite us to dream and invite the magic of precious moments and stories to color our world.And since I have read all of Sarah’s books, I will bid this one “Good-bye” and wait as patiently as I know how, for the next one. I am hooked on this author. ♥

What can I say, I am a big Sarah Addison Allen fan. I first ready Garden Spells when I was in my early 20's and it sparked a newly found love of reading. I was so good about reading and then somehow, I fell off the wagon so to speak. I looked up what other books Sarah had out and just had to get them. I must say, this might be my 2nd favorite of hers. I love that Mrs. Claire Waverly makes a "cameo" in here as well, it really made me smile from the heart. This is definitely an easy read but I just loved the little twists, the friendship that blossoms and the love story. It was a good message and reminder to just be you and everyone changes, sometimes not in the best way, but we grow from it. This will definitely be a keeper for those nights when I want a quick semi-romantic read. Very much recommended!

So this is the 4th book I've read by Sarah Addison Allen. Here's where I place it in my rankings:1. Garden Spells (her first and best)2. The Peach Keeper (very enjoyable)3. First Frost (good but not amazing sequel to Garden Spells)4. The Sugar Queen (pretty good, not memorable)All of Allen's books take place in the mountains of North Carolina, which makes for an enchanting setting. She does infuse her native Asheville magic into these stories.The Peach Keeper doesn't have strong fantasy aspects the way her other books do, but there's still some pixie dust sprinkled in here and there, as well as a cameo appearance from Claire Waverley who caters a party.Recommended if you're a fan of this author or just want a light, sweet read.

I recognize and appreciate that many people really enjoyed this book, and am not knocking that. The fact that I didn't doesn't particularly matter, but a word of warning: This is, as many other reviewers have noted, light chick-lit fare. If you're into literary fiction, this isn't it. If you're looking for a beach read -- *maybe.* I stress "maybe" because I usually think of beach reads as light yet unputdownable. There were many times throughout "The Peach Keeper" where I struggled to even see it as pick-up-able.The book had many possibilities that never bore fruit, pun intended. The "Magic Man" backstory plot could have been very interesting, but is undeveloped and largely left by the wayside in favor of pages and pages of extremely ho-hum plot "developments" among the two main characters and their love interests. (Who walks into the coffee shop; who walks into the coffee shop a second time; who sleeps platonically on whose couch; who sleeps platonically on whose couch a second time, etc.)What is intended to be Willa's "quirky nature" seems very forced upon the reader and is difficult to buy. The constant and copious references to her having been the "Joker" in high school -- the mastermind behind a string of dumb practical jokes -- get repetitive and a little silly.In terms of development, Colin is a stick figure of a character who could blow away in the slightest breeze. He's tall. He's handsome. He's into landscaping.Our other dynamic duo, Paxton and Sebastian, present more interesting characters and situations, but the resolution of their "misunderstanding" -- while it does result in the type of ending readers of this genre may expect -- is disappointing in that the relationship between these characters, who truly do seem to have a deep love for each other, cannot seem to be resolved or evolve without placing a defining point on Sebastian's sexuality.There were other decisions I found baffling. Why a peach tree? Of all the trees to choose to be symbolic in a mountain town in western North Carolina?The touches of magic and whimsical notes (which I understand from reading the reviews of others are hallmarks of some of the author's other works, admittedly none of which I have read or sadly, am now likely to read) never make it past fetal development and as a result seem out of place. Example: yellow-and-black birds occasionally appearing, ostensibly as a suggestion of the spiritual presence of the villain. Because the magic and the supernatural take such a back seat in the story (while all our main characters are making out in the front seat), these aspects seem randomly inserted and not to good effect. And I am a lifelong and inveterate reader of ghost stories, but a "floating fedora...?"Don't get me wrong: If all of this is your thing, by all means be my guest. Take a bite of the peach. Just watch out for the pit.

This is one of those books that I enjoyed reading, but left me feeling kind of empty. I couldn't figure out why until towards the very end. I'll get to that later.The blurb seems to imply the mystery is the main plot, but it's not really. It's more a story of finding yourself and friendships, with a bit of romance thrown in. The two main characters are both at places in their lives where they've gotten stuck in a way of thinking that prevents them from seeing the bigger picture, and a way to move forward. The mysterious body is just a way to move the two characters more into each other's orbit. The body is of a man both of their grandmas, now ninety-something, knew 75 years ago. A mysterious stranger who blew into town.Things I liked:-Both women were likable, and didn't fit any certain trope, both were flawed, but recognized it. Reading the blurb, I expected Paxton to be a rich girl trope, and Willa the classic underdog everyday girl, but that really wasn't the case.-While neither romance wowed me, I found the Sebastian character interesting, and far from the stereotypes we usually see in these types of books. I found the ambiguity around him a refreshing change, and was almost disappointed the way their relationship turned out because of it. Would have liked him to be just who he seemed to be, ambiguous, just for the sake of being different.-The underlying story of friendship, and how you should never take that for granted-I liked the touch of magic the story drew upon, nothing so fantastic that you couldn't write it off as overactive imaginations if that kind of thing doesn't appeal to you, but enough for someone like me who likes to feel a sense of underlying forces at playThings I thought could be better:-when all was said and done, the thing that left me feeling not quite satisfied is that I think this plot needed to be more than it was. There are some great underlying themes in the book like lost friendships, growing into ourselves, struggles with outgrowing your old ways of being, sexual assault, etc. I think this book could have gone into a lot more depth than it did.In particular, I think Agatha and Georgie's story deserved more time, and would have enjoyed more flashbacks than we got. I felt we were told more things, than shown them. I would have liked to have seen the friendship between them.The same with the romances, something just felt lacking there, like there should have been more of a struggle than there was, and we should have seen more in-depth struggles with overcoming their fears. I feel like Colin's story needed more behind it, I really never got a good read on his character.It's hard to explain, but for all the great themes this book touches upon, it's kind of also just another shallow fictional piece. I felt this had the potential to be more literary.That's probably expecting too much, and the author likely never intended it to be more than it was, which is fine. But for me, I found myself wanting just a bit more than I got.However, it's a solid read, and I enjoyed the book.

I just finished the book and I really loved it. I enjoyed every bit of it, the pace, the language, the feeling of the place and characters. As always Sarah enters my heart and stays. The Story is filled with mystery and passion for love and food.The original story is set 75 years ago from our day, it is about two best friends and how much they loved each other. The story is about a guy who was as hot as the devil and smelled as sweet as peaches, but was a con man.The story in our day is about a Princess (Paxton), a Freak (Sebastian), a Stick Man (Colin) and a Joker (Willa). And I was really happy to see Claire and Bay from Garden Spells pass in this book.