Well, let's face it, when you're on vacation you want a nice quick read, something that doesn't make you think too hard. This is want I was hoping for and generally got with The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. This book revolves around two women, Willa Jackson and Paxton Osgood, both thirty years old and living in Walls of Water, North Carolina, the small town where they grew up. Paxton was prom queen in highschool, seemingly perfect, and never left town; Willa was quiet, intense and couldn't wait to leave Walls of Water and her family's disappointments behind. Willa's family had a logging fortune but lost it in the 1930s. Willa's family lost their home at the same time, a mansion called the Blue Ridge Madam, and Paxton's wealthy family purchases and renovates the Madam in present day toturn it into an inn. During renovations, a skeleton with some personal belongings is found buried under a peach tree and secrets from the past related to Paxton and Willa's ancestors threaten to come to light.
While Allen is a good storyteller and I got that nice cozy feeling reading it, I couldn't quite connect with the characters. Despite the fact it centred around two strong women (I would normally like this!), all the characteres seemed quite stereotypical, and their actions and dialogue, trite and predictable. The book was supposed to be a bit of a "mystery" but by the middle of it I could predict what would happen in the end (and I was correct, sadly). All in all, it wasn't bad, but I was expecting something more.
Even though this book was a "so-so" on my list, I'm definitely tempted to give this author another chance, as many of reviews of another of her books called "Garden Spells" are wonderful. Karen lent me this one as well, so it might get into the rotation this year.
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