R. Raeta

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Peaches and Honey Duology. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: Someone recommended this book to me after I had read "The Thirteenth Child" by Erin Craig. This book was published first and is very similar to "The Thirteenth Child". I enjoyed this book a lot more than "The Thirteenth Child" as well. It feels like a much more mature and well thought out read, and I loved relationship between Anna and her god, Khiran.

This book show more follows Anna from the 1100's to the 1940's. Anna in England in 1184 is starving in a makeshift cabin in the woods. She was let go from her position after the lord of the house found out she had a disfigurement on her skin, which he assumed to be contagious. Anna had to flee. When she sees another woman fleeing through the woods with soldiers in pursuit, she helps the woman hide. Then the woman offers Anna something extraordinary, a golden peach. Eating the peach gives Anna immortality and this shapeshifting god, Khiran, becomes Anna's protector of sorts. Anna struggles through the centuries as a marked woman who has learned medicine (from a different god). Eventually, Anna finds out that there are worse things than humans to worry about.

This was an amazing read and has a good amount of history in it. It was fascinating to watch Anna go through so many centuries and be part of so many historic events. Anna ends up deciding that her place in life is to help and heal people; this is supported by a goddess who teaches her healing. Anna does eventually start to get weary of the constant cycle of human suffering. She is branded a witch or evil sorceress many times and forced to flee. Everything reaches a new low during the first World War when both Anna and Khiran realize that modern weapons can harm them.

Throughout all of this, Khiran shows up to protect her from horrible situations and help her when she is in deep despair, but he is also hiding things from her. Things that, as she gains centuries in age, she needs to know. Adding to that is the growing intensity of feelings between her and Khiran. As time passes, Anna starts to think more like an immortal and less like a human and starts to pry Khiran's secrets from him, but at what cost?

There are huge time jumps in this book, which I expected given the amount of time covered. If you like a slow burn romance, then this is the book for you. It takes centuries for these two characters to act on their feelings. This is absolutely beautifully written and dives into both the best and the worst of humanity.

I can't help but compare this to "The Thirteenth Child" there are many similarities. This book features a woman given immortality by a god, she is encouraged to go into healing to help the world as well, and prosecuted for her skills over and over. In "The Thirteenth Child" the relationship is more father/daughter, in this book the relationship is more friends (and then more). Also in "The Thirteenth Child" the girl is given special healing powers and ages in a mostly normal way. In this book Anna is given immortality and has to earn her healing powers. I felt like this book was more mature, better written, and just flowed better. This book also did an excellent job of capturing the hope, boredom, grief, and loneliness of immortality in a very poignant way.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this book. I loved the walk through history we take with Anna and the look at how a healer's role in society has changed over the ages. I loved Khiran's dedication to Anna and her goodness. I loved the very slow burn romance. I also loved the back story that is revealed about Khiran and his secrets. I am very eager to read "Pits and Poison" and hope to check out other books by Raeta soon as well. show less

Oh wow, I loved this slow burn paranormal romance! When we meet Lily and Sam, Lily has been sitting on a park bench for a long time. She’s not really sure how long. She knows something bad happened. She’s not sure what. She knows the sun is to be feared. She writes stories. She just can’t remember hers. With time, Sam helps her work out the pieces.

Lily eventually comes to remember the events that led to her death and reawakening. She survives off blood and can’t be exposed to the show more sun. She won’t ever age. Sam, good, selfless Sam, who has cared gently for her since the first day he found her there lost and alone on that bench, will.

This book is so many things, but ultimately it is a story of choosing to live your best life. When Sam learns he is sick in middle age, he makes the choice to sell his club in order to spend more good days with Lily. When Lily no longer has Sam, she could have chosen to walk out into the sun. Instead she chooses to write Sam’s story. Their story. As someone with chronic illness, this really resonated with me and I found her story very uplifting.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less

This book is charming and bittersweet and moving by turns. It’s paranormal romance meets slice-of-life meets suspense, which is a mixture I hadn’t expected when I first began the book, but which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The prose is concise and understated—and I do love that scalpel-like precision of language—yet still packs lovely imagery and emotional punch. The cast of characters are all endearing, and I felt immediately invested in them. I loved the careful development of Lily’s show more character—her inner life and how it evolves through the narrative—and how she must learn to navigate through an alien time/world. I loved her dynamic with Sam. The end of the book was quite moving—the descriptions of grief so true to life—it had me choking up. The pacing of the story was nearly perfect in the beginning and end, though it drags a touch in the middle.

This title is a little gem. Worth the read. show less

This book was exquisite. I am utterly in love with Khiran and Anna and the world that has been built in this book by R. Raeta.

So saw this book and was excited going in expecting Addie LaRue/ Hades and Persephone vibes and not only was I given that but it exceeded my expectations in every regard. It was so well executed, it had a good mix of magic, slow burn romance, and historical fiction (some of my favourite things).

Truly my only complaint is that I can’t have Pits and Poison in my show more hands right now. show less