Beth Thompson

An excellent book in spite of being in the romance category. Usually romance novels follow a strict and simple pattern but this one doesn’t. Not much at least. Through two timelines that are very nicely and tightly told the story unfolds. There is no slack. The principal character Valentine appears feeble at first but becomes a true heroine by the end. A strong character and a strong plot makes the book enjoyable. Ants on Peonies is not short but time did fly while I read it.

Valentine has had her life peppered with running into the first love of her life, Jack. While she can’t think of a reason why she should be with him, she has never found a compelling reason to leave him and the memories behind. As Valentine traces her life from the fateful summer of 1976 to 2007 she sees a relationship akin to ants and peonies: fated but difficult to label as good or bad. There is no denying however that they have a relationship. The question is: is it enough?

We travel back and forth between the past and present, which spans from 1976 to 2007, to learn Vann's story. When she was a teenager she was in a horrible accident that left her with a head injury and without her best friend.

Years later she has a picture perfect life - she's married to a great man named Will and together they have a little girl named Olivia. Unfortunately for Vann her past has a way of seeping into her future.

A good read with realistic characters. I loved reading about her show more teenage years. My heart really went out to poor Vann. show less

Ants on Peonies is a simple but surprisingly layered story. While it is full of stock characters like a best friend, a doting mom, an uncaring spouse, etc, what sets it apart is the lack of familiar situations and reactions. A decent sized novel based on only 4 or 5 characters without any major slow parts is quite rare. There are also no unnecessary scenes of hot lovemaking which makes the novel even better. Its a good novel and an enjoyable one.