Review - Beneath the Apple Blossom by Kate Frost
Welcome to the blog, Kate Frost!
BENEATH THE APPLE BLOSSOM
BY KATE FROST
Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction
Release Date: 04/08/16
Publisher: Lemon Tree Press.
Four women, linked by blood ties, friendship, betrayal, loss and hope, struggle with the choices they’ve made and the hand that life’s dealt them.
All Pippa’s ever wanted is marriage and kids, but at thirty-four and about to embark on IVF, her dream of having a family is far from certain. Her younger sister Georgie has the opposite problem, juggling her career, her lover, a young daughter and a husband who wants baby number two.
Pippa’s best friend Sienna has a successful career in the film world, and despite her boyfriend pressurising her to settle down, a baby is the last thing she wants. Happily married Connie shares the trauma of fertility treatment with Pippa, but underestimates the impact being unable to conceive will have on her and her marriage.
As their lives collide in a way they could never have predicted, will any of them get to see their hopes realised?
EXTRACT
Connie stopped and looked around. She had wandered a little way off the path and was in a small grassy clearing surrounded by trees heavy with spring leaves and blossom. Not in the mood for making small talk with a stranger, she chose a spot in semi-shade out of sight of the path, leant back against the slender tree trunk and closed her eyes. A slight breeze caressed her face and every so often she got the wonderful sensation of sunlight on her. She took a deep breath and drank in the scent of damp grass and spring flowers – fresh, sweet and alive – then opened her eyes to the canopy of white against the blue sky. The apple tree was bursting with blossom like masses of white teardrops.
She had everything to live for even if it didn’t feel like it right now. Life was a journey, and the best journeys were the ones that couldn’t be predicted before setting off, or that weren’t an easy ride to reach the destination. Right then, on a perfect spring day beneath the apple blossom, she made a pact with herself to keep loving life whatever was thrown at her. She may have suffered yet more disappointment but she could still see beauty in the world and feel at peace.
My Review
What an incredibly moving story! This was a book I really couldn't put down and got a strange look from my hubby when he woke up at silly o'clock and caught me still reading. Not only that, I picked it straight back up when my alarm clock reminded me there was much more important things to do that day. Like reading this book!
A character driven plot, you are introduced to Pippa, who had always yearned to become a mother and becomes distant with her sister, Georgie, who seems to have everything that Pippa and her loving husband yearn for. Georgie, though she loves her daughter dearly, wants to enjoy her career and has no intention of producing a sibling as her husband wants. Her life has changed so much already.
Attempting IVF treatment for the first time, Pippa wants to connect with other women who are experiencing the same thing, the same emotions - the same fears. She also expresses herself through her blog. Though her family and close friend, Sienna, are supportive, they can't fully understand her desire for having a child and how it affects her life. Especially as her sister has a child and Sienna has no intention of ever having one. It's through a forum that Pippa meets Connie, who is also at the same stage of IVF as Pippa.
What I love about this story is that it is very real. Life isn't all about living happily ever after and this book stays achingly true to that. There's plenty of conflict and an unexpected twist to make you emotionally invested. These four women become connected in many ways. Some tragic, some hopeful and some very unexpected. With relationships fracturing, their journeys become a tangled web as they fight for what they need.
I'm lucky to be a parent and Pippa's story reminded me of that. Her yearning, her pain, is palpable through the authors wonderful voice. I have friends who have experienced tragedy and loss in a similar way to the characters and this book makes you realise how difficult it can be. From the insensitivity, the shattered dreams and the physical pain. Yet, as the title states - there is always hope. It's that hope that makes this book a beautiful read.
Beautiful and poignant!
5 Butterfly Rating!
BUY LINKS
ABOUT KATE FROST
Kate Frost is a writer and author with a MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University where she has also taught the lifewriting course to Creative Writing undergraduates. Alongside writing articles and short stories for magazines such as New Welsh Review, The London Magazine and QWF, Kate has worked in a bookshop, a cinema, as ground staff at Edgebaston Tennis Tournament and as a Supporting Artist in the films Vanity Fair, King Arthur and The Duchess.
Kate’s debut novel, The Butterfly Storm, was published in 2013 and featured on Amazon’s Movers and Shakers chart. Beneath the Apple Blossom is the first book in a series and Kate also plans to release the first in a time travel adventure trilogy for children by the end of 2016.
Kate lives in Bristol with her husband, her young son and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and fits in writing and publishing books around looking after – and being amused by – an energetic toddler.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kactus77
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7131734.Kate_Frost
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katefrostauthor/
Website: http://kate-frost.co.uk/
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