Kristina A. reviewed on 11/19/2017 + 1528 more book reviews

Perennials is a new novel by Julie Cantrell. Eva âLovelyâ Sutherland grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. Thanks to her sister, Bitsy and her lies, Eva was quick to move to Phoenix when she turned eighteen. Laurel and Chief Sutherland will be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary soon and they would like Eva to return home early. Eva just landed the account of her career with a tight deadline, but she agrees to return home. Unfortunately, Bitsy has not changed and is antagonistic (bitter, nasty, jealous). Eva helps her father plan a special memory garden as a surprise for her mother. It gives Eva a chance to work with her friend and former boyfriend, Fisher Oaklen as well as remember her dream of becoming a flower farmer. Eva is given an opportunity to look back on her life and decide what she wants for her future. Is it possible to go home again? Can Bitsy and Eva get past their differences?

Perennials is a spiritual novel (not Christian) with focus on Buddhism. Yoga and Buddhism are frequently mentioned throughout the story (Buddhist prayer wheel, yoga poses, etc.). The one Christian thing mentioned repeatedly is âJudas has a storyâ (two sides to every story). Julie Cantrell is a descriptive writer. She paints a picture with words. Ms. Cantrell describes nature (flowers, trees, birds) and the town in detail. Some of the flower descriptions are lovely (people who enjoy gardening will appreciate it). I found Perennials to be a slow-paced story that failed to capture and hold my attention (it actually put me to sleep which is hard to do since I suffer from insomnia). It is basically a story of sibling rivalry (I could go down the street to my sisters to experience this type of behavior) with a predictable ending (it turned out exactly as I predicted when I started reading it).

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