From New York Times bestselling author Julie Cantrell comes a story of family and the Southern roots that call us home.
“If Julie Cantrell isn’t on your reading list, she should be.” —Lisa Wingate
Years ago, Lovey chose to leave her family and the South far behind. But now that she’s returned, she’s realizing things at home were not always what they seemed.
Eva Sutherland—known to all as … they seemed.
Eva Sutherland—known to all as Lovey—grew up safe and secure in Oxford, Mississippi, surrounded by a rich literary history and her mother’s stunning flower gardens. But a shed fire, and the injuries it caused, changed everything. Her older sister, Bitsy, blamed Lovey for the irreparable damage. Bitsy became the homecoming queen and the perfect Southern belle who could do no wrong. All the while, Lovey served as the family scapegoat, always bearing the brunt when Bitsy threw blame her way.
At eighteen, suffocating in her sister’s shadow, Lovey turned down a marriage proposal and fled to Arizona. Free from Bitsy’s vicious lies, she became a successful advertising executive and a weekend yoga instructor, carving a satisfying life for herself. But at forty-five, Lovey is feeling more alone than ever and questioning the choices that led her here.
When her father calls insisting she come home three weeks early for her parents’ 50th anniversary, Lovey is at her wits’ end. She’s about to close the biggest contract of her career, and there’s a lot on the line. But despite the risks, her father’s words, “Family First,” draw her back to the red-dirt roads of Mississippi.
Lovey is quickly engrossed in a secret project—a memory garden her father has planned as an anniversary surprise. But the landscaper who’s also working on it is none other than Fisher, the first boy she ever loved. As she helps create this sacred space, Lovey begins to rediscover her roots, the power of second chances, and how to live perennially in spite of life’s many trials and tragedies.
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Ah, returning to a childhood home. You may discover nothing has changed and feel smug for having escaped, or return to find an altered landscape and realize you’ve been missing your true home after all? In this beautifully rendered story, Eva (Lovey) is called home–to her family, to tragedy, to abandoned love, to the shadows of closely-held secrets–and has no choice but to face what she believed she’d left behind.
With gorgeous descriptions of gardening and nature, Cantrell expertly weaves the theme of rebirth and renewal through this tale of family loyalty, sibling rivalry, heartbreaking loss, and the salvation of forgiveness. Readers in search of a lush and moving story of healing and family need look no further. And if, like me, you have a penchant for flowers, all the better!
I liked this so much, mostly for the southern setting and the flower garden details, and for the main character and some of the people around her. It’s a smart read that held me and kept me coming back even when I found myself questioning some of the characters choices, and one with a nice satisfying ending that’s also a little unexpected—happy but bittersweet. Recommend.
Friends, you will love this moving novel by Julie Cantrell . I couldn’t put Perennials down. Julie Cantrell is a beautiful writer.
I love well researched fiction, and what drew me in were all the floral references throughout the story. The mention of each variety of flower, bush, and tree painted such vivid and beautiful picture in my mind, like a garden of imagination. I enjoyed these characters and the rich themes of the story. A wonderful read to match a simply beautiful cover.
Beautiful writing, evocative imagery. This story of sisters is powerful to break & help heal any who have lived through similar sibling dynamics. An uplifting reading experience. Top pick!
I want to bottle the life lessons from this heartfelt, wisdom loaded story about life within a family. The baggage can drive wedges into relationships for years. Oh the joy to come out on the other side…
If this book were a car, it would be a Toyota Prius and it would have a COEXIST sticker on the bumper. It is marketed as Christian fiction (Thomas Nelson Publishing), but chock-full of New Age teaching. (Where is that found in all the Bibles TN publishes?). The main character, Eva (aka Lovey), lives in Sedona, AZ (THE New Age epicenter) but her heart is from Oxford, MS (home of “Ole Miss” and Wm. Faulkner). Eva/Lovey describes herself as a religious “skeptic” (pg. 40, Kindle version) early in the story. She’s an ad executive with a long list of F words that aren’t the F word. She practices Yoga as if it is her salvation. She lives a life far removed from her lifelong dreams, her unsupportive family, and the truth. I speculated that she would eventually be drawn home to her Southern/Christian roots. Well,I was half right.
This is a thought-provoking, well-written story and I identified with several of its themes. It was easy to read in spite of the religious hybrid aspect of the story. The Southern roots aspect of the story is well researched. I enjoyed learning about Eudora Welty, Faulkner, and gardening.
Bitsy, Eva/Lovey’s older sister, could easily have been nicknamed Bit**y. She played that role to the hilt. So much so, that I found it difficult to believe her character could be redeemed. In fact, I did not buy her sudden reformation. There was a wink and a nod to the Christian teaching of forgiveness where Bit**y/Bitsy was concerned, but it was unsatisfactorily resolved in my opinion. Forgiveness was replaced with Eva/Lovey walking a Labyrinth and praying to a statue of Mary.
Eva/Lovey’s father is the big “Chief”—proponent of “family first” (to the point of toxicity) and an ex-Ole Miss football star, and Mother is, well… a true guilt-tripping, garden loving, charm schooler of a Mother. There’s a tragedy early on, which Eva/Lovey is wrongly accused of and that sets the tone of her life as the scapegoat of her family.
Then there’s the romance. Fisher is a stalwart guy. Up to a point, anyway. I mean, waiting almost 30 years for your childhood sweetheart to come around can get pretty lonesome. Mean-girl Blaire is his interim friend-with-benefits.
I was torn with how to rate this book. It may sound as if I didn’t enjoy this book, but I liked it in spite of its fickle-hearted hybridisms. I listened to the audio version while following along on my Kindle. The narrator did an excellent job. If this book hadn’t been marketed as Christian fiction, I believe I would’ve given it five stars. It’s a compelling story. But I think that a book that’s marketed as “Christian” fiction (or any other genre) should ultimately have a clear Christian message. This book did not. It was a Prius (aka hybrid) with a COEXIST bumper sticker slapped on it. To what end? To make it more palatable to non-Christian readers? Shame on you, Thomas Nelson Publishing. Or is the onus on the author for not finding a secular publisher for this New Age story? Or a little of both?
Postscript: After reading through my review, I realize I used a lot of hyphens. Pretty ironic, and a perfect example of a hybrid.
Family, friends, faith and flowers sprinkled with some southern charm. This book will linger with me for a long time.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story!
This is definitely the best book written by Julie Cantrell. If you haven’t read her books, I recommend starting with Perennials, but make sure that you have a box of tissues halfway through reading. Not only does she capture the rich literary history of the city of Oxford, the state of Mississippi, and some of the past great literary authors, she captivates the reader transporting them on the journey with marvelous strong characters. Her characters each bring a sense of caring, depth of thought, wisdom, fear, love, and insight to what is important for building healthy relationships, while taking you through the range of different emotions. Julie’s symbolic use of certain flowers to create the secret memory garden for a sacred space shows us that we can make our own garden of memories to remind us each of our special bonds, relationships, purpose and loves of life’s journey.
Perennials by Julie Cantrell is an emotional story of family, feuds, and what can go wrong with that deeply southern tradition of only discussing what is ‘proper’.
Eva, aka Lovey, traded Mississippi for Arizona at age 18, leaving behind accusations and guilt from those she counted on most. Nearly 30 years later she receives a request she cannot refuse to return home for her patents 50th wedding anniversary.
Nothing in her small hometown is as she remembers it, except maybe constant accusations from her sister and her parents refusal to discuss it. When tragedy finally breaks down the walls allowing honest communication to flow, we are reminded of the healing power of sharing our feelings and of giving the gift of simply listening – also known as open communication.
The story is set first in the gorgeous Arizona deserts then moves to the lush greenery and gardens of Mississippi. Cantrell does an amazing job of creating these settings with her beautifully colorful words, and applies the same talent to conveying the characters’ emotions. This story is one I experienced rather than simply read – what more can a reader want?
This is the first book I’ve read by author Julie Cantrell, but certainly will not be the last. Definitely recommend for anyone wanting an emotional story of sisters, family, how deeply they can hurt us and how completely they can heal.
Julie Cantrell is an amazing author. She has me emotionally involved in her characters and what is happening in their lives. This book was an emotional ride. I found myself having strong feelings about certain characters and wondered if I would feel the same about them by the end of the book.
I highlighted so many comments in the book because they spoke to my heart. I wanted to remember or be able to reference them so that I could job my memory or share them with someone else!
One thing I would recommend is that you have a box of tissues by your side while you’re reading. It is a wonderful and moving story and worth every tear that may spill onto the page.
This is definitely one to put on your to-read list!
Great, interesting characters.
I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild. I was not required to give a favorable review. This was a wonderful story about family, life, death and what each of has to go through just to live. Bitsy is the older sister but feels her parents are giving her sister to much of the time and attention. Lovey (Eva) is the younger sister that doesn’t feel she belongs, it start with a fire in the tool shed, that ends up hurting two of their friends, to little things as they grow up. Now Lovey has made a life in AZ and very rarely goes back to Mississippi to visit. But now her parents are going to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and she need to go home. So many things are going to chance and happen while she is there that makes her decide to come home for good. I loved this story because you need a few tissues, and understand the love the family brings.
Loved the realistic characters
A case of siblings misunderstanding each other and their long road back to relationship.
Excellent story of family love and endurance. Very well written with realistic family problems and inspirational resolutions.
It was a good story that had some valuable life lessons.
I enjoyed the play between the characters, and how we see what only affects us. Was interesting
Relatable family situations