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aileenmaria's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
hedleyreads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
qu33nofbookz's review against another edition
3.0
So this story starts with Annie a young woman who seems to have it all. She's a smart woman and great cook who is the producer of a top rated cooking show starring her husband Martin. However even though she is a great cook she isn't in front of the camera because she doesn't have the right look ethnic wise according to the network. (No mention of what ethnicity she actually is can be found in the book but by description maybe Italian?) Other than that her life is perfect....too perfect if you ask me. She is also a bit of a pushover and a vain doormat, but more on that later. She has just discovered that she is pregnant and rushes to work to tell her hubby. (Lots of foreshadowing of events to come that are very in your face and obvious). When she arrives at work she finds hubby cheating with his young, perky, blonde, big boobed cohost (who was a talentless nobody who was hired because she looked right for their image...whatever that was.) She storms off only to get caught up in an accident that puts her in a coma for a year with a traumatic brain injury (which really isn't by the time she wakes up). Back in her hometown her first true love Fletcher is at home with his young son who is watching Annie's cooking show which was filmed right after she was in this accident like it never happened, her hubby couldn't care less (we know he's an a**hole from the cheating bit but I suspect he'll be even worse as the story goes on.)
The rest of the story is presented in parts of now (from when Annie wakes up from her coma) and then (her senior year of high school to when she created her show and married Martin). She goes from a confident teen and take no bullshit young woman into a doormat and there is no reason why at all seen. When Annie wakes up from her coma caused by traumatic brain injury she spends a month learning to walk and do everyday things all over again....a month....get real! By the end of two months she is driving and drinking like nothing happened when she should still be recovering and on to many pills to drink alcohol. Her family isn't rich but they only mention money problems once in passing from all her medical bills. Her brother's reaction to this is to start growing pot because hey soon it will be legal in their state...maybe.
In the flashbacks we see her meet Fletcher, grow to love him, have her mother try to split them up, his dad get into an accident and lose his legs, they break up and she moves on when she meets Martin. In the present she learns Martin divorced her while she was in her coma (not believable) and had her shipped home like luggage and has been using her medical money from the accident for himself. She comes up with a new way to make money off her family's Maple syrup operation and starts cooking again. Her old network wants her back but she doesn't want to work with her ex but he made up paperwork when she was in love with him and when she was out of it that she couldn't do anything without him. She gets out of it because of some loophole in the state he divorced her in and because of her condition she couldn't contest anything, also Fletcher the judge will help her out. In the very end she marries Fletcher and has a new show and a baby on the way and we have to assume that Martin got what he deserved as his show was likely canceled and she had a lawsuit against him for her hospital money and a resettlement of divorce but all that was left out so we'll never know.
The rest of the story is presented in parts of now (from when Annie wakes up from her coma) and then (her senior year of high school to when she created her show and married Martin). She goes from a confident teen and take no bullshit young woman into a doormat and there is no reason why at all seen. When Annie wakes up from her coma caused by traumatic brain injury she spends a month learning to walk and do everyday things all over again....a month....get real! By the end of two months she is driving and drinking like nothing happened when she should still be recovering and on to many pills to drink alcohol. Her family isn't rich but they only mention money problems once in passing from all her medical bills. Her brother's reaction to this is to start growing pot because hey soon it will be legal in their state...maybe.
In the flashbacks we see her meet Fletcher, grow to love him, have her mother try to split them up, his dad get into an accident and lose his legs, they break up and she moves on when she meets Martin. In the present she learns Martin divorced her while she was in her coma (not believable) and had her shipped home like luggage and has been using her medical money from the accident for himself. She comes up with a new way to make money off her family's Maple syrup operation and starts cooking again. Her old network wants her back but she doesn't want to work with her ex but he made up paperwork when she was in love with him and when she was out of it that she couldn't do anything without him. She gets out of it because of some loophole in the state he divorced her in and because of her condition she couldn't contest anything, also Fletcher the judge will help her out. In the very end she marries Fletcher and has a new show and a baby on the way and we have to assume that Martin got what he deserved as his show was likely canceled and she had a lawsuit against him for her hospital money and a resettlement of divorce but all that was left out so we'll never know.
katharines's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars really...
I love some sentimentality, but this book was just dripping with it... often too much of it. Also, why does everyone have to be so perfectly beautiful? The people were all beautiful, the dog was beautiful... it started to feel like a bit too much.
That being said, the imagery and the prose painted a lovely picture. I wish there had been more focus on Gran's cookbook, which was my main draw to picking up the book. The food descriptions made me want to go to the kitchen and cook.
If you're looking for a sentimental love story with picturesque settings and delicious food descriptions, this is a good enough place to start.
I love some sentimentality, but this book was just dripping with it... often too much of it. Also, why does everyone have to be so perfectly beautiful? The people were all beautiful, the dog was beautiful... it started to feel like a bit too much.
That being said, the imagery and the prose painted a lovely picture. I wish there had been more focus on Gran's cookbook, which was my main draw to picking up the book. The food descriptions made me want to go to the kitchen and cook.
If you're looking for a sentimental love story with picturesque settings and delicious food descriptions, this is a good enough place to start.
pr727's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As seems to be typical of romance and cozy novels, far too much spent on irrelevant details. Characters have immature reactions to self-created situations. All ends up oh so predictably well.
wickedella's review against another edition
5.0
As usual, Susan Wiggs does not disappoint with her writing. A lovely story with all the feel good you can handle.
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
A special thank you to HarperCollins-William Morrow and Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Talented Susan Wiggs picks up with Annie Rush, from her prequel short story, The Key Ingredient, with FAMILY TREE —heartwarming and emotionally charged; Annie finds life does not always go as planned, and throws us some curve balls, when we least expect.
Gran was a special person in Annie’s life. She had always taught her to remember the love. When things got hard and you wonder why you got married in the first place- to recall the love.
Martin was a catch. He made her laugh. When they came up with ideas, they would work on it together with joy. He was her husband, her partner and an irreplaceable element in her life’s work. They had a TV cooking show. Martin was the chef, and Annie worked in production.
Annie loved talking about her Gran. She missed her every day but the remembrances kept her alive in Annie’s heart. Gram had published a vintage cookbook back in the sixties. Her name was Anastasia Carnaby Rush. Her grandfather called her Sugar in honor of the family maple syrup brand, Sugar Rush.
It was a regional best seller in Vermont and New England for years. Gram was a self-taught chef. Cooking was her love. Annie could picture her in the sunny farmhouse kitchen happily turning out meals for the family. She had a special way with food, and always said every recipe had a key ingredient.
“That’s the ingredient that defines the dish.”
Martin’s latest cookbook featured him looking delicious- the perfect combination of Wild West cowboy and Cordon Blue chef.
Her passion had been born in her grandmother’s kitchen when Annie was too young to read or write. Even before Martin, she was about food. She met him when he had a food cart in Manhattan. She was too busy to be in front of the camera.
Martin has a new sexy co-host side kick Melissa Barrett. Annie and Martin had been married eight years. The show had taken on a life of its own. The challenge was always staying exciting and relevant and on budget.
Everything was going well and she is pregnant with their first child. Time didn’t simply tick past, unremarked, unnoticed. This kind of moment that made everything stop. The moment was made of something fragile and delicate, yet it possessed the power to last forever.
She could not wait to tell Martin. She had to give him the message in person. A gift from the heart. He deserved a key moment of his own. She wanted to see his face when she delivered the magical words. A family.
However, she is shocked by a betrayal. Disbelief. Disappointment. Horror. Revulsion. An out of body experience. Is this how it will end? In the process of what she has seen, she trips over cable and then the entire structure came crashing down.
Her life is shattered. From then to now, Annie finds herself in a year- long coma. Grieving, Annie retreats to her family home in Switchback, Vermont. The maple farm. Her brother, mother, and four young nieces and nephews.
A world she left behind years ago. A high school boyfriend, Fletcher Wyndham. Her first love. She had lost her virginity in the sugar house, and a boy she thought would be hers’ forever. Fate got in the way. Separated by space, time, and circumstances.
Wiggs takes readers back to Annie’s life as a senior in high school, dizzy with possibilities. But life had a way of interfering with one’s plans. Things popped up unexpectedly, and suddenly a carefully plotted route had to be recalculated. Annie had always been a big believer in magic.
An entire year wiped out. Her mind unfurled and slipped backward, seeking something that felt more real and substantial than the world she’d woken up to. From the life she left, and the one forcing her to return.
Finding the key ingredient, acknowledging its source, and building a story around the dish was a simple enough concept, but the execution was complicated. There are gaps, but there are those who can help.
Sugar Rush goes gourmet. Annie finally finds a way to reconnect with her past and her old dreams. The key ingredient was simple – to go back to the original dream.
As Annie goes through her grandmother’s cookbook she felt her come alive and she too captures what she loved: the preproduction, recipe testing, shooting animating, and editing. From writer, producer, and star. The key ingredient to life lay beyond the kitchen.
Was she ready to take the next step- a fresh approach to life? Second chances. Starting from scratch. Beginning anew from carefully chosen ingredients.
As always, Wiggs weaves a magical story of the heart with nostalgic voices of the past and cozy comforting settings and yummy cuisine. From triumph over tragedy, love, loss, the pain of the past, first loves, and rediscovery. Makes you want to head for the lush New England autumn leaves, the cold brisk fresh air, and the apple cider.
If you have not read Susan Wiggs, you are missing out!
As I have mentioned before, I am waiting for a Hallmark TV series, based on her charming books. Her settings and characters come alive, with all the key ingredients for a satisfying series like Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, and Sherryl Woods’ Chesapeake Shores.
I am ready for Susan Wiggs’ close knit community in Vermont surrounded by family and friends with lots of joys, struggles, life, love, food, romance, spectacular settings, and heartwarming characters- small or large screen. (Be sure and include hot and sexy, Jesse Metcalfe and the adorable golden retriever, Axle.)
Read More inspiration for Family Tree from Susan's Blog.
JDCMustReadBooks
Talented Susan Wiggs picks up with Annie Rush, from her prequel short story, The Key Ingredient, with FAMILY TREE —heartwarming and emotionally charged; Annie finds life does not always go as planned, and throws us some curve balls, when we least expect.
Gran was a special person in Annie’s life. She had always taught her to remember the love. When things got hard and you wonder why you got married in the first place- to recall the love.
Martin was a catch. He made her laugh. When they came up with ideas, they would work on it together with joy. He was her husband, her partner and an irreplaceable element in her life’s work. They had a TV cooking show. Martin was the chef, and Annie worked in production.
Annie loved talking about her Gran. She missed her every day but the remembrances kept her alive in Annie’s heart. Gram had published a vintage cookbook back in the sixties. Her name was Anastasia Carnaby Rush. Her grandfather called her Sugar in honor of the family maple syrup brand, Sugar Rush.
It was a regional best seller in Vermont and New England for years. Gram was a self-taught chef. Cooking was her love. Annie could picture her in the sunny farmhouse kitchen happily turning out meals for the family. She had a special way with food, and always said every recipe had a key ingredient.
“That’s the ingredient that defines the dish.”
Martin’s latest cookbook featured him looking delicious- the perfect combination of Wild West cowboy and Cordon Blue chef.
Her passion had been born in her grandmother’s kitchen when Annie was too young to read or write. Even before Martin, she was about food. She met him when he had a food cart in Manhattan. She was too busy to be in front of the camera.
Martin has a new sexy co-host side kick Melissa Barrett. Annie and Martin had been married eight years. The show had taken on a life of its own. The challenge was always staying exciting and relevant and on budget.
Everything was going well and she is pregnant with their first child. Time didn’t simply tick past, unremarked, unnoticed. This kind of moment that made everything stop. The moment was made of something fragile and delicate, yet it possessed the power to last forever.
She could not wait to tell Martin. She had to give him the message in person. A gift from the heart. He deserved a key moment of his own. She wanted to see his face when she delivered the magical words. A family.
However, she is shocked by a betrayal. Disbelief. Disappointment. Horror. Revulsion. An out of body experience. Is this how it will end? In the process of what she has seen, she trips over cable and then the entire structure came crashing down.
Her life is shattered. From then to now, Annie finds herself in a year- long coma. Grieving, Annie retreats to her family home in Switchback, Vermont. The maple farm. Her brother, mother, and four young nieces and nephews.
A world she left behind years ago. A high school boyfriend, Fletcher Wyndham. Her first love. She had lost her virginity in the sugar house, and a boy she thought would be hers’ forever. Fate got in the way. Separated by space, time, and circumstances.
Wiggs takes readers back to Annie’s life as a senior in high school, dizzy with possibilities. But life had a way of interfering with one’s plans. Things popped up unexpectedly, and suddenly a carefully plotted route had to be recalculated. Annie had always been a big believer in magic.
An entire year wiped out. Her mind unfurled and slipped backward, seeking something that felt more real and substantial than the world she’d woken up to. From the life she left, and the one forcing her to return.
Finding the key ingredient, acknowledging its source, and building a story around the dish was a simple enough concept, but the execution was complicated. There are gaps, but there are those who can help.
Sugar Rush goes gourmet. Annie finally finds a way to reconnect with her past and her old dreams. The key ingredient was simple – to go back to the original dream.
As Annie goes through her grandmother’s cookbook she felt her come alive and she too captures what she loved: the preproduction, recipe testing, shooting animating, and editing. From writer, producer, and star. The key ingredient to life lay beyond the kitchen.
Was she ready to take the next step- a fresh approach to life? Second chances. Starting from scratch. Beginning anew from carefully chosen ingredients.
As always, Wiggs weaves a magical story of the heart with nostalgic voices of the past and cozy comforting settings and yummy cuisine. From triumph over tragedy, love, loss, the pain of the past, first loves, and rediscovery. Makes you want to head for the lush New England autumn leaves, the cold brisk fresh air, and the apple cider.
If you have not read Susan Wiggs, you are missing out!
As I have mentioned before, I am waiting for a Hallmark TV series, based on her charming books. Her settings and characters come alive, with all the key ingredients for a satisfying series like Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, and Sherryl Woods’ Chesapeake Shores.
I am ready for Susan Wiggs’ close knit community in Vermont surrounded by family and friends with lots of joys, struggles, life, love, food, romance, spectacular settings, and heartwarming characters- small or large screen. (Be sure and include hot and sexy, Jesse Metcalfe and the adorable golden retriever, Axle.)
Read More inspiration for Family Tree from Susan's Blog.
JDCMustReadBooks