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Bitter Like Orange Peel (2013)

by Jessica Bell(Favorite Author)

3.53 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0987593110 (ISBN13: 9780987593115)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Vine Leaves Press

review 1: *Received a review copy for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.*I wasn't sure quite what to expect from this book when I started it. The premise was interesting to me and I love emotional reads, but how this one man connected to all six women beyond the brief glimpse provided in the blurb nagged at me. Going in, this book definitely felt like it could go either way.The main female characters were also this way. At times I would love them for their humor, honesty, or strength and at others I would want to shake them for the decisions they were making. But as tumultuous as it sounds, I became invested in their story. The up and downs, the well-meaning but overzealous attempts to protect each other. It was really like getting a glimpse into a family: imperfect and a... moret times impractical, but still full of love.With all of that said, they all made some really dumb decisions in their lives, and not just in the name of protecting each other. Ivy and Kit especially act well below their ages, seemingly, unable to move forward with their lives. And while it was frustrating at times, it also fed into their back stories well. The absence of their father played a role so clear that even Psych 101 wasn't necessary to see it. So even when they were frustrating, you saw what was underneath it, even if you couldn't condone it. I definitely couldn't. By the end, the only character's I really felt sorry for were Eleanor and Edyie, since they were the only two that were never, to me at least, selfish or childish over the story's progression.The one thing that didn't sit well with me was the ending. A major bombshell got dropped, never really cleared up, and then it was over. The book would have probably rated higher for me overall if that weren't the case, and I really wish I'd known going in. There's also something to be said for the fact that I was invested enough to really want to read more.Overall, I Bitter Like Orange Peel was an enjoyable read for fans of emotional dramas, but don't go in expecting a resolution.
review 2: An entertaining book about six women, three daughters and three mothers, and the man they are all related to in someway. The daughters, never knowing the man, are now grown and wanting to know. The moms, who have not disclosed about the man whom they had loved so well but were left behind by in the end, kept silent about the man and why he was absent from their lives.The lives of all six women become complex as the younger daughter, who later finds out that she is in fact the middle one, begins the quest to locate the man, their father. She discovers that she has a younger sister, news that elates her, confuses her, and yet she ultimately accepts happily to have another sister. And that sister is just one of the secrets the mothers have kept. Of course, as mothers do, their mind set at keeping this secret and others is in the thought of keeping their children safe. But, as all secrets tend to do, it is found out in the end, some in more hurtful ways than others.This is how the novel ascends: it jumps from one daughter to another and whereabouts they stand in their lives, their own relationships with their own men, and their love of them. And in the end, coming to terms with what they discover.On the other hand, this quest of the daughters involve their mothers, too, and they must face their own demons of the past and the secrets they've kept. Only then are they able to move forward. They discover that for the past twenty five years, they've kept their torches burning for the man who abandoned them to raise their daughters alone. By far, the first two women are extremely intelligent and successful women who, in the heart and love and relationships, are complete failures. The third mother is totally incongruent to the first two.This is a novel that grasps your attention and holds it tightly as you want to discover the secrets these women are keeping. It moves along swimmingly and keeps you engaged. The ending was a bit troublesome for me. It was very enigmatic and ambiguous, giving two person's perspectives, leaving the reader to determine what may have happened but not that actual occurrence. So, was it that particular misunderstanding that caused the rift? You can't be quite certain. less

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