Author: Trish Morey
ISBN: 9781743534342
RRP: $29.99
Cherry Season is my second Trish Morey read and it was just divine. Set in the picturesque Adelaide Hills that I call home it was familiar and comfortable with surroundings that dragged me in from the very beginning.
Dan Faraday is a grumpy orchardist holding out for a bumper cherry season that will get the banks off his back, but that’s not all he has going on at the moment. His 37th birthday will be memorable for all the wrong reasons; his three younger sisters have splurged on an online dating subscription for him, and the candles on his cake set off the smoke alarms. Not the nice quiet night he had been expecting.
An online dating subscription is the last thing Dan Faraday wants but it is definitely time he started actively seeking a wife or there may not be anyone for him to pass the orchard on to. Faraday Orchards has been in the family for generation and this is the first time it has looked like there may be an end to the line. Dan has three sisters but none are keen to go onto the family business, or are looking like marrying and having children that will take over the business.
Dan has always put the business first and when it’s not cherry season there are the apples and the pears to worry about, or the raspberries or rhubarb and if it’s not the fruit there’s always something that needs attention on the farm. Dan is a conservative man who plans everything, I think this might be an occupational hazard for a primary producer; so much is out of his control that he needs to be in complete control of what he can.
Lucy Mariano on the other hand is not conservative, she does not plan every move – or any move. She is a complex character who moves around a lot. She doesn’t settle down or stay in one place for long because that’s the way she likes it but you can feel from the beginning that there’s more to it than that.
Gypsy is in Lucy’s blood, her mother never settled down for long either so she has never known any different. It is easier to keep moving than to get attached and open yourself to heartbreak; which immediately tells me Lucy has had her share of heartbreak.
Lucy seems to be rootless, drifting all across the world with no responsibilities and no possessions. The no possessions is fast put to bed as we see Lucy decorate the place she stays with special mementos of her travels; wall hangings, cushions and cookbooks from all over the world.
Dan is a conservative overthinker who never makes rash decisions so the fact that he employs Lucy on their first meeting at a service station is slightly out of character.
Dan and Lucy are polar opposites in every way, right down to the fact that Lucy is here for the Cherry season and Dan is looking for a wife.
The online dating subscription has kicked him into gear and now he even has a checklist for all the things he is looking for in a prospective wife and Lucy doesn’t tick a single box – only because spark and chemistry don’t even make his list.
The romance is a very slow burn but the sparks fly every time the pair are in the same space. Written from both perspectives we get in their heads and know the attraction they each feel, but we also know that they are determined that it will go nowhere as they are so different, and you’re never quite sure whether one will give in to their desire.
Cherry Season is gorgeous. The writing flows beautifully and the scenery is very visually written, maybe I could picture it so well being familiar with the area but I think it was Morey’s superb scene setting.
The pacing was spot on and she made all of the Faraday family so three dimensional that I’m invested in their stories as well, I’m left wanting to know what happens to them from here. It’s not just the family either, I want to know what’s next for Kate as well.
A believable love story, a picturesque setting and a generous helping of humour. There were times I was left with a very bad feeling about what was coming and I was not disappointed.
There were elements that I found predictable but the way that Morey resolved them was not what I was expecting at all.
Cherry Season is a fantastic read that I would recommend to all.
You can find follow Trish on her Facebook page, Twitter and her website.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Seriously one of the best reads in such a long time I loved this book and would highly recommend it
If there is one thing that Trish Morey managed to do in Cherry Season, it was to take me back to all my own childhood memories of South Australia. From the second I found out this would be set in my old stomping ground, I was hooked. Trish Morey successfully created a picture in my mind of the Adelaide Hills area and it made me want to return back again.
I felt that Cherry Season was not slow to move at all, it created a solid attraction between Dan the cherry farmer and Lucy the backpacker from the first meeting. I enjoyed the involvement of Dan’s family in all his affairs and particularly enjoyed going on his journey into the world of online dating with him.
I managed to read Cherry Seasons within 3 days and was hooked after the first 2 chapters. I highly recommend it to anyone and have already passed it on to my mum, who also read it very quickly and commented on the fact that opposites really do attract.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for giving me the opportunity to read Cherry Season.