Ants on Peonies - Comments

As much a tale of conflicting emotions as it is of a search for happiness, Ants on Peonies is a classic take on fated relationships.

Valentine has had her life peppered with running into the first love of her life, Jack. While she can’t think of a reason why she should be with him, she has never found a compelling reason to leave him and the memories behind. As Valentine traces her life from the fateful summer of 1976 to 2007 she sees a relationship akin to ants and peonies: fated but difficult to label as good or bad. There is no denying however that they have a relationship. The question is: is it enough?

I Loved the book but it took me a while to figure out the significance of the title (happens quite late into the story). The book moves like a movie and is very gripping and dramatic in parts. The characters are strong and the plot moves fast. It is not the usual run of the mill stuff that’s part of all romance novels. It has an old world charm to it and the beach is very nicely described. The last 50 pages takes the story in a new direction and brings it to a beautiful close. It’s a cozy novel and ideal for a lazy afternoon read.

Ants on Peonies is a simple but surprisingly layered story. While it is full of stock characters like a best friend, a doting mom, an uncaring spouse, etc, what sets it apart is the lack of familiar situations and reactions. A decent sized novel based on only 4 or 5 characters without any major slow parts is quite rare. There are also no unnecessary scenes of hot lovemaking which makes the novel even better. Its a good novel and an enjoyable one.

Ants on Peonies is a simple but surprisingly layered story. While it is full of stock characters like a best friend, a doting mom, an uncaring spouse, etc, what sets it apart is the lack of familiar situations and reactions. A decent sized novel based on only 4 or 5 characters without any major slow parts is quite rare. There are also no unnecessary scenes of hot lovemaking which makes the novel even better. Its a good novel and an enjoyable one.

Ants on Peonies is a simple but surprisingly layered story. While it is full of stock characters like a best friend, a doting mom, an uncaring spouse, etc, what sets it apart is the lack of familiar situations and reactions. A decent sized novel based on only 4 or 5 characters without any major slow parts is quite rare. There are also no unnecessary scenes of hot lovemaking which makes the novel even better. Its a good novel and an enjoyable one.

Ants on Peonies by Beth Thompson is a very different novel. Starting with the unique title, everything is different. It’s a teenage crush story that morphs into something much bigger. It’s the story of a convenient marriage that evolves into a sweet romance and it’s the story of old love returning but not quite. I was very happy with the lack of same old plot lines and clichés. For the most part I couldn’t guess what came next. Another brownie point is that when events happened they were understated, no over the top emotional outbursts or endless references. The lack of melodrama was also welcome. This book will probably be a good starting point for a new romance reader.

An excellent book in spite of being in the romance category. Usually romance novels follow a strict and simple pattern but this one doesn’t. Not much at least. Through two timelines that are very nicely and tightly told the story unfolds. There is no slack. The principal character Valentine appears feeble at first but becomes a true heroine by the end. A strong character and a strong plot makes the book enjoyable. Ants on Peonies is not short but time did fly while I read it.