Review – Peaches and Honey (Peaches and Honey, Book 1) by R. Raeta (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 322 pages
Publisher:‎ Atera Books
Release Date: September 8, 2023
ASIN: B0CCT3C6TW
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Peaches and Honey duology
Source: Borrowed ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5/5 stars

“England, 1184: Anna is used to hunger and hardship. Ever since she was seventeen, when the pale shadows of her vitiligo were spotted, she has spent more than a decade struggling to survive alone and in exile. Then a single act of kindness towards a beautiful stranger and the taste of a divine peach changes Anna’s life forever.

Suddenly, her body is as untouched by time as it is by harm. As she watches the world change around her, knowing every human connection is only temporary, there is only one person she trusts to always return, no matter the years or distance…

The shapeshifting god who gifted her with immortality.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Peaches and Honey Duology. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: Someone recommended this book to me after I had read “The Thirteenth Child” by Erin Craig. This book was published first and is very similar to “The Thirteenth Child”. I enjoyed this book a lot more than “The Thirteenth Child” as well. It feels like a much more mature and well thought out read, and I loved relationship between Anna and her god, Khiran.

This book follows Anna from the 1100’s to the 1940’s. Anna in England in 1184 is starving in a makeshift cabin in the woods. She was let go from her position after the lord of the house found out she had a disfigurement on her skin, which he assumed to be contagious. Anna had to flee. When she sees another woman fleeing through the woods with soldiers in pursuit, she helps the woman hide. Then the woman offers Anna something extraordinary, a golden peach. Eating the peach gives Anna immortality and this shapeshifting god, Khiran, becomes Anna’s protector of sorts. Anna struggles through the centuries as a marked woman who has learned medicine (from a different god). Eventually, Anna finds out that there are worse things than humans to worry about.

This was an amazing read and has a good amount of history in it. It was fascinating to watch Anna go through so many centuries and be part of so many historic events. Anna ends up deciding that her place in life is to help and heal people; this is supported by a goddess who teaches her healing. Anna does eventually start to get weary of the constant cycle of human suffering. She is branded a witch or evil sorceress many times and forced to flee. Everything reaches a new low during the first World War when both Anna and Khiran realize that modern weapons can harm them.

Throughout all of this, Khiran shows up to protect her from horrible situations and help her when she is in deep despair, but he is also hiding things from her. Things that, as she gains centuries in age, she needs to know. Adding to that is the growing intensity of feelings between her and Khiran. As time passes, Anna starts to think more like an immortal and less like a human and starts to pry Khiran’s secrets from him, but at what cost?

There are huge time jumps in this book, which I expected given the amount of time covered. If you like a slow burn romance, then this is the book for you. It takes centuries for these two characters to act on their feelings. This is absolutely beautifully written and dives into both the best and the worst of humanity.

I can’t help but compare this to “The Thirteenth Child” there are many similarities. This book features a woman given immortality by a god, she is encouraged to go into healing to help the world as well, and prosecuted for her skills over and over. In “The Thirteenth Child” the relationship is more father/daughter, in this book the relationship is more friends (and then more). Also in “The Thirteenth Child” the girl is given special healing powers and ages in a mostly normal way. In this book Anna is given immortality and has to earn her healing powers. I felt like this book was more mature, better written, and just flowed better. This book also did an excellent job of capturing the hope, boredom, grief, and loneliness of immortality in a very poignant way.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this book. I loved the walk through history we take with Anna and the look at how a healer’s role in society has changed over the ages. I loved Khiran’s dedication to Anna and her goodness. I loved the very slow burn romance. I also loved the back story that is revealed about Khiran and his secrets. I am very eager to read “Pits and Poison” and hope to check out other books by Raeta soon as well.