Review – Pits & Poison (Peaches and Honey, Book 2) by R. Raeta (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 320 pages
Publisher:‎
Release Date: June 6, 2024
ASIN: B0CW1CB1RP
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Peaches and Honey duology
Source: Borrowed ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars

“California 1955: After spending eight centuries witnessing the world’s cruelty, Anna has finally found peace in the simple life she’s made for herself. She has her garden and hives to nurture and Khiran, the shapeshifting god who gifted her immortality, to love and to hold. It is, she knows, too good to last.
When her existence is discovered, Anna and Khiran are forced to go into hiding or face the wrath of the reigning god they call The First. Staying together means sacrifices must be made…but they aren’t the only immortals who wish to see The First fall, or the only ones with everything to lose.
One thing is for certain: fear is for them all.”

Series Info/Source: This is 2nd book in the Peaches and Honey duology. I borrowed this on ebook through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: This is the second, and final, book in the Peaches and Honey series. I liked it but didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first book. It felt like a lot of this book was Anna and Khiran just running from one place to another, in denial. We all knew they were going to have to face off against The First at some point, I don’t really understand the repetitive need to draw out this inevitable confrontation. Then the final confrontation itself felt anti-climatic somehow.

Khiran has finally decided to stay by Anna’s side as much as he can. He still needs to leave to do his godly duties, but he tries to return as often as he is able. Then comes the day when the Huntress finds them and they are forced to flee. Khiran tries to keep them hidden by not using his magic and living as a mortal, but he and Anna are just surviving and not really living. It seems like a confrontation with The First is inevitable.

I found the constant cat and mouse aspect to this story repetitive and frustrating. I never understood why Anna and Khiran just didn’t confront the issue head on. All they were doing was delaying the inevitable. I also found Khiran’s over-protectiveness stifling. Yes, he loves Anna, but at some point he has to learn to respect and trust her too. Khiran also needed to realize that Anna loved him just as much, and this wasn’t an issue of Khiran loosing Anna; it was an issue of them loosing each other. In the end, Khiran seems very selfish. He got Anna into this whole mess to begin with, and is pushing her to live a half-life with his need to protect her.

I also was confused about what Anna’s power was. It seemed like maybe it’s the ability not to have the other gods affect her? However, this was dealt with inconsistently throughout the story.

Despite the above, this is still a beautifully written story, and I enjoyed the long time line and seeing Anna and Khiran navigate different historical events across the world. I enjoyed Anna’s peacefulness and how she constantly strives to help humanity in whatever way she can. Although in this book, Anna’s ability to help others is dampened by Khiran’s insistent need to protect her.

I also enjoyed meeting some of the other immortals. I wish the story had given us more time with some of them and not so much of Khiran and Anna alone fleeing from place to place. It would be intriguing to see some side stories set in this world but dealing with the stories of the other immortals.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I am glad I read this series. It is beautifully written, and I loved the long timelines and this story of immortal love. I did not enjoy the second book as much as the first one. Khiran’s over protectiveness starts to damage both their relationship and Anna’s own drive as an immortal. The climax felt a bit anti-climatic and parts of the story felt repetitive. However, I am very impressed with Raeta’s beautiful and soulful writing style and plan to check out other series by her in the future.