Orange Mint and Honey is Delicious

books:


	• Orange Mint and Honey: A Novel Carleen Brice One World/Ballantine, 2008 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

A Lesson In Forgiving

Orange mint and honey from bitten to sweet and thats how this story was told nona a mother that was alcoholic, When shay was growing up her mama would be out there drunk, hungover with these low-life guys.Shay her daughter just wants her mama to come home, but when she comes shay have to clean vomit off her and take care of her hungover she is growing up so fast, but then she finish school and moves to denver where she is going to school to get her masters, something happens nina simone comes to her and say in so many words go home, to the mother that she care less about, when arriving there she finds out her mother have sober for years and she has a new baby sister, shay is in shock to see this and thats when everything start to happen.You can see how much she dislike her mama and dont trust her but shay will have to learn to forgive and move on and thats when the test comes meeting olive and learning to have and relationship with him and learning to life.When read this book I was thinking of all the kids that lifes was like this, and that made it just like shay. I like this saying at the end orange mint and honey, sometimes life tastes better when bitter is followed by sweet ( and this is so true)

for more information click here

Bitter Sweet

Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice is the story of a mother and daughter, Nona and Shay Dixon, and the path both women take in discovering who they really are. The central theme in the author's first novel is forgiveness. Sometimes in life, we must face our bitter pasts in order to get to our sweet tomorrows.

Nona is a recovering alcoholic, who in yester-years was not very motherly to her first daughter, Shay. She is now striving to be a better mom to her second daughter, Sunny. After an emotionally unstable Shay puts her postgraduate degree on hold and returns home for a semester discovering her "new mom," her pinned up animosity towards her mother radiates through several incidents and conversations. In spite of Shay's resistance to the extension of Nona's olive branch to mend their broken mother-daughter relationship, Nona continues her quest to stay on the right track and repair their relationship.

Readers will find themselves drawn into this story, especially mothers and daughters. Mothers and daughters may not always see things from each other's perspective; however, through communication and mutual respect, anything is possible. Nona relied on her AA meetings and tending to her garden to keep her on the straight and narrow; while Shay found herself after she opened up to newfound beau, Oliver.

Through supporting characters Ivy, a recovering alcoholic, drug abuser and prostitute, and Oliver, Shay's first "real boyfriend," Nona and Shay face situations where they lean on each other for emotional support and finally begin the healing process in their own relationship. Sitting down over a cup of orange mint tea with a splash of honey, the two women discover that sometimes in life we just have to accept the bitter with the sweet and make the best of it. Sometimes we have to know who we are and what we can accomplish as individuals before we can truly make someone else happy and give them the love and support they need.

This book was an enjoyable read. I recommend it to all mothers and daughters, especially those whose families have struggled with alcoholism and the effects thereof. I was happy with the way the novel ended and would read another selection from this author.

for more information click here

A walk down memory land

Having grown up in Denver and very close to this world, this is an interesting story about the things that happen when everything elsewhere seems normal. Written with just enough humor to keep one from crying at the plight of women in a forgotten world. When all is said and done with AA, there still remain the children.

Orange Mint and Honey is Delicious

Carleen Brice first novel is just what I needed to start my summer reading quest. The cover alone caught my attention. It is truly a very gorgeous cover and as I read the book the images from the cover would play over in my mind as the story went on it's journey.

The story is about a young girl name Shay. Also know as "LaShay" according to her mother. Shay is a graduate student who is going through some life struggles. She is on the road to self discovery. She has grown up in a fatherless environment and a alcoholic mother. The story takes you along as Shay tries to heal her wounds and become the woman that she wants and desires to be. The book allows you to go deep into the souls of the women of the story as the fight to stay sober.

Shay returns home to Denver after many years of being away. She doesn't know what to expect or how to feel when she sees her mother for the first time in years. The relationship between Shay and her mother is very strained. Will they be able to fix it? Does Shay forgive her mother for the years of emotional neglect and abuse?

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something different, inspiring, uplifting, emotional, and a tale on how to forgive someone you love. Both heartwarming and funny you will fall in love with the characters of Orange Mint and Honey.

for more information click here

Couldn't put this book down!

Brice is an absolutely entertaining and believable novelist. The imagery was so vivid and the interactions between characters were genuine and full of realistic emotion. This book left me wanting more.

Where is Shay now, what is she doing with her life?

It definitely was a page turner that I could not put down. I chose this book for my book discussion group and everyone who read it absolutely loved it. We're anxiously awaiting the Lifetime movie and another book!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

?A wonderful, jazzy, exciting read.?
?Nikki Giovanni, author of Acolytes

Broke and burned-out from grad school, Shay Dixon does the unthinkable after receiving a ?vision? from her de facto spiritual adviser, blues singer Nina Simone. She phones Nona, the mother she had all but written off, asking if she can come home for a while.

When Shay was growing up, Nona was either drunk, hungover, or out with her latest low-life guy. So Shay barely recognizes the new Nona, now sober and with a positive outlook on life, a love of gardening, and a toddler named Sunny. Though reconciliation seems a hard proposition for Shay, something unmistakable is taking root inside her, waiting to blossom like the morning glories opening up in Nona?s garden sanctuary.

Soon Shay finds herself facing exciting possibilities and even her first real romantic relationship. But when an unexpected crisis hits, even the wise words and soulful melodies of Nina Simone may not be enough for solace. Shay begins to realize that, like orange mint and honey, sometimes life tastes better when bitter is followed by sweet.

?Carleen Brice has woven her talent for storytelling into a funny, sad, and perceptive novel that speaks to all of us who navigate less-than-perfect relationships with our parents or children.?
?Elyse Singleton, author of This Side of the Sky

?Brice deftly shows the importance and joy of understanding our past and not only forgiving those who hurt us, but loving them in spite of that hurt. Readers of Terry McMillan and Bebe Moore Campbell will find a new writer to watch.?
?Judy Merrill Larsen, author of All the Numbers

for more information click here

hot