I would rate this book 3 1/2 out five stars.

This is an interesting read focused on the many people of Glenville, Vermont. There is quite a cast of characters to the point in the beginning I felt I need a scorecard to keep track. But in time you are able to filter it all out. The main focus of this story is four families that will find their worlds intertwined.
There is the family who is Christian based who run a family honey business and by the way have a beautiful daughter. The new family to the area who are well to do and have a teenage son. A family who run the local inn and wedding event center who have a daughter who has friendship with the beautiful girl and the last girl from a family that everyone in the area considers trouble. All three teenage girls are friends. Most of the story is the struggles these individuals or families face with crime, first love, teenage pregnancy. But this story takes a dramatic turn which you do not see coming which in my opinion makes this story a little better than a average. Give it a read and see what you think. It is a pretty quick read.

I loved the writing, and how well captured small town living is. This is a specific sort of novel that needs to be appreciated and enjoyed for being told from multiple perspectives, less a small town romance and more so a study into the lives of all these characters.

Utterly beautiful!

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House for this ARC!

🍯 Liquid, Fragile, Perishable 🍯

Overall, I didn’t love this book. I was drawn in by the blurb (especially since I live in New England) and the cover (which is gorgeous), but found I didn’t actually enjoy the book itself. It ended up feeling like a chore to read, which I hate.

🍯 multiple POV
🍯 small town life
🍯 family dramas
🍯 debut book

There were a lot of characters in this book, and all from their POV. This wouldn’t usually bother me much, but some felt superfluous, and many of the characters didn’t interact with each other at all. The entire LeBeau family could have been excluded in my opinion.

I didn’t love the writing, I felt it to be very staccato and disjointed. I also disliked the transition (read: lack thereof) between characters/POVs. It would just jump immediately to the next character, oftentimes not even the same day, and only delineated by as asterisk on the page.

I did like the storyline of Honey and Will and their families, and also liked Nell’s storyline. I did appreciate the overarching literary metaphor of the bees and their hives and this small town and its inhabitants.

Thank you Melville House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was kind of a whim to request this book — it might’ve been the cover because the title told me nothing about the story I wound up reading. I don’t read the synopsis often, and I think this one was an impulse. If something calls me to it, I’ll likely read it or put it on my TBR to never be thought of again.

I’m glad I stuck to this book though, I was getting confused at the beginning and nearly DNF’d it because I was getting confused so often. The method/format which the author chose to write this book put a lot of names and point-of-views in the same chapter. I have to laugh at how confused I was at understanding who was speaking when Eli was introduced to the book because his thought process is a bit manic and almost unhinged in his obsession for the character Honey. But after some note cards to organize the who’s who in my mind the story started opening up and I was able to get comfortable in being the fly on the wall in the lives of the different characters.

The story is not necessarily unique, but the way the story is told likely is. The different perspectives of how single actions or events can have varying effects to the people around it. The announcing of a birth. A wedding. A lost cause. A recluse. A death. Although the immediate people might feel it the hardest, those that knew or were associated to that person will have their own thoughts and emotions on the matter that sometimes isn’t even related but only triggered by the event. That’s how this book felt. Several events some less exciting than others happened, and the various degrees of effect took shape — based on the age of the character, their life experiences, their relationship with any of the other characters, etc.

I don’t like reality TV, the chaotic mess of organized “unmeditated” media is not for me. But this was the kind of drama that I was granted just enough control to observe without feeling the second-hand anxiety of the event. Sometimes it was like reading under a cozy blanket or sitting in a big sofa with the lights off basking in the warm glow of the television.

Sometimes I felt like parts of the story were unrelated or focused on a part of the life of a character that was so incredibly mundane that maybe a person didn’t really need to learn about it, but I think it was meant to add a little more depth to a character. An attempt at a better understanding about who this character is to others and how they perceive it.

This was the author’s debut, and I think Carolyn Kuebler created a very basic, small town drama that didn’t really feel like it was dramatic but just like watching a cozy TV show and making you wonder what happens next to the whichever character you’ve invested your interest in.

As a side note, I think a novella about Sophie’s late teens/20s would be kind of intersting — if I’m being honest 🙂

This book was not what I was expecting, but sometimes those are the best surprises.

After a little bit of a slow start, heading into the third chapter I started to feel connected to the characters and that was it for me. I was hooked until the end.

This book took me on a journey and if you are looking for something different then anything else you’ve picked up lately; look no further.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the characters. The small community of people who are just living and dying together. It will both break your heart and give you hope.

I might be the odd one out. This is the story of teens Honey and Will - or is it? It's told by everyone else in their families and their town (or so it seems) in an idiosyncratic format that wore on me. It's an interesting concept but it's also distracting because I never felt that I appreciated any one person, least of all the couple themselves. It's light on plot until deep into the novel when things become much more intense. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

this one was a me problem, couldn't connect with characters or plot. maybe i will revisit in the future once published.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I struggled to get hooked into this. I did not enjoy the seeming randomness of how the chapters were separated and the segue from one character’s view to the next with just an asterisk to denote change. There were so many storylines it took a good half of the book to keep characters straight. I did not feel compelled to keep going until a certain tragic event, where I then wanted to know the outcome. Overall would give 3.5 stars

I have never read a book that felt so... ominous. Like waiting for a shoe to drop at every turn. Which tragedy is going to strike? Which will stay dormant? A beautiful setting over the course of a full year, Kuebler really makes you feel the changing of the seasons. The rush of summer, the lull of winter, the promise of spring. Each scene a poem.

Cruddy execution for a concept that could have been really great. Even the cover drew me in. Did not love the format and how it rolled out.

Fabulous cast of characters made even richer by the omniscient narrator. It was especially enjoyable when the perspective changed within each chapter rather than a chapter from each perspective.

Time moved quickly and flawlessly throughout the book, yet still felt authentic. The Kuebler's prose mimicked the freeze and thaw of the small Vermont town along with the relationships of its residents.

The river with it's constant movement was a brilliant metaphor the continuous movement of life, even though on the surface it may seem to have frozen.

Liquid, fragile, perishable--aren't we all?

I will start off by saying please check trigger warnings! Instantly was drawn in by the cover. Multiple povs was a great add in! This book is complex and dramatic, in a good way, but it is not a simple book! I really enjoyed and thought it was beautifully written!

This book isn't going to be for everyone, but I highly recommend it for fans of literary fiction. Yes, the multiple POVs and frequent shifts in viewpoint take some getting used to, but the careful reader is rewarded. I appreciate how the author did not feel the need to dumb things down.

The elegant almost poetic quality to the prose ends up being quite lovely. Small town Vermont is captured so well in this narrative. Readers looking for a fast pace will need to look elsewhere, but readers who appreciate a contemplative narrative will find much to admire here.

I do think a "cast of characters" in the beginning would be helpful in keeping things straight.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Liquid, Fragile, Perishable by Carolyn Kuebler takes us to the quiet town of Glenville, Vermont. The story unfolds through the eyes of various characters, each offering a unique perspective on life in this close-knit community.

The heart of the tale lies in the arrival of the Calper family from New York. Willoughby, their son, unexpectedly falls for Honey Mitchell, a sheltered girl from a Christian beekeeping family. Their relationship becomes the focal point around which the entire narrative revolves.

Kuebler’s writing style initially caught me off guard, but as I delved deeper, I found myself drawn into the characters’ inner worlds. The way she lets us peek into their thoughts, fears, and desires creates an intricate web of emotions.

While I appreciated the multiple viewpoints, I did wish for more insight from Honey and Will. Their love story sets off a chain of events that forever changes Glenville.

Liquid, Fragile, Perishable is a thought-provoking read that immerses you in the complexities of small-town life. The characters linger in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced e-book.

Thank you to Melville House Publishing for granting me this arc through Netgalley!

This book was an interesting one. Told from the perspectives of many different characters and families, it took me a while to create a "family tree" of sorts so I could remember who was who and oh so that person is this persons neighbor and this person is that persons sister, etc.
The first few chapters reminded me of This is Us, if it were told more slowly. The exposition seemed to last about 60-70% of the book, and I found that the real plot didn't begin until it was too late.
While it was a long way to go to get to the main plot, I did find myself completely intrigues anytime I picked this book up.
The end felt quite rushed, especially because of how long the introductions were. It didn't feel very well paced, in my opinion.
However, the story did hook my completely. I was merely disappointed with how bland it all seemed to be until we got to the climax at around 75%
Overall, a good book! Not a favorite for me, but good!

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review on my blog. I found the story to be difficult to read and not enjoyable. Thank you for your consideration.

The story of a small ski resort town told through the eyes of multiple residents and centered on disappearance of on neighbor during a snowstorm one December. A few too any voices and difficult, frequent changes of narrator. Still enjoyable.

A beautiful concept, however, the execution wasn't solid. The writing style and formatting felt very sparse and dry compared to the major events and drama that was happening in the plot. The setting was executed very well and the characters were rich. I think the idea is great but this book could have used some tailoring.

Perhaps best for those readers who don’t prefer a traditional style of prose, punctuation and formatting.. I was interested in the concept but struggled to follow the speakers and the story due to the different style of presentation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.