First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen – 264 pages
ARC from First Reads
Book Blurb:
It’s October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree… and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store. Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley’s Candies. Though her handcrafted confections, the business of selling them is costing her the everyday joys of her family, and her belief in her own precious gifts. Sydney Waverley, too, is losing her balance. With each passing day she longs more for a baby— a namesake for her wonderful Henry. Yet the longer she tries, the more her desire becomes an unquenchable thirst, stealing the pleasure out of the life she already has.
Sydney’s daughter, Bay, has lost her heart to the boy she knows it belongs to…if only he could see it, too. When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. And through it all, the Waverley sisters must search for a way to hold their family together through their troublesome season of change, waiting for that extraordinary event that is First Frost.
My Review: 3.5 stars
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I adore Sarah Addison Allen. Her books always have the perfect amount of magic so the reader can truly escape their own realities. This book is a sequel to her first novel, Garden Spells, which in my opinion stood alone perfectly and didn’t necessarily need the follow up. Talking out of the other side of my mouth now, I still enjoyed it and liked catching up with these women I grew to know from the earlier book. I think First Frost can stand-alone as well, but reading Garden Spells first offers a richness and depth to the magical house that shuts out strangers and the infamous apple tree that protects the women.
Speaking of strangers, I didn’t think Russell Zahler was fleshed out enough. He didn’t worry me and his conning was weak, yet I understand why the author put him in the novel. He served his purpose I suppose.
Addison Allen did a superb job of showing the very real magic of sisterhood, being an aunt vs. being a mom and the beauty of marriage.
Quotes I liked:
Motherhood is hard enough without judgement from others who don’t know the whole story.”
– “Candy is my religion.”
-“The line between real and story was a very, very thin one sometimes.”
-“The house was so quiet that the silence actually hummed.”
-“My life is based on a true story.”
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