First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

First Frost

by Sarah Addison Allen

Autumn has finally arrived in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina, heralded by a strange old man appearing with a beaten-up suitcase. He has stories to tell, stories that could change the lives of the Waverley women forever. But the Waverleys have enough trouble on their hands. Quiet Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley's Candies, but it's nothing like she thought it would be, and it's slowly taking over her life. Claire's wild sister Sydney, still trying to leave her past behind, is about to combust with her desire for another new beginning. And Sydney's fifteen-year-old daughter Bay has given her heart away to the wrong boy and can't get it back.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling sensation GARDEN SPELLS, FIRST FROST is magical and atmospheric, taking readers back into the lives of the gifted Waverley women - back to their strange garden and temperamental apple tree, back to their house with a personality of its own, back to the men who love them fiercely - proving that a happily-ever-after is never the real ending to a story. It's where the real story begins.

Reviewed by Kim Deister on

5 of 5 stars

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First Frost First Frost picks up several years after the magical Garden Spells. Things have changed for the Waverly women, and little Bay is in high school now. Magic is still afoot and it is so delightful to read each Waverly's journey with the family magic and how it works for each of them.
 
I like that these books don't focus on just one of the Waverlys, but weaves the stories of all of them together. Even the stories of Evanelle and Loralei stories are told in Frost Frost, despite the distant relation of Evanelle and the fact that Loralei is long since past. We even learn a bit about Mary, the grandmother of Sydney and Claire. All of their stories have a piece of the Waverly magic, manifested in different ways and used in different ways.
 
I love this author's writing! Like everything she has written, there is a little bit of magic, a little bit of whimsy, a lot of love, and no small amount of intrigue. The apple tree in the garden of the Waverly home is as magical as ever, ready to be celebrated again as it blooms, atypically, at first frost. First frost is a big deal to this family, almost a time of renewal as all the craziness that has been building comes to an end when the tree blooms again!
 
My Recommendation
 
This is an amazing read and I highly recommend it. In fact, I recommend everything by Sarah Addison Allen!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 23 January, 2015: Finished reading
  • 23 January, 2015: Reviewed