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 Leah on

4 of 5 stars

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***Please be aware this is the second “Waverly” novel so if you haven’t read GARDEN SPELLS, there may be spoilers***

If you read my review of Garden Spells, you’ll see how big a fan I am of Sarah Addison Allen. I think she’s a genius. So much so, that as soon as I finished Garden Spells, I leapt straight into its sequel First Frost, which is set almost a decade later. I’ve been waiting to read it since it was released in January, but knew I needed to read Garden Spells first, and I was finally in the mood for it and devoured both books in one day (oops).

First Frost sees us return to the Waverly family ten years after we first met them, as they wait for the first frost, due to happen over Halloween. But as it’s the Waverly’s there’s always something afoot, and Bay, Claire and Sydney are all hoping to get to first frost without any damage. (Which is harder than it looks when there’s a vanishing stranger hanging around Waverly house and Bay’s experiencing the first flushes of love – with a Matteson, no less!).

It was SO nice to be back with the Waverly’s. Even though it’s a decade later, it didn’t even feel like it was, which meant it was so bizarre to see Bay all grown up! But what a wonderful teenager she is! If I had a kid, I’d want her to be like Bay for sure. It was just so nice to see everyone again – Sydney, and Claire, and their husband’s Henry and Tyler. For a moment, I wasn’t sure we were going to see Evenelle, but she’s still around, still giving people things they may need, and it seems as if some of her superpowers have rubbed off on Frank.

Reading a book written by Sarah Addison Allen is like slipping in to the warmest, coziest bath imaginable. With candles, and a big glass of wine and a wonderful book. I always read her books far too fast, and I find I have just one more to go to have completed all of her books, which makes me so sad and so hopeful that she’s working on something new. She’s so delightful and if you haven’t yet had chance to sample her fantastic work, I suggest you do. You will not regret it in the slightest, because her books are so soothing and so magical and so warm and lovely.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 March, 2015: Finished reading
  • 22 March, 2015: Reviewed