First Frost (Waverley Family, #2) in The Sarah Addison Allen Fan Group

Sep 11, 2014 Carolyn Hill rated it really liked it

I love being in the worlds Sarah Addison Allen creates. All the senses are more vibrant, the air sparkles, an apple tree holds a grudge, a house will lock its doors on you, and enchanted food can make lovers swoon. It's a most benevolent magic, at least for those deserving of it. It's a very comforting world, though to those Waverleys blessed with the gift, magic can set you apart, mark you as odd, and fitting in with normal people means sacrificing who you are. In different ways, the Waverley w I love being in the worlds Sarah Addison Allen creates. All the senses are more vibrant, the air sparkles, an apple tree holds a grudge, a house will lock its doors on you, and enchanted food can make lovers swoon. It's a most benevolent magic, at least for those deserving of it. It's a very comforting world, though to those Waverleys blessed with the gift, magic can set you apart, mark you as odd, and fitting in with normal people means sacrificing who you are. In different ways, the Waverley women and girls have to come to terms with that. First Frost is a return to the Waverleys we met in Garden Spells, and if you haven't read the first book, you should before reading this one. I think this is a bit of a love letter to Allen's fans, who were so enamored of Garden Spells. I include myself among those. It's been ten years since we left the characters behind, and, for the most part, things are going well for the Waverley sisters - marriages are happy, business is good, families are close. But in the real world, things are never quite happily ever after. For Claire, self-doubt enters in, there's money to earn and college to fund. Her sister Sydney thinks only having a baby would make the family complete and give her husband the son he deserves. And, though she knows with her deepest sense it's right, Sydney's teenage daughter, Bay, falls for the one guy who apparently doesn't want anything to do with her and whose family has a difficult history with her own. Then a strange elderly man shows up and makes Claire doubt all that she thought she knew about herself.

This sequel does not have the tension and angst of the first book, and conflict is relatively minor. Still, the plot has a magnetic pull, making it a "quick read." Bay's story is the most compelling, and, I feel, could have been more elaborated. There are no real surprises, and we know there will be a happy ending. (Even the unhappy event that was foreshadowed did not happen.) Nevertheless, it is a delicious experience dropping in on old friends and tasting the magic again. ...more

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Sep 10, 2014 Laura rated it liked it

I was lucky enough to win this book through Goodreads First Reads. It took me awhile to receive it, so sorry to review the book after the book is out to the public.
I read the first book, Garden Spells, back in 2011. So I didn't remember much. But I remember being captivated by the magic of Sarah Addison Allen's books and writing. I didn't really get the same feeling from this book. It was good and enjoyable, but didn't suck me in the way her passed books have. It was kind of predictable. And eve ...more

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Sep 10, 2014 Jessica rated it liked it

It has been so many years since I first read about the Waverly family and I was really looking forward to learning more about them. Maybe I should have re-read Garden Spells before starting because the only person I really remembered was Claire. It was an enjoyable book, but I wasn't drawn to keep reading it the way I have been with her others. ...more

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Sep 10, 2014 Deborah Blake rated it it was amazing

Sarah Addison Allen never disappoints, and as usual I was up until midnight finishing the book. Her use of words is lyrical and enchanting and her characters feel like family. I love the touches of magic in an otherwise realistic book.

Allen is one of my must-buy authors, and this book only cements that.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

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Sep 10, 2014 jeni b rated it liked it

Shelves: first-reads

I was extremely excited to WIN an Advanced Readers’ Edition of First Frost. Thank you Goodreads!
Sarah Addison Allen continuously crafts stories with a matter-of-fact-manner of magic that is delightfully delicious! I appreciate her inventiveness and imagination!

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