First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen | Book Review

STATS:
Author, Sarah Addison Allen
Published, expected January 20th, 2015 (Pre-Order HERE)
Publisher, St. Martin's Press
Kindle edition, 304 pages
Series, Waverley Family #2

BOOK TRAILER:

DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS: From the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells comes a story of the Waverley family, in a novel as sparkling as the first dusting of frost on new-fallen leaves... 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—rose to recall lost love, lavender to promote happiness and lemon verbena to soothe throats and minds—are singularly effective, 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. But how can he, when he is so far outside her grasp that he appears to her as little more than a puff of smoke? 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. Lose yourself in Sarah Addison Allen's enchanting world and fall for her charmed characters in this captivating story that proves that a happily-ever-after is never the real ending to a story. It’s where the real story begins. 

MY THOUGHTS: This book was great!  Sarah Addison Allen has quickly become one of my favorite authors.  If you are not reading her due to the "magical" element of her books, you should.  I steer away from those novels most of the time and have to admit that I came upon The Peach Keeper by accident.  But, Allen has a wonderful way of adding just enough magic that it enhances the mystery of the story without overtaking it. If you have read Garden Spells, you will be in luck since this is the second novel in that series.  If you haven't (like myself, but I will now) that is fine too.  This story can stand alone but if you like to keep books in order, there is plenty of time to read Garden Spells before First Frost is available. The dynamic of the sister and mother/daughter relationship is very honest and believable.  The story is about, Bay, a teenage girl trying to deal with growing up and being from "that" family in town.  Sisters Sydney and Clair are dealing with all the built up craziness that comes with the first frost of the season.  Throw in a mysterious stranger in town and you have a recipe for success.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are mine.