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| I love the cover art for Allen's books! |
By Sarah Addison Allen
*****
“On the day the tree bloomed in the fall, when its white apple blossoms fell and covered the ground like snow, it was tradition for the Waverleys to gather in the garden like survivors of some great catastrophe, hugging one another, laughing as they touched faces and arms, making sure they were all okay, grateful to have gotten through it.”Another beautiful story by the amazing Sarah Addison Allen, who has become one of my all-time favorite authors. Her worlds are so warm and wondrous, and reading one of her books is like cozying up to a fire with something warm and sweet to drink.
― Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost
This is Allen's first "sequel," though Claire has shown up in another book besides her own, but I like to believe that all of these stories happen in the same fictional universe. Like all of Allen's stories, magic weaves throughout the tale - in this case, characters who through food or hair styling can affect a person's day, a character who has the sudden urge to give some random thing to some random person - a thing that person will need, and a young girl who knows where everything belongs.
I loved revisiting the Waverly family, seeing their lives after the "happily ever after." Much of this story follows what happens to Bay, now 15 years old, after she gave a letter to Josh, a senior in high school who she knows she belongs with - a knowledge that comes with her Waverly gift. It's nice to see that even though these characters had their HEA at the end of Garden Spells, despite their touch of magic, they're still normal people with normal issues and insecurities.
A magical story from a magical author. Highly recommended.
I received an eGalley of First Frost from NetGalley.
