1.06k reviews for:

First Frost

Sarah Addison Allen

3.9 AVERAGE


I love love love Sarah Addison Allen. Her books make me feel sweet and happy and possible. I closed the cover on First Frost and didn't want it to be over. I'd love to be in the Waverly family or even their friendly next door neighbor :)

Are you COVID weary? Are you politics weary? This is the balm for your soul. There is magic in this book. That is actually true, if magical realism is not your deal, read it anyway!

Favorite quotes:
"She loved him with a force that could bring tears to her eyes, and the thought of losing him felt like standing on the edge of an endless black pit, about to fall in."

"...when you are abandoned as a child, you are never able to forget that people are capable of leaving, even if they never do."

Maybe more like 3.75 stars but I rounded up lol. This was a super quick read, almost felt too short, but I loved every minute of it.

A quick, fast read, and one I enjoyed. Solid good book, especially for the beach or the plane.

It is hard to know what genre to claim for this book. It is a realistic fiction with real life issues (first love/unreciprocated love, infertility, mother-daughter relationships, sister relationships, questions of life's purpose etc) but with a touch of magic. I saw one reviewer on Amazon call it "magic realism." That works. Since I am sure I will read more by this author I will give it a new shelf.

This is a sequel to the author's first book and is set 10 years later. It is always nice to see what characters you learned to care about are up to. Bay is now 15. Her Waverley gift it to know where everything belongs. Clothing, decorations and even people. This includes knowing that Josh Matteson belongs with her. Unfortunately he doesn't know it. She says, "She finally understood that, no matter how hard you try, you can't make someone love you. You can't stop them from making the wrong decision. There was no magic for that." Well said.

The gifts that these Waverley women have and express nearly makes the read all-knowing. They tell you what is happening with such confidence that you believe them. It is almost comforting to read the book. Even though it is a mystery I felt safe. The book is like watching a scary movie with my sister when she tells me what will happen so that I can actually relax and enjoy the show. That is not to say that there isn't a mystery and that you know exactly how it will go. I was still motivated to read the book, I was just reassured by the magic.

This is the only book coming to mind right now where you get into the mind of the "bad guy." You find out about his life, how he grew up, his motivations etc. He stays at an inn near the Waverley home and befriends the woman who works there. He makes up stories. He says, "He didn't know why he didn't just tell Anne the truth. There would have been no real harm to it. But, somehow, it's the real stories that are hardest to tell." Also well said.

Hopefully there will be more in this series. I focused my review on the Waverley women but the secondary characters - the sister's husbands (Tyler and Henry), cousin Evanelle and her BFF, Fred are also endearing. Plus the tree was hibernating most of the book and you didn't see what tricks it might have played. Also I am sure Josh Matteson's parents would not approve of him hanging out with Bay. There is more the author could do. Just sayin'

3.5 rounded to 4 because it is sweet and it has several quotes I highlighted in my reading app. There were a few things that felt.. like she built them up and they didn’t live up to those expectations though. And there was a sense of vagueness I didn’t get with a couple of her others I’d read. It didn’t have the essence maybe? Aside from a few parts of the story I could’ve done without too, I DID enjoy it but The Sugar Queen will always be my fave of hers.

I didn’t realize this was actually the sequel to Garden Spells so I’m put out with myself for kind of “reading the ending before I even started the story” haha

I enjoyed this. I didnt like the audiobooks female narrator for the graphicaudio version but the story was good
emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Simply magical! Breathtaking, as all Sarah Addison Allen novels are. I'm sad to see the Waverly series end.