Sarah Addison Allen - First Frost

Readers fell in love with Sarah Addison Allen's debut novel, GARDEN SPELLS. Now the tale of the Waverley women is to be revisited with a magical sequel. 
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.

Comment: This book was given to me as a Christmas gift and I'm very glad because it's the follow up of one of the most intriguing books I've read, Garden Spells. That book was really special, the author's debut and her voice has had a great development. I still prefer that first book out of them all, so getting this one would be reconnecting with all those fascinating characters again.

This book is set years after the happenings in the first one. Both Claire and Sydney are now happily married, Claire has a daughter, Sydney has her hair salon and the Waverly magic is still going on. The sisters (and the family) are only waiting for the first frost, which means the house and they will finally have some peace of mind and problems won't get out of proportion. But Bay, Sydney's daughter - now a teenager - has fallen in love with the only boy she shouldn't, there's a mysterious man in town, Claire's new venture isn't as happy as she wanted it to be and Sydney still misses something in her life. Will things settle after the first frost of the season?

As always, it's such a delight to read these stories, the author writes contemporary, small town, but there is the touch of magic realism that makes all stories very unique and make us dream a bit if only magic was possible. It's magic in the sense of witches and spells in a PNR environment, but there's special things linked with the Waverly house, the things in it, the Waverly family members. It's interesting how things aren't too much, which would make this a rather silly story for a contemporary fiction book, but just little special things that have a twist, like Claire's candy business, something she only started to help cure her daughter's cough but that spread and now everyone buys the candy for one reason or another. Or Sydney's hair color changing depending on her moods and wishes.

This book follows all Waverly women with their personal difficulties and challenges but at the end it's exactly family bonds that make everything work out well.

Claire has always been my favorite character because I really liked how her relationship with Tyler was developing. Now they are married and it's great to see they are happy. The same for Sydney and Harry. I feel very glad the author didn't use their relationships as crutches to make the story develop. 

Probably the best thing is the author's talent in putting things on the page in a way that just makes it sweet and easy to go through. I like how she writes in a way that informs us calmly of how things are instead of making the characters act and explain all their actions all the time.

The plot isn't complicated... in fact, it's pretty simple but it feels richer because we have access to all the characters' motivations and fears and how that always shapes what's in our hearts. In this story it just seems more because the characters are special. Sydney and Claire's problems and doubts are solved but always with them inferring in their conscience they aren't alone to go through them and trust and love from those you care about helps a lot.

Obviously this all means that, at the end of things, we don't actually have a lot besides feelings to sort out and to make us interested in the book. It's very quirky and cute to imagine but not always easy to accept especially if more people seem to have a special thing outside the family. Not unlikely but there's an expectation about things that isn't met the way we would wish for.

As for Bay's sub plot, it was interesting, we learned more about Sydney in the process too but there was still a question mark to make things mysterious as about what could happen.

I just think this is a sweet story, perfect to not think too much but definitely not a silly one that only makes you think you're wasting your time. I think the author has a clear idea and the words and characters simply work out well and that is always great.

Grade: 8/10

Alphabet Soup Challenge: Sarah Addison Allen - Lost Lake

It happens one morning - Kate finally wakes up from the slumber she's been in since her husband's death a year ago. Feeling a fresh sense of desire to take control of her and her young daughter's life, she decides to visit Suley, Georgia - home to Lost Lake. It's where Kate spent one of the happiest summers of her life as a child. She's not sure what she expects to find there, but it's not a rundown place full of ghosts and other curious oddities. Kate's Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the old place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake, can she bring the cottages - as well as her heart and the hearts of all the guests - back to life? Because sometimes lost loves aren't really lost. They're just waiting for you to find them again.

Comment: This is one of the books I picked for the alphabet soup challenge. It's the letter L and I chose it because it was written by an author I know whose work would be something I'd appreciate. Although some of her books felt weaker to me than others, I still think of her stories as little jewels to be appreciated.

 

This is the story of Kate and her daughter Devin and how they are changing their lives one year after the loss of Matt, Kate's husband.

Kate feels her mourning has changed and now she can see clearly again. After finding an old postcard from her aunt Eby, Kate takes Devin for a vacation but what she finds is a group of people with dreams, with things to deal with, memories and her aunt's desire to sell Lost Lake, the piece of land where her business is.

Through the lives of most characters we uncover an old story that kept going until now and that needs to be told so everyone has a chance at forgiveness and peace...

 

I liked this story. I think the author does a good job in creating special characters and giving them a sort of aura that makes them unique. Her books are labeled magical realism because she writes contemporary settings but there's always some magical element that can't be fully explained, although if we look at some things through a metaphoric explanation, it wouldn't be so hard.

Anyway, all her books present us special people that have secrets, little details that turn them into people who have touching, special lives.

 

In this book that magic can be seen mostly in Selma, a character that has charms to catch a man she wants. The charm has rules but in this idea we see how believing in something can motivate you enough to do things. Some details are difficult to believe in, but that's part of the appeal too.

Kate's daughter also has the sight of a child, so her take on everything is seen as magical in some aspects. The main subject of the book is found because Devin helps finding it. The explanation for some things seems too unlikely but it's there so it's up to the reader to follow the explanations and believe...or not. The magical realism can be explained like that, the idea is there but the way we see it can turn it into something believable or just randomly whimsical.

 

The best part about the story is the characters. The narrative is in the third person but we have the POV of several characters and we can know many aspects of their lives and personality. Of course this helps us to bond, to relate to this or that person. I like knowing the characters, why they behave the way they do, why they are like that. I think the author has a lot of imagination but she always writes politely and polished. It almost feels she takes care with everything she says and not only because she has a good editor.

 

Romance per se we don' actually have here, but we have scenes that give that impression. This story is more about the redemption and the promise of the future. We learn a lot and we hope a lot when it comes to the character's HEA.

 

All in all, the story is good, full of special and unique elements. I think it's slightly weaker than some of the other books by her, mainly because there isn't any central focus on anyone or anything and it's more complicated to expect closure or a decisive conclusion when it is so. I also felt a bit loss at times because some scenes weren't as engaging or fascinating.

Still, I consider this a good story, perfect for one to get lost in.

Grade: 7/10

Sarah Addison Allen - The Peach Keeper

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.
But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.
For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town.
Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.
Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and tradition, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakable bonds that—in good times and bad, from one generation to the next—endure forever. 

Comment: This book has been in my TBR list for two years, more or less. I got it because I've read the previous 3 books by the author and they're all lovely. Very simple and beautiful. I really hope mrs Allen can write more, and more fast at that would be great...

This story, like usual, has two romances developing and it's all based on a magical element, a certain special something happening where the action takes place.

There's Paxton and Willa, very different but starting a friendship their grandmothers also had in their youth and there's the two men in their lives. Colin is Paxton's brother and he has an eye on Willa. Paxton is in love with Sebastien but thinks he can't return those feelings because he's gay. No one is really sure about what might happen, though.

I think the blurb is very detailed and pretty self explanatory. The action revolves around the big mansion that once belonged to Willa's family but it's now property of Paxton's family and the peach tree that was recently removed and changed everything. While the two girls start to develop their friendship, secrets come out and they are more bound than what they think...the author creates a magical feel in her novels, a bit of paranormal without being too obvious and the focus isn't there, at all. But exists and offers the possibility of starting up the novel and getting it in the right direction. I think the books are always such a sweet surprise...

I read these more for the element of sweet simple surprise. I know things will end up well, I know the romance will happen, I know everything will be special and it allows the reader to dream a bit about how wonderful things are in a different reality. I really like it.

The characters aren't very different from all the others before, I have the feeling the tone doesn't change, but I can't help feeling happy to have read it either. Plus, we see Claire, from book #1 making an appearance, how fun.

This author writes in a very simplistic way. She doesn't dance around things, she usually goes to the point in a simple but beautiful way and it's so easy to fall in love with her settings and her words. Sure, her stories are a bit predictable but after 3 books those who don't realize that and critic that weren't paying attention. I knew what to expect and that didn't disappointed me. What I think could be a bit better is the development itself..I think she could write a bit longer, space out the growing of the relationships so they could feel stronger. The stories are meant to be seen as easy and direct but I think a bit more development would really make them not only stronger but more complete in terms of things accomplished.

Anyway, i liked it, it's great for what it's worth. I'll read the next one when (if) it comes out.

Sarah Addison Allen - The Girl Who Chased the Moon

In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestelling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world...no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother's life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew--a reclusive, real-life gentle giant--she realizes that mysteries aren't solved in Mullaby, they're a way of life. Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson's cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town's sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she's lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother's past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily's growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby's most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she's found so far are more questions. Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love? In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels...different.

Comment: This author writes things with a little bit of magic. Her stories are contemporary but have a little extra int here that is special and magical. This story is her third work, and I have to confess, after having read the three, I still prefer the first one, Garden Spells. I still have another to read, The Peach Keeper and will this year.
Well, this story starts when Emily returns to her mother's hometown to live with her grandfather. Her mother died and she feels she's looking for something and in the town she finds out many people have a different opinion of her mother from what she knew of her, so everything starts to look too mysterious for her and she wants to know the truth. At the same time, we have Julia, she's a baker and wants to pay the rest of her father's debts so she can leave for good, but one slip of the mouth and everything changes for her too.
What I like about this author's writing is the simplicity of it. She doesn't say 100 words for something that can be said in 30, you know. That's why the book isn't that big either. But even with a more direct writing, she manages to convey feelings and emotions and makes the reader to feel empathy towards her characters.
In this book we follow two stories. In one Emily has to accept a version of her mother she wasn't aware existed and in the other Julia has to forgive and move forward, but in a way that won't ruin her happiness. It's interesting how easily some things can be solved with a conversation, with communication, but people don't do it, they prefer to postpone and avoid and that will make the issues remain unsolved. In this book we see people talk and try and that's the best we can do.
In the end of the book there's a feeling of hope. Hope for both the main characters and promises of things to come, just a taste of possibility. Although I'd have, personally, preferred to see some more, to read about what might happen instead of just imagine it, I ended up enjoying the story. It's something beautiful and has a happy ending, which is always good.