First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

I had to Google my own blog to find out when I read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (link leads to my review). 2007! I remember finding the ARC on a cart at my former library, where they occasionally give away advance reader copies rather than throwing them away as many libraries do. I loved the cover, the characters, the relationships, the crazy enchanted apple tree. I was excited to find a new author whose storytelling swept me away and couldn't wait to find out what she'd come up with, next. I've loved every book I've read by Sarah, but Garden Spells has always held a special place in my heart. So, I was excited when I heard the news that she was writing a book that continued the story of the Waverley family.

In First Frost, Claire and Sydney are older, happily married; they both have daughters. The Waverleys are always uneasy as they wait for the first frost of the season, when their crazy apple tree will bloom. Claire has stopped catering as her candy business has grown. She doesn't want to sell her recipes but she's finding it difficult keeping up with the orders and is clearly not as happy as she was during her catering years. Sydney is worried about Bay's potential relationship with a boy from the wrong family. Bay is headstrong like the rest of the women in the family, trying to find her way without being outwardly rebellious. Evanelle's health is failing. There's a stranger whose appearance in town is unsettling and then threatening. And, Claire and Sydney puzzle over whether or not every Waverley woman has a gift.

I love Sarah Addison Allen's writing, in general, but there is definitely something extra special about the Waverleys, their unique gifts and that hilarious apple tree. I kept my copy of Garden Spells and I'm glad I bought a copy of First Frost. I know I'll want to revisit both, in the future.

I have a copy of the British version of First Frost because I prefer paperback. In the past, I've kept a list of books that I want to buy in paperback for trips to the UK, but I've recently taken to buying from Book Depository if a paperback is not yet available in the U.S. (and I'm feeling impatient). I like both of the covers - the frosty apple on the American cover and the heavily floral British version. But, a part of me does wish one or the other had matched the artwork to that of Garden Spells.

Highly recommended - Familiar characters with Allen's trademark magical touch and lovely storytelling make First Frost another keeper.

©2015 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini Reviews - Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen and Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

I need to do some catch-up, so it's mini review time, again.

Lost Lake is the latest release by Sarah Addison Allen. I've read all of her books and rushed out and find a copy of Lost Lake during release week.  It took me about 4 or 5 days to locate a copy and then I spent the next evening gobbling the book down.

Kate has spent her first year as a widow in a daze. On the day Kate and her daughter Devin are due to move in with Kate's mother-in-law, Cricket, she "wakes up" after finding a postcard from her Aunt Eby's lakeside cabin business, Lost Lake.  Kate spent the last, best summer of her life at Lost Lake and now she has a sudden urge to return.

At Lost Lake, she finds that her widowed Aunt Eby is on the verge of selling her business to travel the world but Eby's hesitant to say goodbye to Lost Lake for good.

There's a wonderful hodge-podge of characters in Lost Lake: Selma, who seems bitter about the special charms which have helped her acquire (but not keep) a large number of husbands; Lisette, a French woman Eby once saved and who is unable to speak; Jack, a guest who is painfully shy and in love with Lisette; Buhladeen, who is everyone's friend and comes up with the idea to host a goodbye party for Eby; Wes, the boy Kate spent her last best summer with, now a grown man who is wounded by his dark past: Lazlo, the wealthy developer who wants to tear down the cabins to create a new development. And, there's an alligator who talks to Devin.

Highly recommended - I had a little trouble getting into Lost Lake because Kate sounded a bit too much like me in some of her pains and yearnings but with the advantages of youth and money to change her life.  Eventually, though, I got over myself and was swept away. I closed the book with little joyful tears streaming down my face. As usual, Sarah Addison Allen has succeeded at telling a lovely, wise, heartwarming story with her own special touch of magic. I particularly loved the alligator.  Lost Lake is an especially meaningful release because it's Sarah's first published novel since her battle with late-stage breast cancer ended in remission.  I hope she will live a long, long time and write many more books.

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill has gotten a lot of gushy praise. The first time I opened it, I gave up in frustration. I didn't like the dislocated style: a paragraph or two about the protagonist as her romance progresses through marriage and child to affair with factoids (some seemingly random, some relevant) interspersed throughout.  It was an odd, jolting manner of storytelling.

The second time I opened the book, I did so at the urging of other bloggers, who advised me that Dept. of Speculation requires patience but eventually the story comes together. Michele of A Readers Respite told me there were so many little gems that she thought she might need to reread it with a highlighting pen. Andi of Estella's Revenge loved it. And, there's definitely some truth to Michele's statement about all those little gems. I think I enjoyed the random quotations and tidbits of information as much as or more than the storyline that wove through them (although I did love the way the story ended).  Often, I found myself setting the book aside to go look up more about a particular topic.

Meh, you might like it (aka "iffy on recomendation") - While I did eventually like the way Jenny Offill pulled together this story of a struggling marriage and a wife-gone-bitter in the end, the truth is that I always felt far too distant from the characters -- even the narrator -- to become fully engaged.  So, I gave it three stars and if I ever touch my copy again it will be to for the same reason Michele mentioned - to highlight those little interesting tidbits scattered throughout.

Other reviews:

Michele's thoughts about Dept. of Speculation at A Reader's Respite
Andi at Estella's Revenge reviews Dept. of Speculation


©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Copyright 2011

Bantam - Fiction

273 pages

What's it about?

Willa Jackson's family used to be wealthy but met with disaster when the logging industry failed. Now their former mansion, the Blue Ridge Madam, is being restored by none other than Paxton Osgood, the annoying socialite who used to drive Willa nuts. Willa stays on the touristy side of town running her sporting-goods store while Paxton puts on a false smile and plays the socialite. Everyone thinks Paxton has a charmed life. The truth is . . . Willa's jaded and Paxton's sad.

But circumstances will throw Willa and Paxton together. There's a whole mess of stuff I can't seem to stick into a coherent sentence, so here are some of the ingredients you'll find in The Peach Keeper: A long-buried secret, a nasty ghost that can only be put to rest when Willa and Paxton find some answers, a cherished long-lived friendship and an unlikely new one, a little haunting, a touch of magic, and a good dollop of romance.

That book description was longer than expected:

It is always very difficult to summarize a book by Sarah Addison Allen. There are so many strands to her books.

What did Bookfool think?

I am totally convinced there's no such thing as a bad book by Sarah Addison Allen. I absolutely love the blend of magic and Southern life, the gradual unfolding of mysteries from the days of Willa and Paxton's grandmothers' younger years, the slow-building romance. In this case, Willa and Paxton's friendship added a really sweet touch. I adore the way relationships are built slowly in this author's novels; they're believable and real. The relationship between Willa and Paxton's grandmothers is also quite touching in The Peach Keeper.

The bottom line:

If you like a magical Southern story with a touch of mystery, a dash of the paranormal, sweet, slow-building romance and a very lovely friendships, buy this book.

Many thanks to TLC Book Tours and Bantam Books for the review copy.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

By Sarah Addison Allen

Copyright 2009

Bantam Books - Fiction

269 pages

Book Description:

Bugger. Can I skip this part? Or, maybe I'll just pull a Raych and write it in plain speak. Yes, that sounds good. I promise in advance that this will not become a regular practice. Okay, there's this teenager, Emily, whose mother has died and she has no father so she has to move in with her grandfather . . . who is a giant. She settles into his mansion in Mullaby, North Carolina and feels a little out of place, plus there are these weird lights in the forest and her wallpaper changes based on her mood.

So, Emily is trying to fit in, figure out the strange happenings and get her grandfather to hang out with her a little whilst some dude in a bow tie drops odd hints about the reason people hate her for her dead mom's sake and then she meets Julia. Julia bakes cakes and sells them at her dad's barbecue place because she's not particularly interested in the whole barbecue restaurant thing. She's from Mullaby, but she managed to get away from the town when something frightful happened and she really wants to get the heck out of Dodge. But, she has to pay off the mortgage and sell out. Dead dad was in debt, so that'll take a while.

There are all sorts of small-town secrets and weird, maybe-magical things happening. This really good-looking guy is crazy about Julia but she's all, "Leave me alone because our secret is the sucky kind that forces me to shove you away." And, Emily has the bow-tie wearing dude whose entire family doesn't come out after dark interested in her. So, what's up in Mullaby, North Carolina? What on earth did Emily's mother do to piss off an entire town? And, what does the moon have to do with anything?

My review:

This will be a short one. Honestly? I love everything Sarah Addison Allen has written (you'll hear my thoughts about The Peach Keeper in a few days). I love the little touches of magic, the deep, dark secrets, the way she slowly reveals what happened to people that made them all screwed-up and sensitive but then somehow unknots their twisted pasts and ends each story on an upbeat, happy note.

I'm not going to answer the questions, of course. That's what you have to discover for yourself. I will tell you, though, that I found The Girl Who Chased the Moon very satisfying. If you love a small-town Southern story with a little romance, a touch of magic and quirky characters that are so well-developed you can't help but wonder what they're up to, days after you close the book, you'll love The Girl Who Chased the Moon.

I checked this one out from my local library. After finishing The Peach Keeper, I thought, "I really, really, really want to read the book I missed," (I've read all of SAA's books, now) and I'm glad I did, even though I probably ought to quit inserting books from the library and the non-ARC shelf into my TBR pile. Because, geez, that shelf is just not getting any sizable holes from frequent removal of books. I'm starting to feel pissy about my lack of discipline, to be honest.

Enough personal revelation for one day. I shall do my utter best to return to quality book reviews, tomorrow.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.