Publisher's summary
Sarah Addison Allen, beloved author of Garden Spells, returns with a luminous story of the trouble with hanging on too long, and the magic that happens when you finally let go.
Autumn has finally arrived in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina, heralded by a strange old man appearing with a beat-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.
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Lovely Writing ends Abruptly
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The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future. That was half a lifetime ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby’s past. Her husband, George, is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone.
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Pure Sarah Addison Allen
- By tooonce72 on 01-27-14
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Garden Spells
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The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers.
Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.
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I so want to give it 5 stars...!!!!
- By Joihelene on 10-09-10
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The Peach Keeper
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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.
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Narrator was terrible
- By Barbara on 05-09-11
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The Sugar Queen
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Must Read
- By Stephanie Berget on 11-25-09
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Other Birds
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Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It's called The Dellawisp and it's named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy. When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story.
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Brilliance Audio should be ashamed.
- By joydox on 08-31-22
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In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times best-selling 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. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return?
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Lovely Writing ends Abruptly
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Overall
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-
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Pure Sarah Addison Allen
- By tooonce72 on 01-27-14
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Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.
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I so want to give it 5 stars...!!!!
- By Joihelene on 10-09-10
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Narrator was terrible
- By Barbara on 05-09-11
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Twenty-seven-year-old Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season, she's a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother's house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night.
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Must Read
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Brilliance Audio should be ashamed.
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Fake Southern Accent Alert!
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Good but the narrator wasn’t great
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What listeners say about First Frost
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lynda
- 03-03-15
Just magical
As in all of Sarah Addison Allen's book, First Frost was wonderful. The characters and the story are so real, I fell love with each one. the story seems to just play put like a mental movie and I become just another Waverly, probably across town.
You will love this book. Bookclubs will have a new favorite. I know I'll be listening to it several more times because I want to wait for first frost with the incredibly real Waverlys.
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1 person found this helpful
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- V. K. Browning
- 09-07-20
Perfect
I really like listening to this series. I've read via handheld, too, but Sarah Addison Allen books are perfect for listening pleasure. Like gentle fairy tales at bedtime.
It's been a while since reading GARDEN SPELLS, which is kind of perfect since this takes place ten years after that book. Small upheavals due to First Frost, a time in the Waverly family that causes small upheavals and restlessness until First Frost occurs.
The setting of small town Bascom, North Carolina...the gently quirky characters, the magic, the story, the message that it's ok to be who you are....it's all perfectly done.
Each character voices the story in their turn and it adds a nice dimension, not confusing at all...in fact it's almost necessary that each gets a turn.
I can absolutely recommend this book, this series and this author. One of my favorites.
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- nikroh
- 08-02-18
Enjoyed It!
I’ve been a big fan since Garden Spells. I’m glad that the Waverly story continued but not crazy about Susan Erickson’s old woman sounding voice though. Thank you Sarah for your creative writing .
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- Lily
- 12-23-21
As lovely as the first book.
Loved the continued story of the Waverly family. Hope there will be more. Would love to see what happens next.
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- shireen c. mason
- 11-09-15
humorous
it was funny and enjoyable.an interesting story. hope that there will be a sequel to this one.
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- Etoile NEOhio
- 08-21-24
A pretty satisfying sequel
This book picks up few years after "Garden Spells" ends. Our favorite cast of characters is here along with teenaged Bay and 6 year old Mariah. Through a circus performer and con man we learn the backstory and fill in the holes left from the first book that had previously been left unexplained. A delightful book of magical realism. Good read on the beach or other summer vacation.
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- Audie
- 02-02-15
Just so so.
Not her best work. I'm looking forward to her next book and hoping for more.
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3 people found this helpful
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- JA
- 09-09-15
love sarah's books
loved to read sarah's books. I have a bunch of her books and love then all.
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- T. smith
- 03-24-15
Not disappointed
I was a little skeptical about a revisit to the garden spell group. But I was pleasantly surprised. It had the same magic and quirky characters. Loved it. Very well done
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1 person found this helpful
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- Toni
- 03-23-15
Sweet story
A well written story about the Waverly family and their mysterious powers with an equally mysterious Apple tree that blooms at first frost.
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1 person found this helpful