First Frost. Finished 3-3-15, rating 4.75/5, fiction, 291 pages, pub. 2015

Book 2 of The Waverley Sisters

It’s October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree… and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.

When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. And through it all, the Waverley sisters must search for a way to hold their family together through their troublesome season of change, waiting for that extraordinary event that is First Frost.

from Goodreads

It was Garden Spells, Allen’s debut book, where we first met the Waverley sisters, Claire and Sydney.  Garden Spells is also where I fell in love with Allen’s light, magical touch.  I didn’t want the book to end. It was so easy to read, an enchanting southern town full of enchanted people and I felt that same warmth this time around too.  As much as I really like Allen’s other books, and I’ve read them all, it’s the Waverley’s from Bascom, North Carolina that really make me happy.  I want a magic apple tree and a special gift, I guess.  Who doesn’t?

Ten years after Garden Spells the sisters and their Aunt Evanelle find themselves settled into relationships and trying to find their way, especially Claire.  Claire is questioning her gift and the way that she’s using it, so she is ripe for someone to come along and shake her faith.  And he does.

I love that Sydney’s daughter, Bay, is a major part of this story, coming into her own as one of the mysterious Waverley women.  She’s 15 and knows her gift, only it has only made her high school experience miserable.  I love how she is willing to be different at such a young age.

I really can’t recommend these books enough. You could easily start with this one, but if you read Garden Spells first you’ll get so much more out of it.  I’m not usually one that enjoys sequels of favorite books, but this one satisfied me and I am only hoping for more!

Me Before You. Finished 2-4-15, fiction, 5/5 stars!, pub. 2012

Unabridged audio narrated by Susan Lyons, Andrew Wincott, Alex Tregear, Anna Bentinck, Steven Crossley, Owen Lindsay.  14.75 hours.

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

from Goodreads

Sometimes when there is a lot (and by that I mean too-many-to-count favorite lists since it was published) of hype surrounding a book I like to wait because I want my expectations to fade a bit.  I read Jo Jo Moyes book, The Girl You Left Behind, and loved it so when I heard bloggers saying that they loved this one even more I knew I had to read it.  I chose the audio because I’d heard it was good and it was.  Susan Lyons became the loveable Lou Clark and carried the story beautifully.  There were a small cast of other characters all with their own voices and it totally worked.

I almost feel like whatever I say has been said before and anything beyond that will spoil it for those three people who haven’t read it.  So maybe I’ll just give 3 things I loved best and then ask 3 questions for those who have read it.  Bottom Line-Loved it and it’s sure to end up on my favorite list at the end of the year!

Loved-Lou’s accessibility and charm. She had no great ambition and sometimes I wanted to give her a shake, but she was so real, fiery, and vulnerable.

Loved-The story focused around Will, a paralyzed man in his 30’s, and it showed the abilities and hardships of someone who must rely on others for every personal need.  It isn’t a life without happiness, but is a life full of struggle.

Loved-The end. Sometimes what we fear is what moves us forward on a new path.

Questions for those who have read it…

How do you think the book handled the right to die debate?

Let’s cast the movie!  Who is Lou and who is Will?

Did you cry and how many times?

I’ll answer when you do 🙂

You Should Have Known. Finished 1-21-15, rating 4/5, fiction, 464 pages, pub. 2014

Received from Goodreads as part of the 1st Reader program.  I did read AND listen to this one.

Grace Reinhart Sachs is living the only life she ever wanted for herself, devoted to her husband, a pediatric oncologist at a major cancer hospital, their young son Henry, and the patients she sees in her therapy practice. Grace is also the author of You Should Have Known, a book in which she castigates women for not valuing their intuition and calls upon them to examine their first impressions of men for signs of serious trouble later on. But weeks before the book is published, a chasm opens in her own life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster and horrified by the ways in which she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself.

from Goodreads

Grace, Grace, Grace, oh how hard you were to take with your sanctimonious habit of telling people what they had done wrong, all the while guilty of the same thing yourself!  Your utter lack of self-awareness was headache inducing.  The love and adoration you showered on your son could have been shared with a few others… your husband, your father, a friend.  Instead you lived in this bubble of what you thought your life ought to be and was, so full of pride that you had made it reality and it made me disgusted with you.  Not only were you judgemental, you were clueless.  Clueless about your husband and everything that came after him.  I should have felt more sympathy for you than I did, but you wanted to live in denial, not knowing the truth unless it was thrust upon you and that just made you unlikable and weak.

I do wish you well, seeing you come out the other side of your nightmare gave me a little hope for your future. I hope you grab it with both hands and keep your eyes wide open.  Can’t say that I see your new business working out, but hey, you just might be determined enough to make it happen.

Good Luck,

A gal who sorta liked reading about your train wreck