The Waverly women from Garden Spells return in Sarah Addison Allen's latest, FIRST FROST. You do not have to read Garden Spells before reading this book though. I hadn't and I wasn't lost at all.

As the days grow shorter in FIRST FROST and crispness is in the air the Waverly women start to feel restless. If they can just make it to the first frost everything will be alright. But making it to the first frost can be trying. Bay is trying to navigate high school and her love for Josh. Bay has the gift for knowing where things belong is determined that she is meant to be a part of Josh's life. But how can she get him to see it? He is a senior and the coolest guy in school.

Her mother, Sydney is desperately trying to have another baby meanwhile her hair just keeps getting redder. Her sister Claire is suddenly a candy sensation but is that what she really wants to do? On top of all that, an elderly con man is trying to blackmail his way into a bit of money to live on over the winter. We can't forget Violet the kooky receptionist who works at Sydney's hair salon. She is a lost soul that Sydney thinks she can save. When family is at stake the Waverly women pull together and support each other through these trying times.

FIRST FROST is a wonderful book about family, who we are and who we think we are. Add a little magic, an apple tree with its own agenda, a house that has its own ideas, and FIRST FROST is wonderful. The townspeople look doubtfully at the family whose backyard apple tree grows a strange fruit that, if eaten will show the eaters the moment of their death. It's a mischievous tree that even throws its apples at the Waverley's to get their attention. This adds to the legend of the family.

Sarah Addison Allen has created characters who I would love to call my friends. How can Sarah Addison Allen write such sensational stories? FIRST FROST is the first novel of hers that I have read but she truly warmed my heart like melted butter. I absolutely loved FIRST FROST and I loved the magical touches to it, and the way that each sister and daughter come into their own, embracing their differences and accepting each other as they are. A brilliant story that is sure to be a favorite for Sarah Addison Allen fans, and a great book for people who haven't read a novel of hers.

FIRST FROST is a heartwarming read -- and I hope the author revisits these characters in the future. I want to see what happens to them next!!