Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

I have been a fan of Sarah Addison Allen since I first picked up The Peach Keeper (I need to put up a review of this soon! I still can remember the story even after 1 year!). Garden Spells is the debut novel of Sarah Addison Allen and after I have read it, I can really tell that her writing had improved over the years. The sentences in Garden Spells wasn't as smooth as it was in The Girl Who Chased The Moon and The Peach Keeper. Nevertheless, the story is great and I loved the magic in it.

In this book, we have Claire and Sydney who are half-sisters with two different personality. Both of them had magic in them to change someone else's day. Claire could cook up magical dishes with the herbs and flowers she grew in her garden and Sydney could do wonder to people's hair with her magical touch. Both of them found love after going through tough time trying to get over what it is to be a Waverley.

My favorite character in this book would have to be Bay and Evanelle. Bay for her matured character despite her young age and how she hope for peace and harmony to come. I loved her interaction with The Apple Tree. The tree is so lively and although Claire and Sydney did not like it, I found that the tree was actually protecting them. Those moments where the tree wanted to be a part of their family is just so funny. Evanelle gifts of gifting the right thing to someone which they would need it was great. I would have loved to have someone like her as my friend or relative. This would helped in many situation where I was forgetful and didn't prepare something in advance.

My only complain about this novel is that I couldn't really understand to how the Emma/Hunter John and Fred story contribute to the main storyline. They did not directly affect nor change the story at all. Even without their part in this book, the main plot wouldn't have been affected at all, so I felt that it was a waste to include their story. I would rather read more about Claire and Sydney without the somehow-seems-to-be-quick ending.

This is definitely not my favorite book by Sarah Addison Allen but I would be looking forward to reading her new releases in future.