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The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair: The perfect illustrated children’s fantasy adventure

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Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...

I also enjoyed the friendship that grew between Inigo and Thomasina. This was a very different friendship, and I will admit it was one I didn’t trust for a large proportion of the book; but I loved the bond that had been forged between them by the end of the book, and how the acceptance of each other and themselves, also played into the conclusion of Thomasina’s arc and past and present coming together with the realisation that the former can’t be changed, but that there was a future to look forward too.The story has a bit of magic, and I always love magic! The other Frost Fair is so imaginative and clever that it took my breath away and the magical components of it delighted my imagination.

The ending was really the cherry on the cake for me. On the one hand, we had the happy ending and seeing Anne and Thomasina’s friendship and dreams blossoming and seeing the multiple journey threads tying together with the characters that came together. On the other, it was a little bittersweet, because Thomasina’s dream, the wish that had driven her so far and nearly cost so much was out of reach; and yet that in itself made for a perfect and fulfilling ending, and the last scene with her and Inigo was both heart breaking and heart-warming and was an important step in dealing with grief. One of my favourite aspects of the book was the writing, which treads the balance of readability especially for a younger audience, but also indulging in some truly fantastic descriptive prose. Hastings has absolutely got her finger on the pulse of winter, and all the different elements that we associate with that time of year, and the atmosphere she manages to conjure as a result feels like stepping out a cold winter’s day and into the warmth and light of a Christmas shop, with all the colours and smells, and nostalgia that comes with it. The author also uses all the senses throughout this book, particularly when exploring the sweetmaking aspect, and it got to the point where I could practically taste the creations that Anne and Thomasina were coming up (and I certainly want to try them). This skill with the description was also evident with all the fantastical elements, and it made it so easy to imagine the Other Frost Fair and the tendrils that were twining around the real one and Thomasina’s life; and the imagery for the Frost Folk and Father Winter was spectacular. Natasha Hastings was selected to join The London Library’s Emerging Writers Programme in 2019. Currently working as a fundraiser, she started developing The Frost Fair while studying History at Cambridge University, where she focused on gender and mental illness. She became determined, while exploring these topics, to have the lives of working women form the heartbeat of The Frost Fair. Her friendships give her hope, and the story does really get quite bleak so it’s good that she has Henry, Anne, and their business idea, to cling to.And then we have the events of the story - full of twists and turns, a vibrant cast of side characters, and genuine surprises. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the opp

For me, it’s more character driven than plot, which I personally like. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a very good plot too, but I enjoyed the exploration of each character. They’re given their time to explore their character fully, and they are all so brilliantly created, there wasn’t a dud amongst them.Thomasina and her best friend Anne sell sweets on the frozen Thames, amid rumours of the magical Frost Fair that awakens there at night. They say if you can find the fair, Father Winter himself will grant you any wish. Overall this is such a lovely story with an ending that is so good and also so beautiful and poignant at the end too. It’s a lovely tale and one I know I’ll be re-reading again. In fact it’s one of my favourite children’s books this year and one I would really recommend especially if you like the idea of magical night time frost fairs and historical fiction set in the 17th century. Hastings has the wisdom to realise that young children are more than capable of dealing with nuance and what some might call a 'mature' theme of grief, in a way that is not heavy handed nor evasive, but in the language that everyone has always known - good story. It is a challenging and poignant reading experience, even for an adult like me. Still, it is also so beautiful and impactful that it will resonate with me for a long time. The writing took my breath away, as did the world-building. The details pull you in and make everything easy to visualize and immerse yourself in. As the story continues things begin to change after Thomasina’s visits the other frost fair and we find out more about this strange magical place and the dark and creepy atmosphere emitted by some of the Frost Folk and Father Winter. After the second time we see Father Winter I did guess what was happening with him and Thomasina but I didn’t know anything else about how this story would go and it was so brilliant and I like how weird and eerie everything is along with Inigo’s character who is more interesting the further you read on.

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