The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair: The perfect new fantasy adventure for 2022

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The Frost Fair was a great historical element to this book, but the Other Frost Fair was a great fantasy element to add to it. I really enjoyed reading about this Other Frost Fair, the Frost Folk and Frost Beasts, even though I had a bad feeling about Father Winter from the start. However, I did really like the character of Inigo in the end. Absolutely stunning . . . Real emotional depth alongside a fast-paced plot. Fantastic’ A F Steadman I loved how this story took place in London during the winter of 1683. It was fascinating to learn how people lived turning that time – wildly different and yet familiar in many ways. I also loved how clever Anne and Thomasina were to create medicinal sweets to sell on the river!

The Frost Fair” by Natasha Hastings had a heart wrenching beginning, fascinating middle, and a happy ending. The author kept me guessing throughout the story with vivid imagery and magical details sprinkled throughout. The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair by Natasha Hastings is a heart-warming middle-grade historical fantasy that I finished a few days ago and loved every minute of. It was actually a really long read and despite how ill I’ve been feeling this week, I would have loved to follow these characters’ journey for a lot longer, so I hope it will be a series. With another two books in the series, Natasha is currently working on the second, which is due to be published in early 2024. Both follow-ups will feature the same characters but facing different areas to explore and new magical systems. I loved the juxtaposition of the two fairs taking place on the frozen river Thames: the normal one during the day, and the darker, stranger, yet still also magical other frost fair at night. At first, Thomasina is overwhelmed by all that she sees and hears, but soon she grows vary of Father Winter, a strange character she can’t quite read. Together with Anne and another unlikely friend, they soon find themselves fighting much darker monsters that they were ever expecting – and try to save all of London from imminent danger! Not surprisingly, during Natasha’s childhood, she was encouraged to read and cites the Narnia series and anything by Jacqueline Wilson (‘I like the way she writes stories around powerful, emotional themes’) as some of her favourite books. Perhaps her own stories will one day be as revered.Thomasina lost someone she loved so much and the burden of that loss has, and never will leave her, for surely it must have been her fault that led to such a tragedy, or that is what she believes as her mother will not speak a word and her father is always dismissive, keeping her at more than an arms length and whatever she does, she cannot seem to be good enough. The descriptions of this fantastical night-time spectacle are so richly imaginative; I particularly loved the Frost Beasts who only accept Thomasina's presence there on special terms. However, as captivating as it may be, there's a creeping sense of foreboding and this is a rather chilling book, in more ways than one. It's not just a tale about the impossible though, and as with all the best stories, there are more relatable subjects examined here too. The other area where this book truly excels, and where it took me by surprise with the sheer amount of impact is that this story as full of magic and wonder and whimsy as it is, is also a complex, emotional exploration of grief and guilt, and how that experience can differ from person to person and how it can feed into other issues. Even from reading the blurb I hadn’t expected such a serious topic to be so central to the story, but I loved that it was, and I think it’s why this book will appeal to readers beyond the target middle grade audience. It’s also fantastic to see these topics being brought up for younger readers, and in such a way that it isn’t overwhelming and is balanced with warmth and understanding and acceptance. If you are looking for a magical tale to keep you warm and entertained this winter season, The Miraculous Sweetmakers is the book for you! The author was selected to join the London Library’s Emerging Writers Programme in 2019. She is currently working as a fundraiser, and started developing The Frost Fairwhile studying history at Cambridge University.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: November 1, 2022) Thomasina is an appealing protagonist, her drive and ambition contrasted by the guilt and grief she carries. When she is made a miraculous offer we can see why she grasps at it. Thomasina, our main character is still struggling through her grief, as well as her parents after the death of her twin Arthur four years previously. I really liked this main character from the start and found her very human, relatable and loveable. I also really enjoyed how she made a few very good friends during the book, which really warmed my heart. The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children...Despite the nice things though, there are also tragic and very sad elements to this story – as well as some very dark fantastical elements which is why, despite the rather fun and colourful looking cover, I wouldn’t recommend this book to too young readers. It’s a cold winter during the Great Frost of 1683. Thomasina and Anne are the best of friends, one running her father’s sweet shop and the other the apprentice at the family apothecary – together they sell their goods on the frozen River Thames. When a family tragedy turns Thomasina’s world upside down, she is drawn to a mysterious conjuror and the enchanted frost fair. While I won't say that Thomasina was one of my favourite MG characters, I do think she's realistically flawed and she's a teenager who has to process her trauma and loss alone while taking care of herself, her parents, and the family business, so maybe it's okay that she doesn't always make the best decisions and gets a bit snappish at times. I don't think I connected with her character, or tbh with any of the other characters, as much as I hoped to but I could still root for her to solve the mystery of the Frost Folk and Father Winter, and to find happiness in whatever form that'd take. She does grow considerably throughout the story and she slowly comes to accept that despite her wish not coming true, there's a way forward towards healing and letting go of the guilt and grief that the family have been hanging on to.

It’s also not static or separate from the events, but instead it is woven into this wonderful, captivating story; and that is how it should be. I also appreciated the historical angle here, and how Hastings doesn’t shy away from shining light on how mental health was viewed in the time period, especially for female patients; again with that accessible approach, without drawing away from the emotional impact or maintaining the charm of the overall story. The Miraculous Sweetmakers is a tale of multiple journeys, and that is another reason why this aspect is so powerful, because it not only explores how different people dealt with these emotions and this situation, but also how the journey to acceptance was just as different, but also brought about connections new and old. Blending adventure, fantasy and historical fiction, the wintry tale of The Miraculous Sweetmakers will be sure to entertain you this winter season! As Thomasina continues to visit the Other Frost Fair she helps her father sell their sweets and biscuits on at the Thames Frost Fair, befriending Anne Hawke a young woman who has just moved to London with her uncle to open an apothecary. Anne dreams of opening her own shop and as their friendship grows the girls develop a business plan which combines both their talents; Anne’s apothecary skills and knowledge of herbs and Thomasina’s sweet making and baking. Together they make a range of medicinal sweets which they are given permission by Thomasina’s father and Anne’s uncle to sell at the Frost Faire once their normal duties are done. Their sweets sell incredibly well, and they start to develop more products. I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you to the blog tour organiser for letting me take part on this tour, and thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

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Something else I absolutely loved here was the disability representation. Not only do we see mental illness represented in a book for children and in such a setting, asthma is also being represented and I think it has been very well done. I myself have been suffering from asthma since my early childhood and I don’t think I have ever come across a book where this has been a theme, so that was really nice to see (even though what happened here was really sad). The first thing I noticed when I started this book was that it was perfect for a winter’s night curled up in front of the fire. It is set in London in 1683 during the Great Frost when the river Thames completely froze over for two months. I knew a little about this before going into the book, but I love that it explains the way people used this to their advantage to sell their wares on the river. I love middle-grade historical fiction because it always makes the past engaging and interesting for children. Michelle Misra, editorial director, acquired world rights at auction alongsideAlice Jerman in the USina multi-book deal for The Miraculous Sweetmakersfrom Chloe Seager at the Madeleine Milburn Agency. This is such a brilliant book and what happens is so interesting. Thomasina’s family have never been able to get over the grief of losing Arthur and Thomasina finds herself talking to him everyday while her father hardly ever speaks to her except to tell her what to do, and her mother is so consumed by her grief that she’s moved into the attic room with Thomasina, never leaving the bed. Thomasina does her best to try and help her family with the business, even more so when a Frost Fair is set up on the frozen river Thames and she and her dad set up a stall there to sell gingerbread and other sweet treats.