Natasha Hastings (text), and Alex T Smith (illustrator), The Frost Fare (The Miraculous Sweetmakers #1), HarperCollins, May 2024, 400 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780008496081
During the great frost of London in 1683, sweetmakers Thomasina and her best friend Anne sell sweets on the frozen Thames River. Four years earlier, Thomasina and her family suffered a terrible and distressing loss. A loss that caused her father to retreat and her mother to take to her bed in deep depression. Thomasina blames herself and wishes she could reverse what happened that day, but when she discovers there is a magical frost fair that awakens at night on the river, she hears rumours that Father Winter will grant her wish. A Mephistophelian deal is made, one that best friend Anne isn’t so sure will work out well for Thomasina.
This is a spooky, haunting tale, that felt repetitive at times and could have been cut back to quicken the pace and make the story more succinct. Some readers may also find the first chapter distressing.
The cover illustration by Alex T Smith is whimsical and inviting, with a handful of internal illustrations that are evocative and masterfully drawn.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela
