Viola Shipman is an INCREDIBLE writer. When I picked up this book, I sank into a world filled with possibilities. Filled with hope, love, family. A world where mistakes are okay. We all make them.

This wonderful story makes you see the world in a new light. It teaches you about weather and snow. How great is that! Living in Wisconsin with winter just ahead, I see more possibilities with what's to come. The snowflakes each unique and beautiful. The love of family and the hope for a good tomorrow.

This is life. This is what "The Secret of Snow" is all about.

Pick up a copy. I LOVED it!!!!!!!

I received an electronic ARC from Harlequin Trade Publishing through NetGalley.
Shipman creates characters that connect with many readers. They relate to the emotions shared in the present and the grief held over from the past. Sonny is a meteorologist who chose this career due tragedy in her family. Her commitment to weather prediction comes from her hope/need to save lives to atone for the death she could not stop in her family. Readers meet her when she is fired for being too old for the position in California. She has a drunken meltdown on air and flees home to Michigan to restart her career. She's helped by a college acquaintance who wanted to be a friend and her mom who wants her to heal and stop running from the past. Yes, there is a romance involved but it blends in with the overall healing message from Shipman.
Traverse City, Michigan is lovely in the winter and makes the perfect setting for the various analogies drawn with weather terms and life. The descriptions capture the beauty of the season and place readers in the midst of the winter fun.

The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman A mid-life crisis and lost job bring Sonny Dunes back to Michigan where she reflects upon her past and has a difficult time dealing with her issues. While the characters were well developed and more or less believeable, found it difficult to relate to Sonny. The author's fans are sure to enjoy the story.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

The Secret of Snow was primarily a novel about meteorologist 'Sonny Dunes' going back to her home state of Michigan and processing her grief regarding her sister's death as a young teen. This book had so much potential, but unfortunately fell short of delivering the true emotional depth it was seeking to. The thoughts and feelings of the main character Sonny/Amberrose were laid out so clearly, that there was nothing really for her to discover. It was obvious from the very beginning what her struggles and issues were, and how she would overcome them. Her relationship with Lisa was also quite lackluster, as their history wasn't really explored besides the occasional "you didn't want to be friends with her because she reminded you of Joncee." All that being said, I will recommend it to some of my seniors who enjoy gentle reads.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy.

Oh, my heart.....I’m a sucker for a winter themed book. And this one is just adorable. It’s not a Christmas book, but it’s just winter themed, about a meteorologist from Palm Springs losing her job and going back home to Michigan to work for the local channel where she grew up. There’s SO much more to the story though.

It’s a beautiful novel about going home again, overcoming grief, finding one's self, and dealing with the life of Michigan in the winter! All Viola Shipman books are love letters to Michigan and this is no exception! Make sure to pre-order The Secret of Snow, out 10/26!

Thank you to Graydon House for the ARC!

The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman is the perfect book for readers who want to believe in second chances in all facets of your life. It may come at a cost but it may be possible when you give it a chance. The story emphasizes how ghosts in your past can be overcome with enough effort, love, and understanding..I loved the plot and characters.

“I believe in life, I believe the good outweighs the bad. I believe we’re on a journey here that is filled with beauty in pain, happiness and horrors, highs and lows, But it is a journey we must take because we never know the impact our lives and love will have on others.”

Sonny Dunes is fifty, recently fired and has had a “breakdown” on air.
She needs to start over and so she returns home to Michigan.. in the Winter and the ghosts she has run away from the last few decades…. Slowly turning back into Amberrose Murphy.

Mason knows loss and love and everything in between. He wants a future with Sonny but Sonny has a lot of past healing to overcome.

I loved all the characters in this book and I love how the Michigan Winter became the strongest character of all. The story of love, loss, second chances, and being yourself!!

The Ghosts Of Christmases Past. This is a story of how running away from your pain can be just as painful - even when buried - as staying and working through it. Here, we actually get to see a bit of both, along with a fair degree of real-world, perfectly-within-story-yet-real, commentary. Unlike the last book from Shipman I reviewed, where one character was seemingly designed as little more than a strawman pin cushion for the author to lob everything she (he) hated about that type of person into the book, the characters here all felt much more authentic and true to the situations they found themselves in. Even Sonny's precipitous meltdown near the front of the book is wild, yet "realistic" - many of us would at minimum *consider* doing exactly what she did, and if we found ourselves in the exact situation she was at that moment... yeah, totally realistic. :D But just as realistic is the pain and the ghosts that Sonny has been running from for 30 years, and when she is forced to go home and ultimately confront the pain... also, so very realistic. Spoken as someone just slightly younger than Sonny (nearly 40) who very nearly lived her scenario. (In my own case, there was an accident where I was driving and both of my brothers were in the car, yards from my house - our mom heard the impact. Fortunately we all survived with little lasting damage, but because of that I could that much more easily empathize with Sonny - I could well see my life turning out very differently had that particular day become much, much darker.) While this is more drama than comedy, with a dash of romance thrown in (YMMV on that one, but I thought it was subtle enough that it added more than it detracted), there is certainly enough comedy here to keep the drama from being overwhelming, while allowing the parts that *need* to hit harder to do so. Truly an excellent book, and very much recommended.

The Secret of Snow
by Viola Shipman
Pub Date: October 26, 2021
Graydon House

As comforting and familiar as a favorite sweater, Viola Shipman's first-holiday novel is a promise of heartfelt family traditions, humorously real experience, and the enduring power of love and friendship.
I was recently introduced to the writing of Viola Shipman in an online organization I am in, Friends & Fiction.
I saw the author interviewed and it sparked a desire to read more of his books!
This one is no exception! Great holiday book that I will be glad to recommend to our patrons.

Thanks to Graydon House and NetGalley for the ARC.
5stars

This is my first Viola Shipman book and I plan to read others now that I have discovered how enjoyable this author is. This story revolves around a 50 year old meteorologist named Sonny Dunes who has escaped her home in Michigan for the warm and faraway climate of Palm Springs. She finds herself being replaced by a robot weather caster and has an on-air meltdown. She is offered a new job at a small TV station in her hometown of Traverse City, Michigan and returns home in the middle of a very cold winter. Her new co-workers are only mildly accepting of the new employee and one is downright meanly jealous. The mean girl decides to sabotage Sonny. Sonny learns that home is a good place to be and that friends are found in many places. I was a little disappointed that the author barely dealt with the problem of age discrimination but he did describe northern Michigan beautifully and as a Michigander, I loved that! This novel contains some angst, a lot of soul searching, some romance, and lots of feel good moments. It's a good, entertaining read.

This is a wonderful holiday novel set in the winter time in beautiful, picturesque Traverse City, Michigan. Despite its bountiful snowfall and gorgeous winter landscape, however, Traverse City brings up painful memories for Sonny Dunes. Fifty year old Sonny winds up back in her hometown of cold, snowy Traverse City after an embarrassing blow up over losing her meteorologist job in Palm Springs.. After a call from an old college friend, Lisa, who runs the local news station in Sonny's hometown, she reluctantly heads back to Michigan to take the job. Once there, she is forced to recount painful memories and repressed guilt over the loss of her sister when Sonny was only 16 years old. As she spends more time with her mother in her childhood home, Sonny wonders if she could ever call Traverse City home again? And Mason, the kind, handsome leader of the Chamber of Commerce in town happens to take a liking to Sonny as well. Will Sonny open herself up for love again, or is the pain of her past too much for her to deal with? Readers will delight in this story of family, forgiveness, and finding love again, set against the magical wintry backdrop of Northern Michigan.

I must admit I chose to review The Secret of Snow based on its amazing cover! I was expecting it to be a cute little Christmas read to start getting me in the Christmas spirit. It was a wonderful holiday read, but it was also SO much more! I loved this book! It is not my typical genre as I do tend to lean toward reading mysteries and thrillers. However, there was something about this story that drew me in at the beginning and kept me reading until the last page.

This book’s main character is a 50-year old, single meteorologist who has experienced a huge loss in her life and is trying to find a way to deal with life’s setbacks. I loved that the heroine of the story is a middle-aged woman rather than a woman in her 20’s or 30’s. What a refreshing idea! Thank you, Viola Shipman!

Just when I thought the story was about to come together and be wrapped up in a nice bow, a little twist was added by the author to make it an even better ending. What a magnificent book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for awarding me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

#NetGalley
#HarlequinTradePublishing
#TheSecretofSnow
#Viola Shipman

Sonny has spent her life avoiding snow, so returning home in the middle of a Michigan winter is the last thing she wants to do. Reconnecting with old friends, and meeting new ones (and finding a new love interest) might be just what she needs. This is a rare "winter but not Christmas" book.

This is a charming little book just in time for Christmas. It is a story of second chances. When meteorologist, Sonny Dunes loses her job to a virtual meteorologist who will never age or gain weight, she is forced to move back home to Michigan and live with her mother. Sonny hates snow. She is also faced with the memory of her deceased younger sister who loved the snow. At first she has a difficult time continuing old friendships and her boss is not someone she ever got along with in school. But she jumps into her new job head on and makes new friends and is surprised at the positive changes in her life. Perfect women's fiction.

I absolutely loved this book about second chances, forgiveness and moving on. "Sonny Dunes" was a meteorologist in San Diego when she was replaced by a "robot." She had and on-air meltdown and was fired. She received a job offer from a college acquaintance back in her hometown of Traverse City which she reluctantly agreed to and moved back to Michigan and in with her mother. Her new boss, at the station, wants her to participate in all the winter activities in town during the festivals along with winter sports. Sonny has a lot of issues to resolve including the death of her younger sister that she blames herself for.

Having formerly lived in Michigan for many, many years, Author Viola Shipman vividly brought back all my recollections of the very cold and snowy Michigan weather as well as memories of the winter festivals and winter sports.

Thank you NetGalley and Graydon House Publishers for the ARC of this heart-warming book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have already purchased more of this author"s works because I was so impressed with his writing.

Amberrose Murphy, aka Sonny Dunes, as just gotten fired from her cushy meteorologist gig in Palm Springs. Losing control in a live news segment, Sonny is disgraced in front of a worldwide audience. She flies to Michigan, her childhood home, to take a job at a local Traverse City station. During this difficult time, Sonny tries to come to terms with a tragedy in her past. Will she be able to move beyond her grief to embrace a chance at happiness once again? Find out in this honest, heartfelt book about second chances and redemption.

When 50-year-old Palm Springs meteorologist Sonny Dunes is replaced by a virtual weather girl, her melt-down goes viral and the only place willing to hire her is her hometown in Michigan. Not only does this mean she is returning to snow and cold weather, but it is time she must face the death and absence of her sister that caused her to run away in the first place.
This is a very enjoyable story with touches of humor and a little romance about facing the past in order to have any kind of future at all. Engaging characters with fairly standard two-dimensional villains. Sounds like a lovely place to visit. Bring warm clothes.

This book was so heartwarming! It’s very descriptive, I could feel the cold. It made me want to go play in the snow and take a walk in it. I didn’t really like Sonny for the first few chapters. I soon grew to care what happened to her and had a hard time putting this book down. I really enjoyed this book. The author’s private message at the end resonated with me. It almost made me cry and made me think of my brother who passed away over ten years ago just weeks before Christmas.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I have read all the books by this author. All have been good reads and this is no exception. You can pretty much figure out what the ending is going to be; you're just not exactly sure what is going to happen to end there. This is a story about hope, family memories, and regrets. This story is easy to read and follow. Certainly can be a great holiday read.

Sonny Dunes is a popular TV Meteorologist AKA ‘Weather Gal” in Palm Springs who gets fired. She does get an offer at a small station near her hometown in Michigan.
Although Palm Spring resident can view the awesome snow on the mountains ~ Michigan snow can be magical.
(Although I have lived in SoCal any years, we did live in Illinois and can remember the snow’s secret of being magical!)
I like and then disliked Sonny. I wondered how a person with a name Sonny could be so angry (perhaps because she spells it with an ‘o’?)
Sonny’s real name is Amberrose Murphy. We do find out why she is so angry.

I am not a big Chick Lt fan but have become a fan of Wade Rouse’s stories. Plus I always love a good Christmas story

Note: As you probably already know Wade Rouse chose his grandmother’s name Viola Shipman as his pen name. He states he grew up with her in the Ozarks and her extraordinary life was filled with beauty, hope as well as tragedy and is his inspiration for so many of his stories.
Here is a link for more info.
https://waderouse.com/about/
I always enjoy reading the Author’s Acknowledgements ~ a fun insight to the motivation for the story.
In this case it is called “A Personal Letter To Readers”; which is a story in itself.
This is his first Holiday story and is based on a very personal memory ~a very personal one. Be sure you to read it. I also enjoyed his ‘Acknowledgements’ as well as the Reader’s Guide.

Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for October 26, 2021