The Secret of Snow: A Novel

The forecast is calling for a reluctant homecoming and regrettable decisions with a strong chance of romance...

When Sonny Dunes, a SoCal meteorologist whose job is all sunshine and seventy-two-degree days, is replaced by a virtual meteorologist that will never age, gain weight or renegotiate its contract, the only station willing to give the fifty-year-old another shot is the very place Sonny's been avoiding since the day she left for college--her northern Michigan hometown.

Sonny grudgingly returns to the long, cold, snowy winters of her childhood...with the added humiliation of moving back in with her mother. Not quite an outsider but no longer a local, Sonny finds her past blindsiding her everywhere: from the high school friends she ghosted, to the former journalism classmate and mortal frenemy who's now her boss, to, most keenly, the death years ago of her younger sister, who loved the snow.

To distract herself from the memories she's spent her life trying to outrun, Sonny throws herself headfirst into covering every small-town winter event to woo a new audience, made more bearable by a handsome widower with optimism to spare. But with someone trying to undermine her efforts to rebuild her career, Sonny must make peace with who she used to be and allow her heart to thaw if she's ever going to find a place she can truly call home.

Don't miss bestselling author Viola Shipman's charming new novel, THE WISHING BRIDGE--where an ambitious executive rediscovers the magic of family, friendship, home...and Christmas!

Other books by Viola Shipman:
  • Famous in a Small Town
  • A Wish for Winter
  • The Edge of Summer
  • The Summer Cottage
  • The Heirloom Garden
  • The Clover Girls

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Published Oct 26, 2021

404 pages

Average rating: 7.07

14 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Across the Globe Book Buddies
Oct 19, 2025
8/10 stars
So much fun reading this book! With ties to the area and events where the book is set, it was a joy to envision much of what was being described. Bonus: the weather in the book and in the Traverse City area at the time were phenomenons that had not been experienced for many years! Great unintentional timing for this read on my part!
Aundrea todd
Jan 07, 2026
10/10 stars
I love ALL Things MICHIGAN!!
Set during a MICHIGAN winter, this book was so magical.
The main character finds love

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