Monday 27 February 2017

The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts by Jennifer Joyce

Published by HQ Digital on February 8, 2017


In The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts, Jennifer Joyce serves up a tale of romance and friendship just as sweet and delicious as a cake baked by Maddie Lamington. I really love Jennifer’s books. None of them ever fail to put a smile on my face when reading them. With The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts, I was snatching any moment I could just to read a few more pages and grinning from ear to ear when doing so. It’s an uplifting read with romances brewing from every corner and I adored every single page.

Maddie, owner of Sweet Street Teashop in Manchester, is feeling a bit deflated at the lack of new customers her beloved shop is bringing in. She bakes scrummy cakes and puts all her heart and soul into the teashop, so she is disappointed and feels like she has wasted the inheritance she got from her late gran. As the book begins, Maddie is brainstorming with her close friend Nicky, and her work friends Victoria and Mags about ideas to bring in some custom. A while later, inspired by Maddie’s dad and regular customer Birdie, they settle on a speed-dating idea which consists of five men, five women, servings of cake at each table and fifteen minutes for each pair to get to know each other over one of Maddie’s sweet treats.

Instantly, I loved the friendships within Jennifer’s new book. Maddie, Nicky, Victoria and Mags were very individual characters, all memorable within their own rights. I really liked Maddie straight away. I felt like there were a few traits in her character I could relate to, not least her speaking before she thinks, sweet tooth and close bond with her dad, and this had me rooting for her straight away. Nicky was the character who made me laugh the most throughout the book. She’s a fun and flirty character who likes to get the ladies out at any opportunity, so to speak, and I was always wondering if she would meet her match. Victoria is the edgier character, in a band, but she was completely harmless as long as you remembered not to hug her. I liked Victoria and how she was always willing to drop everything to help out more at the teashop. Mags, other than Maddie, was my favourite female character. I loved how she had eyes for builder Owen and was so oblivious to how he felt about her. She was a caring character and extra fun when she’d had a drink or three.

The bonds and solidarity between the characters in this book made it a really enjoyable read for me. There was a lot of chemistry between the characters in this book through both friendships and romance and with a whole host of likeable characters, I found this to be an irresistible read and one impossible to dislike.

Of course there is a trend, as I’m sure any reader of chick-lit and romantic comedies will attest to, of books set around a cafĂ© or a teashop. Did that put me off? Not one bit. I actually haven’t read too many books set in that kind of location as those books in particular didn’t appeal to me. The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts hugely appealed to me. Jennifer’s books are always a real treat for me, she has quickly become one of my must-read romantic comedy authors and I really didn’t care that this was “another” teashop-set book. The speed-dating concept itself was original and intriguing and the romance was realistic and absolutely heart-warming, one of those perfectly feel-good stories that make you smile, fill you with optimism and have you desperate for cake. Provided you can resist any sweet treats (though resisting is not something I would recommend), The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts contains calorie-free goodness and an ending as satisfying as they come.



1 comment:

  1. oo i have this lined up to read and it sounds like i will love it xx

    ReplyDelete

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