Little Teashop of Horrors

Jane
Lovering
Genre: 
Contemporary

Amy Knowles is used to being overlooked and overshadowed by her bombshell best friend Jules. Working in their teashop on Monkpark Hall Estate in Yorkshire, Amy isn’t likely to meet many men, but the ones that do come by usually only notice Jules — except local recluse Joshua Wilson, who sees Amy, and may be the only person who understands her. Joshua usually just wants to be left alone to work with his birds of prey, but there is something about Amy that draws him. When a shady new manager comes to run Monkpark, Josh and Amy will have to team up to uncover just what Edmund Evershott is really up to. In the process of saving their jobs, they just might save each other.

Despite the misleading name, “Little Teashop of Horrors” is one of the sweetest contemporary romances around. Both Amy and Joshua are complex characters with the kind of relationship that leads to long-lasting love. Balancing the light conflict with the estate manager and the deep-rooted backstories and personal problems Joshua and Amy carry, the plot has a smooth pace uninterrupted by the alternating point of views. Although the conclusion is somewhat predictable, and most of the side characters are two dimensional, “Little Teashop of Horrors” is the kind of book readers will want to absorb. With “Upstairs Downstairs” charm in the modern day, readers will find themselves almost wishing they could stop by Amy’s teashop themselves.

Sarah E Bradley