Saturday 22 November 2014

Book ~ "The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane" (2014) Sheila Roberts

From Goodreads ~ After a fake food poisoning incident in L.A., Bailey Sterling's dreams of becoming a caterer to the stars collapse faster than a soufflé. Now Bailey's face is in all the gossip rags and her business is in ruins. But the Sterling women close ranks and bring her back to Icicle Falls, where she'll stay with her sister Cecily. 

All goes well between the sisters until Bailey comes up with a new business idea - a tea shop on a charming street called Lavender Lane. She's going into partnership with Todd Black, who - it turns out - is the man Cecily's started dating. It looks to Cecily as if there's more than tea brewing in that cute little shop. And she's not pleased. 

Wait! Isn't Cecily seeing Luke Goodman? He's a widower with an adorable little girl, and yes, Cecily does care about him. But Todd's the one who sends her zing-o-meter off the charts. So now what? Should you have to choose between your sister and the man you love (or think you love)?

Cecily works for her family's chocolate company.  All her friends are getting married and/or pregnant and that's what she wants.  She has two men who are interested in her.  Luke is a widower with a young daughter and is a nice guy.  Todd owns the tavern in town and isn't looking to settle down.  The obvious choice would be to be with Luke but she feels more of a zing with Todd and that's who she chooses.

Her younger sister, Bailey, moves back to Icicle Falls after a scandal in Los Angeles.  She eventually teams up with Todd to become partners to open a tea shop.  There are sparks between them but now Bailey has to decide what is more important ... pursuing the man you could love but lose your sister n the process.

This is the seventh book I've read by this author (and the fifth in the Icicle Falls series that I've read) and I liked it.  Written in third person perspective, the focus shifts among the characters and you get to know what they are thinking.  I liked the writing style and found it was easy to read.  As a head's up, there is some mild swearing.

I didn't find Cecily likeable and I don't know why Todd and Luke were interested in her since she didn't treat them well at times and made no secret to them that she was seeing both of them.  Todd had less of an emotional stake as he acknowledged to himself that he wasn't ready to settle down with her.  Luke kept offering her everything she wanted and she kept kicking him to the side.  Bailey's confidence had been shaken and it took a while for her to get it back.  I didn't think it was right that she'd consider a relationship with someone her sister was dating ... being sisters is more important that a guy.

I'd recommend this book if you are looking for a nice "feel good" story.  As a bonus, Bailey shares some of her recipes with you along with a lesson on the proper make to make tea at the end of the book.

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