New week means new blog tours and today I have the pleasure of kicking off Jennifer Joyce’s blog tour! Jennifer’s new novel, The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts, was published on the 8th February 2017 by HQ Digital. Here is my review for her book and make sure you follow the rest of the blogs on the tour!
From fairy cakes to first dates!
Maddie Lamington’s dreams are crumbling around her. If she doesn’t come up with a plan to save her little teashop on Sweet Street soon, it might be too late…
So when she sees how the perfect apple crumble brings together her lonely father and faithful customer Birdie, inspiration strikes: she’ll set up a dating night involving all her sweetest bakes.
Luckily, seriously gorgeous Caleb is on hand to help sprinkle a little magic – and a lot of sugar! Could one night of scrumptious first dates fix Maddie’s heartbreak and save her beloved teashop, too?
What does TWG think?
When I first saw the cover and title for Jennifer’s book, I felt a sense of Deja vu and it took me a good while to work out why. But then, as I was trawling Amazon for more books (to add to my 42254456 (estimate) unread books on my TBR pile, I worked out why I got deja vu. The title is incredibly similar to a book that was published last year by a different author, but it really caught me off guard as I thought I had already read Jennifer’s book.
Maddie Lamington had a dream; a dream which was WAY bigger than her, but she was still going to try to achieve it. The thing is, whilst baking cakes are either a recipe for disaster or a recipe for a start, Maddie’s long-term dream doesn’t even come with a recipe. Lets hope her timings aren’t out and she doesn’t get a ‘soggy bottom’.
Firstly, excellent surname choice for Maddie! A very clever use of words! If you don’t know, lamingtons are a cake and Maddie makes cakes…
Whilst I am an absolute sucker for a decent cake and a good cuppa, I am finding the whole teashop/café settings a bit too over used. Don’t get me wrong, they are fantastic settings where chic lit’s are concerned; I just feel a bit full up of the same theme. Of course I don’t HAVE to read them, BUT seeing as many of my well liked authors are setting the scene in a café and writing them well, it’s a bit devil you do, devil you don’t. Yes, it’s popular, but so is cake.
Despite my slight irk with the theme (not the authors work fyi), I did enjoy this book overall. Putting cake and dates together was such a genius idea that was, indeed, thoroughly entertaining. Well, as well as tummy rumbling. Mine, not theirs.
There was a lot going on with most of the characters within the storyline and sometimes it was a bit ‘woah’, but looking back on the nature of the storyline and what had to unfold, the storyline needed those character dramatics to add more depth. A couple of the characters situations had me in hysterics and I thought (out loud); ‘you plonker’, because it was most definitely something I would have done! I’m not saying who’s as you need to find out for yourself so it has the right effect. So bonkers in such a light-hearted, fun way.
I really did enjoy the comforting vibe that Jennifer’s book gave me. The storyline gave off such a homely feel which made me feel warm and cosy the whole time I was reading it (apart from when I was salivating, but shhh).
Jennifer Joyce has put a unique twist on the popular teashop theme; and it works. The only thing about this novel that screams ‘samey’ is the title. The overall storyline screams ‘eat me & date me’, and yes, I’m talking about the cakes. It’s flirty, it’s fun, it’s refreshing but most importantly, you are able to eat as many cakes as you like without consuming any calories. Oh the beauty of stories.
The only thing that broke my heart about this book was that the cakes weren’t real. This is definitely a pick me up book on days where you feel as flat as a pancake as it will make you rise like a soufflé.
Thank you Jennifer/Netgalley/HQ Digital.
The Writing Garnet 
I’m with you on the teashop/cafe theme. I’ve purposely avoided a few books because I’m really tired of it.
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