Life is full of second chances…if only you keep your heart open for them.
Spring Hill Square is a pretty sanctuary away from the bustle of everyday life. And at its centre is Leni Merryman’s Teashop on the Corner, specialising in cake, bookish stationery and compassion. And for three people, all in need of a little TLC, it is somewhere to find a friend to lean on.
Carla Pride has just discovered that her late husband Martin was not who she thought he was. And now she must learn to put her marriage behind her and move forward. Molly Jones’s ex-husband Harvey has reappeared in her life after many years, wanting to put right the wrongs of the past before it is too late. And Will Linton’s business has gone bust and his wife has left him to pick up the pieces. Now he needs to gather the strength to start again.
Can all three find the comfort they are looking for in The Teashop on the Corner? And as their hearts are slowly mended by Leni, can they return the favour when she needs it most…?
Every time Milly Johnson releases a new book, I’m like a small child at Christmas – I can’t contain myself or think of anything else until I’ve opened it up and devoured it. It’s getting quite difficult now to say anything new about her books – I reviewed It’s Raining Men on the blog last year, and several others on Goodreads before that, and never make any secret of the fact that I’m an unashamed fan and that, for me, she can do no wrong.
This book has everything we’ve come to expect – the big characters, the personal dramas, the romance, the friendships and the sparkling humour. There might be something of an over-proliferation of cupcake cafes, teashops and book shops in women’s writing at the moment, but the device really works so well in the same way as the Queen Vic and Rover’s Return do in our favourite soaps. Leni’s teashop is a wonderful place – I spotted so many items on her literary themed shelves that I’d like to buy, and how I’d love to join in on one of her themed days, talking about books and having a slice of Branwell carrot or Wuthering milk chocolate cake. The book follows through Leni’s story and that of all her customers, as well as the stories young assistant Ryan and property developer Shaun McCarthy. Every story is wonderful, full of drama and sadness, tears and laughter.
Milly Johnson is just so brilliantly good at what she does – if you’ve never read anything she’s written, this is a wonderful one to start with. If you’re already a fan like me, this will undoubtedly be the book you’ll be reading on your sun lounger this summer – and you’ll enjoy and savour every page. Just be careful with the mascara – if it doesn’t run with your tears of laughter, there are some exquisite sad moments that will have you looking like a panda…
The Teashop On The Corner was published by Simon and Schuster on 19 June, and is available in paperback and for kindle. The copy I read was my own – my thanks to Karen at My Reading Corner for passing it on.
Milly Johnson is a Sunday Times top ten bestseller, poet, columnist, joke-writer, radio presenter-in-training and winner of Come Dine With Me. She likes cruising on big ships, owls, Pellers Ice Wine, shopping for handbags in Venice, Ikea meatballs, the sea and having her hair done. She hates marzipan, doing accounts and sandpaper. Her novels are about the universal issues of friendship, family, betrayal, babies, rather nice food and a little bit of that magic in life that sometimes visits the unsuspecting.