I’m so thrilled today to be joining the blog tour for the latest book from Jaimie Admans, Finding Love at the Magical Curiosity Shop, the fifth in her wonderful Ever After Street series, and sharing my review. Published by Boldwood Books on 26th May, it’s now available as an e-book (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback and as an audiobook. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading ecopy (provided via netgalley).
I really left it far too long to discover how much I loved Jaimie’s writing – my first was The Beekeeper at Elderflower Grove (such a perfect summer read!), and that one made it onto my 2022 Books of the Year list (you’ll find my review here). The following year? Well, I absolutely adored The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens (review here) – and yes, of course it was one of my Books of the Year in 2023. But this Ever After Street series has been something so very special. First we had the Cinderella story given a modern twist in Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street (and the romance was so perfect – you can read my review again here); then “a tale as old as time” and the Beauty and the Beast story of An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street(review here); and I so enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland theme of A Wonderland Wish on Ever After Street, (review here). But Jaimie’s Christmas books are always something really special, and Christmas Ever After might have been my favourite so far, with that wonderful slow burn romance that so touched my heart: the whole story was beautifully told, and with the most perfect Christmassy touches, completely engaging and very moving (you’ll find my review of that one here).
So let’s take a look at her latest…
In a shop full of stories, some magic is real.
Mickey Teasdale loves her quaint curiosity shop, where every item feels magical to her. She loves imagining the past owners of her knick-knacks and telling her made-up tales to customers, but lately, the magic has dimmed; the shop feels cluttered, and even her stories seem as worn as the items she sells.
Everything changes when the grumpiest customer Mickey’s ever met—single dad Ren Montague—walks in with his surly teen daughter, Ava. Ren hates mess and clutter and prefers order and calm, but he’ll do anything to see Ava smile. Yet, something shifts in him when he meets Mickey, who seems like she stepped out of her very own fairy tale.
When Ava discovers a secret diary, hidden from years long ago, she and Mickey believe it must have once belonged to a real-life mermaid! Ever sceptical, Ren tries to protect Ava from disappointment, but as they unravel the mystery together, something special happens…
Ren learns that happy ever afters still exist if you’re brave enough to look for them, and Mickey discovers that real-life can sometimes be way more magical than anything she could have ever imagined.
Her father always stocked the Curiosity Shop with treasures he found – always with stories and histories attached – but, since losing him, Mickey has lost her way a little. The many items – some might call them junk – she’s continued to add sometimes don’t have their own stories so she makes them up, trying to add her own touch of magic. A lot of them are inspired by The Little Mermaid – there’s a statue outside the shop that means a lot to her, she’s dyed her hair red to look like Ariel, and she’s a believer in all the myths and legends. But she can now barely move inside the shop without knocking things over, all her attempts at stock control are failing, the customers are put off by the mess that now extends onto the pavement outside, and she’s no longer feeling the joy of people discovering their perfect find.
Teenage Ava loves it though – her excitement when she finds the shop, digging into its depths for treasures, is something it’s easy to share. But her father Ren certainly doesn’t – he’s horrified by the mess, makes his feelings clear, and even more forcibly when he cuts his head on a poorly positioned ornamental birdcage. But, like his daughter, he’s rather taken with Mickey, and – rather surprisingly for them both – offers to help her create some order out of the chaos. And he can see his daughter – abandoned by her mother, and inclined to be a bit off a handful – is enchanted, both by the shop and its owner, and even more so when she finds an old diary hidden inside a wooden box. A few pages in, it seems it was written by a real-life mermaid – and together they all set about trying to find out more about its history.
I’ll admit that I’m not very familiar with the story of The Little Mermaid, and I thought that might make the whole story less engaging – but it certainly didn’t. As the diary’s story slowly unfolds – the shipwreck, a rescued mariner, a developing romance – I became increasingly caught up in the lovely relationship between Ren, Mickey and Ava. And their friendship – often tested, sometimes uneasy, with so many obstacles in its way (and not just the overflowing stock that Mickey’s reluctant to part with) – gradually turns into an unlikely romance, and it was one I really believed in. All the emotional touches are simply perfect – both Ren and Mickey (and she knows they’ve turned a corner when he starts to call her Mick) have experienced pain in their former lives, and it was so moving to see them opening up and letting each other in.
The whole story is enchanting – nicely counterpointed by the discoveries in the diary – and I found it both heartwarming and a complete delight from beginning to end. Of course, the wonderful community in Ever After Street plays its part in helping bring about the much hoped for happy ending – beautifully done, as always. I’m sad there will only be one more visit – one last book in this lovely series – but every single book, full of fairy tale magic and romance that’s never failed to touch my heart, has been so very special. And this one is no exception – I really loved it.
About the author
Jaimie Admans is the bestselling author of several romantic comedies – including The Little Christmas Shop on Nutcracker Lane and The Chateau of Happily-Ever-Afters. She lives in South Wales and was previously published by HQ Digital. Her series for Boldwood, The Ever After Street Series, is based on the magical world of fairytales.
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