At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities

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Synopsis

A mysterious letter. An offer taken. And the chance to move forward.

When Ava Harrison receives a letter containing an unusual job listing one month after the sudden death of her ex-boyfriend, she thinks she’s being haunted. The listing—a job as a live-in caretaker for a peculiar old man and his cranky cat in Driftwood, Alabama—is the perfect chance to start a new life. A normal life. Ava has always been too fearful to even travel, so no one’s more surprised than she is when she throws caution to the wind and drives to the distant beachside town.

On the surface, Maggie Mae Brightwell is a bundle of energy as she runs Magpie’s, Driftwood’s coffee and curiosity shop, where there’s magic to be found in pairing the old with the new. But lurking under her cheerful exterior is a painful truth—keeping busy is the best way to distract herself from the lingering loss of her mama and her worries about her aging father. No one knows better than she does that you can’t pour from an empty cup, but holding on to the past is the only thing keeping the hope alive that her mama will return home one day.

Ava and Maggie soon find they’re kindred spirits, as they’re both haunted—not by spirits, but by regret. Both must learn to let go of the past to move on—because sometimes the waves of change bring you to the place where you most belong.

Synopsis source: NetGalley

Review

Genre(s): Fiction, Magical Realism
HB&W Rating: 4
View on Goodreads
Pre-Order/Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Releases August 1, 2023

Ah Heather Webber, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 1) meaningful relationships between characters 2) emotional but redemptive stories 3) sweet romances 4) charming small town settings 5) quirky secondary characters 6) a touch of magic. Since reading Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, I have been enamored of everything I’ve since read from Heather Webber. When I saw a friend review this eARC she got from NetGalley, I immediately went and requested it too and was so excited to be approved for it.

This story is like a warm hug or like catching fireflies in a mason jar as a child under the watchful eye of your loving parent. It’s the perfect thing to cozy up to under a blanket on the beach, listening to the waves crash and a chilled breeze flutter by. The fictional town of Driftwood comes to life with Webber’s skilled pen. The characters she writes are lovable and real in ways you can relate to, and she treats them and their conflicts gently, making you realize the lessons that the characters learn in your own life.

Another beautifully written story made all the more lovely thanks to that little touch of magic.

Thank you to Tor Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happy reading!

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