Review: The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson

Title: The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson

Published by: Simon & Schuster UK - BooksAndTheCity

RRP/Availability: £7.99 Available as a paperback (£3.50) or ebook (£3.32) on Amazon UK

Rating: 5/5








THE BLURB

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…?

MY OPINION:

When I began reading this book I was slightly overwhelmed by the thickness (a good 492 pages!) but I knew it would be worth it.

By page 3 I was laughing out loud, and page 5 had me hooked with it's likeness to an Eastender's episode with it's own 'Duff-Duff'!

The book begins with one of the main characters (although they all become stars in their own right throughout the book) Carla at the funeral of her husband which is where the Laugh out Loud begins and the drama unfurls.

I love how Milly Johnson put this scene so close to the beginning because it really gets you hooked into the book quicker that a crochet hook!

We then meet three more characters, Shaun, Leni and Mr Singh. Leni is the owner of the new shop...The Teashop on the Corner with Mr Singh first being her customer and then her friend along with Shaun first her landlord, whilst friendship slowly mends his frosty heart.  

More customers are drawn to the café through the dramas going on in their lives which unites them all in companionship and a friendship that's bonded like a books pages to its cover. From Jane Austen to Thomas Hardy, Heathcliff to Catherine... there is always book chat going on here, which fastly becomes a thrill of the café keeping the customers engaged in a literary chat any English literature professor would love to witness.

Will Linton has lost his business, his wife ups and leaves him with little to own so he finds himself homeless and jobless. Molly Jones' ex husband returns with more than she bargained for and family secrets unfold in a dramatic filled way that would win any soap award without a doubt. Then there's Molly's sister Margaret and her husband Bernard, who are the sweetest couple and family members to Molly. Whilst they don't appear in the book much, when they do it's captivating and sweet, especially when Margaret's ability to see the dead adds a touching and tearful scene that brings everything together.
Whilst Leni is always bright, cheerful and there to lean on should her friends and customers need to, she is harbouring secrets and pain, yet still she takes in a charming 15 year old boy who despite societies neglect is going against the grain of his family in order to be a better person.

When love, life and death collide, it's up to the Teashop on the Corner's new customers to repay Leni with the kindness and love that she's had for each of them.


Leni's teashop has been the talk on twitter among us chick lit reviewers and readers, because we all just want to go to the teashop to meet, have tea and cake with a twist! You see, Leni's Teashop is special and any book lover - bookaholic - book nerd etc will understand why we're so excited about this book (and the teashop). The Teashop on the Corner is a café and shop where you can buy classic book cover themed handbags, postcards, gift-tags, - it's basically a stationary addicts dream. The best news is that, you can purchase these contents - just visit Milly's website (links at the top) for more details

I was completely hooked throughout this book reading 50+ pages in a single sitting at a time. All I would say is make sure you've got a cuppa the side of you when you start reading, and cake (there is always need for cake), because you will be glued to the book (and its cover!).

To say that I HIGHLY recommend this book is a sheer understatement. This has to be the best read of 2014 for me! I just want more!!! I'd love to read a follow up book with a Christmas themed book - going along the lines of A Christmas Carol perhaps... featuring the characters from this book (hint hint Milly ;) ) .

 

ABOUT MILLY

 

 

 

 

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. The Teashop on the Corner is her tenth book. Find out more at www.millyjohnson.com or follow her on twitter @millyjohnson.