Little Teashop of Horrors

by Jane Lovering

Secrets, lies, carrot cake - and an owl called Skrillex!
Amy Knowles has always been the plain sidekick to her pretty best friend Jules. And whilst the tearoom they both work in on the Monkpark Hall estate in Yorkshire is not exactly awash with eligible bachelors, it's obvious where the male attention is concentrated - and it's not just on the cakes!
There is one man who notices Amy. Joshua Wilson also works at Monkpark, where he flies his birds of prey for visitor entertainment. He lives a lonely existence but he has reasons for choosing isolation - and, in Amy, he may have found somebody who understands.
Then a management change brings slick and well-spoken Edmund Evershott to Monkpark. He's interested in Amy too, but for what reason? Josh suspects the new manager is up to no good - but will Amy? Because Edmund could leave her with much worse than a broken heart ...

• ISBN13: 9781781894200
• Publish Date: 10 May 2018 (first published 1 November 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Choc Lit
• Format: Paperback
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

Every so often you pick up a book, any book and you know exactly how it will end in the first few pages. The same can be said here, however, the journey we go on with the two main characters Amy and Josh are not anything I have read before. This is my first book by Jane and I can honestly say this won’t be my last.

The chapters alternate between Amy and Josh, so you get to see their perception of the day to day life they both lead as their lives intertwine. Set in Monkpark Hall in Yorkshire (based on a real place) where some ‘posh git’ Edmund Evershit… I mean Edmund Evershott (Josh is wearing off on me)has taken over of the running of the estate. Things don’t add up, and he takes a shine to Amy but is it all that it seems?

Amy is a size 14 nobody (her words not mine!), she is used to her best friend Jules taking the limelight, the gorgeous blonde flirt. No one looks at her, and if they do they are just looking at her chest, she has no self-worth. Her backstory really did upset me, but I think more so as I think of growing up. I was the girl, like Amy, that boys only wanted to be friends with and if anyone showed a slight bit of interest my said best friend at the time would swoop in and divert their attention to her. So I did resent Jules and her behaviour, she turned out ok in the end, but Amy had by that point kept quiet, not to make a fuss, instilled by her Grans words to her.

Josh, the quiet bird boy who had the model good looks. Well didn’t his story just make you sob your heart our for him (read the book to find out!), his story was just so heartbreaking. He’s completely in love with Amy but in such an innocent way you realise how broken he truly is. I just wanted to give him a cuddle, not that I think he would let me. I loved all his birds and his Bird of Prey show and I mean I want my own Skrillex owl, rescued by Josh, they are his escape from the world and his only companions.

You have the storybook bad guy in Edmund, who is a douche, and he is the sort of person who tries to save himself and throw anybody he can under the bus. I loved the comradery at the end of the book when everyone stood up to him to save Amy. And Amy’s Gran, she was definitely the comical relief with her obsession that the spoons had been moved and the curtains were wrong, it was great.

This love story is not your typical drunken love, there is the miscommunication but everything is so innocent which I loved. These two broken people have found hope, healing and eventual love with each other. But most importantly they found trust, neither is going to run away from each other despite their history and that is what is truly beautiful about this story.



*Thanks to Rachel @ Rachel Random Resources and the author for the copy of my book*

www.zooloobookblog.co.uk

[Heather]

This is told in alternating voices of the two main characters. Amy is the third generation of her family to work in an historic trust building. She and her grandmother are able to live in the village at reduced rent because a family works at Monkpark. This wasn't Amy's goal in life but she can't afford to keep her Gran at home any other way. She's always been a bit of a doormat for people but figures that is her lot in life.

Josh loves his birds but is very uncomfortable around people. He doesn't like to be in enclosed spaces, even inside houses. He's never had a relationship with a woman. He likes Amy though because she seems to see him as a real person and not just that strange guy with the birds.

This is an unusual romance. The characters both have back stories that make them think that they are unsuitable for love. I wish Amy's had been a little deeper. I felt like she was written almost as a cliche at times. I haven't seen a lot of male romance characters like Josh though. There was a lot of trauma in his background that made him stay away from people. Although the term is never used, he felt like a demi romantic/sexual character. He did not see people as potential love interests at all until he got to know Amy very well. He doesn't magically overcome his problems just because he meets a love interest either. He still has issues that drastically affect his life and relationships. That's a nice change from books where the hero or heroine's entire life gets fixed when they get a lover.


This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story