3.5⭐
Genre ~ contemporary fiction
Series ~ Every After Street #5
Others in the series ~ the whole series
Setting ~ England
Publication date ~ May 25, 2025
Publisher ~ Boldwood Books
Est Page Count ~ 305 (21 chapters)
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ The Little Mermaid retelling, small town, small business owner, history professor, single dad, grumpy/sunshine, no steamage
My review:
Mickey (38) & Ren meet when he clonks his noggin walking into her cluttered shop looking for his 13 year old daughter, Ava. Ava is like totally bored and hanging out with her father is so lame, but when she purchases something in the shop that has a hidden compartment and a secret book inside they have no choice but to read it together and get swept up in the story it tells. And I was a little swept up myself with the tale dating back to 1899.
Ren has been hurt before and is unapologetically honest, sometimes too honest, which can hurt feelings at times. Other times it’s necessary to light a fire under someones behind. In this case Mickey needed that push to get her chaos of a shop cleaned up and organized.
This was moving along nicely and I was really enjoying it. Mickey was a great character that stayed true to herself and had a way of making others feel like they are enough. Ava was a gem, until she wasn’t. Ren was a gem, until he wasn’t. They both made me a bit upset with some hurtful things that were said. But, overall, I enjoyed how the story unfolded.
Side note ~ Codswallop ~ such a fun word! Our equivalent here in the US is hogwash, which I equally love.
Series notes:
The characters from the other books are discussed, but I think this would be fine as a standalone.
Get your copy on ~ Amazon
Add to your never ending TBR ~ goodreads
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.
Book blurb:
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.
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