The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene
ISBN: 9780425281260 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780698195790 (ebook)
ASIN: B00U5L7T9E (Kindle edition)
Publication date: December 1, 2015
Publisher: Berkley
The first rule of afternoon tea: never rush. Take time to savor it. Just like friendship…
The Seafront Tearoom is an insider secret in small-town Scarborough – a beachfront haven with the best tea and cakes in town – and journalist Charlie Harrison would love to put it on the map with a feature in her magazine. But single mom Kat Murray doesn’t want to see her favorite sanctuary overrun by tourists and begs Charlie to seek out other options. She offers her help, as a “tea obsessive,” and so does French au pair Séraphine Moreau, whose upbringing makes her a connoisseur of everything sweet and indulgent.
Together the three women will scour the countryside for quaint hideaways and hidden gems, sharing along the way their secrets, disappointments, and dreams – and discovering that friendship, like tea, takes time to steep. But learning too that once you open your heart, the possibilities are endless.
Charlie Harrison is a single woman, content with her job as a journalist, and still getting used to the idea that her wedding is off. Kat Murray is a single mother trying to find a job to support her small family. Seraphine Moreau is an au pair striving to reconcile her feelings for her lover against her family’s possible objections. All three women are brought together in The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene.
On the surface, it doesn’t appear that Charlie, Kat, and Seraphine have a lot in common. Charlie has a fantastic career and is in line for a promotion she has worked hard for, editor of a food magazine. Kat is a struggling single mother with deep ties to the local Scarborough community through her family. Seraphine is living in Scarborough temporarily as an au pair and struggling to make the right decision in her love life. Charlie has a struggling relationship with her sister, Pippa, primarily because she feels that Pippa is constantly judging her and finding her lacking. The thing that brings these women together initially is the joy of food, especially tea, and good company. What is a chance encounter between Kat, Seraphine, and Charlie becomes a deep friendship built around tea and coastal tearooms.
The Seafront Tearoom is a quick and engaging read. I enjoyed reading about the intrapersonal and interpersonal struggles of each character. Kat has to deal with the estranged father of her child and her growing attraction to the local veterinarian. Charlie grows closer to her sister when Pippa’s marriage is floundering and learns that appearances can be deceiving in all manner of things. Seraphine must decide if she’ll be true to herself and her lover Carla despite any familial backlash. A chance encounter in a tearoom provides deep friendship and leads to second chances for love. Obviously there’s a lot more going on in this story, but the main points to the story for me where the friendship between Charlie, Kat, and Seraphine and the joy they find in sharing a cup of tea. I’ve got to admit, that one of the things that initially drew me to this story was the idea of tea and friendship. I’m just as obsessed about tea as I am about books and the only thing I found lacking in this story was the lack of descriptions and/or histories of the teas mentioned…but that’s just me. So, grab a cup of tea (coffee, hot chocolate, or beverage of your choice), relax, and enjoy The Seafront Tearoom.
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Author: thebookdivasreads
I'm a reader, an avid reader, or perhaps a rabid reader (at least according to my family). I enjoy reading from a variety of different genres but particularly enjoy fiction, mystery, suspense, thrillers, ChickLit, romance and classics. I also enjoy reading about numerous non-fiction subjects including aromatherapy, comparative religions, herbalism, naturopathic medicine, and tea.
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The Book Diva's Reads 
This sounds very sweet. Great review! :)@dino0726 from FictionZeal – Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews
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