One Liner: Sweet… somewhat!

 Mickey Teasdale loves her quaint curiosity shop on Ever After Street. It’s magical and full of treasures waiting to be found by customers. Lately, the magic has dimmed, and the charming shop feels cluttered. 

Ren Montague, single dad to a teen daughter, Ava, doesn’t believe in magic and nonsense. But he will do anything to see his sulking daughter smile again. Meeting Mickey makes him cautiously hopeful. 

When Ava finds a secret diary that may have belonged to a mermaid and tries to investigate it with Mickey, Ren is torn between supporting his daughter and shielding her from disappointment. 

Soon, Ren and Mickey realize that real life and magic can co-exist, but if they are brave enough to take the step. 

The story comes in Mickey’s first-person POV. 

 My Thoughts:

This is the fifth book in the standalone Ever After Street Series. Though we see some couples from the previous books, this works well as a standalone read. Of course, I recommend reading the other books because they are all beautiful. 

As a fan of the author's works, I tend to have high expectations of her. Why not? I know she can write! 

Like the other books, this one also deals with important topics. Here we have parental death, broken marriage, being a single dad, a young teen’s struggle with the changes in her life, a woman’s desire to surround herself with material things to avoid reality, etc. 

I could empathize with the FMC even when I knew her shop was a high-risk accident zone. No matter how much I de-clutter, the shelves tend to look the same, so yeah, it happens! She is a sweetheart, and I love her optimism and hope. Her determination to believe in magic is noteworthy. I try too, though my cynical side doesn’t stay silent for long! 

Naturally, I could easily understand the MMC’s perspective too. Yeah, he was rude and prickly, but he could be just as sweet if he allowed himself to be. Then, he had to go and make a mess of it (more on this later). 

Ava, the MMC’s thirteen-year-old, was a delight most of the book. She is a teen, through and through, so I could see her outburst making sense to her. I didn’t mind it much as it aligned with her arc until then. 

We get snippets from the diary, which read like actual diary entries – thoughts, frantic scribbling, raw emotions, and random bits of information. Yay for this! However, the dialogues in this book felt lengthier somehow. Not a big deal, though. 

As always, it’s heartwarming to read the lovey-dovey scenes between the main characters. It seems like the author thought much about Rosh’s reactions to the touchy-feely scenes; she used the same term twice in the book! Haha… :P Of course, I loveeee these scenes the best, and those hugs! Find a partner who hugs you like you are their everything! 

Now, we come to the dreaded third-act breakup. I knew it would happen, but man, if I could punch him, I would have. I was rather rooting for Lissa to do it for me… didn’t she? Read to find out. 

The resolution came a bit too quickly, I think. While it still made me teary-eyed, I wanted a little more groveling. The FMC doesn’t make it easy, which I appreciate. Still, make him repent more (I hold grudges for a long time, if you haven’t figured out by now, lol). 

I found it surprising that they don’t get much dragon fruit in the UK. Thanks to social media, it became so famous in India that we find it at the makeshift stalls on the street corners. Farmers have successfully cultivated dragon fruit locally and are getting good results! Though I’m not a fan of it. 

The ending is sweet, of course. There’s no epilogue, but there will be another (last… sniffle) book in the series, so we are likely to get a wee update on them if nothing else. 

To summarize, Finding Love at the Magical Curiosity Shop is not as magical as the other books in the series, but still creates a lovely, cozy feeling in the heart. The romance is clean, comforting, warm, and like a hearty cup of hot chocolate with extra sprinkles. 

Thank you, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley