Reviewed by Emma Crowley
It's time for Ellie to return home and rediscover the past she left behind...
After a tough break-up, Ellie returns to the only place she's ever really felt at home – the coastal town of Sanderson Bay. A year later, she's living her dream, brewing delicious artisan teas and selling them at her very own café. And when the mysterious and brooding Ben walks into her tearoom, Ellie finally dares to dream of true love.
But then her ex shows up in the Bay, and just as Ellie discovers some tragic truths about her family's past, she learns Ben might be hiding an unwelcome secret of his own...
Can Ellie let go of her past and brave a future with Ben?
Many thanks to Aria via NetGalley for my copy of The Tearoom on the Bay to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Tearoom on the Bay is the first book I have read by Rachel Burton. It was a quick, light and pleasant read following Ellie as she returns to Sanderson Bay after a nasty break up and in doing so she will rediscover all that she left behind and perhaps come to an understanding that maybe she should have never left in the first place. That all she had ever wanted was really there all along, or maybe things will just prove too challenging and she will flee once again? Who knows but the journey to discovering the answer was an interesting one and the plot kept my attention at a time when I needed to switch off and relax. It’s not my favourite book that I read around the Christmas season but I still enjoyed it. The gorgeous cover suggests this is a full on Christmas book with the candy canes and the gingerbread man but it’s not at all as it’s merely mentioned towards the end of the book so if you want full on Christmas perhaps this is not the read for you but if you want an easy escapist read than it certainly is.
Sanderson Bay is a close knit community where people love to be part of other people’s business, in a good way for the most part, but sometimes it can be a bit intrusive. It’s a year since Ellie returned to seek shelter and comfort when her partner Marcus left her. Since moving to the bay she is less stressed and feels that she has room to breathe, the walls don’t always feel as if they are closing in. Running her grandparents café, The Two Teas Café, but her name is now on the deeds has given her a chance to indulge in her love of teas. She associates people with a certain tea and loves to find the right one that work wonders for individuals. The cafe sells a variety of loose leaf teas, teapots and tea drinking accessories and Ellie has been enjoying every moment of her time there. Yet there is a part of Ellie that still feels she has not put herself back together following the hurt caused by Marcus. Something is missing in her life and there is still a little niggle remaining that despite how far she has come in the last 365 days that there is a little void in her life. She dislikes this feeling and is desperate to call Sanderson Bay her forever home. But what is stopping her from fully embracing the new and wonderful opportunities she has been afforded so far since her return?
There was a wonderful cast of support characters who were stalwarts alongside Ellie. The ladies of the Knitting Club who meet weekly at the café were a varied bunch. Miranda, Clara, Lisa, Bessie and Sascha alongside Ellie form a good strong bond of friendship. Sascha perhaps is the closest to Ellie, she makes Ellie feel grounded and stops her feeling like a strong wind could blow her away. We got to know a little of her story as she too gave up her old corporate way of life and came to the bay to run the hotel with her husband. She is desperate to have a child and hopes the slower pace of life will help her to fall pregnant. I thought Sascha was a great support system to Ellie and her own personal storyline was written with empathy and love and I was rooting for a positive and happy outcome for her.
The knitting ladies are a devious little bunch and I mean that tongue in cheek and in a positive light. They are determined to set Ellie up with a man as they can see that is the one thing she is lacking in life. They know that Ellie enjoys running the café and by doing this you have to put yourself out there but deep down she is shy, introverted, private and anxious. But will the arrival of newcomer Ben who says he is in the bay on business and to take a little break open up a whole new conundrum for Ellie or will a little spark ignite to create a bigger flame?
Ellie has spent a long time worrying about what others think and years living up to expectations but now she is trying to do her own thing to make herself happy and healthy. Ben offers to help her with the social media side of the business and to inspire some more events to be held at the café but initially he came across as being very secretive. On a work level he was hiding something big from Ellie but also on a personal level too. I think he came to the bay with a work goal in mind. Maybe goal is not the right word perhaps mission would be better suited and he kept this secret from Ellie. But I understood why he did because he came expecting to get his business done and to move on to the next thing he didn’t bargain on feeling a connection with Ellie. He was torn between a rock and a hard place as to whether to come out with it and say why he was really there. As for his own personal demons maybe coming to the bay will force him to confront those too? I liked Ben as a character, I could see the frustrations he was grappling with that he was trying to keep quashed but surely he needed to allow them to come to the surface to deal with what he has been storing away for so long.
The plot overall was very easy to follow and I enjoyed observing Ellie go through some strife and angst in her life because I was hoping it would make her a better and stronger person when she could emerge out the other side. There is a face from the past set to cause more upset for her and it challenges her in many ways. On a personal and work level she has an awful lot to deal with and as we get a deeper insight in how she is feeling and all the thoughts and memories rushing through her mind you become more sympathetic to her stance and just wish that she doesn’t cave under the pressure and can find the correct path to resolve her problems and make her life complete. All in all The Tearoom on the Bay is a nice story with enough to keep you entertained and reading on and to give you a distraction from the endless stress we are experiencing in the world today.
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