Publication Date: 01st Oct 2024
Genre: Historical Fantasy (Witchy Family Drama)
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Introspective (irregular pacing)
Triplets Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley convert their home into a Tearoom after the untimely death of their parents. Their mother, Clara, was a witch who gave up her position for love and married a human. The teashop is what the triplets consider her legacy and a cozy place for people to find answers to questions in the tea leaves.
With the Council of Witches expecting the sisters to take up a responsibility (with dire consequences) and an old curse being activated, they find themselves being pulled in different directions. Can the sisters retain their bond while exploring their individual identities or will the curse and the Council break them apart?
The story comes in the third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
Ever since I saw the book on NetGalley, I kept hoping it would be Read Now at least for a day. I wasn’t sure if the publisher would approve my request and didn’t want to risk it. Luckily, the book did become available for a week or more.
Not sure why I thought it would be a contemporary witchy read. It’s a historical one (set in early 1900s). However, there isn’t much about the period. The story could be set anywhere and would still work.
The house is my favorite part of the book. Imagine a building that can clean itself, do the dishes, dust the cobwebs, and repair everything on its own. I want a house like that! The tearoom setting is beautiful and chaotic.
The writing is a bit prosey and has a lyrical touch to it in many scenes. While this can slow down the pace, I like how the words flow.
The sisters have different personalities making it very easy to track their arcs. Though they are triplets, Anne sounds older and more stressed out almost throughout the book. This aligns with the character development as she has somehow become the older and more responsible one after their mother’s death.
The POV is a blend of limited third-person and omnipresent. This can be a little hard to follow.
The book drags in the middle as the miscommunication trope stretches on. This could have been trimmed a little. That said, I understand why it had to go on. A rubber band needs to be stretched beyond its elasticity to snap. The same theory applies here.
The concept of using flavors and scents to talk about memories, truth, lies, etc., is lovely. If only we had such lie detectors in real life too!
Each chapter starts with a symbol and its interpretation. This aligns with the content in the chapter and provides some knowledge about tea reading (if you can remember or make note of it).
The ending is hopeful and sweet. It establishes the need for growth and change while showing how these things don’t have to affect relationships and family bonds.
To summarize, The Crescent Moon Tearoom is a worthy debut dealing with important themes. While there are a few niggles, I like the overall vibe and feel. Will be happy to read more books by the author.
Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #TheCrescentMoonTearoom
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