Series: Ever After Street #5 (Standalone)
Publication Date: 26th May 2025
Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/MagicalCuriosityShop
Goodreads Book Page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218164658-finding-love-at-the-magical-curiosity-shop
Genre: Contemporary Small Town Romance
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Sweet... somewhat!
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.
***
My Thoughts:
The story comes in Mickey’s first-person POV.
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.
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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 my friend and fellow reviewer'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).
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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 it 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
***
About the Author – Jaimie Admans
Jaimie Admans is the bestselling author of several
romantic comedies – including The Little Christmas Shop on Nutcracker Lane and
The Chateau of Happily-Ever-Afters. Her series for Boldwood, The Ever After
Street Series, is based on the magical world of fairytales.
Follow the Author:
Facebook: @JaimieAdmansBooks
Twitter: @be_the_spark
Instagram: @jaimieadmans1
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/JaimieAdmansNews
Bookbub Profile: @jaimieadmans1
***
This has been a stop on the #FindingLoveAtTheMagicalCuriosityShop blog tour by Rachel's Random Resources (@rararesources). Thanks for stopping by!
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