A new job with an item with a mysterious background

Synopsis

Discover the secrets and surprises that the scenic Scottish town of Briar Glen has to offer…

When wedding planner Sophie Harkness refuses to move a friend’s wedding to accommodate a spoilt bridezilla, she finds herself out of a job. That is until she discovers her late grandma has purchased a local shop for her in the pretty Scottish town of Briar Glen.

Surprised and delighted, Sophie opens her own porcelain shop in honour of her grandmother. But when an unusual tea set is left with Sophie, along with a mysterious letter, she can’t help but be intrigued by the story behind the antique.

And when the handsome but aloof art critic Xander North comes knocking on her door, Sophie is about to find out the true colourful past of her latest treasure.

The perfect feel-good romance for fans of Jo Thomas, Katie Fforde and Trisha Ashley.

My review

Wedding planner Sophie Harkness would move the Earth if she could to give her customers the wedding they dream of.
However, when a real spoilt Bridezilla wants the impossible, moving a friend’s wedding, Sophie decides she has had enough and now is without a job.
That is, until she finds a letter of her beloved grandma, where Sophie discover that Grandma left her a local shop in Briar Glen, to make their dream come true, of running a crockery shop.
And when a tea set is left with Sophie, with a mysterious letter in it, Sophie is intrigued by the provenance of it. She knows that she needs help with finding out the story of it, so art critic Xander North uses his expertise and contacts to find out what treasure Sophie has received. Just a pity that Xander may have the looks but is also a very closed character and Sophie seems to be annoying Xander instead of having a good working relationship…

I am totally not into crockery. I love watching and admiring from a distance, and especially with special tea sets, I would be terrified of breaking something!
But looking and admiring it from a distance, not a problem!

I immediately liked Sophie. Not only because she would do almost everything from the customers, but mainly because she does the right thing. She knows how important her friend’s wedding is, and no matter how much money is thrown at her, she won’t back down!
And even if her own boss is trying to push her to do the thing she won’t do, she decides she had enough and even dares to threaten exposure! Way to go girl!

But her strong character is also a bit in contrast with her more gentle side. This is made obvious when she is in her grandma’s house, empting it. Here we see a Sophie that truly adored her Grandma, shared a passion for crockery and tea – sets. And losing her Grandma was very painful for her…
The bond between Sophie and her Grandma Helena is something that truly warmed my heart. And seeing Sophie is left flabbergasted by Helena’s last gifts but also determined to make her dream come true…

While we know that there will be some romantic adventures for Sophie, this was for me more than just finding love for Sophie.
I was genuinely interested in where the tea – set came from, and why it was given to Sophie in such a hasted pace.
I found it great to read how a small and at first sight insignificant thing on the set would be the start of finding out the truth.

And reading about it, but also reading about young Helena and the choices she made in the past, was an delightful extra given by the author.
Because it would have been so easy for Julie Shackman to just keep the focus on Sophie and her shop, Xander being Xander and the arrival of an unexpected extra contender…

I knew this author from her other books and I knew I was love reading this next one, but I didn’t expect to be so enthralled by it! I felt Sophie’s passion grow through the story, but I also felt Sophie herself grow in the story. this surely isn’t a woman to mess with or use for you schemes!

This was a wonderful reading session (yes, singular!), showing me how beautiful an important tea –set can be, but also about making right choices, love, passion and even a legendary flower! And you’ll never know what the new adventure will bring on your path!