Sometimes, a magical quest is needed to find love…

Synopsis

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 review

Mickey Teasdale is running her quaint curiosity shop that she once had with her father. In fact it was her father that passed on his passion for little and big things that are looking to be loved again. However, no matter how much Mickey loves imagining the past of the objects, and who used to own them, the store isn’t attracting that many customers. In fact, people are even a bit scared to enter the shop. Until teenager Ava discovers the shop and sees it as a real treasure cove! Mickey and Ava immediately connect, which cannot be said of Mickey and Ava’s father, Ren. Ren cannot stand chaos, clutter and mess, and cannot understand how Mickey can run a shop the way she does. However, Ren would do anything to see Ava smile, especially after everything they have been through. So when Ava and Mickey find a secret diary, and believe it belonged to an actual mermaid, Ren is ready to indulge in their fantasies, but Ren also wants to protect Ava from any disappointment and another heartbreak. Heartbreak that Ren himself tries to avoid himself, yet he cannot deny that ever since meeting Mickey, something has changed. But can Fairytale Mickey and  Grumpy Ren have their happily ever after? Because those endings only happen in fairytales, right?

Part of growing up, is learning to no longer believer in fairytales. And as a woman at the end of her thirties, I no longer believe in those stories about Prince Charming, a Beast, mermaids etc. However, since I started reading the Ever After Street Series, it has made me long for the time I believed in fairytales, and while not exactly the stories being fairytales, I loved the connection, the link each story has with a famous fairytale.

This time, the wonderful author that Jaimie Admans is, takes us to the world of mermaids, on a journey not only for Mickey and Ava as a real adventure, but also on an emotional journey.

My heart went out to Mickey, right from the start of the book. She and her dad were very close, as it has been just the two of them for a long time. And running the shop was something they both loved doing, together as a united pair.

Ever since losing her dad, it makes sense that Mickey feels a bit lost. And that sense of lost clearly also shows in her shop. While on one hand, I liked it how Mickey makes up stories about each object she acquires, on the other hand it is also a coping mechanism of her. It’s obvious that not everything has a real value, not even an emotional one, but accumulating things is what is working for her; even if it comes at the cost of having a messy shop.

But beside her heartache, it is clear what a great character Mickey is. She is genuine, honest, open and truly kind – hearted. I liked it how she in a way is also free – spirited. And I don’t mean that she walks around with her head in the clouds, but more that she isn’t afraid of being her genuine self. Something that perhaps more people should do and be!

What I loved the most about Mickey, is her immediate bond with Ava. Being in your teens is not easy, and it’s difficult to find out who you are. It’s also a difficult age, because you are still young enough for some things, but too old for others. And Ava shows all those struggles. At times she acts like a little young adult, not wanting to be seen with her dad, and at other, she is mesmerized by the thought that mermaids could be real.

Despite the difference in age that there obviously is between Mickey and Ava, they just connect. Mickey is like Ava’s big sister, giving her advice and help, while Ava makes Mickey see and find what she has lost.

The contrast between Mickey and Ren couldn’t be any bigger. Ren cannot stand any clutter. He lives in a world of order, calm and quiet. And Mickey’s world is anything but that.

Ren is obviously closed off. He would do anything for Ava, but he won’t let anyone back in his life or his heart. And it takes some time to understand exactly why he is this way, because the potential is obviously there. We see him as a caring and loving dad, but also a bit an overbearing dad, too strict at times. But being a parent is a journey filled by trial and error, right?

And what has happened with Ava’s mother, how her actions affected both Ren and Ava, can you blame father and daughter for being scar(r)ed?

For the readers, it’s obvious what a great mismatch Ren and Mickey would be. Opposites attract, and they for sure show. But it isn’t only a matter of opposites attracting, but mainly about learning from each other.

Because slowly, Mickey, with the help and presence of Ren, understands that her way of living, is more a way of surviving, in a wrong way. The mess in her shop is showing the mess in her mind and in her heart. And Ren learns from Mickey that it’s okay to let go, to act on the spur of the moment, to be spontaneous.

Of course this doesn’t happen overnight, and there is some clashing, but not only Ava is holding them together, but also the mysterious diary.

And that diary needs a mention on its own. Because just like Mickey and Ren, I was enthralled by it. While I know that mermaids aren’t real, I could understand the want to believe. The diary for sure is mysterious, and it had raised several questions also from my side.

In a way, it felt like we had two stories for the price of one. And I loved reading, exploring and discovering the both of them. The author managed perfectly to grasp the wonderful world of fairytales, but keeping it very realistic, never going over the top like the tales we are all familiar with. She took the essence of the fairytale, gave it a modern twist to them, turning it into a wonderful, sweet, heartwarming modern romance story. What more can a romantic like me wish for? 😊