Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. I am bringing you my review of Tea and Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher, my favourite read of May. Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Blurb/Synopsis:
A tea leaf reader in nineteenth-century England falls in love—and in danger—with a reclusive alchemist in an enthralling historical fantasy by the author of Salt & Broom and Grimm Curiosities.
Cornwall, 1854. The people of Roche have always whispered about the recluse in the black granite tower that looms above the moorland. But one young woman is driven to discover the truth behind the old tales.
Her life overshadowed by family tragedy, Mina Penrose escapes her lonely days by working at The Magpie, a cozy tearoom on the village’s edge. Lately she’s been seeing shapes in the sodden leaves that hint at the future. After one such omen, Mina stumbles upon a murdered man on the heath. Villagers immediately suspect Harker Tregarrick, a living, breathing mystery who never ventures beyond the bounds of his centuries-old estate.
Until the day after the murder, when the handsome and compelling recluse visits The Magpie…leading to a meeting that will change both their fates. Captivated by a man around whom danger and rumors of death swirl, Mina has never felt more alive. Can she uncover Harker’s heartbreaking history—and the truth about the murder—before tragedy strikes again?
My Review:
I was first drawn to this book because it sounded different to anything I had read before and I do enjoy books that have a slightly gothic feel to them. I liked the introduction of tea leaf reading. It is hard to talk about this book without spoiling anything, but you get introduced to a bunch of intriguing characters, and they all have their own secrets which slowly get revealed alongside the main mystery. I honestly spent the whole book on the edge of my seat, unable to trust anyone and unsure how everything could possibly come together in any semblance of happiness. The only thing I was unsure on was the Cornwall links, I live down by Cornwall and parts about the dialect and the language was a little grating but that was only a small issue.
If you enjoy gothic mysteries then this book is definitely for you.
Home | The Blind Scribe 