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A review by zeemonodee
The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin
4.0
4.5 stars
If I had to use a book to illustrate what 'armchair travelling' is, then this is surely the one I would brandish. I've never been to Japan, but reading this book, it felt like I was there - I saw the places, smelled the scents, experienced the bustling and also the calm, everything this 'other' world had to offer. I'm late coming to this series, and to Julie Caplin books in general, and if the other books are anything like this one, then I'm sure to be in for a treat.
I also loved the depth and complexity given to the characters. Fiona felt so real and had issues anyone could relate with, I suppose - he fraught relationship with her mother struck a chord with me, adding a further dimension to her. Haruka's family in Japan felt like people I came to know personally, and I would really like to sit down with them for tea one day.
The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is because of the hero, Gabe. Could that man have been more complicated and torn? I really didn't like what he put Fiona through all through the book; I didn't want him to get the girl...but she would've been happy just with him, though, and the ending rather saved him from being labeled 'jerk alert'.
A beautiful tale - read it for the absolute sheer escapism, and as a sort of women's fiction so as to focus on Fiona's journey and transformation and not just on the romance between her and Gabe.
If I had to use a book to illustrate what 'armchair travelling' is, then this is surely the one I would brandish. I've never been to Japan, but reading this book, it felt like I was there - I saw the places, smelled the scents, experienced the bustling and also the calm, everything this 'other' world had to offer. I'm late coming to this series, and to Julie Caplin books in general, and if the other books are anything like this one, then I'm sure to be in for a treat.
I also loved the depth and complexity given to the characters. Fiona felt so real and had issues anyone could relate with, I suppose - he fraught relationship with her mother struck a chord with me, adding a further dimension to her. Haruka's family in Japan felt like people I came to know personally, and I would really like to sit down with them for tea one day.
The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is because of the hero, Gabe. Could that man have been more complicated and torn? I really didn't like what he put Fiona through all through the book; I didn't want him to get the girl...but she would've been happy just with him, though, and the ending rather saved him from being labeled 'jerk alert'.
A beautiful tale - read it for the absolute sheer escapism, and as a sort of women's fiction so as to focus on Fiona's journey and transformation and not just on the romance between her and Gabe.