A review by albyatross
Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I think my expectations of this book might have dampened my score of it because I remember loving Natalie Tan's story when I read it years ago. And this felt weaker than the first novel. 

The food descriptions are beautiful though, and the setting is a cute, romanticized version of Paris. 

I expected the touches of magic / surrealism from the first book, but if you're expecting a fully grounded in reality contemporary book, this won't fit that bill. 

But I wish ...
that one of the main plot points was a character decision and not just a "well this HAS to happen now for the sake of the plot" moment. 

Also the "third act break up" that appears in many rom-coms occurs approx. 30 pages from the end in this, so the turn around felt incredible rushed to me. It does land on HFN though.


I'm glad a read it, but I'm not sure I'll pick up the third book. 
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