The Tea Chest (Josephine Moon, A&U)

Five unlikely women have to work together to make a boutique tea shop work and flourish. Simone has left her two Australian tea shops, and the plans for another branch in London, to her financial backer and stepsister Judy and to tea designer Kate. Rather than sell out her share to Judy, Kate and her husband decide she should follow her passion and open the first international Tea Chest shop in London. Kate takes along Leila, whom she has rescued from unemployment, and they soon meet Elizabeth and her sister Victoria. The four women work together, battling construction companies run by unscrupulous operators, the 2011 London riots and all manner of personal issues to get the shop up and running. Judy is a kind of shadowy figure, supposedly a helpful associate, but at times seeming almost like an adversary. There is a lot of jumping around in this book: jumping from character to character, as the different women take turns narrating, and jumping between time periods, as the back stories for each of the characters are slowly revealed. This requires a certain amount of concentration, but the rewards are worth it—the story is fascinating and I found it difficult to put the book down. And while the ending seems almost too neat, it’s also lovely to read a book that turns out well. The Tea Chest will appeal to readers of commercial women’s fiction of all ages—especially those who love a good cup of tea!

Jessica Broadbent is a qualified librarian who prefers hot chocolate over tea

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews