Thank you, Berkley Books, for the gifted copy of Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop!

Genre: Romance
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 8.4.2020
Star Rating: ☆☆.5

I was in the mood for a romance so I decided to pick this one up after it's been on my shelf for a while. I chose to go the audiobook route as I had a lot of work to do around the house. There were definitely aspects of this story that were entertaining and kept me interested, but overall it seemed to be all over the place.

For starters, the characters seemed to be one dimensional and were hard to find any connection to. The communication was lacking and it made it hard to find anyone to really root for or to look forward to hearing from while reading. There were too many instances of conflicts being resolved too quickly and in ways that didn't even make sense.

I do think that the author has a lot of potential and I look forward to reading more, but overall this just wasn't my cup of tea.

I liked the magical realism parts of this book - the prophecies and red threads, and Vanessa was likeable enough, though Aunt Evelyn bugged me at times. The Paris setting felt like another character, and the large Asian family with busybody aunties is always fun. I finished it thinking I'd read a sequel about Vanessa as a matchmaker so I guess that's a pretty good recommendation to read it.!

This is the first book I read by Roselle Lim and while I enjoyed it, I think the writing style just wasn’t for me. Still a cute read that had me rooting for the main character though! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Tea is magical! I love gifting special sets and my favorite is David’s Tea. Next special event will include a copy of this oh so fun read with it! Vanessa is a tea leaf reader but finds this ability more burden than gift and travels to try to leave it behind her. While this may seem like a light read, the insights Vanessa and her family illustrate on life provide the perfect balance of depth. Highly recommend this book and author!

[Looking to tie up loose feedback ends on my NG profile.]

Received this book over Netgalley in order to interview Roselle about it on my podcast. The recording was published as episode 17 and can be found at http://wormholepodcast.com

Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop had a great premise - a woman who feels cursed by her ability to see the future is whisked away to Paris to study fortune telling in her aunt's tea shop, and find a love of her own.

Unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the writing. The plot was slowed by overlong descriptions of food and scenery and I really wanted more tension and build-up in Vanessa's romantic storyline. I also felt that Vanessa's character needed a bit more of an arc, and just didn't see that for her.

I always enjoy Roselle Lim's novels where I get to learn about cultures different than my own while also reading about yummy foods! Lim's touch of magical realism added to the story sets her apart in this genre.

This was a fun book with a fun setting. I loved both California and Paris and I thought the sense of place the author gave the book was great. I thought the storyline as fun and original and I really enjoyed it.

Vanessa Yu can see people’s fortunes—or, as she believes, their misfortunes. It is not a gift she wanted and she sees it more as a curse and hindrance. On top of that, her love life is nonexistent and her family will not stop meddling in her affairs. They even hired a matchmaker from Shanghai who told Vanessa’s aunts that she was hopeless and would never find a match. When her eccentric aunt with similar clairvoyant abilities asks her to come to Paris to help her with her new tea shop, Vanessa is hesitant, but her aunt promises to teach her how to use and control her abilities. As Vanessa and her aunt grow closer, she lets go of some of her resistance and opens up to the help her aunt help her. She discovers her aunt had once been in love but that the relationship ended badly. It soon becomes clear to Vanessa that her aunt’s lost love is in Paris as well and she sets out to find a way to bring them together. Because if they can be reunited, perhaps she will be able to hold onto love as well and fates can be changed.

This was such a charming story and I loved getting to know Vanessa and her Aunt Evelyn. There are lots of descriptions of food too! Vanessa does meet someone who is quite charming and wins her heart as he shows her the sights in Paris. He struggles with his own issues though, as Vanessa will soon discover. I actually liked that bit of reality thrown in with this otherwise sweet tale. I loved Vanessa and her aunts and getting to see Paris through her eyes. I also like the way things wrapped up in the end.

I became interested in this title after watching an interview with this author. From the way she described the book, I just knew I would enjoy it! Such a unique premise - being able to see people's fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. This book made me want tea!

This was a cute and fun read! I needed something light in between some heavier reads and it totally fit the bill. Vanessa has been able to see people's fortunes in tea leaves ever since she can remember, and this is a gift she never wanted. So she switches to coffee which doesn't seem to help, and her own love lift is a glorious disaster. Her parents enlist the help of a matchmaking expert from Shanghai and after her first appointment, Vanessa sees death for the first time and freaks her out a bit. Her Aunt Vanessa presents her with an offer she can't refuse, and so Vanessa leaves California to spend a summer in Paris and it is an adventure to say the least.

I loved where the story went, loved Vanessa's journey, her screw ups and how she learned from her mistakes. Her relationship with her Aunt Vanessa was my favorite, but I also loved how she called her mom when she really needed to sort through her thoughts. This was such an enjoyable read and I definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

Having read Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune and LOVED it, I was so thrilled to read another book by Roselle.

Vanessa found out as a young girl that she was a clairvoyant. She had tried with her Aunt Evelyn's assistance to hone the gift once with no success. After making a disaster prediction, Vanessa realizes, she can no longer fight learning more about her gift and how to properly use it. Going with her Aunt Evelyn to Paris, Vanessa vows to get a hold on her visions and will also be helping her Aunt Evelyn in the opening of her tea shop there. While Vanessa finds in Paris is more than she bargained for--including a sexy pastry chef, a city that entices her at every turn and a secret that her Aunt Evelyn has been keeping from the entire family.

I, yet again, loved the imagery in this. The world that Roselle painted was so vividly beautiful. I've always kind of been like, eh, Paris, who needs to go there? But I kind of want to go there now and I blame it on her. She made it seem very romantic and vibrant. Plus way to speak to a fellow foodie's heart. I mean, really. Plus, the way that Vanessa and her aunt saw things with their gift, it did really have it's own magic, which you couldn't help but be mesmerized by.

I feel like Vanessa is all of us single women in some regard? Like wanting a love that we can't seem to find. At least Vanessa had the ability to help others find love.

I loved the family aspect of this so much. The characterization of everyone felt so true and it really lent to the story. You kind of wanted to know how things were progressing for each character as the story went along. It shows how each little pivotal piece made a difference to how the story was built.

Where is my Marc? I mean, Austen hero-like aspects here. I just.... unfair. I loved him. Flaws and all.

I think my only kind of like moment of, okay, this worked out? Is I felt like things were a little odd with Marc post accident? And Vanessa didn't ask a lot of questions. The whole, "I'm working a lot" wasn't a good excuse and Vanessa didn't entirely put the two and two together.

Thank you, thank you Roselle for another enchanting story. I loved this a lot. Thank for the ARC.

Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop is a heart-warming, laugh out loud book that is the perfect companion while we wait for the world to reopen and resume our own travels to Paris. Filled with charming characters, fantastic descriptions of food, and twists and turns, this is sure to be a winner. Ultimately, what makes this book so great is the message that arises as Vanessa tries to find where she fits in. Instead of going along with what others expect, you can shape your own destiny.

Vanessa can predict and see people's fortunes at the bottom of their cups. Unlike her Aunt Evelyn who embraces the same gift, Vanessa sees it as a curse. She even stopped drinking tea but her gift is strong. Her Aunt Evelyn offers to teach Vanessa how to control her gift but she has to go with her to Paris and help her with her tea shop.

The writing is captivating! I loved the food description, art references, the magical elements, and the family dynamic. The romance between Vanessa and her love interest fell short for me. I also felt like I didn't get to know him and even forgot about him until he showed up again. I thought Aunt Evelyn's romance story overshadowed theirs. Overall, I enjoyed this one more than Natalie Tan. Also, fair warning. Don't read this book if you're hungry.

This was such a cute and quirky read! Vanessa was such an interesting character and I absolutely adored the setting of Paris. A perfect read for summer!

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Vanessa Yu has the ability to see people’s fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. This is not necessarily a good thing, she finds. And her family members are concerned that she’ll never find a husband, so they hire a matchmaker.
Aunt Evelyn, who has a tea shop in Paris, offers Vanessa the chance to come stay with her for several weeks. All Vanessa wants to do is rid herself of her “gift,” and Paris seems to be as good as any a place to do that.
But while there, she discovers the good part of her gift, and that one can change the destiny seen in the tea leaves.

This was SO cute and the perfect escape in these trying times. I can't wait for more from Roselle Lim - I've loved everything she's written!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was a cute romantic story set in Paris, but I didn't love it.

This review originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of SFRevu.

I was drawn to review Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop because I enjoy a good cup of tea as well as wondering just how a story about someone's magical tea shop in Paris would play out. First, the Paris tea shop belongs to Vanessa's Aunt Evelyn. The tea shop is only magical in that it is a beautifully serene oasis filled with the scents of a delightful array of teas. What is magical, in a way, is that Vanessa has flashes of precognition and her Aunt Evelyn is an accomplished clairvoyant.

Vanessa had her first prediction at age three when she looked into a cup of tea. Her Aunt Evelyn began to train her on how to use her talent, but Vanessa fought her training and finally just refused to continue. That didn't stop the visions or the painful headaches that resulted afterward. Vanessa saw the visions as a curse, not a gift, and wanted to be rid of them. Her family revered having members with such talents which made things even more difficult.

Finally, after a particularly upsetting prediction, Vanessa begged her Aunt Evelyn to train her; promising not to quit this time. Aunt Evelyn was going to Paris to open a tea shop and offered to have Vanessa join her. Vanessa would have some training, help in the tea shop, and then be free to explore Paris.

In Paris, Vanessa learned that there were hidden depths and secrets swirling about her aunt. Love was in the air as one would expect in Paris--the city of romance.

So, while the book was not exactly what I expected, it had some wonderful well-developed characters, interesting observations on people, life, and love as well as some surprising bits of magic mixed into a tale of regret, family expectations, acceptance, and love. I enjoyed the story far more than I thought I would and the running thread of clairvoyance and prediction along with the discussions of responsibility--gift or curse--were thought-provoking.

I'll add a warning to readers, be sure to eat a hearty meal prior to reading because food in all its taste, texture, scent, and luscious description are throughout the story. Vanessa Yu and her entire family love food, and not just any food, but food lovingly prepared and presented. I spent a good portion of my time wishing I could rush to a great restaurant for a meal, or trying to remember just what ingredients I had on hand to make a memorable meal.