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.

Of course, you have to love the setting of Paris.  Also, a great change using Chinese tea as a main part.  Very different, fun and makes you want to read her next book!!

An amazing read!!  i felt as if I was walking alongside the characters they felt so real to me!! I cannot wait to see what Roselle Lim does for an encore!!

In Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim, Vanessa can see the future. Sometimes. Usually unreliably and without specificity. If she catches a glimpse of the beverage someone has been drinking, a prediction will burst forth unbidden and unexpected. It may be a nice thing, like winning the lottery, but in most cases it is disappointing or traumatic information that Vanessa has no way of controlling. It should be easier for her, but when she was a child she gave up on the lessons with her Aunt Evelyn who has the same gift. When life isn't working out the way she'd like and the predictions are causing more and more trouble, Vanessa agrees to accompany Evelyn to Paris where she is opening a new tea shop in hopes that she can resume her lessons.

This was a cute, easy read and more of a romance than I had anticipated. Magical Realism is one of my favorite fun genres and this one fits squarely in that category. There were, however, a few things that bugged me. First of all, the title is too long. The Magical Paris Tea Shop would have been better. And then as you read the book, you discover that maybe even that would be a misnomer. Also, I'm all for adding texture by including all five senses, but the amount of time the author spent describing gourmet foods didn't match with this plot very well, as if it was just something fun to add, but not really necessary. And finally the love interest is, in my opinion, too flawed. I won't get into why for fear of spoiling it for you. 

Luckily for me, this book came at just the right time when a light, fluffy novel was just what I needed. These are stressful times so if you are also in need of this kind of read, may I recommend this one?

Vanessa has an usual ability: she can see people's futures and is compelled to tell them what she sees. She tries to avoid getting close to people since telling someone that their boyfriend will cheat or their mother will die from cancer tends to end relationships. When her over-invested family invites a matchmaker to find Vanessa's true love, she discovers that she will never find lasting love because of her gift of seeing the future. Desperate for answers, she travels to Paris to stay with her Aunt Evelyn, who also has the gift of seeing the future. Evelyn seems to have a perfect life--she is chic, owns a beautiful tea shop, and follows all the rules of being a clairvoyant. But Vanessa and Evelyn are about to discover that when it come to love and seeing the future, sometimes they have to make their own rules. 

Vanessa and her story fell a bit flat for this reader. Roselle Lim writes with the kind of easy charm that we love to see in contemporary romance, but the characters felt like archetypes. Vanessa is entirely passive within her own life, her family members aren't distinctive, and the man she meets in Paris seems almost too good to be true. However, the irresistible descriptions of amazing food in both San Francisco and Paris might be enough for the reader who loves both a tasty treat and a happy ending.

By far my favorite thing about this book was the food. If you read this one, prepare to be hungry! Sadly, as much as I wanted this to be a win, it just didn't quite do it for me. I had a hard time feeling invested in the characters and found the story to be a little all over the place.

Roselle does it again with this sweet and magical romantic tale. This is heartwarming, fun & makes you smile!

This is such a fun book and the Chinese tea shop in Paris is a delightful setting! I especially love the character of the aunt who owns the shop. I hope Lim will write a book centered on her!

Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop
By Roselle Lim

What is it about books with Paris in the title that I navigate to and just absolutely want to read. This one is no exception and such a fun read too! Reading a previous book by Roselle Lim, I know that I would be in it for some swoon full of romance,  and a magical adventure. Lim does not disappoint and delivers in this amazing story that whisked me away to an entertaining adventure through Paris. 

When you can see the future is that a gift or a curse? Vanessa "Van" is able to foresee the future and blurt out these information at the most uncanny times. She works as an accountant and forces herself to look at life as an observer to prevent causing trouble to others. Until aunt Evelyn comes to turn her life around and asks Van to help her out in opening her tea shop in Paris. 

Lim's writing is always so fun and refreshing. She brings a huge smile to my face as I relate to her stories and the myriads of aunties that abound. I love her stories about love and family, while also spinning it into a magical story.

I really enjoyed this read.

Last year I read and liked Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune, so when they opportunity came up to read and review Roselle Lim’s Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop, I knew I had to take it. I was genuinely excited about Lim’s sophomore, sweet romance, and not only because she’s a Canadian author. I really thought I’d enjoy the next foray into her type of magical realism with a Filipino-Chinese twist, and I was right.

If you are expecting a sequel to Natalie Tan’s story, then you might be disappointed, but if you go into the novel knowing that the crossover into the world Lim created in her first book will be limited to a focus on Evelyn Yu, her family, including the main character Vanessa, and a brief mention of the dumpling restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown, which is a nod to Natalie’s restaurant, then you’ll be happy indeed.

Even though it isn’t a sequel, there are similarities. First, food is once again written as though it were another character. Lim goes out of her way to explore the sights, smells, and tastes of the food that Vanessa samples both in Palo Alto and Paris. Vanessa isn’t a chef. In fact, she’s inept in the kitchen. However, she is a self-described foodie, and it shows. Second, as with her first novel, the main character is mentored by an elder—this time it’s her Auntie Evelyn Yu. Instead of learning the art of running a restaurant, Vanessa is meant to learn how to control her fortune-telling abilities from Evelyn who is an expert, but also someone with whom the niece has conflicting feelings...at least when it comes to their shared, genetic ability to see the future of other people. As in her previous novel, there is a small Montreal connection. Finally, it is a slow burn romance with magical elements, and as with Lim’s first novel, it stays on the sweet side.

Vanessa Yu has never wanted to see anyone’s future—no matter whether it’s positive or negative—in tea leaves. To avoid blurting our these prophecies, she switched to coffee, but nevertheless, when she least expects it, fortunes find a way of escaping her mouth and ruining people’s lives. To add to this plight, her romance life is so nonexistent that her ma and aunties hire a matchmaking expert from Shanghai. When she foretells death for the first time, Vanessa decides she can’t live until she finds a way to get rid of or control her abilities. Auntie Evelyn makes the tempting offer to whisk her away to Paris to help her with her gift. There, Vanessa learns more about herself and the root of her gifts and realizes one thing to be true: knowing one’s destiny isn’t a curse, but being unable to change it is.

As one can expect, there is a lot of tension in this novel between Vanessa and many other characters, including her Auntie Evelyn and Marc, Auntie Evelyn Girard Renaud, and even between Auntie Evelyn and the city of Paris, which goes a long way toward driving the plot. Given the current state of events in the world, I appreciated, in particular, the way the tension played out between Evelyn and the surrounding community in Paris because it goes beyond the person to reflect the false accusations against her business, which hinge on nationalistic and racist ideologies. This conflict is timely and addresses the way hatred and suspicion can easily grow bigger and bigger until it becomes impossible to quell.

However, the best thing about this book was the magic. The way Vanessa’s predictions force themselves out of her mouth with the taste of a particular food accompanying them is unexpected as is the way this changes once she develops more control over her skills. However, this isn’t the only magical element of Vanessa Yu’s story. The way the wind or a kaleidoscope of butterflies shows the characters where they ought to be or what they ought to do is really special. Moreover, the idea of being able to see a red thread tying people who love one another together is really beautiful, though that the opposite—that there are some people without a red thread who are destined to be alone—is really sad unless there is a way to change one’s fate or destiny over the course of one’s lifetime. However, you’ll need to read the book yourself to find out how all the magic and drama plays out.

Whether you loved Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune or are new to her magical and sweet romances, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop should be on your TBR!

4.25/5 stars!

When Vanessa Yu made her first fortune-telling at the age of three, she had hated that she had this power. After one fortune-telling of the bride at her cousin's wedding, she decided she needed help from her aunt, the other person with the same power. By going to Paris to continue her lessons, Vanessa encounters love, revelation, and secrets from her aunt's past that brings an epiphany and change for herself and her outlook in life

I enjoyed this book because of the heroine's self-discovery, the descriptions of scrumptious food, family dynamics, and romance. I would have liked some more details of certain characters and the future of a set of siblings in relation to a certain situation. Overall, the book has a nice vibe and I look forward to more Roselle Lim books.

**Thanks to the publisher and Harlequin Junkie for the copy.**

This was definitely the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump. A story that features my favorite things? Yes, please sign me up. It has magic, food, Paris, and a story about a young woman who's trying to find herself. It's also got a little bit of romance, a smidgen of mystery, and of course there's some magical powers.

The descriptions and usage of food in this book was drool-worthy. I found myself craving one thing after another especially when Vanessa's vision came with an olfactory effect. Mmm Korean BBQ with a side of "you're going to cross paths with your one true love" kinda feeling.

Paris was also a huge component in this story and I loved the various trips around the town. It reminded me so much of Paris and how much I loved walking down the rues with a book and a baguette I'm going to devour by myself. If you're wistful for travel especially during the pandemic, then this will definitely transport you to Paris.

What I truly appreciated from this novel was the incorporation of psychic powers, fortune telling, clairvoyance and how it relates to the Chinese culture. I'm Korean American, but I've been told all my life that my family has a gift passed down from generation to generation. It's a psychic ability and while this might sound weird, it's definitely a huge component of our culture. Seeing it written in a story was truly magical especially how it's incorporated into the story. I loved that it was a prominent feature than just something to mention and never do anything with.

I think the only issue I had with this story was that there wasn't a clear focus. There were many different components to the story and for some part of it, it moved in a linear motion. But as the story progressed, there were more and more things being introduced and some things were falling off. I can see where Roselle Lim was going with the story, but keeping up with everything happening as it was happening was a little too much for me. 

Overall, such a good read when you need a little break from the world. It's not a romance novel, but it was definitely filled with emotion and heart.

Set in the City of Lights, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop is an absolute delight of a book because what’s not to love about a romantic love story that’s told through rose-tinted lens? And knowing how much I loved Roselle Lim’s debut novel, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop checked all the right boxes for me. From exploring her heroine’s Asian heritage to the incredibly sumptuous descriptions of decadent desserts, I was salivating and swooning over the romance of Vanessa’s Parisian love story.

However, a conventional love story, it was not. What kept me engaged throughout the book was that Vanessa didn’t let her fate, or destiny or whatever you call it, determine her love story. She challenged the hands of fate by owning her own destiny and ultimately finding love all the while doing a bit of matchmaking on her own! Aside from that, the thing that held the story together so beautifully was the bond that Vanessa and her Aunt Evelyn had, which developed wonderfully throughout the book as Vanessa learned more about her aunt and their shared gifts.

From mouthwatering descriptions of food, heartwarming family dynamics and a generous helping of romance that got me a wee bit swoonworthy in the end, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop is a sweet morsel that you will devour as it perfectly balances the intricacies of finding love, being proud of your Asianness and the splendour of Paris. I fell in love with Roselle Lim’s debut novel because of her lyrical and poetic writing and in similar fashion, Vanessa’s Parisian adventures were woven with her sublime writing that ignited my wanderlust.

THIS ONE WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN! I really liked the asian rep in this one, the paris scenery, and how it wasn't entirely romance but focusing on our main female character's family issues and her own magical powers. She acted super childish at times so it annoyed me that she couldn't just accept that she has powers but I can also see it being frustrating a lot when you have to have visions all the time. Adorable romance and aunt storyline!

Paris! A tea shop! Decadent pastries! A touch of magic! It was all so charming and an absolute delight to sink into. Oddly enough, for being set in the city of romance, it was the main character's love story that I liked least about this book.

This is the perfect example of magical realism, with the base of a contemporary romance/women's fiction story with a few magical elements that swirled around the storyline to add flavor. I really enjoyed that premonitions were associated with food flavors and memories popped up to be witnessed with color changes. It was all very well down, making it seem like it was perfectly normal and expected to taste emotions and see memories.

This was not a bad book, it was ok in general but my take home message from the story is that I love all kinds of food, I need to go back to eat in Paris again and that I was perpetually hungry while reading this. The characters were ok, the plot was ok, the romance was ok...but the food was fantastic. And I fully support the important cure all of eating delicious treats that the characters use in the story. I will say that I was way more curious about the main character's mysterious magical aunt and her past/romantic encounters than I was invested in the main character and her romantic endeavors.

It would also be easy to say this is a love letter to the city of Paris and all the art that lives there. If you are a fan of that city or art in general you will probably have a greater appreciation for the story and all the intricate details of the art the book went into great detail about.

I totally went into this one blind and it was SO FUN!

Imagine you could read peoples futures just by the taste/smell of the food you are eating with them. Sounds like a win-win right? But there's a catch. No matter what the future shows you immediately blurt it out loud and can't hold it back.

No matter how awful. Or where you might be. Or who you might be with.

Cue the angry friends... the disrupted weddings... the hurt boyfriends.

Poor Vanessa's gift seems more like a curse. A curse that proves she is doomed to be alone, forever.

I thought this one was really cute. When she's sent to work with her Aunt in Paris at her tea shop so her Aunt can help her get a hold of her "gift" and use it to her advantage - a mystery is presented, family is tested, a new man enters, and there is SO MUCH FOOD.

I loved the bit of magic in this one and enjoyed most of the story - especially how Vanessa ends up... but had a few issues with the men. I didn't love them or their story arcs and wished they had been "better"... but we can't always have the perfect man I guess, right?!?

Very cute - looking forward to reading other buy this author!