Nothing is more dangerous than a witch with secrets . . .

Dorothy Louise Walcott is a timid young woman. Twenty-three, chronically ill and over-educated, she dreams ceaselessly of running away from her drab existence to learn magic. But, in her country, the use of magic is strictly prohibited to all but an esteemed few.

In a moment of uncharacteristic bravery, Dot flees her dreary hometown and journeys to the capital, Alliaster, a city where spirits play cards with kings. She tumbles headfirst into an apprenticeship with the witch Theodora. Empress of an underground syndicate peddling magic from the quaint fa ade of her tea shop, Theodora is everything Dot wants to be: beautiful, witty, confident.

But the enigmatic Theodora is also hiding secrets. When her dark past comes calling, it threatens to drown the witch's empire, and take Dot, the tea shop and the city of Alliaster with it.

Theodora's Tea Shop is a dark and dazzling fantasy novel from the wondrous new Australian novelist, Christy Anne Jones.