Tuesday, July 22, 2014

REVIEW: The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane (Life in Icicle Falls #5) by Sheila Roberts PLUS #GIVEAWAY!


Description:

After a fake food poisoning incident in L.A., Bailey Sterling's dreams of becoming a caterer to the stars collapse faster than a soufflé. Now Bailey's face is in all the gossip rags and her business is in ruins. But the Sterling women close ranks and bring her back to Icicle Falls, where she'll stay with her sister Cecily.



All goes well between the sisters until Bailey comes up with a new business idea—a tea shop on a charming street called Lavender Lane. She's going into partnership with Todd Black, who—it turns out—is the man Cecily's started dating. It looks to Cecily as if there's more than tea brewing in that cute little shop. And she's not pleased.



Wait! Isn't Cecily seeing Luke Goodman? He's a widower with an adorable little girl, and yes, Cecily does care about him. But Todd's the one who sends her zing-o-meter off the charts. So now what? Should you have to choose between your sister and the man you love (or think you love)?


My Take:
4 Stars
Just like this book description reads, Todd makes Bailey's 'zing-o-meter' go off the charts, don't let this cover fool you into thinking this book doesn't have some heat to it! (No, it's clean, but there IS some heat in Icicle Falls! LOL!)
This was my first time reading about life in Icicle Falls, and I enjoyed it, (brrrr! Kind of chilly there with that name! Just kidding! Like I said, quite the opposite!) but one thing in the beginning didn't make sense to me, and this very well could have been the fact that this is Book 5 in the series, and this is my very first Life in Icicle Falls book.
In the very beginning, I really didn't understand why when there was a fake food poisoning Bailey automatically thought it was 'her fault', packed up as fast as she could, and flew out of the event? Who knows why that woman started choking and acting like an idiot for. Even Bailey wondered if it could have been an allergic reaction, so why did Bailey think it was something 'she' caused? Did she have that little confidence in herself to completely ruin her business because that IS what she thought she did? Hmmm? Or, this could have just been a subconscious reason to take herself back home to Icicle Falls to live with her sister Cecily until she can get on her own feet there?
Cecily is dating Todd, and Bailey and Todd have lunch together about deciding to go into business together, Cecily sees them having lunch, and another sister loses her confidence in herself and she dumps this boyfriend? Cecily found fear in that lunch for some reason and gets very upset at her sister. She takes her anger out on her because she feels threatened by Bailey and Todd's business partnership, which Cecily manages to forget that is what their relationship is about, and not against Cecily. What Cecily just did was force Todd into the arms of Bailey because they do start dating! Now Cecily and Bailey are not getting along at all. Again, here is where I might not know something about these characters and their lack of self confidence? I thought Cecily should have given it time, time to find out what was really going on between the two
What I loved the most about this book was the fact that when the Tea Shop opened and Bailey thought Cecily was not going to come to the Grand Opening that Cecily finally does come at the very, very end. Despite everything, they made up and decided that nothing would ever come between them ever again, and it's always family that comes first.
Like flawed characters, people are like this in real life, too, which is why reading this book was still very enjoyable even if I did have a few questions about things.
I think Icicle Falls is a great place to live, have family, and work, and I wouldn't mind living there for a while again in another book! I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Harlequin MIRA, and NetGalley, in exchange to read and write a review about it. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to do so, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it and giving my own honest opinion no matter whether it is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html., The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.

***If you would like to win my copy of this book which I took extra special care of while reading, please leave a comment below with your name and email (creatively so the robots can't pick it up. For example, for my email, I would write it like this: laurieis reading at g mail dot com. Just get creative! Good luck! Giveaway entries will run until July 31st!


15 comments:

  1. Melanie S
    melanieinoh2003 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melane,
      Thanks for leaving a comment about The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts! Nice to have you here!
      Thanks again!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  2. Thank you for the great review :)
    bubacka07 at outlook dot com
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bube,
      You are welcome! Thanks for the compliment and you are welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the review about The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  3. I like being creative. thanks for the great post. Debby
    debby236 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Debby!
      I'm glad you liked my review about The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts! Great book! Surely will keep you busy reading for a while! GREAT summer read!
      Thanks so much!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  4. Sounds like a really cute book! robin(dot)christofaro(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Robin!
      Yes, The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane was a very enjoyable book! It will keep you busy for a little while this summer if you are looking for good summer reads! I really enjoyed it!
      Thanks again!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  5. I love the cover, makes me want to take it home with me.
    sou fan iehs at g mail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Zonell!
      Thanks for coming by the blog! I'm glad this book The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts looks good to you! I think you'll like it! It will be a good summer read for you! In the meantime, enjoy what you're reading now! Thanks again for stopping by!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  6. Yes please, this sounds wonderful.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary!
      Great to see you again! I'm glad you like the three different prizes/3 separate winners, too, for the giveaway of the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop! The cover is beautiful and inviting, too, huh! Thanks for coming by!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  7. This book sounds great!
    the.delrae(at ) gmail (dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi readstolive!
      I'm SO glad you stopped by to enter to win The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts! Thanks for coming by the blog! I wish you luck!
      Laurie at http://www.lauriehere.com

      Delete
  8. I have enjoyed visiting Icicle Falls in the past and the tea shop sounds lovely! Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete

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