I loved the author’s debut novel, The Crescent Moon Tearoom. I was excited to read this sequel, but sadly I didn’t love it. There wasn’t the novelty of the situation this time around – the three witch sisters, the magical tearoom, the house which is a main character itself – but there were two problems for me. Firstly, the story itself didn’t grip me. It seemed quite vague and tame compared to the first book. I liked the continuation of the self-discovery theme, but the plot involved more of the same from before, regarding an uncompleted magical task. There was more romance too than I’d expected. Secondly, the writing style really got on my nerves. The author is very fond of using the same expressions, such as brows furrowing or pinching together, voices being ‘laced’ with various tones, murmuring, lingering, fingers or hands wrapped around things, gazes snapping. I get annoyed by the details in writing, rather than swept away by the characters. Why does everyone sip their piping hot tea as soon as it’s been poured? This happens in TV and films too. If your drink is very hot, you leave it a bit, you don’t drink it straight away, or do these witches have scald-resistant mouths? Finally, the cat wasn’t in the book very much, which was disappointing.

In summary, this felt like more of the same, but not as bewitching. If there are any more sequels, I won’t be reading them.

Published by Zaffre, 2025.