Grab your passport and escape to a land of dazzling skycrapers, steaming bowls of comforting noodles, and a page-turning love story that will make you swoon!
For travel blogger Fiona, Japan has always been top of her bucket list so when she wins an all-expenses paid trip, it looks like her dreams are coming true.
Until she arrives in vibrant, bustling Tokyo and comes face-to-face with the man who broke her heart ten years ago, gorgeous photographer Gabe.
Fiona can’t help but remember the heartache of their last meeting but amidst the temples and clouds of soft pink cherry blossoms, can Fiona and Gabe start to see life – and each other – differently?
For travel blogger Fiona, Japan has always been top of her bucket list so when she wins an all-expenses paid trip, it looks like her dreams are coming true.
Until she arrives in vibrant, bustling Tokyo and comes face-to-face with the man who broke her heart ten years ago, gorgeous photographer Gabe.
Fiona can’t help but remember the heartache of their last meeting but amidst the temples and clouds of soft pink cherry blossoms, can Fiona and Gabe start to see life – and each other – differently?
I have very much enjoyed travelling virtually with books during this lock down period and this is another welcome addition to my visits. Fiona - a travel blogger has won an all expenses paid for trip to Japan to study/learn alongside a renowned photographer and she cannot wait.
However when she arrives, she is faced with the man who broke her heart and ruined her life many years earlier. The original teacher was unavailable so he is replaced with equally as famous Gabe. What Gabe doesn't know is that Fiona knows him, she is the girl he kissed many years ago.
On arriving in Japan we are met with a huge array of sites and sounds so vividly descried by Julie that it is a real impact on the senses. We are then taken to Fiona's hosts house were we meet such a delightful family of grandmother, mother and daughter. They are such a welcoming and warming family with big hearts and are big on respect. Fiona makes the perfect guest as respectful, wants to learn and is kind.
"It's a country of contrasts: flash, modern, innovative, ridiculously neon and technological, all of which resides alongside a deep appreciation and respect for art, culture, and tradition. I've never lived anywhere quite like it before."As Fiona starts to spend time with the family and Gabe we learn about the customs, traditions and food of Japan. We travel with Fiona and Gabe as they explore looking for the perfect shots for Fionas exhibition, visiting iconic landmarks and more local settings for experiences and food. As the pair travel - something between them changes from the fraught tension to a softening to something resembling something more.
I simply adored this, it was so in depth with its relationships, descriptions and accuracy i beilve (not that i have visited Japan but i have watched a lot of vlogs) Julie makes you feel that you really are experiencing everything the characters are. It had me craving ramen, a beer and tempura prawns. I wanted to sit and sip green tea to soothe myself and calm myself in nature.
Not only all this, it was a love story - and it was a great one, because as the reader you really were not sure wether it would develop, where it would go or last. It was such an enjoyable reading experience with characters that gave you feelings. Fiona, was strong, but shy, she was passionate and fiery but also wary too and i liked at times she was such a contradiction. Gabe was brooding, miserable and sad but underneath it all he was passionate and swoon worthy when he wasn't brooding.
Then we have Mayu, Haruka and Setsuko - a blend of western and tradition and we learnt so much from them about their history, the importance of traditions.
The Little Teashop in Tokyo is a virtually holiday that is a real experience, you can smell the food, hear the hustle and bustle mixed with the tranquil peace and your eyes are treated to all the sights. I honestly felt like i was there and this is what made it such an enjoyable reading experience.
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Jules
Wake announced at the age of ten that she planned to be a writer.
Along the way she was diverted by the glamorous world of PR and
worked on many luxury brands, taking journalists on press trips to
awful places like Turin, Milan, Geneva, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam
and occasionally losing the odd member of the press in an airport.
This proved fabulous training for writing novels as it provided her
with the opportunity to eat amazing food, drink free alcohol, hone
her writing skills on press releases and to research European cities
for her books.
She writes best-selling
warm-hearted contemporary fiction for HarperImpulse.
Under her pen name,
Julie Caplin, her thirteenth novel, The Little Teashop in Tokyo will
be published in ebook and paperback this June.
Social Media Links –
Twitter @JulieCaplin
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/JulieCaplinAuthor
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