Thursday, July 10, 2014

Virtual Book Tour: The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane by Sheila Roberts






About the Author

Sheila Roberts lives in the Pacific Northwest. She's happily married and has three children.

Writing since 1989, Sheila’s books have been printed in several different languages and have been chosen for book clubs such as Doubleday as well as for Readers Digest Condensed books. Her best-selling novel ON STRIKE FOR CHRISTMAS was made into a movie and appeared on the Lifetime Movie Network, and her novel THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS has just been optioned for film and is slated to be a Hallmark movie later this year. Her novel ANGEL LANE was named one of Amazon’s Top Ten Romances for 2009.

When she's not making public appearances or playing with her friends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women's hearts: family, friends, and chocolate. You can visit Sheila at her website, www.sheilasplace.com.

Her latest book is the women’s fiction/romance, The Teashop on Lavendar Lane.

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About the Book:

Title: The Teashop on Lavender LaneAuthor: Sheila RobertsPublisher: Harlequin MiraPages: 352Genre: Women’s Fiction/RomanceFormat: Paperback/Kindle
Purchase at AMAZON

When it comes to men, sisters don't share! 

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)?

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Book Excerpt:
The party was going perfectly until the hostess clutched her stomach with an agonized cry and crumpled to the floor in a heap.
Rory Rourke, her boyfriend and star of the new TV series Man Handled, knelt by her side and barked, “Someone, call 911.”
Call her doctor,” said someone else.
Call The Star Reporter,” the victim said faintly.
And that was when Bailey Sterling knew she was in trouble.
She’d been so excited to land this gig catering Samba Barrett’s party. Samba wasn’t an Emma Stone or Kristen Stewart but she was .... someone. Sort of. And with her catlike green eyes and red hair everyone said she was on her way up, like the rest of her party guests. And surely that had meant Bailey was on her way up, too. The West Hollywood apartment had been packed with hot young actors and actresses. As she’d slipped among them bearing trays of goodies she’d heard more than one person rave about the food and had envisioned a whole string of catering gigs after this one.
The shrimp salsa in Phyllo cups had been an especially big hit. “Oh, my God, this is to die for,” America Winston (from the new reality show Hard Ass) had raved. Bailey had smiled modestly and kept circulating, while her assistant Giorgio served up stuffed mushrooms. She’d been working hard for the last three years to earn a reputation as caterer to the stars and things were finally starting to happen.
Except now here was Samba Barrett, writhing on her living room floor, groaning in agony. Only twenty minutes ago she’d been eating those shrimp cups and laughing. Did she have food allergies she hadn’t told Bailey about? Samba had gone over the menu with Bailey, approved everything. How could this have happened? Was Bailey going to be known as killer of the stars?
Thirty people gathered around the actress, some offering advice, some taking pictures with their cell phones, others texting wildly. Bailey stood on the fringe and nervously downed one of her own appetizers.
You’ll be okay, baby,” Rory Rourke assured Samba.
I think I ate something bad,” she whimpered.
Oh, no, that’s not possible,” Bailey protested and everyone turned to look at her. One woman aimed her cell phone at Bailey, capturing her miserable expression. This couldn’t be happening.
But it could. And it did. Now Bailey felt sick. She lost her grip on the tray of canapes she was carrying and down they went, the tray landing on a Jimmy Choos of one of the party guests who was busy recording her hostess’s misery on her cell phone.
The woman let out a yelp and jumped back, then glared at Bailey.
Sorry,” Bailey muttered, and bent to scoop the mess onto the tray. In the process she managed to get in the way of another guest, nearly tripping him.
He didn’t settle for glaring. He swore at her.
Caterer hell, that was what this was. Bailey bolted for the kitchen and hid out, watching the drama unfold from behind the counter.

My Review: 

I had never read any books by Sheila Roberts before. I feel now that I've been missing out! 

I really enjoy her writing style. She draws you into the story and makes you feel as if you truly know the characters. The story is believable and could happen to anyone. The choices aren't always clear and easy, as in real life, which makes the story feel even more authentic. 

The characters are all well written and complex. Sometimes they don't even know why they feel the way they do, which can be both frustrating and understandable. Who hasn't felt that confusion at some point in our lives about why we take the actions that we take, or are attracted to the person that makes no sense for us?

I love the feel of the town in this book. I came from a small town where everyone knew everyone's business. You couldn't do anything without the whole town knowing about it by that evening. I also enjoyed the love that was between the sisters. When Bailey found her life spiraling out of control, her sisters rallied and brought her back to where they knew she could heal and get back on her feet. 

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a well written story with great characters, a decent story line, a few twists and surprises, and a good ending. Be prepared for some fun lines like "Something was catching fire, and she suspected it might be her panties.", as well as emotional scenes. Also, as an added bonus, there are recipes following the story. How fun is that?!

Go, read, enjoy! While you're at it, you should look up the other books that are set in Icicle Falls. I know I am going to.

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