For Ava Dowling, the quaint, seaside town of Driftwood, Alabama holds the promise of a new life--one that's far away from her life in Vermont, where tragedy and grief had become her constant companions. On a spontaneous whim, Ava packs up for Driftwood after a mysterious letter arrives with a help-wanted ad for an in-home caretaker.
Enter Magpie's: otherwise known as the coffee shop of curiosities. Before long, Ava finds herself enveloped by the small-town, quirky community of Driftwood. She's not only part-time caretaker to Desmond Brightwood, but ends up a barista at Magpie's--owned by Desmond's daughter, Maggie--too. With Driftwood's streets teeming with gossip, stories, and just a little bit of magic, it's not long before Ava wonders if something more than coincidence brought her into its midst.
Without a doubt, "At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities" has a Sarah Addison Allen-like draw with its promise of a memorable cast of characters and magical realism undertone. Unfortunately, however, the magic of this story never quite came together for me. I found almost all of the characters to be underdeveloped caricatures--overly-quirky, pining after unrequited love, downright grumpy with no discernible depth--and as such, had a hard time connecting with them. Ava, Maggie, Desmond, Donovan, Sam, Norman, Rose, Estelle, Juniper, Hannah, and on and on: there were simply way too many characters in this story, and together they diluted what I'm sure could have been an endearing, heartstring-tugging story of found family and healing.
Despite the underwhelming impression this novel left me with, for readers willing to slug through the sugary-sweet, surface level plot, there is a heartwarming (and undoubtedly magical) ending in store. However, I'm unsure if I'd go back to read Heather Webber's backlists based on this one alone.
Rating: 3 Stars
Publication Details: Out 8/1/2023, Tor Publishing Group / Forge Books
*Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for providing me with my copy of this title*
