Fun And Mischief In The Tea Shop Folly

It is a lot of fun to meet an author and even more fun when you discover that by chance you have read her work before but didn't make that connection. This is true of my chance encounter to meet Carrie Fancett Pagels last week. I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to read and review the Tea Shop Folly, A Teacup Courtship Novella.  As luck would  have it I was just wrapping up a good book and was at sixes and sevens for my next selection. I found this story entertaining with a little bit of added history added. Set in Michigan, young Lilly has arrived after inheriting her Great Aunt Lillian's home and fortune.  She left behind a gravely ill mother and  her younger sisters who are in need of much needed hope that Lilly hopes to share upon receiving her bequest. 

What follows is a series of misunderstandings after she meets a handsome young engineer from the Soo Locks, Theo on her first day in town.  As fate would have it, Lilly and Theo meet again when he mistakes her home for Tea Shoppe.  On the hunt for yet another teacup set for his hard to please mother, Theo spies piles of teacups that Lilly is sorting out from her Great Aunt's hoard of treasures.  While she never acknowledges her home is a tea shoppe, he continues to believe she owns a business. When he finally realizes his folly all manner of characters have arrived to make this an even sweeter tale.  Lilly is a treasure and her thoughtful approach to situations thinking about what her mama would do is a testament to proper upbringing and good family values.

I have become a fan of the Novella as a wonderful way to feed my reader for times when I really want to get into the story without committing to a large book. Award winning Carrie Fancett Pagels has not disappointed me with The Tea Shop Folly.  I happily discovered that it was Carrie who wrote the Lumberjack Ball, book 2 of the Christy Lumberjack Series.  If you like a good story with a hint of historical flare, I recommend this novella and other works by Carrie.