Chick-Lit, Irish
Poolbeg Press Ltd
Penny Stanley has been married to Daniel for seventeen years and their marriage is falling apart. So too is their shabby tea house on Mulberry Street and Penny is slowly dying inside. Cheapskate Daniel is completely oblivious to his wife’s unhappiness and is determined to save every penny he can in case his life ever returns to the horrible unhappiness of his childhood.
The regular customers at the tea house love it, particularly the cosy atmosphere and the luscious deserts. Penniless artist Brenda Brown sits in the café penning letters to Nicholas Cage. Will they ever be answered? Sadie Smith finds refuge from her diet and her husband’s ultra-slim mistress in a slice of the café’s cherry cheesecake. And Clare Fitzgerald returns to the tea house after twenty years in New York. But the place needs more than a coat of paint and, as Penny takes action, she discovers it is a magical place with secrets of its own.
The Tea House on Mulberry Street is a lovely book and you can easily imagine yourself sitting in the coffee shop eating one of Daniel’s divine deserts. Sharon Owen’s debut effort is well worth a read.