Pre-release Book Review: Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop by Rebecca Raisin

I loved Rebecca Raisin’s Little Paris Collection, the stories were full of romance, heart and life lessons. So when I heard about her new book, I knew I had to read it. Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop has just about convinced me to sell up and hit the road, explore what’s out there, stop feeling tied down and stop feeling like I’m not being the real me. This isn’t a new feeling or thought, but after reading Rosie, part of me wonders if maybe Rebecca Raisin has been reading my mind. As Rosie says “It strikes me that we humans build these lives for ourselves that have the tendency to trap us.”

Feeling betrayed by her husband, a feeling of being stuck in her life comes to the surface and forces Rosie to reevaluate her life and what she wants from it. It often takes a massive wakeup call to get us to look at where we are and where we are going and Rosie is no exception. Except Rosie, with the help of a bottle or two of wine, buys a fushia pink campervan named ‘Poppy’. Without really knowing what she’s doing, but with a sense of adventure and trepidation, and a need to try something new, Rosie sets off with a vague plan to find herself, her ‘real’ self, as well as get away from London and the Restaurant Industry gossip. Rosie’s talent is cooking and she decides that tea and comfort food will be her new endeavour.

Rosie meets some wonderful people who live their lives travelling from here to there for many reasons, over here in Australia we call them grey nomads, though many young people are starting to take up this lifestyle too, which I completely understand. I actually had no idea the nomadic campervan life was a such big thing in the UK. Its definitely one way to see and experience this big world of ours.

The two main characters she meets are Aria an absolutely fabulous young lady who instantly becomes Rosie’s friend, and Max, who instantly butts heads with Rosie. These two characters will help Rosie discover who she is, but not without plenty of speedbumps along the way.

Max is gorgeous, inside and out and there were times I wanted to shake Rosie due to her bullheadedness and inability to see what was in front of her. These two had some fun moments along the way, as well as some more serious and meaningful moments. I wonder if I took up the nomadic life whether I could meet my own Max? Max however, may have a rival in internet blogger Oliver; now that’s a storyline you’ll need to read for yourselves.

Aria has a bookshop van, a dream I myself have mulled over (maybe I’ll revisit that dream), she is so different to Rosie, but in many ways she is the same. They work together so well, I really enjoyed the friendship that formed between them. Aria is a total romantic and her van is full of romance novels, books are her life, just as food is Rosie’s. “… and she takes a great big sniff, before she turns to me, her eyes bright as though she’s just discovered the meaning of life. ‘That is the best scent in the world, better than any perfume, any flower. It’s the smell of lives lived, the weight of words…’ ‘ Well, I guess I never quite thought of books that way before.’ Sure, they could transport you to another place, be there for you when no one else was, but I hadn’t quite pictured secondhand books as having lived their own important lives, being ferried from one person to the next, imparting a little magic along the way.” I myself have never gotten into the whole book sniffing thing, but I do love the concept of books having lived their own important lives, and they definitely impart magic along the way, just like this book: Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop.

Available March 3rd ebook & 15th April paperback

About the book: The trip of a lifetime!
Rosie Lewis has her life together.

A swanky job as a Michelin-Starred Sous Chef, a loving husband and future children scheduled for exactly January 2021.

That’s until she comes home one day to find her husband’s pre-packed bag and a confession that he’s had an affair.

Heartbroken and devastated, Rosie drowns her sorrows in a glass (or three) of wine, only to discover the following morning that she has spontaneously invested in a bright pink campervan to facilitate her grand plans to travel the country.

Now, Rosie is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime, and the chance to change her life! With Poppy, her new-found travelling tea shop in tow, nothing could go wrong, could it…?

A laugh-out-loud novel of love, friendship and adventure! Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Holly Martin.