A lovely read by a great author who's characters are always well developed.  It is easy to fall into this story.  You want to know what happens and see the relationships work out.  A nice relaxing read.

I have to start by gushing over this absolutely beautiful cover, doesn’t it just scream springtime?! I adore it and what’s inside is just as sweet and lovely. Anna is a widow and trying to start a new life for herself and her three year old daughter, Ellie. She moves to the quaintest little village to run a tea shop and though I know it’s not real, I would still really like to visit it myself!  There’s something about all these sweet shops, bakeries and tea shops that always pop up in books set in the U.K. that always appeals to me. 

Though Anna has no intention of dating anytime soon, she meets Matthew who runs a local cider farm and can’t fight their growing connection. I really liked that this wasn’t one of those books where two people meet, fall in love instantly and everything is utterly perfect, they experience a few bumps in the road. Anna is quite mature and guarded so she takes her time in her new relationship which was very refreshing and appreciated. It follows Anna’s life over the course of a year and is broken up into sections based on the season. I loved experiencing the village through Anna’s eyes and seeing how it looked and felt during all the months of the year. 

This was an uplifting read about getting a second chance at not only love, but at life in general. Ellie and Matthew’s teenaged daughter Merry really stole the show and were a great added bonus to the story. This was a light, easy read full of whimsy and hope, one that kept me flicking the pages rapidly as I was so hopeful that Anna would find true happiness. She grows and evolves so much over the course of the book and watching her relationship with Matthew blossom was so sweet and romantic. Is there anything more endearing than watching a love story unfold?!

After losing her husband, Anna moves to Little Somerby with her small daughter Ellie. She takes over running the tea shop where she meets all the villagers. She also takes part in village life and the annual celebrations. She lets romance in and allows herself to date again. 

Matthews teenage daughter is a lovely character and she embraces Anna and Ellie and often pops round to see her. It adds the younger characters to the book who also frequent the tea shop.

Family secrets and strife are revealed along the way and friends help heal the troubled waters. 

It was a lovely comfortable read and I look forward to reading more by Fay Keenan.

Okay, okay, I'll hold my hands up; I have to admit that I did groan when I saw that this was yet another novel with yet another tea shop/café in the storyline. At least I admit it though, right? Seeing as this book is Fay Kennan's debut novel (and the cover is a tad more-ish), I decided to put my teashop/café vendetta to one side and feed my curiosity by actually reading it. Yes, as soon as I saw the cover I was intrigued by it, definitely not going to lie about that. I was just throwing a little wobbly about the overuse of a particular setting.

Anyway, needed to get my little grumble out of the way before I started singing Fay Kennan's book baby's praises! I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Second Chance Tea Shop' from start to finish! For a couple of seconds max, the thought of the storyline heading down the candyfloss route did enter my mind, when in actual fact, it was the complete opposite!

After the heart ache that Anna has been through recently, she decides that a fresh start with her daughter, Ellie, would be the ideal solution to regaining control of her life. Whilst the village of Little Somerby may be brand new to Ellie, it isn't for Anna and as she starts settling into village life yet again, she ends up recognising A LOT more than she bargained for. Will Little Somerby give Anna the second chance at life which she desperately craves? Or could certain pasts end up colliding and ruin her fresh start before it's even begun?

I have been wracking my brain trying to think of what Fay Keenan's novel reminds me of; a multiple layered cake, that's what it reminds me of! Don't laugh, hear me out. By looking at the cake (the book) we would assume that it's just a book about a little tea shop, yet by reading every chapter and going through each individual layer of the storyline and the character's personalities, it was just like enjoying all of the different layers of a cake. Each layer contained different hurdles, different characters and different emotions, allowing us to surrender to the storyline and the magic between the words. Just like a multi-layered cake layers, no two layers, (or chapters), were the same and that is what made Fay Keenan's book baby stand out for me.

As I said above, a lot of books at the moment are set in the oh-so-popular tea shop or café, which can make it harder for a brand new author to find a way of standing out amongst the crowd. What could 'The Second Chance Tea Shop' bring to the table that was completely unique? A bit like 'what's your tea shop got that mine aint got', kinda thing. But you know what, 'The Second Chance Tea Shop' is unlike all of the other similar books in its market and I'll tell you why.

Firstly, the main character has already built up a life previously which didn't contain any premises involving mini sandwiches. Unfortunately her life got turned upside down in a devastating way.

Secondly, the tea shop featured in this novel is already an established business, which means that Anna isn't doing her own version of 'Changing Rooms' on the building.

Thirdly, there is A LOT more to this storyline that meets the eye; complex characters, devastating secrets, village gossip, heart breaking secrets, and enough warmth to keep your own house warm over the winter. No joke. Emotional it may be at times yet the heart warming factor trumps any sadness and uncertainty.

Fourthly, the little tea shop is portrayed as a character within the book, instead of being the hub of the storyline. It's a fantastic addition to an already brilliant storyline, instead of being the centre of attention.

Personally? This novel has got to be one of my most favourite tea shop books out there. It has been brilliantly written (hard to believe it's a debut book to be honest!), nicely structured with just the right amount of contrasting characters.

'The Second Chance Tea Shop' is just like drinking the perfectly made cup of tea; warm enough, sweet enough, not too strong and not too weak. In other words; perfection.

Thank you Aria.

Having lost her husband suddenly two years ago, Anna Hemingway is ready to make a fresh start for herself and her little girl Ellie by returning back to the village of Little Somerby, her childhood home. Being close to her family and her best friend, Charlotte, feels right, and managing the local tea shop will keep her busy and give her something to get her teeth into. But as she starts to settle into her new home and her new job, there will many unexpected changes around her, and as she begins to feel the flutters of attraction for the local sexy cider-maker, who knows what the future holds. But Matthew Carter is also carrying around grief and feelings from his past and has his interfering, teenage daughter to think of. Can they survive the local gossips, move on from their past heartache, and forge something new together?

THE SECOND CHANCE TEA SHOP by Fay Keenan is a delightfully entertaining romance that is perfect for an afternoon's reading. Little Somerby is a picturesque setting that I instantly fell in love with, and I became invested in Anna and Matthew as they tried to navigate emotions of grief, loss, hope, and attraction. The kids in this book shone bright from the beginning and made me laugh throughout. This book was just so easy to get into and read, and time flew by as I got lost in its pages - with cake, love, and laughter this is a book for all romance fans.

As delicious as a slice of cake and as refreshing as a pot of freshly brewed tea, The Second Chance Tea Shop is an enchanting, uplifting and enjoyable debut fans of Jenny Colgan, Trisha Ashley and Milly Johnson are going to devour!

After losing her beloved husband, Anna Hemingway had been desperate for a fresh start and a new beginning. With her three year old daughter Ellie in tow, Anna had decides to leave the past behind and make a new life for herself in the beautiful village of Little Somerby. Taking over the running of the village tea shop, Ellie and Anna slowly find themselves becoming part of the community and pretty soon, the happiness that had been missing from their lives for so long begins to slowly come within their reach. After the upheaval of the last couple of years, Anna just wants to lead a quiet life with her daughter without any hassle or problems, but little does she realise that things are about to get a whole lot more complicated in Little Somerby…

When Anna bumps into Matthew Carter, owner of the local cider farm, sparks quickly begin to fly. Romance is the last thing on Anna’s mind, but Matthew is tall, good-looking and a single father as well. As the seasons change, so do Anna’s feelings for Matthew, however, when darkness threatens to upset Anna’s idyllic new life, she realises that she must find inner strength to fight for the wonderful life which has come to mean so much to her.

Will Anna manage to keep hold of the happiness that she has come to cherish and treasure? Is there a future for her and Matthew? Or is their love simply not meant to be?

I enjoyed The Second Chance Tea Shop immensely. Warm-hearted, gripping and uplifting, The Second Chance Tea Shop is a wonderful story about taking chances, leaps of faith and finding the courage to put one’s heart on the line again that made me laugh, cry as well as shed a tear or tow. Fay Keenan has got an engaging and involving writing style that draws you in from the very beginning. She makes you fall in love with all of her characters and describes village life with such flair and detail that you almost feel as if you are living in Little Somerby with Anna, Ellie, Matthew and all the other very colourful inhabitants.

An assured debut by a very talented new writer, The Second Chance Tea Shop is a terrific read from a gifted new author: Fay Keenan!

Anna has not yet recovered from the loss of her husband, determined to make the first move, she move with her three-year-old daughter to a little town and work at a friend's Teahouse.

The change itself was not as she expected for several reasons, in addition to having to start this journey without the love of her life , upon arriving in the new house, she did not find the truck that is far behind schedule. To complete her day, the heater in the house does not work in the middle of winter and Christmas season, which forces her to call the coarse and dour dude who shows the house for her.

Matthew has always been a closed person and difficult to make friends, after a certain situation that has lived, everything get worse and he is only dedicated to work and his daughter Meredith. He never imagines that his whole life will change as he answers Anna's inconvenient phone call. I found it interesting how the writer compared him to Mr. Darcy, making me begin to understand certain of his attitudes.

Narrated in the third person, with a light and delightful writing, I immersed myself in this plot full of family crises, crises of conscience, cute children, smart dogs and dedicated friends, and  see in a surprising way the reason for the title Second chances, since the writer presents several situations where second chances were needed throughout the book for suddenly from the middle to the end to show who really needed a great second chance.
And it was the resolution of this point that made me not favor the book, the writer had everything to turn it into the high point of the plot, but preferred to use simplistic and fast dialogues, not hitting all the edges. I believe that because it was a strong situation that I never expected to happen, I needed something more elaborate with a lot of conversation between those involved and that certain character would open heart more to lead everything to a  Happy End in the beautiful way it happened.
3,5/5 stars

I have not read a book by Fay Keenan before I was very impressed. Perfect read to chill to. I love food related books and this was perfect for fans of Trisha Ashley which I am! If this was her first book then very impressed and looking forward to further books, hopefully more which involve these characters and can intertwine them in there. Read this extremely quick 
A+++++++++ from me!

Cheating is a big fat nope for me! 2 stars because the plot was good. Once the hero cheated it made me instantly hate him. The heroine pretty much forgave him after he stopped talking to her for weeks ( letting her believe he resents her for pushing him to far with his daughter) and cheats on her.. but that's okay because he comes to find her and says a few sweet words and she's all forgiving... NOPE! 

Goodreads review

As the title hints, this is a second-chance story. I've mixed feelings towards this book. The characters and the village settings seemed perfect, I was drawn into the story from the beginning and found myself enjoying it more than I expected. The one or two village traditions that the author has managed to fit into the story also had me interested. However, slowly, it started to grow weary on me. I felt the story was too lengthy- too much info, I would say. I don't wish to read lengthy info about everything that happens in the character's life unless it's a plot-driven story which THE SECOND CHANCE TEA SHOP isn't. Another gripe I've is that the tea shop isn't the heart of this book since the title is the prime reason I chose to read the book. 

I would still recommend it, though.

I felt that the book was a little slow getting started - it did take me quite a while to really get hooked which is a shame but I got there in the end! I liked the characters and it was easy to imagine visiting the teashop and drinking the cider (maybe I should have had some whilst I was reading!). Little Ellie was adorable and I loved how close she and Meredith became - I enjoyed how close their family unit was getting until Matthew cheated which I really wasn't expecting and I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about it either, but I was happier with the ending. Overall it was a sweet story to read and I would certainly read something by Fay again! Thank you for the chance to read and review this book - blog post up soon!

The second chance tea shop was a great read. This story focuses on Anna who has recently lost her husband due to a car accident and Matthew the owner of the local cider farm whose wife had an affair with his brother. Can they both overcome their pasts and make a life together, it starts off with a feeling that you just know they'll get together but it's so cleverly written by Fay that I didn't expect the few surprises along the way. I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen next.
This was my first book by Fay but it certainly won't be my last.

Absolutely delightful. Sweet, unhurried, full of emotion, and with an "ahhh" at the end, I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. 
If you expect lots of action and tension you'll be disappointed - it's a slow burner; some may say too slow in the first half, but I didn't mind the author taking her time to get to the point. The tension does ratchet up towards the end (though if I were the MC I'm not sure if I could be as forgiving).
Merry was a sweetheart, and by far the best character for me - I wish all teenage girls were as lovely!!

When two people have a history of hut and lies things tend to get complicated. After many yrs of not trusting in others and then trying to find love there are going to bulbs along the way, it will all depend if your willing to sell your own fault and go after what you want is the question on finding that love you can't live without.

As Anna Hemmingway drives back into the little town of Somerby, the town she grew up in, she is looking for a new start with her young daughter. Having recently lost her husband in a tragic car accident she has hopes of quite work in the local tea shop and support from her parents and best friend. Instead, a chance at healing and a second chance at love occurs between her and someone from a sweet memory in her past. Someone who also had their heart broken by love in the past. 

Can they each find love again? What does learning to love look like for two single parents? What about for two people a little afraid to love again and be hurt?

This was a sweet book about learning to heal and allowing others in. There were a few scenes that were a little "steamy"-er than I would normally read but overall the book was great! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

A real feel good read. We sympathize with Anna as she and her 3 year old daughter, Ellie, pick up the pieces after the death of her husband. Although some time has passed, starting over is scary and you tend to question every decision you make. Is it too soon to fall in love again?

Matthew Carter is running his family's cider business. His brother is MIA and his ex has left for America. Leaving him to manage their little girl, who is now a lovely teenager. He is one of the walking wounded as well, having been cheated on and left, and he has poured everything into work.

Coming back to Little Somerby, where she grew up, Anna is all set to manage the local coffee and pastry shop, The Little Orchard Tea Shop. Getting to know Matthew and learning to trust in love again will take a lot of courage.
But will this new love work? When tragedy strikes, will they come out of it stronger or will it tear them apart?

I really enjoyed all of the characters and the story line of this book. The only thing that kept nagging at me was The Little Orchard Tea Shop, where was the tea? I would have liked to have seen more of the tea and sweets in the story. 

All in all it was a charming story.

This is a nice read, that allows time to let its characters and relationships develop. I enjoyed reading it, and really liked the heroine, Anna, and what we saw of her as she deals with the loss of her husband and the opportunity for new love. This is in fact a book about second chances, not just for Anna, but also one about forgiving broken relationships, and giving them a second chance.
There is nothing ground breaking here. But sometimes that is exactly what you want, and that is the case, this book would be a great place to turn. This is the first book of several that the author plans to set in the same town, and I'm pretty sure I shall read the next books when she writes them.

This story was a well trodden path, nothing of any originality here in any respect. Such obvious main characters, all quite yawn making.

This story is the perfect light hearted romance designed for a sunny day on a lounger with a cool rink or curled up in front of the fire with a hot chocolate. The prose flows beautifully and the portrait of the village of Little Somerby, its characters and the celebration of blessing the apple trees is brilliantly authentic.

An easy to read story which started with a warm feel good atmosphere, where the main character, Anna, is getting over a sad loss but appears to have got her life sorted out and on a new path – she has even met a handsome new man who. I thought I knew where the story was going, however as it progressed there was a great deal more to the storyline which made it unputdownable. 

I could not believe this was a debut novel, which tells me there will be more to look forward to  from ms Keenan - a definite keeper.