The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

 

One of the new genre's that I tried last year was magical realism. I found I enjoyed it quite a bit. The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick is my latest read in this genre.

Greta Perks and her husband, Jim, along with their daughter, Lottie, were stars for about a decade in Maple Gold coffee commercials. When the company replaced them with another family, they all felt lost and their family changed. In fact, Jim and Greta decided to separate for awhile and figure out how to go on--either together or separate. Greta also had the passing of her mother to grieve, along with her job loss. Now she doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere. Jim has a different set of struggles. Lottie is now a teenager and trying to figure life out from that angle.

Then, Greta stumbles on a mysterious coffee shop that serves up magical brews. When Greta drinks the brew she wakes up in the town of Mapleville from the Maple Gold commercials. When she is there, life feels perfect. Her body is perfect. Her family is perfect. Her life is just perfect. But is it really what Greta wants when she is given the chance to stay there permanently? 

I enjoyed reading Greta's story in The Time Hop Coffee Shop. I like how Greta learned and grew through her experiences. I also liked how all three characters actually did some growing in this book. There were also some interesting side characters. Some scenes were fun and others were scenes that left the reader feeling thoughtful. 

This is a clean read with 2 minor swear words and, in one place, it is indicated that a married couple had sex but not explicit in any way. This book is set in England so there is some reference to English things that are a bit different than the United States in wording.

The back of The Time Hop Coffee Shop has questions that would make for good journaling prompts on your own or to use in a book group together. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.