ONE CUP TO CALM A RESTLESS MIND

ONE CUP TO LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND

Grace fled London with a broken engagement and an unpaid wedding dress.

Max returned home with secrets of his own.

But neither expected to find magic hiding in a cup of matcha…

Because in the sleepy village of Lavender Hollow, something unusual is brewing at Matcha Made in Heaven.

When customers start crying over their lattes and spilling secrets they never meant to share, Grace realises she has an extraordinary gift.

In the warmth of the cosy teashop, will Grace and Max discover that the best recipe for love is one brewed together?

Grace had arrived at her parent’s house in Lavender Hollow with her tail between her legs. Her flat in London, her career, her boyfriend—poof—up in smoke, down the pan, in the toilet … along with her sanity. After a month or so of sitting on the sofa crying in her cat pyjamas, her mum had gotten so worried about her she had been forced to apply for a job.

Her first port of call had been the antique bookshop, The Lavender Ledger. She adored books and wouldn’t mind burying herself in there to forget everything for a little while. However when she had enquired, the stocky little man who eyed her over his pince-nez from behind the counter had been so downright rude she didn’t think she could go in there—even as a customer—ever again.

Finally, after many ‘we’re sorry, but no’s’ she landed on the final storefront in the village that she hadn’t tried yet. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, a peppering of pink confetti fluttering down in the breeze as she stopped before the pistachio-coloured—or she supposed matcha-coloured teashop called Matcha Made in Heaven. A tiny card in the window advertised ‘help wanted’ and Grace immediately enquired within.

The little bell above the door chimed as Grace pushed inside, and she was immediately enveloped in the warm, earthy scent of green tea and something deliciously sweet—perhaps honey cakes or lavender shortbread. The interior was even more charming than the exterior suggested, with mismatched vintage chairs clustered around small round tables, fairy lights strung along exposed wooden beams, and shelves lined with an impressive collection of teapots in every imaginable shape and size…

Natasha Bache is a former editor who writes fantasy, folklore-laced fiction and darkly comedic murder mysteries. She is the author of five novels, including the wickedly funny 12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas, the paranormal women’s fiction series The Arcane Tales of Tamsyn Pride and the spicy cosy fantasy The Magical Matcha Teashop.

When she’s not plotting fictional murders or inventing magical realms, Natasha enjoys spending hours doing deep dives on the Titanic (not literally), drinking too much tea and planning her next holiday. She currently lives in Shropshire with her husband and two children.