About Books #137: Misty Mornings at the Potting Shed

As you all should know, at this point, fall is far and beyond my favourite season. So: reading a book that basically feels like fall personified? Definitely made Misty Mornings at the Potting Shed perfect for me!

I was offered an ARC by Book Sirens in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story

Welcome back to The Potting Shed! As Maddie and Sabi re-open the doors of their family-run garden centre. Business is booming, and it’s time to give back to the community that has kept The Potting Shed afloat, by opening the Forget-Me-Not dementia café.

But, as the doors to the café open, Sabi is offered the chance of a lifetime, that could take her away from The Potting Shed for weeks, café manager Jo’s frail, elderly mother is taken ill, and Maddie’s partner, Ed, takes a job in a faraway city just when Maddie needs him more than ever. A new member of staff is desperately required – who will join Sara, Jo and Ivan as the busy autumn season fast approaches?

The opinion

Jenny Kane manages to do something which entirely too few authors seem to pay attention to, these days – especially in the fluffier of genres. She gives all of her characters strong motivations for their actions. And while I might not always agree with how they act on those – it did make for a story that kept me actively rooting for each and every character line.

Another thing Misty Mornings at the Potting Shed seems to pull of with ease: honest diversity. Not the retroactive version, where characters become POC or queer only years after the publication or through careful re-interpretation. But the type where you see people grow, struggle and are able to empathise with their development because of that.

And of course, not to be forgotten: there’s that perfect feeling of a nice hot chocolate after a slightly chilly but sunny autumn walk. The feeling you want in any book you read throughout October, basically!

The rating: 4/5

In case I hadn’t made myself sufficiently clear, yet: I really – really – liked Misty Mornings at the Potting Shed. A definite recommendation for anyone in need of the perfect autumn-read! (Goodreads)

-Saar