One day, while scrolling through Instagram, a book post from Mysterious Galaxy caught my eye. The title instantly grabbed me, Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop. Yes, please! This was my second comfort read to help me through the US election and it definitely helped.
Vanessa Yu is a fourth generation Chinese American young woman from an extraordinary family. About once per generation a Yu is born with the gift of prophecy. At the tender age of three Vanessa had her first prediction and life was forever changed. What her other family members consider a blessing, she considers a curse. Afterall, who would want visions of death and the burden of delivering unwanted news? For Vanessa there is no escaping telling these fortunes. When they arise, she is powerless to keep from speaking them. Despite also telling good fortunes, Vanessa feels burdened by the bad news and even responsible for the effects that follow. While tea is almost guaranteed to trigger a fortune telling, any liquid can cause one to burst forth.
Vanessa’s Aunt Evelyn also has the gift and has been trying for years to get Vanessa to train and accept her power. Evelyn lives easily with the gift and has always wanted for Vanessa to accept her ability. Lately the effects of telling fortunes have been giving Vanessa a severe physical reaction. In desperation, Vanessa agrees to go with her aunt to Paris. To learn how to better use her gift and also assist in the opening of Aunt Evelyn’s new tea shop. The tea shop isn’t literally magical but fortunes are told there!
The Yu family believe that members strongly in tune with the fortune telling can become nearly clairvoyant. Evelyn displays these abilities as she gives Vanessa a little nudge to have her Parisian meet cute with Marc. A visit to the Luxembourg gardens to sketch at the Medici fountain, an errant breeze and runaway scarf, which ends in a collision with a handsome stranger.
Vanessa works to find peace with her fortune telling, assist her aunt in business and love, find her place amidst a sprawling family that just wants to see her happily married, and have a romance of her own, while on a three week trip to Paris. I really enjoyed Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop and highly recommend it!