The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: A Taste of Tea and Tenderness

Series: Enchanted Confections #3 (standalone within the series)

Author: Gabrielle Landi

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

A pinch of fake dating, a dash of fundraiser mayhem, and a love that rises when their future is on the line.

Running the Cozy Cat Café while its owner is away would have been enough work, but apprentice Linnea added another catering the local school’s fundraiser. Surviving the week seems debatable…until the quiet schoolteacher she might be falling for offers to help her. Faking a relationship to avoid one of his students is only the icing on the cinnamon roll.

Conrad hasn’t been able to take his eyes off Linnea since he first saw her, and the fact that she’s on her own with the cafe for a week seems like the perfect opportunity to show her how much he cares. But with more suitors vying for her hand, an encounter with a hive of bees gone wrong, and clingy students that he can’t shake, proving that he’s the man for her is turning out to be more work than he expected.

Between batches of pastries and mugs of tea, can Conrad and Linnea’s fake relationship rise to the occasion, or will they both end up burned? – summary from Goodreads

* I received an ARC from the author, and all opinions are my own.

A Taste of Tea and Tenderness is a sweet, cozy fairytale romance!

This book was so cute! It was a fast read and I loved every minute of it!

The drama in this book was mostly small-town drama, which I enjoyed. There really weren’t any high stakes or super stressful moments, which I liked. It was the perfect cozy read that brought so much joy!

All the characters were amazing! I loved all the characters, especially Abigail and Roan- I can’t wait to read their story. Nathaniel and Thea weren’t in the story a lot, but the small snippets of them were a lot of fun and I can’t wait to read their story, too. Linnea and Conrad were so cute! I loved them so, so much! They were super cute together and had adorable banter. I loved how much they cared for the other as well. Their relationship was just so sweet and cozy!

I’m not super familiar with the story of Thumbelina, which this book is a retelling of. I really enjoyed the fairytale aspects of the story. There was a little bit of magic, that was cozy and were a nice touch to the story.

This was also a work-place romance. Conrad was the local schoolteacher, and Linnea was running the bakery for a week. They worked together because Conrad is hosting a fundraiser and Linnea is providing the food. There were a few bakery shenanigans that were so much fun!

A Taste of Tea and Tenderness is a cozy fairytale retelling with a sweet workplace romance and wonderful characters!

A Taste of Tea and Tenderness releases on May 22nd, 2026.