I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general.

In The Crescent Moon Tearoom, we follow Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley, three sisters who run a tearoom together. As witches, they tell fortunes in their customers’ tea leaves and serve warm treats to the citizens of Chicago. But when the Council of Witches informs them that the former Diviner of the city has lost her powers, the Quigley women need to help three people find their destinies using their powers of foresight. But each sister soon finds herself straying from the tearoom and their dedication to it: Anne’s divination powers are increasing at a startling rate; Beatrix’s writing has drawn interest from a publisher who wants to send her on tour; and Violet’s wanderlust takes her to a traveling circus and its dashing trapeze artist. As time is running out to fulfill the Council’s wishes, the sisters find themselves at a crossroads that might end up breaking their bonds with each other forever.

While this tearoom isn’t nearly as cool as the one in Under the Whispering Door, it still sounds lovely and like one I’d like to visit!

I also really liked the atmosphere of this book. I’m still waiting for autumn temperatures to arrive, so reading a story that takes place during the turn of the seasons was some nice escapism for me. And the tearoom itself is so cozy and fun, bustling with life while still being comforting, a small warm place in the midst of a massive city.

As for the characters, they’re well-written. I enjoyed getting to know each sister, from Anne and her cartaking tendencies, Beatrix with her burgeoning creativity, and Violet’s adventurous spirit. It’s a sweet story of sisterhood, at least until the women start being pulled in different directions and toward different dreams. I know the whole point of the story is sort of coming-of-age, of learning that people can pursue divergent goals but still be family, but I was pretty frustrated for a lot of this book. It wasn’t that the characters were dealing with miscommunication; they weren’t communicating at all. That’s a plot contrivance I can’t stand, so reading this was, at times, a slight chore. I was begging the characters to just talk to each other, please!

There’s also the subplot about the Council’s quest given to the Quigleys. It’s interesting enough to see other witches and their own journeys, though it sort of feels like a distraction from the family drama. I wasn’t entirely invested, perhaps because by that point of the story, I could foresee (though not in tea leaves) that the sisters would succeed. It’s clearly not a tragic sort of book and therefore rather predictable.

In regards to Violet’s romance, it was fine, but also not the best. I think it just doesn’t sit right with me when someone insists on using a nickname they coin for someone else, even after that person requests they not use it. I know that Violet finds Emil, the trapeze artist, charming anyway, and she ends up not minding the nickname, I just think that people should show respect to a person’s verbally stated wishes, even if under the surface they don’t mean it (or end up changing their mind). Like, how hard is it to just call someone what they ask to be called? And okay, this is a minor quibble in the grand scheme of the book, but it’s a criticism I have anyway.

On another note, the resolution of the story is nice enough. It’s quite moving to see how the loss of their mother, and her wishes for her daughters, affects the Quigleys, and to watch how they help the three other witches to finding peace and purpose. And where everything ends up, in terms of character arcs and plot, was nice. I just wish the way we’d gotten there hadn’t been such a vexing time for me.

In the end, The Crescent Moon Tearoom is a comforting, gentle story with a wonderful setting and decent emotional arcs. The characters and magic are interesting. I only wish that the entire plot didn’t hinge on characters refusing to have a single, simple conversation with each other, because how aggravating is that? But even so, it’s a sweet story and a quick read, and I’m not opposed to reading any other books that Sivinski writes in the future.

The Crescent Moon Tearoom will be published on October 1st, 2024!