At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities: A Novel

When Ava Harrison’s ex-boyfriend dies, she finds herself unsure of what the future holds. On a whim, she decides to answer an advertisement for a job as a caretaker in Alabama for a cantankerous old man. The job leads her straight to everything she’s been looking for, as is often the case with Heather Webber’s novels. Her latest, At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities, is true to form.

For fans of Webber’s writing, there are beautiful descriptions of the small town of Driftwood, AL, and it’s eccentric citizens. The coffee shop owner, Maggie Mae Brightwell, sees Ava as a godsend since it is Maggie’s father, Dez, for whom Ava works. From the minute Ava steps foot in Dez’s beachfront home, she feels safe. Something about the water and the pace of the small town suits her too, but there is the odd fact of a butterfly whose wings keep changing color that intrudes on her peace from time to time. That and the kooky older woman Estrelle who runs the local stitchery shop. And Sam, the mysterious Southern man with the darling dog that Ava loves to dote on.

As Ava puts together the town’s mysteries and figures out the secret to unlocking her own heart, there are some darling hijinks as well as predictable turns. For fans of Webber’s other work, or of the magical realism at the heart of Karen Hawkins’ Dove Pond series, At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities is sure to be a hit.