The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

 

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick.

Published 25th September 2025 by Aria.

From the cover of the book:

Now, fame has faded, her marriage is on the rocks, her teenage daughter has become distant, and Greta's once-glittering career feels like a distant memory.

So when Greta stumbles upon a mysterious coffee shop, serving a magical brew, she wishes for the perfect life in those past Maple Gold commercials. Next thing she knows, Greta wakes in the idyllic, make-believe town of Mapleville, where the sun always shines and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and second chances fill the air. Given the opportunity to live the life she dreamed, Greta is determined to rewrite her own script. But can life ever be like a coffee commercial? And what will happen when Greta has to choose - between perfection and real life, with no turning back?

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Greta yearns for the glamour of a past when she, her husband, and her young daughter were the faces of the ad campaign for Maple Gold coffee. Now, her marriage is on the rocks, she feels increasingly disconnected from teenaged Lottie's life, and her acting career is firmly in the doldrums.

Then Greta happens upon a strange little coffee shop, whose proprietor, mysterious Iris, serves a very special kind of brew that grants the drinker some very special wishes. Greta wishes to live in the perfect world of Mapleville, the made up town portrayed in the ad campaign all those years ago, but there are rules she must adhere to...

Unfurling from the perspective of Greta, who is disappointed with the direction of her life, Patrick spins a charming tale of heartache, regret, and yearning for a past that never truly existed. Greta stands at a magical crossroads, given the chance to choose between a perfect version of her life, set in the make-believe world of Mapleville, and the ups and downs of an unknown future.

There is a Sliding Doors feel to this tale, as Gretta moves between a Truman Show- meets-Pleasantville setting in Mapleville, where her family life is perfect and she is a star, and the less than glamourous reality where she and her husband face a decision about their marriage on New Year's Eve. The lure of Mapleville is strong, but Greta gradually realises that perfection is not necessarily all it is cracked up to be.

I really enjoyed the contrasts between the two settings, the magical realism, and the gentle romance in this story - particularly the way Greta learns things about herself and her family along the way. There are some lovely sub-plots in this tale too, about some of the characters that Greta meets in both worlds, which nicely hit the emotional soft-spot.

Charming, with heart-warming threads about family, community, love, loss, and acceptance... with the added sparkle of a sprinkling of magic... this was just right for snuggling up with on the sofa!

The Time Hop Coffee Shop is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Aria for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Phaedra Patrick has always wanted to write books but came to it the long way around. She originally studied art and marketing and then worked as a stained glass artist, film festival organiser and communications manager. She won several awards for her short stories and has now written six novels, four of which became USA Today bestsellers.

She lives with her family in Saddleworth, UK, where she writes full time.

Her debut novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, was translated into twenty five languages worldwide and was optioned by a major Hollywood film studio. Her second novel, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone (named Wishes Under the Willow Tree in the UK), was made into a Hallmark movie in 2021. Her third novel, inspired by her love of stories, is The Library of Lost and Found. It was selected as ’The Great North West Read,’ to be read across 300 libraries in the UK in 2019. Her fourth is titled The Secrets of Love Story Bridge (The Secrets of Sunshine in the UK) and her fifth, The Messy Lives of Book People (titled The Book Share in the UK) was the Barnes & Noble fiction pick for June 2022 in the USA. Her sixth novel is The Little Italian Hotel, a warm, uplifting escape about the power of love, friendship and following your dreams.