The Tavern on Mulberry Street, by Sharon Owens
Not a “Christmas book” per se, but so much of the action occurs at Christmastime–and this one’s such a great read–that I considered it fair game for inclusion here!.
Happily married couple Jack and Lily Beaumont are deeply, enchantingly in love–with each other and with their lives. As proprietors of Beaumont’s, a quaint Victorian pub in the heart of Belfast, Lily and Jack enjoy their customers and the warm atmosphere of their more than two-hundred-year-old establishment.
But their independent lifestyle is threatened when developers begin buying out surrounding businesses to construct a new mall. Jack and Lily vow to fight to keep their beloved tavern. With a plan of action that includes offering new special events, catering and creating new jobs, they set forth to put Beaumont’s on the map.
The Tavern on Maple Street is warm, funny, and depends on real-life situations to evoke the humor. I thoroughly enjoyed supporting characters like waiflike barmaid Bridget O’Malley–who manages to turn almost everything she touches into a calamity–and self-absorbed hack writer “Limo” Bradley, whose talent and ego are inversely related. Interactions between the four servers Lily hires are so true-to-life that readers can almost hear the glasses rattle, and the dialogue between Lily and Jack has the feel of a longtime couple’s complete comfort and joy in being together.
Owens makes readers care about her characters, champion their efforts and wonder at the outcome of the Beaumonts’ David-and-Goliath struggle–which I certainly won’t spoil by divulging here!