Book Review: Mrs. Covington’s by K.R.R. Lockhaven

Happy Thursday my lovely peeps! It’s almost the weekend…I can almost touch it!

It’s too bad that in order to reach Saturday, I have to finish up this massive work project first…

This week’s book review features an extra special book! I’d been reading an ARC of Mrs. Covington’s and as of yesterday, they’d just reached (and surpassed) their Kickstarter goal! Go give the page a peek! I’m so glad that I picked up this read and I’m so happy for Kyle (*tears up*). 

Title: Mrs. Covington’s
Author: K.R.R. Lockhave
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery
Edition: Ebook
Length: 276 Pages
Published: Kickstarter to launch on 13/04/2023
Publisher: Self-Pub/SP

Disclaimer: A shoutout and thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

LINKS:
Author’s Twitter: [LINK]
Kickstarter: [LINK]

(Summary from Mrs. Covington’s Kickstarter)

When Jacob Bright strikes out on his own and moves to a new island, he quite unexpectedly finds himself the owner of a failing, capybara-themed pub named Mrs. Covington’s. He quickly learns that he’s going to have to make new friends and innovate if it’s going to succeed. But when he discovers that a neighboring Faun food restaurant, run by his kindhearted new friend, might have to close its doors, his priorities change.

Years ago, a reclusive wealthy woman who lived on the island wrote a clue in poem form which leads to a mysterious buried treasure. The treasure may be just the thing they need to save the restaurant, but they aren’t the only people seeking it.

This was a very enjoyable and cozy read! Warmth permeates every second of this story. It’s like a fireplace has been lit and you’re always enveloped in a comforting blanket. It’s got diversity, nachos and beer, treasure hunts, capybaras, a capybara heist, light romance, misunderstood folks, found family, reading nights, song nights, dancing nights, magic, and all the goodies of a found family. What more can you want?

The story begins with Jacob, seasick, on a ship to his new start in New Dawn. Can’t get more “New” and “Start” than a place called New Dawn right? He’s trying to break away from his family, having been expected to take over his wealthy father’s family business, but he refuses. He wants to strike out on his own. To be fair, anything, whether it was a job he’d find himself in or a business he may start up on his own, would probably be better than his family’s business.

Originally wanting to join the crew of the very ship he’s currently sailing on, the captain gives him a wise chat, dissuading him from doing so, much to Jacob’s disappointment, because he doesn’t think Jacob’s got the tough and grit in him to be part of a ship’s crew. I mean. Have you seen a ship crew? However, he does give Jacob a massive pep talk, one that sticks to Jacob and that he carried with him as he sets foot on New Dawn’s soil. He can tell that Jacob’s got the heart and natural leadership in him and wishes him well in New Dawn, encouraging him to get himself into something that will, at first, feels like he’s in over his head.

Shortly upon arrival, Jacob wanders into a bar called Mrs. Capybara which has a sign that shows a capybara with an evening gown on and what do you know, she actually exists and lives right there at the pub! But the pub is doing so poorly, that the owner just about jokingly (deep down, he’s not joking) tries to sell the pub to Jacob for the relatively cheap price of 10 gold, (much) cheaper than Jacob expects for the sale of a business but also just about what he’s got left in his pockets. As a bonus, the owner’s got a little poem pointing to where a treasure chest is supposedly buried! 

He considers it.

And makes the decision by the following morning (I would’ve been very disappointed in him if he didn’t at least sleep on the offer).

And suddenly he’s the owner of a failing business with a capybara in a dress as the mascot.

But he’s got friends now, friends that his father would’ve never approved of, and between them all, a whole lot of freedom to do whatever they want to try to bring business back. When you take over a business with such bad…business, nobody’s going to bat an eye when you overhaul the entire place!

Jacob slowly makes friends with his business partners and even makes friends with a few others in town. The friendship is important, helping him rebuild the place, get to know New Dawn a little better, and even to try and find the treasure! After all, the poem involves more than one person; for the greed of a single individual will never find the chest on their own! He also meets and strikes up a friendship with Juniper, a faun, from the restaurant next door, a business that is doing alright, not failing quite as bad, but on a major deadline to deliver a hefty repayment of a loan. And the rest of the story, revolves right around Jacob’s new start, new friends, a treasure hunt, and trying to help save both his own and his neighbor’s business. 

The plot was relatively simple. It kind of reminded me of the cozy vibes of Harvest Moon or more specifically, Stardew Valley, where a guy not wanting to continue contributing to a major corporation (In Jacob’s case, his father’s wealthy business), flees to another life and starts a new business (farming/pub), makes friends, and saves the day (the community center in Stardew/the pub/Juniper’s restaurant). There’s much to discover along the way and in the end, we’re left with fluffy feelings. There is a small deal of risk in this low-risk story, but I really enjoyed the slight adrenaline rush dotted throughout the read and adored the ending.

The characters were loveable. This book revolves around a small found family between Jacob and his business partners, Cora and Tadrick as well as their next-door neighbor, Juniper, and her two kids, Aspen and Ceda. Of course, there’s also Mrs. Covington herself in her lovely little dress, chilling and having the time of her life on most days. I loved that, despite how easily flustered and shy Jacob can be, he pushes himself and when it comes to his newfound friends, he’ll work even harder. The best part, was the attempt to locate the treasure, not for himself or his business, but for Juniper’s business. His heart is always ready to help someone else and his friends are just as loyal and ready to help to the best of their abilities. With so much magic involved, there really is a handful of “abilities” to explore too! The world-building might be small and contained [to New Dawn] but there’s plenty of stuff to explore and a good deal of world-build packed into the island!

You can’t forget the villains in this book either. I hate them with every shred of my soul. They’re manipulative and nasty people who only care to line their own pockets with another coin that they most likely have too many of anyway. Praying on the needy and threatening to close businesses and taking away an important community venue and activity from the people of New Dawn, the main antagonist, Mr. Lowell is a wealthy prick that oozes all sorts of uncomfortable vibes. There are a few others as well, his henchmen for one, but there’s also Jacob’s father (another wealthy prick) who is constantly belittling his son and believes that Jacob’s “venturing out” will eventually come to an end and he’d come crawling back home to take up the family business. Yuck, slimeballs the lot of them.

There are multiple little plots throughout this book as well and I loved all of them. There’s a capybara heist that’s more of a capybara rescue than anything else and it leads to nothing but hilarity (because gosh, that was the plan?). There’s also trying to come up with something to attract business to Mrs. Covington’s and, with the help of friendship and a little imagination, this results in the invention of nachos (called nacias here) and boy does the description of it sound mouthwatering…I haven’t had nachos in so long, and that’s just the normal cheese ones. The chicken and cheese and the tomatoes…I need me some nachos. 

And you can’t forget the poem and the actual treasure hunt! That was such an exciting part! For the longest time, nobody could figure the poem out, but as soon as Jacob, Cora, and Tadrick began to talk to, befriend others, and bring in Juniper on the hunt as well, it quickly reveals that the poem (and subsequent hints) involve friendship and bringing the community together.

Overall, this was a lovely read. It was smooth and many of the chapters were nicely sized. The writing is easy to read and I’m never lost. The descriptions were wonderful and vivid and the dialogue was definitely enjoyable to read. The villains felt like mobsters, and really serves to make the readers (or me at least) seethingly dislike them. The interaction between Jacob and his friends were warm and fluffy and, for all the risks there were in this book, the sense of comfort never left and you know that everything will be all right. The adventures were fun, even a little thrilling, and the interludes, that featured Mrs. Covington’s POV, were a refreshing break in the pacing. A great and wonderful little read. I’m so glad to have picked it up. 

Also. 

Apparently, capybaras are HUGE.

I kind to pet or see one in person now.