CUBAN GIRL'S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW

Title – A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and TomorrowAuthor – Laura Taylor NameyGenre – Young Adult RomanceI’m pretty much not a huge fan of Romance genre and I generally try to avoid it as much as possible. Recently, I came across this pretty book that did manage to catch my attention. The book had elements that I generally avoid (YA Romance) and elements that I love (Travel) and this put me in dilemma on whether to pick up or not. I finally did get my hands on it and I must say the book was a surprise.Lila Reyes was shattered. Life for her threw a series of misfortunes which she termed it as trifecta when (1) Her bestfriend moved away to another country (2) Her Boyfriend broke up with her and (3) Her dearest grandmother passed away. To get over the events and start a new leaf in her life, she was packed and sent all the way to a small town in England to her aunt’s place who owned a small café of her own. Little did she know, that the teashop that she decided to adopt as her own got her everything back albeit in an entirely different manner.As I had mentioned earlier, I’m not a fan of this genre and hence it did take me a bit of time to get used to with some of the elements. For me, romance genre has always been predictable that I wasn’t really sure I’ll make it till the end and yet I did. The small elements of surprise that the author kept throwing at you with those special sweet moments made me realize that this genre isn’t as bad as I generally made out to be. From making you laugh to excite you to shock you and at the end to make you cry, this one is the perfect recipe for the cozy day when all you want to do is snuggle up with your coffee and blanket.Lila and Orion makes up that cute little couple that you would love to relate to. With picture-perfect scenarios at times, one couldn’t help but fall in love with them. The other characters in the book though did not have much of a role throughout and you at times do wish that they were as much focused on at times than just a passing on characters that the author has sketched them. Overall, for anyone who loves a book from this genre, this one is surely for you. You wouldn’t feel that the book is just not worth it and trust me when I say this, that when you finish the book, you will be all smiles throughout.

"Mi estrellita, if you shine too bright in his sky, you’re going to burn him out. Burn yourself out, también."Lately I had been reading a few tough books. You know, books that make you feel all those things that you don't want to feel. Truth be told, I I like those books, I love them infact. But I need some mindless chick flicks in between to keep me sane.🤭A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow was exactly that sweet romcom chick flicks (which btw are my guilty pleasures). I had a fun time reading about the Winchester countryside, all the drool-worthy baking and cooking, and an English boy's obsession with superstitions.If you're someone who loves romance, the strangers-to-friends trope and are a sucker for those cooking and baking shows, you're gonna enjoy this book.I, on the other hand, am not a big fan of these. So the book did not really pull me in. It was a good distraction, but nothing extraordinary.

☕ Lila's plans have changed irrevocably. Her abuela has passed away, her boyfriend of 3 three years has dumped her and her best friend with whom she was supposed to move in with after joining in her family's panderia has decided to move away for college. And she is now falling apart. Worried about her, Lila's parents decide to send her on a vacation to their family friends in England. Opposite of everything that Miami was, Lila despises being there until she meets Orion, her own personal guide with problems of his own.☕This book was ADORABLE. I cannot believe that I haven't read it earlier because I absolutely fell in love with the book and its characters and its story. Pretty much with everything about this! Lila and Orion are officially one of my OTPs now and happy to say this was one of the best YA contemporaries I've ever read! This book was like a warm hug on a cold day and was the perfect read for me after a month of stress. The supporting characters were just as adorable and I just kept smiling through so many of the scenes!! The writing was great and I look forward to reading more books by @laura_namey And I am very satisfied to say that no character made a stupid cliché YA decision that ruins everything 😂. So if you haven't read it yet, please please do❤️

"I think in so many shades, on the edge of myself, balanced between yesterday and tomorrow."Perfecto!This is such a delicious story of a Cuban girl living in Miami who lost so much all at once.To cope up, her family sends her off to England.New country, new people, new food, new friends, new everything!I love the writing so much. I love a story enriched with culture, love and finding oneself. This story perfectly fills all the voids I had in me.Kinda story that makes me want to jump inside the book only to eat the perfect Cuban pastaletos, dance to salsa beats with friends in Winchester streets and Kiss the star-named boy under the starry London sky."Right now, he’s warm as sweaters and sure as stars. And every other kind of dangerous I know."I am sure I will be picking this book again soon if only for the warmth it's words sent all through me!Totally recommend it!

3.5 starsThis felt like a giant hug in a book. A hallmark movie in print.It was cheesy and predictable and feel good.I loved the characters on the book that felt fleshed out and three dimensional, Jules with all her bad a** rock chick vibes and flora who’s sweet but a little lost and loveable Orion who’s as warm as his cardigan. The book transported me to the quant English countryside and I truly envisioned it all and would buy it fully if I didn’t actually live in England. The landscaping sounds accurate though I’m not from the south but that’s believable but I don’t know many British who are obsessed with figs in desserts like the book implies and we don’t have “afternoon tea” everyday. I drink PG Tips several times a day and have only ever had afternoon tea with the posh tea and sandwiches etc a handful of times.While she wandered around with Orion it did read a little like a tour guide manual at times with information garnered from the internet rather than experience. At others it read perfectly like I was there seeing it with my own eyes (the old castle ruins for example)The wording and speech was very accurate. I can’t speak for the Winchester area since I’ve never been so I don’t know any local slang or dialects, but the Interactions between the characters felt authentically British and realistic.The story was a little predictable but that’s kinda why I love cheesy Hallmark movies, it’s knowing everything will be just fine. It’s being caccooned in the safety of knowing where things are going.Lila is arrogant as a chef but I guess that’s accurate too as all chefs I know all think their cooking is the bomb and so this seems to fit on trend. Also I thought she was a bit judgy of our use of the word sorry (she implies she only apologises when it worthwhile making her apology more valuable and it put me on the defensive reading it a little. But otherwise she was sweet and she grew as a character from overly dramatic pushy and unaware of her own flaws to at least see her own flaws and see other peopleI like that she grewI liked the Spanish throughout but I’m glad I read it on kindle with the translate buttonOverall it was a nice nothingness story that was easy to read and Enjoyable and felt like a summers evening

Bought this because Reese Witherspoon recommended it. It’s youth fiction so pretty limited for adults.

Food, romance and a tale of what we think we want isn't always so.

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It is a beautiful story with relatable characters. I very much enjoyed reading it