A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey Book Review

Hey everyone it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back to my blog! I’m back to posting more book reviews, and you guys know that my favourite genre is thriller, but this time I took a backseat from thrillers and decided to read a YA Romance called A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow. I don’t know that many people that have read it, but I really enjoyed reading it, so today I’ll be sharing my thoughts!

Official Reviews

A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tommorow is a New York Times bestselling book with a variety of reviews! 93% of Google Users voted that they liked the book along with an average customer reating of 4.6/5 stars on Amazon. On Goodreads, the average star rating is 3.82/5 stars and had an average of 4/5 stars on Common Sense Media.

Synopsis

For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela’s role as head baker at their panadería, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything—including Lila herself—fell apart.
Worried about Lila’s mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare to Lila…until she meets Orion Maxwell.
A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester’s drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila’s mind—one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind.

My Opinion

Even just from the cover (and I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover), it was very clear going into this that A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tommorow was going to be one of those comfort stories that you can go back to and read again. And I got this just from a few reviews, and the welcoming impression on the cover – and my expectations were reached.
The plot line was very sweet and thoroughly enjoyable. Telling the story of aspiring head baker Lila Reyes being sent to England to try and find herself again. It was quite a short, light read – but for me, I think books can be so saturated sometimes that this made for a really comforting read. The warmth and loving atmosphere you read about will definitely one I’ll be going back to read again in the future!

The idea of choice and the effects of making choices, are very prominent throughout this story. Despite Lila’s stubbornness in regards to wanting to go back home, as soon as she chooses to enjoy her time in England, new doors and avenues for her life are opened for her – prompting her to have to make even further choices. Some which are very difficult because she wants to consider all the factors, her family, what people will think, etc! And I think this is very relatable for any teenager (especially slightly older ones) reading this as they’re probably going through very similar situation in their own lives.

With the key message being, don’t be afraid to prioritise yourself. Lila goes on a journey throughout the book of self discovery, while still being afraid sometimes to make choices for herself without thinking of others. This was a huge responsibility of Orion and the rest of her friends in England, to help Lila come to terms with the fact that her future was the most important thing for her. They acted as great reminders, not only for Lila, but any readers going through similar situations.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book were the references to Lila’s heritage. Lila comes froma family with a Cuban background and she is unapologetically herself, and embraces her heritage with pride – which I love to see! She speaks Spanish in the book, she bakes Cuban food and shares Cuban traditions with others, and as someone who doesn’t know much about Cuban culture, it was so interesting to learn about.
It was also so refreshing to see a teenage character actually proud of their heritage, in a lot of YA stories, the arc comes from the main character finally learning to accept their heritage. But, from the beginning of this story, Lila already takes pride being Cuban and uses it to guide her and help her while she’s away from her family – and I love how books are now normalising diversity and characters already being proud of who they are. I only wish it could’ve been done sooner!

As well as the new people she meets in England, Lila’s family also plays a huge role in this book, despite the fact that they’re away from her for a majority of the book. Lila’s relationship with each of her family members all shaped her into who she was. Her sister helped her with business, her Abuela taught her the basics of baking and was the beginning of that chapter for her, etc! Each member of her family moulds Lila into the girl that came to England, and despite her anger at them, ultimately they were always there for her. This was so lighthearted to see in a YA book, as a lot of times there is major conflict. And while Lila and her family are not picture perfect, they love her no matter what – and that truly gives this book the ‘comfort factor’ that a lot of people seem to talk about.

If you’re looking for a quick easy read, perhaps something to boost your mood, I would definitely recommend this book – I smiled so much while reading it! I’d also like to add that they’re actually adapting this book into a movie, and they recently finished filming so when it comes out, let me know if you’d like to see a movie review too!

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