ARC Review: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

Title: A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

Author: Laura Taylor Namey
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Hardcover, 320 Pages
Publication Date: November 10th, 2020

Summary: Teenage master of Cuban cuisine, Lila Reyes, is eager to inherit her family’s Miami bakery along with her sister, Pilar. But between spring and graduation, Lila’s abuela dies, her best friend abandons her, and her long-time boyfriend dumps her. Fearing Lila’s emotional health, her parents defy her wishes and entrust her summer to family and their Winchester, England inn. Even though she’s given a space to cook at the inn, she longs for Miami, the seat of her Cuban roots. Being a Miami Cuban baker is her glorified past and destined future, forged by years of training by her loving abuela. Days into her stay, Orion Maxwell barges into Lila’s inn kitchen with a delivery from his family’s tea shop. A nuisance at first, opposite ingredients soon learn to blend. Orion befriends Lila, introducing her to his mates and devouring her food––comida Cubana. Orion entertains her with his mental collection of superstitions and sweeps her onto his vintage motorbike. He wraps cold, underdressed Lila in his wool cardigan and becomes her personal tour guide. His mum’s early-onset (FTD) Dementia gives Orion a unique outlook––he never asks too much of the world, accepting what he can’t control. Lila soon discovers this British boy brings empathy to her loss because he’s living his own. Before long, Lila can’t control the route of her own heart as she begins to fall for more than a new love. England has charmed her. And a special opportunity in London tempts her. As her return ticket looms, Lila feels impossibly caught between two flags. Hearts aren’t supposed to split like this––between a beautiful boy and a beautiful family. Between exploring an uncharted future in a rich new place, and honoring Abuela’s treasured legacy.

I received an ARC of this book in preparation for Laura Taylor Namey's upcoming book tour (which isn't today!), and after I finished the book, it was just so spectacular that I couldn't wait to talk about how much I loved it. So without further ado, let's get into my review!

As the summary explains, Lila hails from Miami but suddenly finds herself stuck in England for the summer when her family ships her out there so she can get over the trifecta of heartbreak that she recently experienced. She's expecting to hate it, and wants nothing to do with rainy, gray England when she longs for humid, sunny Miami, her family's bakery, and all of the delicious desserts that she can dream of creating. What she definitely isn't expecting is to meet Orion Maxwell, the charming, handsome son of the local tea merchant -- and she definitely isn't expecting to like him. But England turns out to be full of surprises, and Lila isn't expecting any of them.

You guys, I loved this book in every single way that it's possible to love a book. I seriously couldn't put it down and I will definitely be singing its praises to everyone and anyone who listens to me for the foreseeable future. I was actually glued to this book and couldn't put it down -- I read it while I was cooking, doing laundry, walking around the house, and even when I was the passenger during a drive. Laura Taylor Namey just has a spectacular way of drawing the reader in with her beautiful, sweet prose and imagery. This book also made me super hungry, because it mentions so many delicious Cuban foods and desserts! It even made me crave tea a little bit, which was interesting to me since I don't actually like tea at all. (I know, I know, that makes me a bad bookworm! But it's the truth.) Regardless, this book was just so sweet and left me feeling all swoony and happy (and hungry)! It's so gorgeous and adorable and I hope that you all love it as much as I did.

My favorite character in this book was definitely Orion. Not only did he seem super attractive (I may have developed a little bit of a crush on him, but he was just so sweet and kind, and really took his tour guide duties seriously when it came to Lila. I've actually never been to England myself, and I was curious about it but never had a burning desire to go, but I think that this book changed that for me! The way he loves his small little town and shows Lila all of these cool and unique things about it made me itch for an adventure like that. And he's just super cute and dorky and sweet and dependable, and UGH, I just love him a whole lot. Easily my favorite character in the book -- I like how his mellowness rounds out Lila's spice, which I also *loved*! 

One of my favorite parts of the book was that "will she or won't she" feeling that I got about whether or not Lila was going to go back to Miami, stay in England, run her family business, etc. I definitely wasn't sure up until the very end about what Lila was going to decide, and without spoiling the ending for you, all I will say is that things end in a way that I definitely wasn't expecting -- but it still made me a swoony mess. I closed this book feeling all of the warm and fuzzy and gushy things. I haven't had a book make me feel that happy and lighthearted in the longest time, and let me tell you, that was definitely something that I needed right now!

Overall, I absolutely ADORED this book, and if it isn't on your TBR already, then I promise you that you're absolutely missing out. If you're looking for a sweet, soft read with delicious pastries and swoon-worthy moments, all tied around family love and food, then look no further. This is definitely the book for you! Hats off to Laura Taylor Namey, yet again -- this is the second book of hers that I absolutely adored, and it looks like I'm signing myself up to be an auto-buy reader for life! 

If you want to check out my review of Laura's debut novel, THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS, click here.

And be on the lookout for our tour post interview with Laura, coming November 2nd!