Thank you to SimonTeen for sharing an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
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. Move over, any other romance, I think I’ve found my new favorite! I’ve been excited for this story since I saw the PW deal announcement last year (back when it had a different title, even!), and all of my expectations were far exceeded. I’m having a hard time putting into words exactly what I feel about this book, but suffice it to say that I loved everything. Let’s start with the food. I’m not typically one of those readers who feels hungry when reading foodie books, but that changed here. Lila’s Cuban pastries gave me such strong cravings for baked goods. If there isn’t a recipe book in the back of my finished copy, I will be so sad. I love reading books about chefs because they all have such strong memories attached to their cooking, Lila included. Her Abuela teaching her how to bake, running La Paloma with her sister Pilar, sharing a kitchen with her family, all laid out with Namey’s signature beautiful writing, constantly brought smiles to my face. Lila, of course, is a strong character outside her baking as well. She suffered three immense losses one right after another and didn’t cope all that well, but time and again she learned to get up and heal. I want to be her. I seriously want to have that capacity for resilience and growth, not to mention the enthusiasm she brings to every new morning in her kitchen. Always looking to brighten others’ days with a precious baked good, always seeking to improve on old recipes and mix up new ones. I would read a thousand books starring Lila as long as every one of them was written like this. Again, I have to come back to Namey’s character building. The pace of her prose, and the moments which she chooses for the reader so that we may learn Lila’s story fluidly are perfect. Of course, I couldn’t review a YA romance without actually discussing the romance. Let me speak for many, many readers when I say… I think we all wish we had an Orion in our lives. English love interests can do some serious damage to American readers’ hearts, y’all. He was a perfect tour guide for Lila—showing her around Winchester with a mix of his own favorite haunts and spots he knew she’d love. Orion is compassionate and smart and thoughtful, and also happens to be a perfect complement for Lila because they share an understanding of loss and grief. Not in the same ways as each other, but as mentioned in the synopsis I really believe this helped spark their chemistry. I prefer relationships between characters who understand each others’ worlds on some level to ones who are totally “opposites attract,” so that contributed to my adoration of their romance. Now, this doesn’t mean they didn’t have challenges. Their relationship came with a ticking clock on it, since Lila was only in England for the summer, but I still enjoyed the heck out of it, and no spoilers, but Namey totally brought me joy with the ending she chose. We ALSO got some amazing side characters. In England, Lila hangs out with a circle of friends made up of Orion, her cousin Gordon, and their friends Jules (a fabulous singer), Remy (Jules’ boyfriend), and Flora (Orion’s sister). I’m a main character person, but I still appreciated that each of them had a story arc and an important role to play in the novel. This definitely helped set the scene and it was fun to see Lila romp around Winchester with a new group of friends. Most of all, though, what I loved about A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is the message that dreams can change. Lila had her life all planned out, but she truly grew as a character throughout the novel (I know I say this so much, but I REALLY mean it this time). Whoever said romance novels couldn’t be deep and sob-inducing was totally wrong. Her rigidity was challenged by her new circumstances, which (spoiler alert!) actually brought her some happiness. I’m a sucker for that moment in a novel where a character who’s faced unimaginable loss gets to be happy and have moments of peace, and ACGGTTAT was filled with those. I can’t recommend this beautiful novel enough. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to read it over and over and over again. I know I do! I beg of you, get a copy. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is original and wonderful and all of the good things about YA romance combined. 5/5 stars (and thank you for reading my treatise).
2 Comments
10/20/2020 03:06:38 pm
I had already been mildly interested in this book, but after reading your review I just placed a pre-order for a copy of my own! This sounds like an absolutely adorable romance that handles such important themes really well!
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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