Reviews

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

ainsch's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

fluffypancakes101's review

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4.0

After completing this book lemme just say

SO CUTEE. But I also a have a problem with it.
I don’t know if it was just me, but some of the dialogue made literally completely no sense. Like the sentence would not sit right. I couldn’t understand it.
And this happened a few times not just once.
Overall tho, it was a cute fast paced romance.

The cover was so good aswell. It was a very good read. So that’s why I’m giving it a 4.2 stars instead of a 3.9 . I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fast cute read.

gretaswags's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

dhishfish's review

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3.0

Your turn yolance :)

callie_marie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

steph0611's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

lillanaa's review

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5.0

I'm not sure what I expected going into this, but it definitely wasn't something that I love almost as much as [b:Today Tonight Tomorrow|52766407|Today Tonight Tomorrow|Rachel Lynn Solomon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582468069l/52766407._SY75_.jpg|62013760] and [b:The Upside of Falling|45891343|The Upside of Falling|Alex Light|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561400542l/45891343._SY75_.jpg|70728537]. While all three have different plotlines, different energies, they're all the universal feeling of the protagonist having their lives together in a great way, until a life shift. All three hit at the perfect time to me, though, and while I might be a little outside of the age to relate to the protagonists anymore, everyone deserves a relaxing and fluffy story every once in a while. That said, though, there are some somewhat problematic elements (a few people have noted the white saviour complex Stef seems to have), but I enjoyed the other characters enough to pretty much ignore her considering her non-existence throughout the story
Spoilerand was kind of glad when Lila dropped her like a rock for it
.

jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition

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4.0

Lila Reyes has just suffered a trifecta of immense losses and she's not handling them well. Her worried family decides that she needs a change of scenery and ships her off to stay with extended family in England. Lila doesn't want to go. Miami is her home. But England and the local people slowly start to heal her heart--and steal it.

I don't read a lot of contemporary young adult fiction because I don't have a lot of patience for the drama. Lila starts off with plenty of drama. She came across to me as pretty self-absorbed.

But she grows. She starts to see that yes, she's had a spring of heartbreak by anyone's standards. But it could be worse. She starts to realize that she needs to move on and maybe she needs to change some of her own ways. I respect that. It's a slow process and it felt authentic to me.

The group of friends that she makes in England are a bit too perfect to be true. They tease each other but they always know exactly the right thing to say and do at exactly the right time. There aren't even any little spats. It seems unrealistic but it was sweet to read about.

Speaking of unrealistic and sweet...

Orion is entirely too good to be true but I loved his character.

There's a whole subplot of a London band that comes to the little town of Winchester and tries to woo one of Lila's new friends away from her band and into theirs. There's quite a bit of page time devoted to all this. And it never goes anywhere. It's just a plot thread that's left dangling when the conflict has served its purpose.

I married into a Cuban family. I'm a picky eater. But holy moly, can Cubans cook. The descriptions of Lila's dishes have me dying for Cuban food and honestly, it's almost impossible to find outside of Miami. If you do find it, it's never quite the same. I don't know when I'll be able to satisfy this craving!

While I'm on my experience of Cuban families, it was very odd to me that Lila never mentions the Cuban Revolution when she talks about her abuela's life. I kept wondering why. I can't say that my in-laws harp on it, but their stories are definitely divided into Before the Revolution and After the Revolution. It's always an undercurrent when they talk about the past. In the acknowledgements, the author states that Lila's abuela's story of coming to the States as an exchange student just before the Revolution and deciding to stay is the author's own mother's story. I guess her immediate family sort of managed to accidentally dodge the whole thing so of course it doesn't figure largely in her writing.

Frankie Corzo's narration was perfection.

I recommend this as a title that will ultimately leave you with a smile on your face. Just try to have some tea and Cuban pastelitos nearby as you read.

kirstenm922's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

booksbykai09's review

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4.0

Ugh! This book is adorable!!

Lila Reyes has experienced the trifecta, her grandmother is dead, her best friend lied to her and left, and her boyfriend of 3 years broke up with her. After running off and being found panting in a park, her family makes one drastic decision. She is being shipped off to England for 3 months to her Aunt’s hotel...against her will. Lila doesn’t want to go, she can heal in Florida and work in the bakery, her destiny. While she is trying to get through life in England she rediscovers her love for the kitchen.

Through friends, cooking, and tea, her attitude towards England changes. Can she recover from the trifecta? Will she ever be able to get over her ex? Will she come out of this stronger than before?

This book was the perfect mix of cute and heartwarming. I definitely recommend for a nice warm read!