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

4.25

just a super fun book. the friendships in the book were just superior. i love how they all just accepted her to the circles and all the little adventures they go on. it romanticizes small mundane things. going to late night concerts, running around parks, going to tourist spots, trying all the drinks in a tea shop until finding a tea that fits you, dancing and cooking at the kitchen together, etc. i love how they all just heard about a bad experience that the main character had, and just took it upon themselves to recreate it so she will have better memories.

i absolutely love the main character! she had such great energy. full of life and love; she knows what she likes and isn’t afraid of speaking her mind. she loves to cook and immediately finds a bakery to try to help in, and she always gives small samples to her friends and strangers. it’s very difficult to not support someone who radiates such positive vibes :)

i like how the main character lived in two places, and she isn’t sure how to combine her feelings to the people she met and the sights she’s seen. she feels like she needs to belong to one place, and doesn’t know how to navigate the love and experiences she found once she moves to a new place.

there were multiple plot lines happening in addition to the romance, and it was nice that we got to follow other aspects of the main character’s life & other characters. people vandalizing stores while orion is trying to find whoever did it, dealing with grief after her grandmother died, a mom with a chronic illness, someone is trying to follow their dream to become a musician, etc - there were so many interesting elements to the book, and it didn’t feel overwhelming or anything like that.