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A review by eviecheesepuff
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Oops we did it again! Lovely Elena @bookselenareads and I embarked on our second buddy read of the month. Partially motivated by the upcoming movie adaptation but mostly because reading with Elena is always tons of fun ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Go check her page if you haven't yet!!!! 🥰
Okay! So this book seemed super promising: grieving Lila moves to England for the summer to get over her grandma's death and there she bakes her tears away, makes new friends and meets Orion (softest boy in the universe)
However, most of the things this book hinted at didn't really happen.
At first it seemed like we were gonna get an enemy to lovers trope but...that lasted maybe one chapter? 😂 Followed by a very long and dragged out "will they, won't they" that lasted forever tbh. These characters were 18 but they were behaving more like 14-15. So much so that when they went to a pub, it seemed out of place 😂
The narration was kinda repetitive at times and Elena brought to my attention how some parts of this book (regarding a character who does volunteer work during the summer) were portrayed in a stereotypical and offensive way. So definitely keep that in mind!
Also (another very well made point by Elena) Lila's luck/privilege is out of the charts and it never gets addressed in the book (as a Hispanic woman myself, I would have liked to see her struggle some more...maybe some discrimination upon arriving to a mostly white city? Or just struggling to use foreign ingredients while cooking? Idk!! something!! ) I feel like Orion was the only one with actual problems.
Overall it was a cute book that deals with heavy themes like grief and loss but at the end of the day it will make you want to move to an English village and eat Cuban food all day ☺️
LESSONS LEARNED
- Always listen to your abuela.
- I am 100% susceptible to a cute boy using the word "love" at the end of a sentence. Specially if he has a British accent.
- ¡Ponte un suéter que te vas a resfriar!
- Arroz con pollo can fix anything ☺️
Notes
Really looking forward to watch the movie and see how they bring it to life!!! 😊
I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more from Flora's point of view 👀
Go check her page if you haven't yet!!!! 🥰
Okay! So this book seemed super promising: grieving Lila moves to England for the summer to get over her grandma's death and there she bakes her tears away, makes new friends and meets Orion (softest boy in the universe)
However, most of the things this book hinted at didn't really happen.
At first it seemed like we were gonna get an enemy to lovers trope but...that lasted maybe one chapter? 😂 Followed by a very long and dragged out "will they, won't they" that lasted forever tbh. These characters were 18 but they were behaving more like 14-15. So much so that when they went to a pub, it seemed out of place 😂
The narration was kinda repetitive at times and Elena brought to my attention how some parts of this book (regarding a character who does volunteer work during the summer) were portrayed in a stereotypical and offensive way. So definitely keep that in mind!
Also (another very well made point by Elena) Lila's luck/privilege is out of the charts and it never gets addressed in the book (as a Hispanic woman myself, I would have liked to see her struggle some more...maybe some discrimination upon arriving to a mostly white city? Or just struggling to use foreign ingredients while cooking? Idk!! something!! ) I feel like Orion was the only one with actual problems.
Overall it was a cute book that deals with heavy themes like grief and loss but at the end of the day it will make you want to move to an English village and eat Cuban food all day ☺️
LESSONS LEARNED
- Always listen to your abuela.
- I am 100% susceptible to a cute boy using the word "love" at the end of a sentence. Specially if he has a British accent.
- ¡Ponte un suéter que te vas a resfriar!
- Arroz con pollo can fix anything ☺️
Notes
Really looking forward to watch the movie and see how they bring it to life!!! 😊
I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more from Flora's point of view 👀