‘The Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow’ by Laura Taylor Namey is a really simple, heartwarming story. It’s the book you should read when you don’t feel like reading anything. It will help you get over a reading slump that this weird weather seems to be great at inducing in even the most voracious readers I know. It’s a light read so you can dip in and out—read a couple of pages and come back to it whenever you want. After losing her grandmother, her best friend, and being dumped by her boyfriend in just a couple of months, Lila’s mental health is in shambles and she’s unable to cope. Her family is worried about her and they decide to send her to England for the summer—to live with some family friends at a small inn in Winchester. They hope a change of scene will heal her aching heart. But Lila’s a Miami girl through and through. She hates having to leave the city she grew up in and she is sure she will be miserable in England. But life has other plans. First, she meets Orion. Not only does he teach her a thing or two about tea, the most consumed beverage in England, but he also becomes her tour guide of sorts and takes her around the city. Surprisingly, she finds he eases her heartbreak a little—something that once felt impossible. Then, there are all these unexpected friends she makes. She also becomes interested in studying the culinary arts at one of the most prestigious schools in England, just an hour’s drive from Winchester. Will Lila give up the life she knew for something different? Or will England just be what it was supposed to be in the first place? A short distraction.

‘The Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow’ is a cute love story. But it’s also a story about finding yourself, in places you least expect to, and about how friends can be your anchor when you need it the most. It reminds you that nothing is permanent, least of all pain and that you can actually ‘grow through what you go through’. The setting is soothing and Namey’s writing brings the town right before your eyes. You feel like you are there, in the middle of it all.

Apart from all the romance and life lessons, there are also a lot of mentions of food. So, fair warning, don’t read this one on an empty stomach or even when you feel like you could do with something to nibble on. It really made me want to grab a croissant or a cupcake so many times. All the talk of baking and Lila’s love for it will make your mouth water. Three and a half stars Fiction The Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow Laura Taylor Namey Published: 2020 Publisher: Atheneum Books Pages: 320, Paperback