My hand flies up to the golden dove charm hanging around my neck, Abuela’s gift from four years ago. She finds that her clothes are not weather appropriate, the inn’s baker is not willing to let her incorporate some of her recipes, and she feels like she’s making mistake after mistake. Synopsis: Teenage master of Cuban cuisine, Lila Reyes, is eager to inherit her family’s Miami bakery along with her sister, Pilar. If the author didn’t want to pick a specific country for Lila’s friend to do her “humanitarian” gap-style year in, I don’t think just generalising the whole continent is the answer. Orion entertains her with his mental collection of superstitions and sweeps her onto his vintage motorbike.

And while I think my expectations were a little too high as I kinda got a little disappointed with this book.

The story was a little predictable but that’s kinda why I love cheesy Hallmark movies, it’s knowing everything will be just fine. Lila Reyes doesn’t want to be in England—in fact, she’d rather be where she feels most at home, in her Abuela’s kitchen in Miami, carrying on her legacy. Firstly, let me just say I know its been quite a bit since I’ve been blogging and interacting with you all, I’ve missed it honestly. Cozier than a hand-knit gray cardigan and richer than Abuela's pastelito recipe, Namey takes you from Miami to Winchester, and leaves your heart belonging to both. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow has its place in a collection dedicated to teen stories, especially for a passionate baker or someone with a serious jones for Miami.

Namey’s deal was brokered by Natascha Morris at The Tobias Literary Agency and Andrew Deane at Industry Entertainment.A proud Cuban-American, she can be found hunting for vintage treasures and wishing she was in London or Paris. It’s un recuerdo of huge proportions, a memento of a best-friend plan I’m not quite ready to stuff into a drawer. When Lila arrives in England, she’s quite (internally) critical of everything about it and I get that summer in Miami and summer in Hampshire, England would be very different.

I thought this was very well written and I especially appreciated the way that the author depicted grief and depression, and I also thought that the romance at the center of this felt well flushed out and that the characters had great chemistry. Lila is not the easiest of characters in the beginning – she’s grieving a lot but she’s also angry and resentful that she’s been sent away. Through the power of baking and delicious Cuban cooking, this story made it especially clear at how food can help one heal, but also bring people together. I can see why Owl and Crow guests rave about the afternoon tea served in the parlor, but there’s too much sugar in this scone.

However, something about this book just didn't wow me the way that it seems to have wowed everyone else?