A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

By: Laura Taylor Namey

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

SELECTED AS A YALSA 2022 AMAZING AUDIO FOR YOUNG ADULTS!

A New York Times bestseller
A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick

Love & Gelato meets Don’t Date Rosa Santos in this charming, heartfelt story following a Miami girl who unexpectedly finds love—and herself—in a small English town.

For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela’s role as head baker at their panadería, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything—including Lila herself—fell apart.

Worried about Lila’s mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: Spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare to Lila…until she meets Orion Maxwell.

A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester’s drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila’s mind—one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind.

Critic reviews

"Frankie Corzo smoothly navigates accent subtleties in her narration of this sweet story about life pivots. When devastating events leave Lila reeling after high school graduation, her parents have her stay with family in England for the summer. Lila is comforted when she infuses Miami flavors from home into her cousin's kitchen. She embraces friendships with Orion, a neighboring tea shop clerk, and his friends. But what happens to these connections once it's time for Lila to go home? . . . A formal British accent enhances Orion's charm and showcases cultural differences. Corzo's voice fades out while delivering unfinished sentences as Lila and Orion determine their relationship status, emphasizing the difficulty of the situation."

Cute and cozy 💜

I loved this book, although a YA book, it’s for any age. I loved the imagery and detail whether scenic or describing ingredients! It was a sweet book of a young girl who was hit with life and losses of variety all at once but then goes away and finds herself…a new path to her journey that she would have never known had this road not been paved for her. A sweet book about focusing on the present and not so much about tomorrow ;-)

Beautifuy Written

This book gave me all the feels! it was funny, sad, romantic all in one. I highly recommend!

Excellent

This is the first audio book I've been able to listen to and enjoy! I loved the story and the performance! Fantastic!

Brought to life

This is not my typical audible listen or read. The last romance I can remember reading is Jane Eyre in 1982. Romantic comedies and pizza were the favorite dates for my wife and me for decades. We also enjoyed trying cuisines from all over the world. I am glad I took a break from my typical literature choices; history, science, religion, philosophy and adventures.

A couple of weeks ago I messaged Frankie Corzo, thanking her for how she brought Orion and Lila and the other characters to life with her narration. I say it again now. Laura Taylor Namey is to be congratulated for bringing the characters to life with the interconnected weaving of their experiences into a coherent story of love, loss, gratitude, and flexibility in changing their recipes of food and life. The author also thanked the illustrator for bringing Lila and Orion to life on the cover. A lot of people brought this story to life.

Excellent read.

AFHJ 2925

Smart, Witty, Fresh, Creative, and Intriguing

What a brilliant novel! I loved everything about this little book. I didn’t know of Namey before but I’m super glad that Witherspoon shined light on this book. I highly recommend reading it. Lighthearted and genuine. Definitely one of those that I could listen to again. Oh, speaking of listening, what a brilliant narrated novel! It was a pleasure listening to it!