A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea & Tomorrow was one of my favorite books ever. I love Laura Taylor Namey’s books as a whole, really, so obviously I was ecstatic to get to read this book. Let’s see what I thought about it all now, shall we?
A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak (Girl’s Guide) by Laura Taylor Namey Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers Genres: contemporary, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
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In this highly anticipated companion to the New York Times bestseller A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, Flora Maxwell heads to Miami to find a path for her future… and finds her heart along the way.
Winchester, England, has always been home for Flora, but when her mother dies after a long illness, Flora feels untethered. Her family expects her to apply to university and take a larger role in their tea-shop business, but Flora isn’t so sure. More than ever, she’s the chaotic “hurricane” in her household, and she doesn’t always know how to manage her stormy emotions.
So she decides to escape to Miami without telling anyone—especially her longtime friend Gordon Wallace.
But Flora’s tropical change of scenery doesn’t cast away her self-doubt. When it comes to university, she has no idea which passions she should follow. That’s also true in romance. Flora’s summer abroad lands her in the flashbulb world of teen influencer Baz Marín, a Miami Cuban who shares her love for photography. But Flora’s more conflicted than ever when she begins to see future architect Gordon in a new light.
Laura Taylor Namey’s newest novel navigates heartbreak that feels like a hurricane in a city that is famous for them.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: (click to reveal)
grief, loss of a loved one (mother), mention of dementia.There are no spoilers in this review.
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I ENJOYED…
☂️
- A British Girl’s Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak is focused on Flora’s journey. After her mother’s death, she decides to escape to Miami in order to try and find herself again. This is a coming of age, growth story heavily focusing on Flora’s grief journey. While this might seem really emotional and sad, I also found it, in a way, really beautiful. We follow Flora, a messy, complex, flawed, hurricane of a main character. Flora’s unexpected, sometimes you feel like slapping her and some other times, you want to hug her. I just loved how complex, unperfect and real she felt, from beginning to end. Her growth was wonderful.
- The characters surrounding Flora are equally as lovely. We get back with a bit of Lila’s family -if you read the first, companion book, A Cuban Girl’s Guide. I just love how warm and full of love they all are. Baz was another fun character to discover, I loved how we slowly got to know him and how, from a mysterious, a little bit inscrutable character, he became someone I loved. Her fake-dating scheme with Baz was fun to follow!
- Of course, Gordon’s the highlight of the book for me. Flora’s best friend, definitely feeling the more-than-friends vibe here, he’s fun and endearing and I absolutely adored him okay.
- A British Girl’s Guide has Laura Taylor Namey’s signature writing and I loved it. This author has a way with words, metaphors, giving a new, poetic, captivating dimension to what feels like a simple YA contemporary story. Definitely love that.
I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️
- This is entirely personal, but I just didn’t feel the same spark I felt with Lila, back in A Cuban Girl’s Guide. While Flora was a great, interesting and complex main character, I just didn’t fall for her as much and therefore, didn’t feel as compelled to read on, at times.
OVERALL
☂️
If you’re looking for a lovely, heartwarming and filled with feelings, kind of YA contemporary book, I can only recommend A British Girl’s Guide. I can’t wait to read more from the author.
FINAL RATING : 4 stars!
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Lovely review! I’m really looking forward to reading this book 😀
Thank you so much! I hope you’ll love it! <3 <3
LOVE the aesthetic pictures for this book! Makes me want to read it more, tbh. I LOVED When We Were Them by this author, so I have been eager to try her other books. This one seems very sweet, and I love the cover, and since you quite liked it, it is worth a try! Might start with A Cuban Girl’s Guide since you liked that one more though! Great review!
Oh thank you so much, Shannon! I need to read When We Were Them, it’s the only one by this author I haven’t read, yet. I hope you’ll love both books!! <3