A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow | HOV Book Tour // Review in 5 GIFs & FAN ART!

Greetings readers!

Welcome all to my stop on the A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW Book Tour!

I am so excited to be bring you this post today! I had so much fun reading this book and creating some fan art for this wonderful book! Many heartfelt thanks Hear Our Voices Book Tours for welcoming me to the tour!

~ THE BOOK~

A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW
by Laura Taylor Namey

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: Nov. 10, 2020
Genre: YA Fiction

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.

Goodreads| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop.org

~ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ~

Laura Taylor Namey is a Cuban-American Californian who can be found haunting her favorite coffee shops, drooling over leather jackets, and wishing she was in London or Paris. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two superstar children.

This former teacher writes young adult novels about quirky teens learning to navigate life and love. Her debut, The Library of Lost Things, published 10/08/19 from Inkyard Press/HarperCollins. Her #ownvoices sophomore project, A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW is coming November 10, 2020 from Atheneum Simon and Schuster, with a third title to follow fall 2021.

Twitter | Instagram | Website | Goodreads

~ REVIEW ~

via GIPHY

Pack your bags, friends. We are headed across the pond! Forced out of her Miami home, we travel with Lila all the way to a grey and chilly summer in England. This proud Cuban-American girl experiences a bit of a culture shock in the midst of all these Brits, but I loved the adventure that we embarked on! (Also, this book was a practice in my British accent!! XD)

via GIPHY

Hunger. You will feel it constantly while reading this very food-orientated book. Lila is an excellent baker and chef who knows how to make a kitchen her palace! I loved that Lila learned to remix her favourite dishes and combine British goodies with Cuban flavours. The different foods and sweets that she baked all sounded delicious and made me very very very hungry. I’m not exaggerating when I say my stomach grumbled every single time I opened this book.

via GIPHY

Lila is such a great character! She’s a runner and more often than not the reader chases after her! Complex and savvy are two words that really capture her! She knows she’s the best, and I kind of love that she embraces it. However, she is not perfect and reading about her perseverance is very emotional! She has to take some “hard to swallow” pills which is not easy for anyone, but for Lila it is a huge moment of growth!

via GIPHY

Slow burn romance! Like tea that you steep, you have to wait for it to get just the right flavour before you consume it! I loved the relationship between Orion and Lila. I loved that it bloomed from a hesitant friendship into something closer! I loved that they were realistic about their goals and aspirations before they decided on what their future as a couple would look like. Not to mention their relationship buds from tea tasting…I may not love the drink, but if a cute British boy was flirting with me via tea-tasting…I would swoon.

via GIPHY

It was a love story and a story of loss! A story about embarking on new adventures and letting go. It’s always hard to let go of the things you love most, especially when they leave you so unexpectedly, but it is necessary for growth and change. Namey did an incredible job of showing this bittersweet aspect of life and how it is never easy, but sometimes essential to move on.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Recommend?: Yes! This is a delightful and delicious read!

~ FAN ART ~

I present to you “Hunting for castles” a piece inspired by the book! I really enjoyed creating this! The image popped up right into my head when I read a certain scene. If you’ve read or when you read the book you will definitely get why I named it that! XD

~ FOLLOW THE TOUR ~

Click below to find other amazing posts celebrating this book!

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Let me know what you think! What are your favourite foodie books? Are you looking forward to picking this one up? Are you more of a tea-drinker or coffee-drinker?

*Please Share and/or Donate = Link to a master list of how you can help/educate yourself on Black Lives Matter and other humanitarian movements across the globe*

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Con Sabor Reading Challenge 2020 |As in the Latinx style, I am super–but fashionably–late

Greetings readers!

My papi always says that one never-ever arrives to an event at the designated time. Being 30 mins to an hour late is the fashion for my father and frankly I have channeled that energy in writing this post (seeing as I’m 4 months late to the party).

Nevertheless, I am so very, very pleased to be coming to you with this post today! I don’t generally tend to join many reading challenges because we all know I suck at meeting goals that I put for myself  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but when I found out that there was a new challenge going around prompting people to read Latinx authors…well OBVIOUSLY I HAD TO PARTAKE! And I don’t know how many Canadian-Latinx bloggers are out there joining in…but I’m happy to be a member from el norte-norte 😉

The lovely bloggers Dani @ metamorphoreader, Astrid @ Book Love Book Reviews, Natalia @ Books.Build.Life, and Nox @ Nox the Reader created the challenge and are basically motivating people to pick up as many books by Latinx authors as they can within the year 2020!

You can start any time during the year and if you want to participate you can sign up here!

The prompts are:

• January- Book with mental health representation
• February- Romance
• March- Fantasy
• April- Contemporary
• May- A genre out of your comfort zone
• June- LGBTQI+ representation
• July- Afrolatinx main character
• August- Fat representation
• November- Retelling

September & October are left free to celebrate LatinxHeritageMonth and December is catch up time (bless, I will need it.)

I have listed the months/prompts below a long with the books I’m hoping to get to to complete the challenge! I’ll be honest with you, I won’t be doing the challenge in order because schedules are iffy with me when it comes to books and some of the publishing dates don’t correspond. However, rest assured I will be getting to all the prompts!

January- Book with mental health representation

• This Train is Being Held by Ismée Williams ✔️
• **I NEED RECS**

February- Romance

• You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
• Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras

March- Fantasy

• Lobizona by Romina Garber
• Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
• Diamond City by Francesca Flores ✔️

April- Contemporary

• Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno
• Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon

May- A genre out of your comfort zone

• Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Short stories) ✔️
• Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Crime Thriller) ✔️

June- LGBTQI+ representation

• Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
• Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

July- Afrolatinx main character

• The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa ✔️
• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

August- Fat representation

• Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
• **I NEED RECS!**

November- Retelling

• Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
• **I NEED RECS**

Other books I’ll be getting to during the year and #LatinxHeritageMonth:

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega
• The Resolutions by Mia Garcia
• We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
• Even if the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia
• The Curse of the Nightwitch by Alex Astor

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Let me know what you think! As you can see, I don’t have two books for every prompt and I would very much like some recommendations! If you have any please let me know! I would also love to know if you are participating! What books are you planning on reading? What Latinx books are you looking forward too?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Nocturna | Review // There is much fun to be had!

Greetings readers!

First of all, I need to shame myself because this review was supposed to be published way before the release date, but life got in the way and I didn’t get around to it. But it is here now so at least there is that!

I also had the lovely opportunity to meet the author this past weekend, but more on that will come in a later post!

Nocturna by Maya Motayne

via Goodreads

Pub Date: May 7th, 2019
Publisher: Baltzer & Bray
Price: $23.99 CAD
Goodreads

Set in a Latinx-inspired world, a face-changing thief and a risk-taking prince must team up to defeat a powerful evil they accidentally unleashed.

To Finn Voy, magic is two things: a knife to hold under the chin of anyone who crosses her…and a disguise she shrugs on as easily as others pull on cloaks.

As a talented faceshifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever.

After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But Alfie can’t help but feel that he will never live up to his brother’s legacy. Riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.

But when Finn and Alfie’s fates collide, they accidentally unlock a terrible, ancient power—which, if not contained, will devour the world. And with Castallan’s fate in their hands, Alfie and Finn must race to vanquish what they have unleashed, even if it means facing the deepest darkness in their pasts.

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Buy It

Chapters Indigo | Amazon

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*I was provided an ARC by the HCC Frenzy team!*

OKAY so here is the deal. This is the first ever Latinx YA that I have read written by a Latinx author. So expect my expectations to be mighty high. The novel is inspired by the author’s Dominican heritage, so while it might not be my specific culture, I was still jumping off the rooftops so excited for this book!

The Likes

The Characters:

These trouble makers were the #1 reason I was so enchanted by this book. I absolutely adored them.

First and foremost there is Finn. Our fierce and mighty faceless thief. You might be a little ??? like I was when you read the faceless bit, but trust me it makes total sense. After after years and years of changing your face you seem to lose yourself in it. But yes. FINN. I truly did enjoy her. She was not a *good* person and she did a lot of shitty things, not all that she regrets. And I loved that we got to see why she was who she was. I loved reading about her backstory and the pain that she went through. I loved that she was incredibly unapologetic and yet she still had room for remorse. She was a walking, talking contradiction and I really enjoyed reading about her.

Then there is Alfie. Who is a Soft Boi™ even if he’s got issues. (I guess his issues add to his soft boi-ness) I really enjoyed reading from his POV too. His grief from losing his brother really tore him apart and he–omg–he makes so, so many mistakes!! Half the time I was like Alfie–please think!!!!! But no character ever listens to me! *shrugs* And yet there was something so evidently interesting watching him fumble and put his heart and soul on the line to mak things better. I loved reading about his growth from this boy with no future, the spare to the throne that all of a sudden has to grow up. And he doesn’t grow gracefully, he is challenged by others and himself each step of the way and I just thought his journey was really interesting

Others…

All the characters, even the side ones, had so much heart and soul and dimension in this book. They weren’t stock characters that serve one person but they had all these layers to them that I really enjoyed watching come apart. I have to shout out umm…a certain…uhh…*father figure* because holy cannoli whenever he came onto the page I got major heebee geebees.

There was Light and there was Dark:

This book is not what I consider a Dark fantasy. It really didn’t strike me as such, but there were definitely some heavier themes in this book that struck our characters lives deeply. Physical, psychological and emotional abuse played such a critical role in one of our character’s lives and journeys that it was really heart-wrenching to read about sometimes. Grief was also a huge factor in the lives of these characters as they have both lost so much and continue to lose so much throughout the story. So alongside this general mischievous and snarky dialogue and plot, there are shades of gray that these characters have to face along the way.

The Writing:

I really enjoyed the writing. You’d think because this book deals with some heavy topics that the overall tone would be a lot more somber. But these characters and this world had so much heart. There was this constant humour that had me giggling here and there and the characters sure knew how to crack a joke and a comeback–something I cannot for the life of me do.

Can we call this a romance?:

It is technically a play on my favourite trope. Enemies to lovers. But you know how people like to extend that to: enemies to reluctant allies to reluctant friends to friends to maybe more than friends to I would die for you friends to lovers. Well this book stops about when they get to Maybe more than friends and I was left wanting so so much more. But I really did like the fact that there growing feelings for each other took a back seat and that it festered quietly sneaking up on both of them at the end. And the ending is really sweet. But yeah I want MOAR.

This oh so magical world:

This was really cool magic. Alongside your regular elemental powers, everyone has their own propio magic.  A personal magic that is unique to the one person and I absolutely loved this part. As much as I love elemental magic, the propio magic just gave this world a richer character! I could definitely see some of the Dominican influences in the food, the music and obviously the Spanish that was used!

The Questionable

I really did enjoy myself while I was reading but I still felt like something was missing. I mean the action was there, the magic was there, the great characters were there…but I can’t say it’s the perfect five stars. I know I wanted more from their relationship…but it’s not that either. I know I was left with a lot of questions about the plot, but there is a sequel so I think more of those will be answered with the books to come.

There was also a lot less Spanish than I expected too. I have to say that I am a little disappointed with it and the times it was used felt a little awkward here and there. (Although I did love the Sana sana colita de rana-bit) I think the Spanish verbs would have worked better conjugated when using magic, but that’s just me *raises hands*
BUT there is a big historical reason behind the lacking Spanish so yeah–let’s just say that colonialism sucks.

So the thing is I can’t really tell you what it is that I feel is missing. Maybe the darker undertones needed a little more exploration or maybe not. I really can’t say. I just can’t put my thumb on it and it is really frustrating!

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Overall, despite not knowing what exactly is making me question my love for this book, I DID TRULY LOVE THE EXPERIENCE. There is a lot of action to be had and the magic is one you will envy to have. I loved the characters the most, they are what really made this book for me and I hope to see more of them in the sequel!

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars 

Recommend: YEAH! Yeah! YEEAAHHH!!!

Let me know what you think! Have you read this book? Are you looking forward to reading it? What kind of elemental or propio magic would you want to have?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz

Charlie Hernández & The League of Shadows | Review

Greetings readers!

I am so excited to be talking about this book today. When I stumbled upon it on twitter, I couldn’t actually believe my eyes! A Percy Jackson* like book but with Hispanic/Latinx mythology, sign me up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Given I have only read 25% of PJ novel (I’m working on it), I was still super excited!

That’s why I would like to send a big THANK YOU over to the Simon & Schuster CA team who sent me an ARC!

Also, take a moment to feast your eyes on the amazing cover and then read on for the review!

Charlie Hernández and the League of Shadows
by Ryan Calejo

Publisher: Aladdin
Pub Date: Oct 23, 2018 (TODAY)
Price: $23.99 CAD
ISBN: 9781534426580
Goodreads

The Lightning Thief meets the Story Thieves series in this middle grade fantasy inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths from the Iberian Peninsula and Central and South America.

Charlie Hernández has always been proud of his Latin American heritage. He loves the culture, the art, and especially the myths. Thanks to his abuela’s stories, Charlie possesses an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the monsters and ghouls who have spent the last five hundred years haunting the imaginations of children all across the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Central and South America. And even though his grandmother sometimes hinted that the tales might be more than mere myth, Charlie’s always been a pragmatist. Even barely out of diapers, he knew the stories were just make-believe—nothing more than intricately woven fables meant to keep little kids from misbehaving.

But when Charlie begins to experience freaky bodily manifestations—ones all too similar to those described by his grandma in his favorite legend—he is suddenly swept up in a world where the mythical beings he’s spent his entire life hearing about seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Hispanic folklore and into his life. And even stranger, they seem to know more about him than he knows about himself.

Soon, Charlie finds himself in the middle of an ancient battle between La Liga, a secret society of legendary mythological beings sworn to protect the Land of the Living, and La Mano Negra (a.k.a. the Black Hand), a cabal of evil spirits determined to rule mankind. With only the help of his lifelong crush, Violet Rey, and his grandmother’s stories to guide him, Charlie must navigate a world where monsters and brujas rule and things he couldn’t possibly imagine go bump in the night. That is, if he has any hope of discovering what’s happening to him and saving his missing parents (oh, and maybe even the world).

No pressure, muchacho.

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BUY IT!

Chapters Indigo | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

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I won’t lie the expectations for this book were over the roof. I have never read a book with Hispanic and Latin American mythology–ever–even though I am of both. So like I needed to get on these things!! So yes, the expectations were high. Lucky for me I found it quite charming, funny, a little outrageous and very magical!

What I liked:

Characters:

Charlie: He was quite the kid. He had it rough in the first couple chapters with having to deal with the emotions of his missing parents. He was a quirky kid with a big heart, no doubt. I thought his voice was incredibly well done, even though I’ve never been a 12 year old boy. He was a curious soul and he loved his family and heritage very much which is what I liked the best about him! While I don’t think he went through many dramatic character changes, I still think he learned a lot from the hectic adventures that he was put through in this book!

Violet: She was also a stellar character. She wasn’t Latina so she was new to all these myths and legends that Charlie knew so much about. I still enjoyed her very much. She was fierce and courageous. I loved her journalistic ambition and drive. For a girl so young she knew what she wanted, and knew how to get it!

The Plot:

It was very easy to follow, there was never any point where I was like “What the heck is goin’ on!?” Calejo draws out a nice history and prophecy for readers to follow and guess about along the way. It was interesting and led to some very fun and fast-paced scenes. I would have perhaps liked to spend just a little more time with La Liga, just to get to know them and their motives a little better. The explanation bits were kind of rushed, which I understand was to avoid stalling the story, but I don’t mind a little description.

The Mythology (What we are all here for):

Okay. So……………………..I’ll be 100% I knew like 3 legends from this book before going in. *A little me backstory* My parents didn’t really tell me any myths growing up except like one or two. It was mostly when we travelled back home to El Salvador that I would hear about these legends. The most prominent being La Siguananda (creepy as hell). I feel like I kind of missed out on a lot of these myths because I had no one to tell me, so books like these really help me get to know some of them. (In which I then go down a google search spiral for hours)

Anyways, back to the story! I thought the mythological aspects were great! There was a glossary at the back of the book which I often referred to it when new myths arrived! Every new legend had their own little spotlight and got their history spanned out! My favourites would have to be La Siguanada (since I actually knew her story and find it fascinating….now that I am older and not so scared XD) and Justo Juez because he is apparently super famous in El Salvador, but I didn’t know! (Google search will happen very soon)

Oh but there were so many! They added such fun and creepiness to the story! While some were more comic reliefs others really had major effects on the plot. Not all of the myths were fully evil or fully good. They all had a purpose to the story and I had a fantastic time learning about all these new kind of magical beings!

The Action:

So well done! With so many different beings to encounter there was a lot going on and poor Charlie couldn’t catch a break sometimes! There was always another myth lined up ready to be revealed. It was a great amount of fun and the scenes were super intense, but still funny which is my favourite combo! I especially liked how the author did not shy away from hiding these supernatural phenomenons from the human world. Although, it did make it harder for Charlie to hide his manifestations and bruises from near-death experiences.

Those times when there were phrases in Spanish and I didn’t need the characters to translate for me:

It feels good.

What I Disliked:

Little things here and there. Ummmm….personally I was not the biggest fan of the flow. I mean I enjoyed the action and the direction of the story, but it felt a little choppy here and there. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but I felt like there was some connection missing between certain events. Also, there was like one big twist in the book. It was a good one, but still, gimme more.

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Overall, I enjoyed this book! Did it meet those super high expectations? For the most part. Frankly, I just enjoyed the fact that I was reading a book where a part of my culture was being reflected, something I have never read before. It was so interesting to read about and I’m sure many Hispanic and Latinx folks out there will find something in this book that will make them go, “Hey! I know that legend!”

I don’t know if there is going to be a sequel…but that ending sure looked like it was ready for a sequel and I am all for it!

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars (The good four)

Recommend: YES! Read all the Latinx book you can! Oh and if you have a kid (or are a kid) who loves PJ and adventure stories, give them (or yourself) a new set of myths to explore and discover 😉

Let me know what you think! Are you looking to pick this up? What myths and legends would you like to read about? Have any of you heard of any famous Hispanic/Latinx mythology?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz