On August 16, Deadline reported exclusively that Laura Taylor Namey’s 2020 NYT Bestselling romance novel A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow is getting adapted into a film through ACE Entertainment, with a cast already attached and production launched in Yorkshire, England.
Taylor Namey’s novel follows baker Lila Reyes who never planned to spend a summer in England. However, a series of events primarily including the loss of her grandmother, her parents worry about her mental health deciding it’s best to spend time away from the family’s Cuban panadería to stay at her aunt’s inn located in Winchester, England for a much needed reset. From Miami to London, she finds herself falling in love with the countryside, fusion cooking and a charming British tea-shop clerk named Orion. As she warms up to the charming English summer, she finds that food and her adventures, slowly heal her heart.
Maia Reficco will star as Lila Reyes, Kit Connor (Heartstopper) is set to play Orion Maxwell (according to Taylor Namey’s tweet) and Kate del Castillo has also been attached to star in the adaptation.
In her narrative debut, Katherine Fairfax Wright will direct the project, Khalia Amazan and Savion Einstein have been attached as screenwriters, alongside Matt Kaplan who will produce.
ACE Entertainment has adapted Young Adult novels such as the ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’ trilogy and more recently ‘Hello, Goodbye And Everything In Between.’
Taylor Namey stated with much excitement in her initial tweet “So honored and completely over the moon to announce this news that took my breath away so many months ago…” According to her profile, she is also confirmed to be an executive producer on the project.
No other news was revealed as to release date or whether a streaming service will acquire the film. A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow was featured as Reese’s Book Club pick in November of 2020.
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.
A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey is out now!
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