Author: Hannah Tunnicliffe
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Scribner
Macau:
the bulbous nose of China, a peninsula and two islands strung together like a
three-bead necklace. It was time to find a life for myself. To make something
out of nothing. The end of hope and the beginning of it too. After moving with her
husband to the tiny, bustling island of Macau, Grace Miller finds herself a
stranger in a foreign land—a lone redhead towering above the crowd on the busy
Chinese streets. As she is forced to confront the devastating news of her
infertility, Grace’s marriage is fraying and her dreams of family have been
shattered. She resolves to do something bold, something her impetuous mother
would do, and she turns to what she loves: baking and the pleasure of afternoon
tea.
Grace opens a café where she serves tea, coffee, and macarons—the delectable, delicate French cookies colored like precious stones—to the women of Macau. There, among fellow expatriates and locals alike, Grace carves out a new definition of home and family. But when her marriage reaches a crisis, secrets Grace thought she had buried long ago rise to the surface. Grace realizes it’s now or never to lay old ghosts to rest and to begin to trust herself. With each mug of coffee brewed, each cup of tea steeped and macaron baked, Grace comes to learn that strength can be gleaned from the unlikeliest of places.
A delicious, melt-in-your-mouth novel featuring the sweet pleasures of French pastries and the exotic scents and sights of China, The Color of Tea is a scrumptious story of love, friendship and renewal.
Grace opens a café where she serves tea, coffee, and macarons—the delectable, delicate French cookies colored like precious stones—to the women of Macau. There, among fellow expatriates and locals alike, Grace carves out a new definition of home and family. But when her marriage reaches a crisis, secrets Grace thought she had buried long ago rise to the surface. Grace realizes it’s now or never to lay old ghosts to rest and to begin to trust herself. With each mug of coffee brewed, each cup of tea steeped and macaron baked, Grace comes to learn that strength can be gleaned from the unlikeliest of places.
A delicious, melt-in-your-mouth novel featuring the sweet pleasures of French pastries and the exotic scents and sights of China, The Color of Tea is a scrumptious story of love, friendship and renewal.
I
am a sucker for books with food on the cover. This book honestly reeled me in with
a solid and endearing story line about a woman who is looking for her place in
the world and is trying to cope with life’s unsettling disappointments. I was
thrilled to find out that within the story our main character, Grace Miller,
opens a café called Lillian’s and
there she hopes to make a name for herself within Macau. I love characters who
pursue their utmost desires and dreams!!
This
story pulled on my heartstrings big time. It made me laugh and cry all at the same
time. This story is completely Grace’s, but she has the help of some amazing
secondary characters. A writer who can make the reader appreciate even the smallest
characters is getting their job done. There are in fact too many secondary
characters for me to name, but they are the icing on top of the cake in this
story. Even though I love and came to admire Grace, her story would still not
be the same without characters like Rilla and Gigi, and it is safe to say that
the book is enjoyable from reading about them alone.
Grace
Miller is suffering from a lot of things at the beginning of the novel. Her marriage
is struggling, she has been moved to China to follow her husband’s career, she
wants to become a mother but her chances are not looking good, and on top of it
all I believe that she was suffering from depression. For awhile I was
beginning to wonder if she was ever going to be able to pull out of the funk
that she was stuck in. Then came in her desire to make, serve, and sell the finest
Parisian inspired macarons that Macau has ever seen. When Grace comes upon a
closed down café for sale I knew that all her answer lay within those doors. I
was praying so hard that she would open up the café and sell her beloved
macrons.
Once
Lillan’s was open it was like reading
a whole different book and Grace’s loving and spontaneous came out as she met
many new faces and shared her passion with the locals. Grace was new to the
culture in Macau and therefore had to learn her way around and how things were
done just like someone who moves to a new school. It was interesting to watch
her transformation from a wilting flower to a blossoming rosebud. At first I
questioned if I was going to like her character but by the end of the book I
was warming up to her more and more. I love seeing characters come through
obstacles in their own lives and see how they adjust to all of the changes.
What
a wonderful book full of sugar, tears, smiles, and plenty of macarons. Grace
writes letters to her mother throughout the entire book, that are very
heartfelt and really allows you to get inside of Grace’s mind. I love added
touches like that from authors. Grace is given a new hope when the doors of Lillian’s open and the transformation of
her married as well as social life is something that I would not want to miss.
***A
copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Scribner for an
honest review***
I won a copy of this in a giveaway recently and can't wait to read it. Thanks for the great review!
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