The Color of Tea

April 30, 2012
A sweet, airy novel for women and about women: a barren wife, stuck in Macau, China, salvages her sanity by opening a French cafe. Grace and her husband Pete are devastated when they learn they can’t have a child. Pete, who opens casinos in exotic places, escapes sorrow in his exhausting job; Grace wallows in grief at home until she remembers seeing a property for sale “with ovens.” She decides to turn the once smoky Portuguese restaurant into Lillian’s, a cafe serving tea, coffee, macarons... and healing, and not just for Grace. She acquires a regular clientele, first old Yok Lan, and then the beautiful expat Marjory. She hires a secretive, hardworking Filipino girl named Rilla to help her navigate the language barrier, and a brusque Chinese girl named Gigi, good with dishonest suppliers, who Grace discovers is pregnant. Making macarons, the women bond, so that when tragedy strikes they’re able to withstand what threatens them. The denouement is predictable, almost maudlin, but satisfying. This debut author dishes up a fair amount of culinary metaphor, but Macau, rich in potential, is absent; the women in this cafe could be anywhere. Agent: Catherine Drayton, Inkwell Management.

June 1, 2012

Grace arrives in Macau with her husband, Pete, in 2007, the Year of the Pig. Pete is working on the construction of a new casino, but Grace has nothing much to do. When she learns that she is unable to have children, both she and Pete are heartbroken. To fill her time and assuage her grief, she decides to do something bold: inspired by her love of baking and afternoon tea, she opens a cafe dedicated to her impetuous mother, Lillian. While building the business, she forges friendships that help her reconstruct her shattered life. In her first novel, Tunnicliffe creates a rich story of life and its complexities, of gains and losses, of good days and bad. Her characters are like the pastries at Lillian's Cafe--exotic combinations of sweet and spicy ingredients that make up the whole. VERDICT A sweet and melancholy story that captures the imagination, this book will appeal to most readers of women's fiction.--Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Providence

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
Grace Miller is living in Macau, China, with her husband, Pete, who is working on a new casino. She is disconnected from everyone around her, for her inability to have children separates her from the other expat wives, and the language barrier prevents her from meeting locals. She and Pete grow farther apart as deep emotional hurts go unaddressed. Grace finds some reprieve writing unsent letters to her wild, estranged mother, dwelling on memories of a nomadic childhood and a fondness for Parisian bakeries. The only one she feels close to is a handsome, married Frenchman, who encourages her to open a cafe specializing in the macarons she loves. The novel starts slowly, bogged down by the weight of Grace's depression. But as the cafe grows, Grace's relationships with her employees and customers deepen, and the pace picks up. A gorgeous, exotic location, mouthwatering baked treats, and incredible female bonding make this a debut worth checking out. Plus, macarons are the new cupcake, so this should be an easy sell, especially to fans of other foodie women's fiction, such as Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients (2009).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)