The Color of Tea

Jul 13, 2012 Chrissy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: great-story

When it comes to tea, I'm all about it, and that includes books. There is something familiar about tea that makes it so appealing around the world.

I enjoyed this book. Set in Macau with a diverse populace for a Chinese island, the story weaves the lives of Grace-barren wife with a rocky marriage-with a small cadre of women who change her into the secure and confidant woman she becomes. Her cafe brings these women together with macarons and tea--a match made in heaven. The characters are well co...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars

**Note to cover designer: If the main character is a redhead, please use a red-headed model. Or did you not read the book or even the back blurb? **

This is the book for you if you enjoy endless introspection. I do not. When the character finally bothered herself to do something and decided to open a cafe, we were robbed of her actually doing it. Two pages later, it's open. I enjoy rooting for a character. If you take away their struggles, what's to root for? The same amount of two pages is also...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Iris Stewart-bosch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-color-of-tea

The Colour of Tea is one of the best novels I have ever read. It's incredibly realistic and the character of Grace Miller is one of those who after 5 pages you are already rooting for her. Hannah Tunnicliffe is so expressive with her language description; one of my favorite's is when the colour of a baby's eyes are described as "oolong". The black/orange creamy Chinese tea. It is bittersweet at times because Grace never got to say goodbye to her mother before she passed away and her mother and h...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Chelsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 c...more 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***
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Jul 31, 2012 Elaine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking, debut-novels

I confess I generally cut debut novels quite a lot of slack, because the writers are first-time authors and really shouldn't be judged on the same scale as more veteran ones, who've learned the pitfalls to avoid. WIth that caveat, I upped The Color of Tea to two stars. I actually didn't like it, but it had two things going for it: the story made me care for the protagonist and the setting of Macau for this novel was genuinely evocative.

The story surrounds middle-aged Grace Miller who finds herse...more I confess I generally cut debut novels quite a lot of slack, because the writers are first-time authors and really shouldn't be judged on the same scale as more veteran ones, who've learned the pitfalls to avoid. WIth that caveat, I upped The Color of Tea to two stars. I actually didn't like it, but it had two things going for it: the story made me care for the protagonist and the setting of Macau for this novel was genuinely evocative.

The story surrounds middle-aged Grace Miller who finds herself with her husband ensconced in Macau as expatriates. They have been trying to conceive for a long time without any success, and the stress of that has leached joy out of their sexual congress and bliss out of their marriage. Grace, a former waitress with apparently little proven skill or professional training in anything, begins to turn her mind to opening a cafe in Macao when an opportunity presents itself, with a little help from a professional chef, Leon, whom she also begins to develop unruly feelings for. When the cafe opens, women begin to enter Grace's life, from the Filipino help -- Rilla -- that Leon finds for her, to Gigi, the granddaughter of one of the cafe's Chinese patrons, Yok Lan, a smart-mouth, tres chic, local Chinese girl who can speak English. Then, there is Marjorie, a former dancer and another patron of the cafe, who becomes embroiled more than she bargained for in the plights of Filipino helpers in Macao, who are frequently taken advantage of, not only by the agencies who squirrel them over to Hong Kong and Macao, but also the frequently tyrannical employers who hire them and abuse them with frying pans. So, there are lots of lively characters to work with here. The plot moves along swiftly enough with all these walk-on characters and there is a kind of plot momentum when we witness Grace's marriage biodegrade from the trials of infertility, unspoken hurts and the ghosts of the past, together with the strains that come from both of them working hours that only seem to push them to become ships passing in the night.

The setting is Macau is carefully evoked, and having lived in Hong Kong for a few years, many of the details were very accurately and interestingly drawn. It brought back quite a few memories for me. They also felt true in the way that only someone who has lived in Hong Kong or that area of the world will know, such as the quality of the sun and air, the dealings between expatriates and Filipino help, the insidious and callous racism often demonstrated by expatriates in the us-versus-them general tone of conversation. It's one of these things that are so pervasive that to do what Grace did to Linda -- telling her to 'piss off' often gets you labelled as iconoclastic, eccentric, or worse, one of those guilty-hypocritical-liberals who talk the talk but do not walk the walk. These were all things I observed in the shallowly capitalistic megalopolis of Hong Kong, and also the unacknowledged support band for its continuous prosperity. The Hong Kong Government is laissez-faire in all things, including labor safety and protection.

But there are some pitfalls in this book and I name them here. I name them here because I think that they are pitfalls a debut writer can easily fall into (and I a, guilty of some of them in my own first novel).

1. When a protagonist has lived for a certain amount of time in your head, she takes on certain main characteristics that can get overemphasized and become tiresome in the novel. E.g. In FiFty Shades of Grey, the oft-cited reference is to the the usage of "oh my" by the protagonist whenever she comes to a pivotal emotional moment. Here, while not quite as blatantly unskillful, there are too many occasions describing the protagonist getting up in the morning, or after having just gotten up, or about to go to bed.

2. Character development. Granted, the plot of the book seemed to only allow the husband and wife to meet in the battlefield of the bed, but there were also episodes where they were together which potential was left unmined in my opinion. Grace's way of dealing with things is very passive. When confronted with her husband's unreasonable accusations of adultery, and then his self-confessed sex with a prostitute, her way of dealing is basically not to deal. There is no confrontation other than flung words of "I can't stand the sight of you". Then, when her anger passes, she simply seems to take him back without any proper reckoning.

3. Plot development. Things just seem to happen very easily in this novel. Almost glossed over in fact. I can't imagine opening a cafe in Macau when you speak not a lick of Cantonese can be as breezy as it has appeared in this novel. In the space of two or three pages, Grace has managed to get a cafe open. From a woman without any experience doing any of this, and who was literally unable to get out of bed, I just find it really hard to believe that she was as unruffled as she seems to be over the entire cafe opening, from the moment of idea generation to execution. I'm not sure whether this is lack of research, laziness, or that the initial amount of detail overwhelmed the novel and so she was advised to take it out. But regardless, there should be some balance. I'm the kind of reader that wants to get into the meat of things. I want to get into the heart of the novel, be in it for the duration, good or bad. I do not like to be told that "She had an idea to open a cafe". Then two pages later, the cafe opened.

Next, without so much as a glitch, the cafe takes off. Without any serious marketing on Grace's part. Without her doing any promos. Without the usual business difficulties and start-up issues that confront every entrepreneurial effort. A typhoon does come and destroy the interior of the cafe, but even this seems bleached of any real terror or emotional uprising in the protagonist. All in all, she's either as bland as vanilla or as passive as a schoolbus waiting for the kids to be let out of school.

4. The Ending. Without giving the ending away, I am astounded that this ending was acceptable to the editors involved. Really, you can make that kind of swap? Isn't it illegal? Aren't there plenty of legalities to get through, none of which was even remotely mentioned. And last but not least, Gigi's motivation for the swap is simply breathtakingly bizarre. I simply cannot buy the absolute lack of maternal love on her part, not when she's been painted to be such an upright character. It's like a bad macaron. It leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. What happened here? I would wager that when there hasn't been enough character development, the ending doesn't suggest itself, and this might be one of those cases when the book needed to conclude, but it's not clear how.

5. Also every chapter had a macaron chapter heading. A name for an exotically created macaron such as plum and hibiscus with chocolate ganache or cinnamon with dark chili chocolate ganache. I would have loved for this book to be more Like Water for Chocolate here. Actually provide a recipe. It would leave the reader with something more substantial than just a wisp of exotic food names. Either that or actually describe the process of Grace making macarons. The only thing we ever get a direct glimpse of is her staring into the oven as the shells rise and inflate. We don't get a single description of her actually going through the labor of making them. I have to say: being held with such kid-gloves by the author makes me wonder if she thinks the readers of food fiction novels are idiots or just easily bored.

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Jun 25, 2012 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature-fiction, fiction

Story Description:

Scribner|June 5, 2012|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-1-4516-8699-9

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 city 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 s...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I start reading a new book there are a couple of things that have to happen in order for me to one: start reading the book, and two: continue reading the book. The cover of the book is not always important for me but I do love a cover that captures my eye and I sit back and say "oh now that's a beautiful cover" but sometimes I find a cover of a book so beautiful or interesting it can be the only reason I get it and happy I did because it turns out it was an amazing book, but, sometimes that...more When I start reading a new book there are a couple of things that have to happen in order for me to one: start reading the book, and two: continue reading the book. The cover of the book is not always important for me but I do love a cover that captures my eye and I sit back and say "oh now that's a beautiful cover" but sometimes I find a cover of a book so beautiful or interesting it can be the only reason I get it and happy I did because it turns out it was an amazing book, but, sometimes that also back fires on me as well. Also if I can't get past the first 2 - 3 chapters most of the time I will put the book aside for a bit but I will always pick it up at a later time, I NEVER not finish a book, it's kind of like a "B" movie, ya just gotta find out what happens at the end of it lol.

Hannah Tunnicliffe has done both, created a beautiful cover very fitting for this book and I had absolutely no problem getting past the first 2 - 3 chapters, in fact the very first chapter had me captured and happily reading and not wanting to put it down at all. Now I'm not sure if you all know this about me, but some of my love's are food lol (who's isnt), a great book, and travelling (which I never get to do). I have always been very interested in Asian culture, it's beauty, serinity, work ethic, respectfulness, lanuage, their love of family, it is a place I have always wanted to travel to. Hannah's detailed descriptions of not only the character's she has created but the cafe Grace has built right down to Macau, China made me feel like I was right there in the story. I could see, feel, hear, and smell everything she was describing, some books go overboard with the details so much that it leaves nothing to the imagination, that was not the case here.

I have to say for a debut novel Hannah has come out with a huge bang! I really loved this book, it is an easy read as the story flows with all the right elements in all the right places. The characters, oh how I loved them all, I made a connection with all of them from Grace to Rilla, Gigi and Marjory and Gigi's grandmother Yok Lan. Grace started out as a weak character but given her current circumstances you understand why, and I really don't think it was that she was weak as much as it was she just didn't understand how to break away from her sadness the was overtaking her. Once Grace decided to open the cafe and the others entered her life that's when the cloud started to lift from Grace's life and eye's.

This was a fabulous story, a great plot and ending, it made me smile, laugh out loud, even tear up at times, it was emotional and I think throughout the book we could at some point relate in someway to what Grace was either going through for feeling. It made me not want the story to end, it would be great to have a second book years later to see how things turned out for all of them. Bravo Hannah, Bravo, a wonderful debut novel and I can't wait to read more from you. I highly recommend this book and hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Enjoy!!! (less)

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Aug 13, 2012 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe was intriguing to me. Grace, the main character is reeling after years of an infertility struggle. I read another review of this novel and had to laugh when she is described as middle aged although she is "only" in her thirties.

Living abroad on Macau and trying to come to terms with her Mother's passing and searching for an identity as a partner to her successful husband, she opens a small cafe baking divine French pastries called macarons. While a link to...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction, asia

3.5. Foodie fiction in China? Yes, please. I was very excited about this book. I love, love, love foodie fiction and I love armchair traveling so this book definitely fit the bill.

I loved the setting of the book. Macau seems like a sort of glamorous place. It has a lot going on and still seems to hold on to its European influence. It was a Portuguese settlement back in the day and is now a special administrative district of China, sort of like Hong Kong. I loved the exotic-ness of the setting. T...more 3.5. Foodie fiction in China? Yes, please. I was very excited about this book. I love, love, love foodie fiction and I love armchair traveling so this book definitely fit the bill.

I loved the setting of the book. Macau seems like a sort of glamorous place. It has a lot going on and still seems to hold on to its European influence. It was a Portuguese settlement back in the day and is now a special administrative district of China, sort of like Hong Kong. I loved the exotic-ness of the setting. Tunnicliffe paints a great picture of the city and its people. It made me want to visit!!! I definitely thought that the book was at its best when the setting was being described. I loved hearing about how Lillian's (the restaurant in the book) was set up.

I also liked the food part. Lillian's is a sort of bakery come tea house that specializes in macarons, a delicious French treat that can be incredibly temperamental to make. The interesting in the book is that Grace doesn't know how to make the macarons at first and so Leon, another character who owns another restaurant, helps her make the macarons and then they become the focus of Grace's shop. I kind of wonder why Grace doesn't choose to build a business around something that she already knew. It just seemed to be a big gamble that I didn't really understand the motive behind. I did like the story. It kept me reading, wanting to see what happens. I did wish that I understood a little bit more about the motives of all of the characters. Grace seems to want to set up a cafe very suddenly and I wish that I knew more about why. She seems to hint at the idea that it was something spontaneous that her mother would do but I'm wondering if that was not the only reason.

I did like the food part of the book. Macarons are totally intimidating to me. It's something that I've never attempted to bake. Thus, I loved living vicariously through Grace. Each chapter was named after one of the macarons served at Lillian's and some of them sound absolutely to die for! I did have one regret on this though. The book talks about all those delicious macarons yet there is not a recipe to be found in the book. Throw us a bone, please!!!

Bottom line: A delicious trip!

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Oct 29, 2012 Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lindsey by: Joanne Rehage

I really enjoyed this book! It's a story of a couple who move to Macau, China because of the husband's work. At the beginning of the book, the couple finally finds out that they will be unable to have children. This shatters the couple and slowly splits apart their relationship.

The woman deals with this sorrow by opening up a french cafe that specializes in macarons, a french dessert. She names it after her mother, who she had a strong but volatile relationship with. She becomes immersed in her...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Janet rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm going to have to go with 3.5 stars on this one. That's only because I can't decide if I just liked it or if I really liked it. I have those moments! :-D The premise of the book is tried and true (woman trying to find herself and turns to making food, i.e., "Chocolat," "Like Water for Chocolate," etc.). You can hardly go wrong with a storyline that involves food! Yum! It was a very enjoyable story and the characters were nice although I didn't find myself becoming attached to any of them like...more

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May 04, 2012 Shannon White rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: localiez-reviews

Readers that enjoyed titles such as The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, and even The Secret Life of Bees, are sure to enjoy Tunnicliffe's The Color of Tea.

The Color of Tea was not what I expected. Although the book takes place in Macau, a rarely discussed locale, the story could really have happened anywhere...even in your own hometown. You will not find elaborate descriptions of Macau or even the culinary delights that Gracie serves up but what you wil...more

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May 07, 2013 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, chick-lit

It took a little time to get into this book, though I think that is as the author intended. Getting to know the characters and the story is like making a new friend. Beautifully written, Hannah Tunnicliffe has created something wonderful (with only a sort-of happy ending).

I picked up this book because I have a thing about macarons, and was taken by the incredible flavour combinations that begin each chapter. I have an ever-present need to attempt and create them now! I was then taken on a heart...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Laurie Carlson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: macarons, teacher, unable-to-bear-children, depression-era, macau-china, lillian-s, cafe, married, marital-crisis, letters-to-her-mother, life-decisions, from-the-publisher, french-pastry-macaron-not-to-be-c

I have never tried a macaron, but now I must try one after reading this book, if I can be lucky enough to find this delicate French pastry! Yes, France is where Grace first falls in love with the macaron, not to be confused with a chewy, coconut macaroon, as the two are completely different. I had to look up the two as I was a little confused about a macaroon and a macaron, plus I had to find the pronunciation, as I was and curious, too, to see if they were two separate pastries!
I went to Wikipe...more I have never tried a macaron, but now I must try one after reading this book, if I can be lucky enough to find this delicate French pastry! Yes, France is where Grace first falls in love with the macaron, not to be confused with a chewy, coconut macaroon, as the two are completely different. I had to look up the two as I was a little confused about a macaroon and a macaron, plus I had to find the pronunciation, as I was and curious, too, to see if they were two separate pastries!
I went to Wikipedia to try to distinguish if these were two different items or one that America spelled incorrectly. The macaron that was in this book is described at this LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron
The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, squared top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.[3]
And as this:
The fillings cana range from jams to ganache to butter. Since the English word macaroon (notice the double O's) can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonymous.[5]
You'll notice "I" underlined and noted above the double o's for macaroon.
The macaron is not spelled incorrectly, but is completely different from the macaroon here in America. The macaron is entirely French.
The photos on the front of the book look exactly as the one did at Wikipedia for the French pastry. With that explained, and so no one mixes up the macaron in this book with the American macaroon, onto the review!
It took me forever to read this book. Months. It was not a book that grabbed me and drew me into 'wanting or needing to read it.' For myself, it was not a 'must read' book. It was enjoyable, but I did not feel the book pull me in where I had to read this story. Had I not felt as if I had to read it, I probably would have put it down. The beginning of the book was very slow and depressing, but I believe it was written this way intentionally, to show the depression that Grace was suffering through over the reality that she would never be able to bear children. This debut author very much succeeded in what she was trying to do.
I also have a personality differences between myself and the main character, which made it harder for me to relate to this delicate, sad, soft spoken character. I prefer a stronger character than Grace was, but I continued on, and happily, the character does becomes that stronger character in her own way.
Grace decides she would like to open a cafe in Macau making macarons, a delicate French pastry. She meets with a man, Leon, whom she knows from living in Paris. Leon loves Grace, and Grace finds herself liking him very much as well, but she realizes it's more for the love of the macaron and she has to put a distance between them. She learns alongside him the intricacies of baking the macarons and getting them just right. There is a talent to making these just right. She perfects it and opens the cafe, calling it Lillian's, after her own mother. Once she opened Lillian's, her French cafe serving tea and macarons in China, the shop becomes bustling with customers and energy. Grace becomes a completely different person. She becomes much stronger, more confident of herself, much happier, able to be a boss and direct people to do things and more. She realizes she is happy. For the first time she is truly happy, all thanks to Lillian's. Lillian's made her face any fears and loss she had in life making her become whole.
I have to mention this author's style of writing. It is very beautiful. It is prose, thought and then very descriptive, all mixed together in the way Grace talks about her life, her husband, her friends Gigi and Rilla, writes letters to her mother and even the way the author names the chapters of the book, such as The' Pour Deux - Tea for Two/Pink Earl Grey Infused with Dark Chocolate Ganache. Every chapter is titled in this way. In some ways her writing is almost poetic at times in the way she describes many things, from the Chinese New Year, down to the french macaron and the way it is crisp at first, softens as it melts in your mouth and then the flavor explodes to life in your mouth at the exact time it's supposed to as a macaron should.
She also writes like this about the places she has lived, Macau, the people of Macau, and and in the apologetic letters written to her mother as Grace feels somewhat guilty for the way she left her mother, the way she did it, the words she used when she was younger, and in a beautiful way, asks for her forgiveness in these letters. It is very special as you read this, as you can also see Grace's growth as a person as she writes the letters, never fully coming out and telling her mother what has happened, but describing them in a different perspective. These letters were healing for Grace.
Grace is devastated by something that happens in her marriage, and finds she must climb out of this, too. She puts some of the blame of it on herself, where I had a hard time with that. Grace's character is a very forgiving character, and when it comes to a vow being broken in marriage the way it was, I am not as forgiving a person as Grace is regarding it, and she even puts some of the blame on herself as to what happened, where I would have played it over and over in my mind and not blamed myself. The character really did struggle to overcome this and forgive him, but I could not have forgiven and gotten over it the way she did and I might even have left the marriage because of it.
Overall, in the end she found herself a completely different person than the person she was when she arrived in Macau. She was a better person for herself, her close friends she made, and her husband. The ending was beautiful, but predictable. I was disappointed with that. It was almost a fairy tale ending you could see coming to easily.
Overall, this book was a very delicate book just like tea and macarons, but strong in taste as tea can be, and just as macarons are supposed melt slowly and burst into it's flavor on your tongue. If you love tea and delicate pastries, this book will be very much appreciated if you can get past a few of these things I mention.
I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Scribner Books, a Division of Simon and Schuster, in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but, of my own honest opinion. “Free” means I was NOT provided with ANY MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading the book. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa...
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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Aug 16, 2012 Trish rated it 5 of 5 stars

I pulled The Color of Tea off the new arrivals shelf at the library during a quick scan before catching up with my son in the children’s section. The lovely front cover caught my eye first, and then words like Macau and café and macarons jumped out at me from the back cover, making me think this might be an enjoyable read for one of the last weeks of summer. I hardly expected a random pick to turn out to be such a wonderful excursion, not only to a foreign land, but into the human heart as well....more I pulled The Color of Tea off the new arrivals shelf at the library during a quick scan before catching up with my son in the children’s section. The lovely front cover caught my eye first, and then words like Macau and café and macarons jumped out at me from the back cover, making me think this might be an enjoyable read for one of the last weeks of summer. I hardly expected a random pick to turn out to be such a wonderful excursion, not only to a foreign land, but into the human heart as well.

Grace Miller arrives in Macau with her husband Pete, who is in charge of construction on a new casino. They have no children, although not for lack of trying, and shortly after their arrival, Grace receives the news that her chances of becoming pregnant are gone, chased away by premature ovarian failure. Worn out from the battle with infertility, she sinks into a depression that even Pete can’t break through.

She is eventually drawn back into life and rediscovers her love of food, culminating in the opening of Lillian’s, where she sells coffee and tea and sandwiches and, most especially, the delicate macarons that her mother introduced her to years ago when they lived in Paris. As she opens herself up to the life she is making for herself with the café, she begins to develop friendships with some of the women who cross her path, as well as exploring her troubled memories of her mother.

It is not clear whether her marriage will revive in the same way as the other areas of her life, but the stress of avoiding the pain they have both been through finally pushes both Pete and Grace to the breaking point, forcing them to decide whether they will turn towards each other or walk away completely.

I love so many things about this book that it is hard to know where to start. The setting is exquisite, both in terms of the sights and sounds of Macau and the textures and aromas of the café. The characters are richly drawn and revealed gradually as the relationships deepen, so true to life. Even the male characters show us multiple facets of their personalities, rather than being relegated to the background of the women’s lives.

Although I do have to admit that I am weary of the seemingly ubiquitous bipolar mother in contemporary novels, Tunnicliffe handles Grace’s memories of her mother in a way that isn’t too maudlin or self-pitying, with Grace composing imaginary letters in her head to her mother like a sort of journaling. These compositions serve as a reflection of the journey Grace is making towards owning her own life and being open to the possibilities of good things coming out of bad.

I feel like I have only scratched the surface in trying to convey how much this book has touched me, and I can only hope that you will pick it up and discover it for yourself.(less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Carole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

I do not usually choose books that are so-called "chick lit" but this book was given to me as a gift so I read it. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

It is a quiet little book about a woman who moves to Macau, off mainland China, with her husband who is sent there on a work project. Grace is in her mid-thirties, has just found out that she is unable to have a baby, and is at loose ends knowing what to do with herself. She embarks on a journey of self-discovery during which she o...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Serena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Macau is a former Portuguese colony and is now a special administrative region of China and a hub of gambling and more. The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe is a woman’s journey into a strange land and the time of her life as she trails behind her husband, and their dreams of a new life change drastically.

Grace Miller is a woman who has lost her dream and builds another with tea and French pastries. With the help of Leon, a French chef, Grace learns to make macarons and she opens a cafe, breat...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I received a copy of The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe through the Goodreads Giveaway contest.

This is the first novel by New Zealand-born author Hannah Tunnicliffe.I was very impressed. It was well written, and I found myself snuggled up on the sofa this afternoon reading this book.I would classify this novel as a chick lit. Set in present-day Macau, this novel tells the story of Grace Miller who is trying to come to terms with some terrible news that will change the future she thought she...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Dee West rated it 4 of 5 stars

I purchased this book because I needed something to read at work to keep me from going insane (I work in a call center). Mostly I picked it because I liked the cover. Also, the story seemed decent and it was 40% off the cover price.

First and foremost, this is a girly book. If you don't like girly books, you wont like it. I happen to like girly books, esspecially ones that aren't all about getting a man. If that's what you're looking for, this is it.

I found the quality of the writing itself was f...more I purchased this book because I needed something to read at work to keep me from going insane (I work in a call center). Mostly I picked it because I liked the cover. Also, the story seemed decent and it was 40% off the cover price.

First and foremost, this is a girly book. If you don't like girly books, you wont like it. I happen to like girly books, esspecially ones that aren't all about getting a man. If that's what you're looking for, this is it.

I found the quality of the writing itself was fantastic. The descriptions of things were incredible. I'd never before thought about the way the air tastes. I had a very vivid picture of the setting the whole time I was reading thanks to the author's skilled descriptions.

I really liked the characters, especially Gigi - the young, smart mouthed chinese girl who speaks fluent english. I also understand Grace, the main character. She deals with her problems the same way I do - ignore them, and hope they go away. I never felt like any of the character were too one dimensional. They always felt like real people that you actually might meet if you opened a cafe in Macau.

...it also left me with more than a little obsession with macarons.

The story itself, although predictable, wasn't predictable in the ways that I thought it would be. If that makes any sense at all. Like, I knew what happened at the end was going to happen. I knew it as soon as Gigi walked through the door at the cafe. And then it happened, but it wasn't quite the way I thought it would happen. And the thing with her husband? Called that too, but not exactly. It wasn't exactly cliché, but...I don't know. It was very safe. Its the kind of story that you feel good about reading, but it's not going to stick in your mind. Generally speaking, I liked the little bits of surprise in my safe story.

Ok, so lets talk about Grace's mother for a minute. So, this might be a little spoilery and might not make sense to anyone who hasn't read this book, but it really bugged me, so here it goes. From the very first time Grace mentions Mama, it's pretty obvious that her mother is dead. It quickly becomes clear that Grace feels a lot of guilt about it. Through a series of flashbacks, a picture of Mama is painted - her personality, her moods. To me, it was very apparent what was wrong with her. So, when we finally get to find out what happened to Mama, I was very confident I knew how she died. But then...that's not what happened. What did happen was very...boring. And although I get why Grace felt guilty, I think my way would have been a lot more powerful. Sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason. Still, even if the author had chosen anything other than what she did for cause of death...like, terminal illness or deranged gunman would have been better choices. Anything other than what actually happened. It made me feel kind of..empty? Let down, maybe?

Last little annoyance: the protagonist is a red head. A very big deal is made about this. Not just sort of red, like my hair is sort of red. Words like fiery are thrown around. Why is the girl on the cover not a red head? It makes no sense.

On a scale from Totally Awesome to Horrifically Awful I'd give it a Pretty Great. An easy, enjoyable read.(less)

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Oct 12, 2012 Mary V rated it 4 of 5 stars

My daughter won THE COLOR OF TEA, by Hannah Tunnicliffe, in a Goodreads give away. After she read it, she passed it on to me. I thought it was easy to read and enjoyable. The characters were well developed and real. They could have been people I knew. I liked how Grace wrote letters to her mother all through the story, but it wasn't til the end that the reason for that was revealed. It was about different types of people from a variety of cultures and different places in life coming together as...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book had its ups and downs for me, but overall I found it to be an enjoyable read. The book started off slow for me, although I did like the look at Macau, and the author's examination of the culture. I would have loved to see this in more detail, but the important part of the story was how Grace tries to find herself in the community - which was incredibly well down. I think the author, for the most part wrote that aspect of Grace incredibly well. For the most part I found it to be natural...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Kathleen Dixon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: place, novel

I've never been through the grief that comes with desperately wanting a child and not being able to have one. I'm not even sure that I would have grieved like that if I'd been unable to get pregnant - I wasn't particularly maternal, and had no interest in others' babies (not even after I had my own). On the other hand, when I began going through menopause I grieved that I could no longer bear children. I didn't want any more, but grieved nevertheless, so perhaps I would have felt like Grace did....more

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May 04, 2012 Gabriela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

The book was ok.. If I could give it 3.5 * ..the story was of a woman who was dealt bad cards in life and went through what you could see was depression, yet managed to persevere and get direction and go through a rebirth in her life. In a lot of ways as a woman you could relate to this charecter and can appreciate what she was going through. If you are food critic and love French pastries..you will truly enjoy the read and the description of new "macarons" flavours that the characters talked ab...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Candice rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like to read books about the redemptive power of cooking and baking, but this one was disappointing. I couldn't really like the main character, Grace. While I can't imagine the sorrow at being unable to have children, I wish the author had made it easier for me to share Grace's sorrow by making her more likeable. Interwoven with the present story of Grace opening a cafe in Macau is a story of Grace growing up with a mother who is so unconventional as to be disturbing.

Besides Grace and her husb...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Loretta rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought it was beautiful. Some reviewers seem to want this book to be another book. It's not. So what if the author doesn't provide recipes for the macarons? That is not THIS book. I rather like the fact that the author didn't bow to the popular 'foodie book' formula making the rounds by inserting meaningless recipes and kitchen details into the narrative. Really, how many of us actually take time to make any of those recipes?

There were some flaws with the book, to be sure, but I am cutting s...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: armchair-travel, culinary

3.5 The overall plot was fairly predictable; however, it was intriguing to get a look at a region - Macau - that before delving into the book wasn't even vaguely familiar to me. What lured me to The Color of Tea in the first place was the book title and the French/English title of each new chapter (27 in all) with corresponding descriptions of macarons. Who doesn't love macarons?! Coming up with 27 flavor-filled depictions was itself a worthy read. Within the story is the undercurrent of a mothe...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a book about shattered dreams and dreams newly created. Grace opens a cafe, nurtures it and raises it as though it were the child she couldn't have. She hides behind her busyness so that she doesn't have to face her many ghosts. Grace first appears as a beaten down woman who confronts her ghosts one at a time gaining strength along the way with the help of a culturally diverse group of women. The author has a wonderful poetically descriptive writing style which allows for the colourful c...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Marthese Fenech rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a Canadian currently living in Singapore for a few months while my husband completes a work contract out here, so I decided to bring this novel along, given its plot. It was a bit of a slow start for me (I find it hard to relate to women who desperately want children, but that is no criticism of the writer, it's just a personal thing.) That said, there were some things that irked me. For instance, in a first person novel, there is no need to say, "I think to myself" (if not thinking to ones...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Joy Weese Moll rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe begins with a depressingly despondent narrator, Grace, moving to Macau for her husband’s job. It’s not the move that has her feeling desolate; it’s her inability to get pregnant. A combination of childhood memories from Paris with meeting a chef on a rare outing, eventually leads to the opening of a tea shop that specializes in macarons — French cookies consisting of a sweet flavored filling sandwiched between crisp almond meringue.

Many more thoughts, about...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Onewithbooks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I couldnt put this book down once I started reading. Ive lost a couple of hours the last two days just immersed in this book. I won it as a goodreads giveaway and I am glad I did. Grace's story is compelling and there were a few ways I thought this book was going to end and I am glad I was proved wrong. From the start of this you see the weaknesses of Grace's character. She wears her flaws on her sleeve and it makes her marriage difficult. She finds out she is unable to have children and we see...more

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