When Yazmina, a young Afghan from a remote village, is kidnapped and left on a city street pregnant and alone, Sunny welcomes her into the café and gives her a home - but Yazmina hides a secret that could put all their lives in jeopardy. As this group of men and women discover that there’s more to one another than meets the eye, they’ll form an unlikely friendship that will change not only their own lives but the lives of an entire country.

And finally there’s elderly den mother Halajan, whose secret new hobby is itself an act of rebellion. This book didn't really work for me. At first I was irritated by the 'let me work in lots of foreign words and explain these different cultural viewpoints to you' tone. Then I couldn't get into the characters, since they didn't seem to bond with each other, and then were shown working together as very close friends quite suddenly. Actually, several plotlines seemed to drag on and then suddenly resolve themselves, often outside the story. Issues with the young woman's sister, and adult son's internal dialogue about what is right, and the safety of a fatherless infant. The thread about frustration with corruption lost its power when she herself used bribes and connections and broke laws herself- working the corrupt system. I did not feel satisfied at the ending, as things had been challenging in Kabul at the open of the story, and seemed to improve as the story went off, and then she decided to leave. Change is right!" said Candace. "Come on, Bashir Hadi. Tell me you don't want your country to be more modern, more tolerant more-"

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You will find that thing that makes you unafraid to die. That important thing that makes your life of value.” I was happy to read the first book of fiction, “A Cup of Friendship”, by Deborah Rodriguez. Rodriguez, is also the author of the non-fiction book “Kabul Beauty School”. Several years ago, I read her nonfiction work. I did feel that despite one being a work of fiction and one being nonfiction, they were similar.

What I like about this book so far is its unequivocal and honest spotlight onto the issues of women's rights, but in such a down-to-earth manner that all she does is tell the facts, portray it as it is. I haven't read far into it yet, but I'm not reading it out of any earnest high-minded impulse, but because it's a sheer pleasure to read. I loved this book. I really did. I loved the characters, the storytelling, the settings, the themes the book explores, everything. I loved it all. This is a warm romantic novel set in a harsh county. Like the main character, the author had a successful enterprise in Kabul and knew what a job it was to get a generator and keep it running. One of the most uncomfortable parts of the book is when, Sunny revels she experienced domestic violence as a child and Isabel confesses she was raped. Rodriguez clearly imagines that she is writing a heart wrenching moment, but under her inept handling, these tragedies read like a game of one-upmanship.ZARA, promised in marriage to a violent man she's never met, arrives at the coffee shop seeking sanctuary.