While this isn't the best written book I do appreciate that the author has done a good job of acknowledging that the only people who know what's best for Afghans is Afghans themselves. Deborah Rodriguez spent five years teaching at and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan. If you answer no at any time, drop this book immediately and find a clerk to direct you to nonfiction or action/adventure books.

I was really interested in how ‘Western’ women would cope living in a country with very different laws, traditions and protocols, some of which are very restrictive. As these women gather together and discover there's more to one another than meets the eye, they'll form a bond that will change not only their lives, but the lives of an entire country. Isabel, a determined journalist with a secret that might keep her from the biggest story of her life. Love and friendship are other themes we identified in the book, with the café being a centre of support and connection for all five main female characters.It was obvious from the first page of her introduction that Wakil was only using her for money yet the author stretched out this thinner than crepe paper story till the end of the book.

The novel is set in Kabul, Afghanistan, against the backdrop of political turmoil, and the recapture of power by the Taliban.This is an outstanding first novel and makes the reader want to share in a cup of Sunny’s special “tea. Yazmina, a young pregnant woman stolen from her remote village and now abandoned on Kabul's violent streets .