I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Berkley / Blackstone Audio
Published: February 6, 2018
Summary:
After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity–and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…
Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest–until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…
Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth.
Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.
My thoughts:
This is my first time reading anything by Chanel Cleeton and I have to say, I am a fan! I had heard about this series and have been meaning to pick it up for quite some time and am so glad I finally got around to it…I really liked it!
One of the biggest draws of this book, besides the stunning cover, is that it is set partly in Cuba! I haven’t read too many books set that so I loved those parts! This dual timeline really grabbed me and the way the story moved back and forth in time kept me completely captivated. The author has such a descriptive way of writing – the scenes really come to life and I just loved that!
This is not a story to rush through, but rather one to slowly take in. In fact, it is one that I had to put aside because due to life, my mind kept wandering and I needed to be fully present as I was reading this one. I didn’t want to miss anything. There was so much to take in as we alternate between the present with Marisol and the past with Elisa. I found myself equally drawn to both timelines and wanted more from each – this was a book that I couldn’t get enough of – I loved seeing Cuba from both these characters’ perspectives.
I don’t know if I will ever get to visit Cuba myself, but that is the beauty of books. I feel that I get to go there through these wonderful stories. And lucky for me, this is just the start of the Perez Family series. Hopefully Cuba continues to feature in the rest of these stories.
Audio thoughts:
Even though I had the print copy, I opted to listen to this one and loved the narration. There were two narrators, Kyla Garcia and Frankie Maria Corzo, and I thought they did a fantastic job bringing this book to life.
Books in this series:
- Next Year in Havana
- When We Left Cuba
- The Last Train to Key West
- The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba
- Our Last Days in Barcelona
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