If you enjoyed Jones’ debut novel, The Other Woman, then you must grab her sophomore effort. If you haven’t read The Other Woman, then you have two books to add to your TBR list. Continue reading “Book Review: The First Mistake by Sandie Jones”
Fellow readers, what we have here is another case of that’s it?! Continue reading “Book Review: Layover by David Bell”
I was thrilled to be finished with this book! Not because it was fantastic and I couldn’t wait to talk about it, but because I simply wanted to be done! Continue reading “Book Review: Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland”
I have loved Rascal Flatts from the moment I heard their first song, “Prayin’ For Daylight,” back in 2000. Nineteen years later, I’ve seen the group in concert 10+ times and love them still. The first time I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. I had no idea I would walk away as if I had just been to church. That I would walk away full of hope. This was not what I expected but in the very best way. Continue reading “Audiobook Review: Shotgun Angels by Jay DeMarcus with Timothy D. Willard”
This book opened with promise, but that promise didn’t hold throughout the book. Continue reading “Book Review: The Little Tea Shop on Main by Jodi Thomas”
Does every mother hold a deep fear in her heart that one day her child could be kidnapped? I can’t imagine the heartache that parents of missing children must endure. But this story paints just such a picture, in such vivid detail, that I could very easily put myself in their place. Continue reading “Book Review: Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby”
This book isn’t non-stop action, but it’s definitely another read that pulled at me from beginning to end. I used similar words to describe a book in a review last week. It fit this book as well, so I decided to use them again 🙂 Continue reading “Book Review: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth”
Keeping Lucy is not non-stop action and excitement. What it is, is gripping. Continue reading “Book Review: Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood”
I love Chanel Cleeton’s writing. I’ve enjoyed her earlier books but NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA was kind of a departure in tone and style for her and I was so happy that I still loved it. I was dying to know more about Beatriz and her story when I finished HAVANA. I definitely feel that reading the books in order gives a much richer reading experience for these books. They’re still stand alones and can be read as such, but I got so much more out of this book by knowing this world and these characters going. She was so different from her sister Elisa and I knew her life would be vastly different. WHEN WE LEFT CUBA delivered what I was hoping to get.
I’m a very heroine-centric reader and WHEN WE LEFT CUBA delivered a heroine I could love in Beatriz. She’s bold, seemingly fearless, and fiercely independent and I was here for that the entire time. Cleeton also does a masterful job of weaving Cuban history throughout in such a way that I felt like I was learning, yet also was in the background of the book. This has to be challenging to attain that exact balance, readers don’t want to see an info dump because frankly that can incredibly boring, but having that kind of history in the text can enrich a book so much. I felt that Cleeton did that here, and did it incredibly well.
There’s a lot of suspense and political intrigue but also has plenty of familial drama and romance, which I desperately need in my books. Overall, I was really pleased with this and can’t wait to read more from this author.
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewer: Melinda
Title: When We Left Cuba
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Release Date: April 9, 2019
bookish devices 
Recent Comments