Next Year in Havana
by Chanel Cleeton
February 6, 2018
Women’s Fiction/Historical Fiction
Penguin/Berkley
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.
Book Links
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2pdQBKF
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2pYsJJY
iBooks: http://apple.co/2pvYffq
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/2zrt11m
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2wPZPMU
Learn more about Next Year in Havana including downloading the book club guide and more at: http://www.chanelcleeton.com/next-year-in-havana/
Add Beatriz Perez’s story WHEN WE LEFT CUBA on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38193131-when-we-left-cuba
My Review
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
Marisol’s grandmother, Elena, has passed and has entrusted Marisol with the job of returning her ashes to Cuba. The only problem is Marisol doesn’t know where she should spread them. The trip to Cuba becomes not only a journey to complete her grandmother’s final wish, but also a discovery of herself with a little family history thrown in. Having grown up in Miami, Marisol only knows Cuba through the stories her grandmother and great aunts told her. Being able to go there and witness things firsthand is a game changer for Marisol.
I readily admit that before reading this book, my knowledge of Cuban history is next to nothing. This book is part history lesson and part romance never once did I feel like the history portion got in the way of the story. Because let's be honest, the history played a major part of the story. Chanel doesn’t just tell us about what happened, but she shows us through the eyes of the people who lived it. The use of the flashbacks in contrast with the current story was so effective.
Marisol’s grandmother, Elena, has passed and has entrusted Marisol with the job of returning her ashes to Cuba. The only problem is Marisol doesn’t know where she should spread them. The trip to Cuba becomes not only a journey to complete her grandmother’s final wish, but also a discovery of herself with a little family history thrown in. Having grown up in Miami, Marisol only knows Cuba through the stories her grandmother and great aunts told her. Being able to go there and witness things firsthand is a game changer for Marisol.
I readily admit that before reading this book, my knowledge of Cuban history is next to nothing. This book is part history lesson and part romance never once did I feel like the history portion got in the way of the story. Because let's be honest, the history played a major part of the story. Chanel doesn’t just tell us about what happened, but she shows us through the eyes of the people who lived it. The use of the flashbacks in contrast with the current story was so effective.
This is such a beautiful book. I found myself picturing the places they went and eating the food they ate. And maybe even smoking a cigar or two. (I love a good cigar.) I even googled a few things because I knew that my imagination just wouldn’t do it justice. A few times I found myself holding my breath because I honestly did not know how everything was going to play out. And while this book is a bit different from what we are used to getting from Chanel, don’t let that deter you. There is plenty to keep your attention and keep you guessing. I know I found myself so enthralled by the story that at one point I was crying without even realizing it. And when it was over, I wanted more.
Praise for Next Year in Havana
Chanel Cleeton's Next Year In Havana is a flat-out stunner of a book, at once a dual-timeline mystery, a passionate romance, and paean to the tragedy and beauty of war-torn Cuba. The story of sugar heiress Elisa, watching Cuba fall into revolution as Castro rises, is intertwined with the modern-day tale of Elisa's granddaughter Marisol as she returns to Cuba after Castro's death. Both women fall for fire-brand revolutionaries, but Cuba itself emerges as their true love-interest, threatening to break both women's hearts as Elisa and Marisol each grapple in their own way with what it is to be Cuban, what it is to be an exile, and how to love and live in a homeland riven by revolution. Simply wonderful!
- Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network
Cleeton has penned an atmospheric, politically insightful, and highly hopeful homage to a lost world. Devour NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA and you, too, will smell the perfumed groves, taste the ropa vieja, and feel the sun on your face. Just a wonderful and educational book!
- Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of America's First Daughter
A vivid, transporting novel. Next Year in Havana is about journeys-- into exile, into history, and into questions of home and identity. It's an engrossing read.
- David Ebershoff, author of The Danish Girl and The 19th Wife
An evocative, passionate story of family loyalty and forbidden love that moves seamlessly between the past and present of Cuba’s turbulent history— how one young woman’s sacrifice becomes the key to her granddaughter’s future—how culture and spirit survive against all odds. Next Year in Havana kept me enthralled and savoring every word.
- Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Beach
In Next Year in Havana, Chanel Cleeton's prose is as beautiful as Cuba itself, and the story she weaves--of exile and loss, memory and myth, forbidden love and enduring friendship--is at once sweeping and beautifully intimate. This is a moving, heartfelt, and gorgeously realized story that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
- Jennifer Robson, USA Today bestselling author of Somewhere in France
Originally from Florida, Chanel Cleeton grew up on stories of her family's exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
Author Links
Website: www.chanelcleeton.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorchanelcleeton
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1545366192398558/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/chanelcleeton
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/chanelcleeton
Newsletter: www.chanelcleeton.com/mailing-list/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/chanelcleeton/
GIVEAWAY
No comments:
Post a Comment