We are given glimpses into Beatriz’s love life, but romantic love is not the focus of this story. If you’re looking for a historical romance, When We Left Cuba isn’t the book for you. Suddenly, the ideals that once seemed to make so much sense are being called into question as Beatriz struggles to stay alive in the midst of political unrest. Her dedication eventually pays off, and she soon finds herself in unspeakable danger. This is a far cry from the covert operations she expected to be a part of, but Beatriz supposes she has to start somewhere. When Beatriz finally manages to make contact with those in charge of the movement, she is asked to attend several meetings held by a small group of communist sympathizers.

Instead, she wants to be a part of the revolution that’s being whispered about, the revolution that might make it possible for her to return to Cuba for good. She can’t stand the idea of marrying a man she doesn’t love and living the life of a Cuban exile. Her parents want nothing more than for their eldest daughter to find a good man and settle down, but Beatriz wants something more. It soon becomes apparent that Beatriz and her parents have very different ideas about what her future will look like. Her three younger sisters seem to be taking everything in stride, but Beatriz is constantly dreaming of the life and the country she left behind. Taking refuge in Florida is quite different from anything Beatriz has ever known, and she’s not finding it at all easy to adjust to her new life. Her father was an extremely successful owner of numerous sugar plantations, so Beatriz and her sisters grew up in the lap of luxury. That book does provide the reader with a bit of Beatriz’s back story, but not having that information won’t negatively impact your ability to enjoy this novel.īeatriz Perez hates that her family was forced to leave Cuba when Fidel Castro came to power. Anna, the heroine of the previous book, is the younger sister of Beatriz, the focus of this one, but it’s not necessary to have read Next Year in Havana before diving into this one. Cleeton’s latest novel, When We Left Cuba, a companion piece to Next Year in Havana. I was completely captivated by both the setting and the story, so I was beyond pleased to pick up a review copy of Ms. The premise intrigued me, so I added it to my extremely sizable TBR pile, but didn’t actually get around to reading it until February of 2019. Late in 2018, I started hearing quite a bit of talk about Chanel Cleeton’s novel Next Year in Havana.

Book when we left cuba