If I was just at home instead of in paradise, I wouldn’t have put it down at all. I read it every day by the resort pool overlooking the ocean and finished up on the plane ride home.

I don’t even remember which other book I had with me, because I immediately switched to reading this one! I read the book in August of 2020 I can remember that specifically because I was reading it in Florida when I got engaged! Earlier in the trip I begged my fiancé (now husband) to come with me to a local bookshop and found it there. The voluptuous skirt, delicate pearls around her neck and wrist, and the seaside town, of what I could only assume was Havana, made it an instantaneous must have before I even turned it over to read the synopsis. Like so many books before, I was drawn to this one because of the gorgeous coral colored evening dress on the cover. Photo credits are Woman: Richard Jenkins and Havana: Christopher Morre/ 500px This is one of the most gorgeous books I’ve read in a long time.The cover design is by Sarah Oberrender. I felt the heat, saw the beauty, and smelled the food. Through Cleeton’s writing, I felt as if I were walking the streets of Havana as I read. As a granddaughter of an immigrant myself, I loved the thought of learning about my grandma’s history and perspectives in a way that Marisol did! And while I knew little to nothing about Cuba and its past, this book opened up a door I didn’t know I even cared to walk through.Ĭuba herself is a character of this story. I loved the side story of Marisol and Luis, but it was the grandmother’s story that captured my heart. While I was mostly anticipating a romantic story, I had no idea I was in for the most fascinating Cuban history lesson.

Told in two alternating perspectives – grandmother and granddaughter, past and present – Cleeton accomplishes so much. Stop what you’re doing and READ THIS BOOK! It’s gorgeous in every way possible – the storyline, the characters, the twists and turns, the writing. He wanted to be king over a people who didn’t want to be ruled.” He loved sugar, loved the money that flowed into the country from overseas, but he didn’t love the Cuban people. When we were girls, we were kept from most of it, but the edges seeped through, crawling over the gates. “The story of Cuba is one of struggles and strife.

Review of next year in havana