Next Year in Havana: Reese's Book Club
Reese's Book Club (A Novel)
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4.3 • 51 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
“A beautiful novel that's full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice.”—Reese Witherspoon
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Two women struggle with love and identity in Chanel Cleeton's impassioned, subtly political historical romance. With careful attention to cultural detail, Cleeton skillfully evokes the atmospheres of both pre-Castro Cuba—where teenage Elisa is the daughter of a sugar baron—and the modern island nation that Elisa's American granddaughter, Marisol, visits in 2017 after her grandmother’s death. Separated by time but united by family bonds, each of Cleeton’s heroines gets involved in a romantic affair that leads to an unexpected social awakening. This balances the novel’s sweet, emotional lyricism with a bracing sense of real-world consequences.
Customer Reviews
Next Year in Havana
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
I hesitated in requesting to review this book and one of the main reasons I did request was because that stunning cover just drew me right in and I had a feeling I might kick myself if I missed on the opportunity. I hesitated because I wasn't sure if it's the kind of book that would normally appeal to me: I like RomComs, the light and fluffy books that, while they do have substance, leave me feeling happy and sporting a smile and ready to move on to the next book. Next Year in Havana is neither light nor fluffy however, it gripped me from the very first page and it will stay with me long after the last page was turned.
Cleeton has written a superb synopsis and I won't insult her by rehashing that for you. I felt that Next Year in Havana was like reading two love stories, Marisol and her recently deceased grandmother, Elisa's. It's written so beautifully, so heartbreakingly, so visceral and raw that it consumed me to the last page and beyond. It entails the love between men and women, siblings, parents, friends. It encompassed love, loss, and betrayal and the beautiful writing had me reduced to tears.
I've never really given any thought to Cuba and how it's arrived at its present state but now I feel compelled to read about the revolution and learn everything I can - Cleeton's writing is just that good: captivating, engaging, gripping. This book is now a top favorite of mine and after that twist and excerpt, I cannot wait for the next. Next Year in Havana can absolutely be read as a standalone. I don't hesitate to recommend this to anyone who'll listen to me.
*arc received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.