[Book Review] Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

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.

 * * * 

Continuing my romance reads in February with this historical romance! I had heard so many great things about this book so I was really excited to pick it up! And and I am so happy I did. 

"Havana is like a woman who was grand once and has fallen on hard times, and yet hints of her former brilliance remain, traces of an era since passed, a photograph faded by time and circumstance, its edges crumbling to dust." 

Marisol and her grandmother, Elisa, were my favorite characters. Because they are the two POVs it was easy to really relate to them because the reader is in their head. In Marisol's POV, her grandmother Elisa has recently passed and she is traveling to Cuba spread Elisa's ashes. Elisa's family was exiled from Cuba when Castro stepped into power and she always dreamed of going back. When we are in Elisa's POV we find out more about her life in Cuba and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed her chapters because history isn't always my favorite subject to read about. The politics were completely new to me and I realized I only knew basic knowledge of Cuba so I did learn a lot. Marisol's bond with her grandmother was my favorite part of this book. Despite the fact that in her chapters we don't have many scenes of them together their connection is evident in the way Marisol loves her grandmother. I was surprised how emotional I got while reading because it has been so long (almost 11 years) since I lost my Nan, but something about the way Marisol describes her relationship with Elisa was incredibly relatable to me. And this carried on throughout the story. 

"That's the thing about death - even when you think someone is gone, glimpses of them remain in those they loved and left behind." 

I think our two love interests, Luis for Marisol and Pablo for Elisa were a bit interchangeable. They're both incredibly brave men in love with their country and will do anything to fight for the future they want for Cuba. Both relationships weren't really anything special for me, Elisa and Pablo had more chemistry where Marisol and Luis were definitely felt forced. I think both romances as a whole are very romantic and have that kind of epic love story feel but the execution of the details of their relationship wasn't really there. However, I loved Luis's grandmother, Ana. She was Elisa's childhood best friend and I wish we got more scenes of them together before Elisa's family was exiled because I love best friend plots. Unfortunately a lot of their moments are brushed over or summarized versus being fleshed out. I love how Ana treats Marisol like family immediately. 

"Hope is all you have to cling to when the world around you evokes every other emotion."

I think Chanel Cleeton's writing had beautiful moments when describing the landscapes, food, people, and Cuba in general. I think she did a fantastic job making the reader feel like they understood the vibrancy of the country while also making the reader understand the hardships the citizens endured. Both in the 1950's and presently. At times it felt a little info-dumpy but overall I think most of it was fairly easy to digest and understand. Although, I really loved the elegant and soft writing, I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. Some events happen that feel very urgent and intense but it is all easily fixed and felt a bit anti-climatic. I will say there are a few twists and turns, one of them I guessed pretty early but the others definitely caught me by surprise. 

"Very few can afford the luxury of being political in Cuba." 

"And no one can afford the luxury of not being political in Cuba." 

Overall, if you're in the mood for a historical romance I think this is a great one to pick up! I think the slow pace of the story overall is what made me take so long to finish it but I think it's worth it. I think it could have been because historical fiction/romance never really fully engages me and keeps me hooked so I put it down far too much. But every time I did pick it up I was enjoying what I was reading. So if you're into historical romance or maybe want to give the genre a shot I think this could be a good one to pick up!

Thanks for reading!