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 WitherspoonAfter 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 … 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.
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This book was on list of Reese Witherspoon books to read, was totally involved with book and characters and thought about it a long while after reading it as not my type book at all, I’m into cozy mysteries but thought this was excellent
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Great characters, loved the 2 storylines playing out several decades apart, and the descriptions made me feel like I was part of the story. An all around fantastic journey both to Cuba and back in time…
Excellent read, a real life picture of Cuban families before and after Castro.
Wonderful female characters, informative ,but her male characters are too beautiful and perfect by far ,hence only 3 stars.
A great romance with very informative background into Cuban history.
Great read! Kept thinking about the characters even after I was done with the book. Wonderful view into Cuban history and struggle.
Historically accurate with romance woven through the pages.
I came across this book before we took a trip to Cuba; it really prepared me with information both historical and current about this beautiful, troubled, resilient country. As always, with well-written historical fiction, I learned so much; great preparation for a visit!
This book was amazing. A lot of history of Cuba under Bautista and Fidel Castro. What the people of Cuba went through a and still go through today. A page turner. Didn’t want to put it down.
I’m so in love with this books! it’s such a beautiful and powerful story, full of strong and well written characters, with a story that would take you on a rollercoaster of feeling, Chanel Cleeton took us on a trip to Havana and its history that was so real and emotional, and you could tell how close to her heart those sentiments are. I absolutely love the way it was developed and that back and foward between the past and present made it even better.
Really liked this book and the view into Havana now and pre- Castro. Looking forward to sequel. Or prequel as it is.
I loved this book. From start to finish I was immersed in the tale of these 2 women. The Grandmother’s story was intense, engrossing, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The granddaughter’s storyline sucked you in as she uncovered the events of her beloved Grandmother’s life- events she knew very little of. You get so much history of Cuba. By the time you turn the page and read the last word, you’ve been all over the emotional map. This book will stay with you long after you’ve finished it.
This is an exceptional book. Chanel gets the dynamics of being Cuban American RIGHT!
Audiobook
In, Next Year in Havana we are introduced to Marisol and Elisa. Elisa is one of five children to wealthy parents who owned a sugar plantation in Cuba before they had to flee to America. Marisol is the granddaughter of Elisa who now lives in Florida with her family. Together they tell the story of their family and how they fled Cuba after the revolution. At the start of the story, Marisol goes back to Cuba to find a resting place for her grandmother’s, Elisa, ashes. Elisa is the one who filled Marisol with stories of her families life in Cuba before, during, and after the revolution. While in Cuba Marisol embarks on a journey that uncovers some deep family secrets and I feel she figures out who she really is after all her family lost their home and country. This story goes back and forth between past (Elisa) and present (Marisol). I thoroughly enjoyed this story, however, one part that didn’t seem realistic to me was how fast certain characters fell in love but then again I am not an expert on love. Other than that you will not be disappointed with this story. It’s full of love for family and country, bravery, and secrets.
Really enjoyed the mix of history and romance! This novel hooked me from the beginning. Didn’t really see the ending coming – and I’m pretty good at predicting. Very entertaining and thought-provoking novel! Highly recommend!
Author did a wonderful job mixing fiction with history and convincingly illustrating the struggles of a family torn apart by political upheaval. Characters were well developed. Great read.
Beautiful book. The author brought to life the passion of Cuba. I loved reading the book. It makes we want to see Cuba for myself. The story was engaging and I could not put it down. Wonderful read.
When I read the synopsis of Next Year in Havana, I had no idea this book would affect me as much as it did. It was beautifully written, very educational without it being too much, romantic, heartbreaking, emotional, and also heartwarming and hopeful. This book was so much better than I expected. At times it brought a smile to my face but other times I was teary-eyed and trying not to cry even more. This novel alternates between Elisa Perez’s life in Cuba in 1958-1959 and her granddaughter Marisol Ferrera’s trip to Cuba in 2017. Both stories were beautiful and I loved seeing the similarities between them. Marisol grew up hearing stories about Cuba and wants to see the country herself. But the current state isn’t the same as it was back when Elisa was still living there.
“I walk down these streets, and I look out to the sea, and I want to feel as though I belong here, but I’m a visitor here, a guest in my own country.”
My heart broke for Elisa and what she had to go through, I was glad to see her develop into such a strong character. The bond between her and Marisol was beautiful, and I was sad to learn that she passed away. While I was reading about Marisol traveling around Cuba, it felt like I was with her seeing the same things. Chanel has a very beautiful way of writing and engaging the reader. I also adored all the side characters, and they played an important role. I really enjoyed learning about what happened in Cuba, I am a huge history lover and always want to learn more. This book definitely has woken a interest about Cuba in me, and I will definitely read more books about the country. The author did a great job in not going too much into detail about what happened to the country, but summarized it in a very fluent and easy to understand manner. I didn’t want this book to end, but unfortunately every book has an ending. Some stories you just want it to go on forever, this story was one of them.
A beautifully written emotional journey, told in two timelines.
Elisa Perez is a privileged daughter of a sugar baron, she knows the revolution is growing, but her sheltered experience keeps her from seeing the effect until a secret affair with a revolutionary opens her eyes to the struggles around her.
Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing stories of her grandmother’s life in Cuba, of the home and friends left behind when the Perez family was sent into exile from Cuba. Now she finally gets to see Cuba for herself when she is tasked with scattering her grandmother’s ashes in her homeland.
When Marisol gets to Cuba, she finds out that there are secrets about her grandmother. As she learns more about the woman who had such a impact on her life, Marisol begins to realize that there was a whole side of her grandmother she never knew.
I just loved this book. The descriptions, settings, and characters were beautiful, I have been to Cuba and felt like I was there again. The story switched between Marisol’s and Elisa’s journeys, and it flowed from one time period to the other perfectly.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I want more of the Perez family, I know there are so many more secrets. I highly recommend Next Year in Havana.
Next Year in Havana is an epic story of love and hope. I was in love with the cover the first time I saw it and the story inside is just as beautifully written. Chanel Cleeton spent a lot of time researching and it shows in her descriptions of the old Havana and the present day Havana. I read a lot of historical fiction but this was the first I’ve read about Cuba. I’ve seen movies depicting the beauty of old Havana in it’s heyday and it saddens me to think that after all these years the people of Cuba are still suppressed.
A quote from the book stuck with me. “You never know what’s to come. That’s the beauty of life. If everything happened the way we wished, the way we planned, we’d miss out on the best parts, the unexpected pleasures.”
I can’t wait to read Beatriz’s story in Chanel Cleeton’s next book due out in the winter of 2019!