Instant New York Times bestseller!In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life—and heart—to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of The Last Train to Key West and Next Year in Havana, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez—her family, her people, her … everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez—her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro’s inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost.
As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future—but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything—not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart…
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Powerful, emotional and oh so real. One woman’s fight to reclaim her own country, against all odds and no matter what the cost is intertwined with the real history of our lifetime and creates an unforgettable story.
Chanel Cleeton follows the spectacular success of NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA with the sure-to-soar WHEN WE LEFT CUBA, continuing the saga of the exiled Perez sisters. Bold, unconventional Beatriz makes a heroine for the ages, burning to avenge her losses, aid her homeland, and carve out a more independent role for herself than the conventional marriage and motherhood expected by her family. A charismatic American senator offers Beatriz the chance of love in a new home, but a shadowy CIA spy holds out the possibility of molding Cuba’s future, and Beatriz’s choice will resound through the ages. A thrilling, thought-provoking read.
Oozing with atmosphere and intrigue, When We Left Cuba is an evocative, powerful and beautifully written historical novel which had me completely captivated from the first page to the last. Take a bow, Chanel Cleeton!
A compelling unputdownable story of love—for a man, for a country, for a past ripped away, and a future’s tenuous promise. When We Left Cuba swept me away.
Scintillating… An intriguing dive into the turbulent Cuban-American history of the 1960s, and the unorthodox choices made by a strong historical woman.
Beautiful. Daring. Deadly.
When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton takes place in Palm Beach, Florida. The year is 1960. One year ago, the Perez family was exiled from their beloved home country of Cuba. This story explores Beatriz’s side. The heartbreaker. The socialite who will stop at nothing to try and kill Castro and regain entry to her home.
We watch Beatriz fall in love and get her heartbroken. The forbidden love affair she had with the Senator, Nicholas Randolph Preston III was beautiful and tumultuous. Not the happiest love story but not the saddest either for love can last forever. These two prove it!
We also witness her growth and see the tides of change through her eyes. Beatriz comes to realize that she may not have been able to save Cuba like she wanted, but she was brave and fought for other injustices in the world. She never married. She never had children. She traveled the world, making the world her oyster as she made a name for herself. She’s the embodiment of #GirlPower
Also, it needs to be said that Chanel is a genius. The way she weaves fiction with real historical events and people is truly magical! I was sucked in and utterly captivated! Once again, I was transported back in time.
These stories Chanel has penned are timeless and heartwarming. My first historical fiction reads, they planted a seed for me to continue to explore this newfound genre. Another job well done by Chanel! Take me to Cuba, please .
“How differently would my life have turned out if I’d been born in this country, if I hadn’t come into a fractured and divided island caught in never-ending turmoil?”
When We Left Cuba was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019. After falling in love with Chanel Cleeton’s beautiful and touching words and sentences in Next Year in Havana, I couldn’t wait to see what else she had in store for us. Beatriz, the main character of this book, is introduced in Next Year in Havana and I just knew her story would be adventurous and mysterious. So I was pretty excited when the author announced that she was writing her book. I was hooked from start ’til finish, and I read this book in two sittings. I just couldn’t put it down. The ability of this author to tell a story is just magical, I was Beatriz while I was reading this book, and I was feeling everything she was. I understood why she did certain things, and couldn’t let it go. She isn’t your typical heroine, and I loved that she stayed true to herself until the end.
“Love ebbs and flows, a low-level hum in the background, but anger sinks its claws in you and refuses to let go.”
Like with Next Year in Havana, the history and politics regarding Cuba was told perfectly. It was so interesting and engaging, and it piqued my interest even more. I mostly read romance books, and even though the romance in this book is a bit in the background, it still plays an important role in my opinion. The balance between the espionage and romance scenes was really good. I can’t believe I am saying this, but I wanted a bit more espionage scenes. I was totally hooked on them, and it is definitely a genre I need to read. The main characters were amazing and thankfully not perfect, they had their flaws and they were very realistic. This book wasn’t predictable and I really loved that. It was suspenseful, mysterious, romantic, and heartbreaking at times. I absolutely loved this book, and I hope Chanel Cleeton will continue to write more Historical Fiction set in Cuba or any other country.
This book has everything that I love: a family that sticks together through difficult times; characters that have their own strong personalities and hold their place well in the storyline; a gorgeous setting; and a forbidden romance, one you never forget.
While the story is entirely fictional, Cleeton does weave in factual historical events, that adds interest and helps drive the story which is absorbing and heartwarming.
When We Left Cuba is character driven and checks all the boxes for a compelling page-turner. In the final chapter of Next Year in Havana, Beatriz, as an older woman, let’s her young niece, Marisol, know she’s kissed Ché Guevara. It was a long wait after finishing the first novel to find out who this woman really was. In the sequel we meet Beatriz as a young Cuban exile, still in love with Cuba and the men in her life.
Beatriz Perez, the most beautiful of the Perez sisters, now lives in Palm Beach Florida. We know her intentions are to change the course of history, but she thinks she just wants to get back to Havana and her brother, Alejandro. It’s Beatriz’s story of revenge and romance.
While her sisters and parents have worked to start new lives, Beatriz is focused on revenge. She’s not satisfied to live in the Cuban exile community in southern Florida. It’s a lifestyle far from the luxury she was used to in the Miramar neighborhood in Havana as a member of the prominent Perez family. She participates in the Palm Beach social season. Her parents hope she is looking for a husband, but Beatriz is intent on making political connections to keep her informed about what is going on in Cuba. She also is not above assisting the CIA to keep tabs on Castro during his visits to the United States.
There is historic detail including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis, and the assassination of JFK. Cleeton keeps the reader up to date on Beatriz’s fight to reclaim her own country while the real life history is taking place around her. Of course, with such a beautiful, intelligent heroine, there is a forbidden romance as she is torn between two countries and the desires of her parents.
The setting is south Florida with stints in Washington D.C., London, and Cuba, but we’re reminded about the vintage Havana the Perez family has left behind. It’s a slow burn of a story about a tumultuous time in United States and Cuba.
I recommend reading Next Year in Havana first. In a time line the story happens after Beatriz’s adventures with the CIA and Castro. However, the reader gets a feel for Havana in the late 1950’s from Cleeton’s first novel. I was lucky enough to get to Cuba while Americans could still travel there, in December, 2018. I visited the Melecon, Miramar, the Prado, Cayo Hueso, and La Rampa. I’d read Next Year in Havana before going to Cuba. I could picture the Perez family, and Marisol’s visit there to take her grandmother’s ashes. It’s a step back in time to the 1950’s, even now.
Atmospheric and evocative, When We Left Cuba captivates with its compelling portrayals of the glamorous Cuban exile community and powerful forbidden love set against the dangerous intrigue of the Cold War. Unforgettable and unputdownable!
With a sure hand for historical detail, an impeccable eye for setting, and a heroine who grasps hold of your heart and never lets go, Chanel Cleeton has created another dazzlingly atmospheric and absorbing story of Cuba and its exiles. A beautiful and profoundly affecting novel from a writer whose work belongs on the shelves of every lover of historical fiction.
A gorgeously atmospheric homage to a country and a past that vibrates with emotion on every page. Historic events, espionage, and a Kennedy-esque romance make this novel a rich read, but the addition of a formidable heroine truly makes it unputdownable. This is not just historical fiction, but also an unrequited love story for a country and a way of life, as well as a journey of self-discovery for a woman torn between love and the two countries she calls home.
Cleeton draws you into the glamour, intrigue, and uncertainty of the Cuban exile community just after Castro’s coup through a heroine who could give Mata Hari a run for her money….You’ll be rooting for Beatriz to change the course of history—and find her own hard-won happily ever after.
With a richly imagined setting and a heroine worth rooting for from the start, When We Left Cuba is thrilling and romantic, and timely to boot.
WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is the second instalment in Chanel Cleeton’s historical, fictionalized account focusing on the Perez family, and the Cuban Revolution.
Told from first person point of view (past 1960-1963) and present day (2016), third person (Beatriz Perez) WHEN WE LEFT CUBA following two timelines, focuses on Beatriz Perez, a Cuban immigrant to America, in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution that destroyed her family, and everyone she loved. Desperate to avenge the death of her beloved brother Alejandro, Beatriz Perez’ political ideology becomes known to the American government, and is eventually recruited by the CIA, to infiltrate anti-Castro organizations in an attempt to ferret out information concerning the Cuban dictator. Determined to return to her homeland once Fidel is deposed, Beatriz finds herself part of an international espionage group headed by the CIA. Meeting US senator Nicholas ‘Nick’ Preston finds our heroine caught between her head and heart knowing her actions will reflect poorly on the people she loves. What ensues is Beatriz’ resolve to avenge her brother’s death, and the multi-decade love affair with a man who is destined for greatness at the cost of her love.
WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is a story of family, politics, relationships and love: of betrayal and vengeance, power and control; of one woman’s fight for freedom and independence, and one man’s love that was never enough. WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is not a story of romance but a love story between a man and a woman; between a woman and the country she lost. Beatriz Perez grew up surrounded by riches and money, and for her parents, it was all about perception and presentation, but our heroine refuses to follow tradition including society’s expectations of a woman, a Cuban immigrant woman, who struggles to be accepted for her ideals, her self-determination and personal autonomy.
WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is a detailed, multi-faceted, and engaging story line that follows the build up to cold war between the US and Cuba, and the ramifications of the Bay of Pigs, the assassination of John F Kennedy, and the consequences of Beatriz’s commitment to Cuba, to vengeance, and to her self-reliance. WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is a powerful, dynamic and imaginative story of one family’s battle to remain true to themselves in spite of the increasing break down of ethical, moral and personal beliefs.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating reading WHEN WE LEFT CUBA ever since I finished LAST YEAR IN HAVANA. Beatriz’s story was definitely worth the wait–this is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year!
In a tale as tempestuous as Cuba itself, WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is the revolutionary story of one woman’s bold courage and her many sacrifices for her beloved country. An absolutely spectacular read!
This is a sensational follow-up to Cleeton’s previous book, Next Year in Havana. Full of romance an intrigue, it follows a well-written female character as she navigates love and loyalty to family and country. Put this one on your TBR list immediately!
This is the best story of the trilogy in my opinion! A feisty heroine who wants to make it on her own in life and succeeds at it! The story defies women’s stereotypes in the 1950s. Great character development and love how the heroine stays true to herself, even when it breaks her heart.
5 Stars . . . (my stars keep disappearing when I submit reviews )
This series is fantastic. Beatriz is by far one of my favorite characters of all time. This is a beautifully written family saga full of twist and turns, love and loss, choices between duty, loyalty, and love that I couldn’t put it down. It pulled at my heartstrings and I’ll spend days, weeks even, savoring it before starting another book.