Chanel Cleeton's Epic Novel: "Next Year in Havana"

Jan McMullen: I loved this book. I have always liked historical fiction but had never read anything that was set in Cuba. The history and the story are seamlessly woven together to make a perfect narrative. I highly recommend this book!

United States on Oct 30, 2023

Kindle Customer: Wow! What a story! I highly recommend this Amazing story of love, family, and the human desire for freedom.
I will read more from this author.

United States on Oct 19, 2023

Barbara Rey: I good read for those not familiar with the Cuban Revolution…unfortunately the writer, writes about the very rich. As a Cuban/American it seems a bit over the top. The common thread was mostly poor & middle class. Fortunately, our family immigrated early 50’s , Mom use to say the man (Castro) “Never gave me, or took from us” . The story line is moving..a Love Story.

United States on Sep 26, 2023

Jenny: I downloaded a sample of this book and was initially captivated by Elisas story. I decided to buy it as I thought I’ll learn more about Cuba. I was disappointed. The romance is like a dumb fairytale but I could have been ok with that. What bothered me most are the political and every day life descriptions. I was hoping to learn more about cubas history and how it is going over there today. The book is purely looking at negatives. One of the characters says that social reforms worked under Castro but does not elaborate further. It’s a shame as I read few articles about Cuba where their health system is praised. That would have been great to read about in this book. Instead it concentrates too much on rich families losing their fortunes and lack of freedoms which are common in so many countries (eg Russia). There is also too much repetition. The book could have been better shorter. After finishing the book I felt like Cuba is like North Korea, nothing good ever comes out of there and don’t go and visit.

United Kingdom on Aug 11, 2023

karen Young: Interesting book on the Cuban revolution

Spain on Apr 12, 2023

Marion Marchetto, author: Set against the backdrop of lush old Havana circa 1958 and juxtaposed with the more current aspects of Havana in 2017, this is the story of Elisa Perez, daughter of a sugar baron. Elisa has been brought up among the elite of Havana who fear the revolutionary mongering of Fidel Castro as he threatens their way of life. But Elisa meets and falls in love with Pablo, a man who longs for a better Cuba for all. He tries to keep her from his dangerous life and although their meetings are brief, they find ways to exchange letters. When things become too heated for the elite, the Perez family flees to Miami where they begin life anew. But Elisa and her sisters carry with them the memories of a Cuba they once loved – a country that has changed so much that it no longer exists except in their memories. Elisa chooses to remember the good things and passes on her memories to her granddaughter Marisol; she paints for the girl a mental picture of an idyllic place and of a warm, hospitable people as well as a culture that will endure.

When Marisol makes the journey to Cuba in 2017 after her grandmother’s passing, she arrives under cover of being a freelance journalist doing a travel...

United States on Feb 27, 2021

Vilma L: I'm so glad I picked up this book despite some initial doubts. It was an emotional read with a touch of romance and lots of interesting historical details.

I was completely immersed in the world of this book and learnt so much about Cuba and its history. I had very little knowledge of the history or the current state of the country before reading this book, and the author has really done their research to bring it all into life in a way that made me want to find out more.

The way she brings Cuba to life is amazing, and isn't just about the facts, but also the feelings of people who have had to leave their country behind versus the people who stayed. It examines difficult and complex topics in emotional, interesting ways, including the relationship people have with their heritage and their country.

I found Elisa's story especially moving - she's the main character Marisols grandmother, who has recently died. As Marisol goes to Cuba, her grandmother's country of origin, for the first time to spread her ashes, she finds out more about her story and life in Cuba, and is also confronted by the reality of Cuba, which is in stark contrast of the country her...

United Kingdom on Nov 04, 2020

TripFictionTripFiction: It is not often that a book comes along that ticks pretty much ALL the boxes. It pulls together a good story together, it is written in fluid prose, with well fleshed out characters and it has consummate intelligence.

It was the July 2018 Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine BookClub Choice. In the video on her site the author says of the book that: “…she feels she is travelling to a different place and a different time and this book has transported me…it’s going to make you feel you had a mini vacation….”

The Perez family is one of the wealthy, sugar owning families in Havana in the late 1950s. Sugar and rum brought unimaginable riches to the island. These are, however, the final months of despot Batista’s rule. Revolución is building and Che Guavara and Fidel Castro are amassing their fighters to take over the reigns of power. Elisa is one of the daughters in the family who is the grandmother of Marisol, who now works as a journalist and lives in Florida. Florida is a mere 90 miles from the island.

2017 and Marisol is returning to Havana with her grandmother’s ashes. She has never been to Cuba but having grown up in the Cuban community in...

United Kingdom on Sep 07, 2018

Novel DelightsNovel Delights: So I spent most of the day yesterday reading Next Year in Havana. I know, I know, I know… I did mean to do more with my day but then I just kept thinking one more chapter and then after that chapter one more chapter and before I knew it, I’d finished! And now I have a serious book hangover!

Yes, I’m sure you can guess…

I loved Next Year in Havana, and I’m not the only one. This is Reese Witherspoon’s July pick for her book club, and crikey what a pick it is. It has everything in it; love and loss against the backdrop of Cuba’s turbulent history and politics.

I really learnt a lot reading this book. I’m not going to lie, it is pretty political and I did have to Google a few things whilst reading to help my understanding of the Cuban politics and history. But that’s one of the beauties of reading historic fiction – it educates you.

The story is juxtaposed between the Havana of the late 1950s with Cuba on the brink of revolution, and modern-day Havana following the death of Fidel Castro. It centres around two women; nineteen year old Elisa who is forced to flee Cuba during the 1959 revolution; and Marisol, Elisa’s granddaughter who...

United Kingdom on Jul 30, 2018

jewlsbookblog: “The exiles are the historians, the memory keepers of a lost Cuba, one that’s nearly forgotten.”

Elisa Perez is from a wealthy background, secure in what her role was to be, not only as a Perez, but also as a Cuban. Under Batista’s rule, her family had favor but at what cost? We see Cuba through Elisa’s innocent eyes. From the rush of excitement meeting her first love and revolutionary, and her naïveté of a reality facing Cuba outside her gilded walls, to her world crumbling as the political regime fails and her heartsick worry over an unknown future comes to fruition, the Cuba she knew is ending. The love for her family pulled her in one direction, while the love of a man fighting for his country pulled her in yet another, but it forced Elisa to see life past her safety bubble and realize how much more she had to offer...if she only took that first step.

“At the end of the day, the only thing you have left is what you stand for.”

Pablo, Elisa’s revolutionary love, fought for his convictions and was determined to free his countrymen from a dictator. Granted, we know Cuba traded one for another, but at the time, Castro seemed like a good...

United States on Feb 08, 2018