Julie's Review: When We Left Cuba

Author: Chanel Cleeton
Series: None
Publication Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 368
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: How do you follow your heart when it leads you two ways?
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Summary: Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. The Cuban Revolution took 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...~amazon.com

 Review: I loved Chanel Cleeton's Next Year in Havana but she out did it with telling Beatriz Perez' story. Love, loyalty, spying and family are at the center of this novel. Beatriz is what most people would classify as a femme fatale. She's got the looks, the attitude and the smarts but can she take on her nemesis, Fidel Castro.

Beatriz Perez has never been really good about following the rules but when her family escapes Cuba just before Fidel Castro takes power and moves to Palm Beach, she really feels like a caged animal. Her mother is trying to find a way in with the society there but they are outsiders and they are beautiful, so it's not as easy as it seems. Plus their father is trying to rebuild his fortune so they are considered new money. While this is boring to her she makes due and through Eduardo, her deceased brother's best friend, she meets up with a man in the CIA who promises her that she'll get her revenge on Castro.

What Beatriz wasn't counting on was falling in love with a very powerful man who has political aspirations and becoming his mistress. She knows that it won't end well but she can't deny herself this one positive thing in her life. When things turn around for her and Nick, she's so focused on the take-down of Fidel that she has to let him go. She refuses to compromise herself and her goals.

Things don't always go as planned for Beatriz but she handles them well. She lives the life she wants to live and has some regrets but they never hold her back.

This was a quick, fun read. I love anything that has to do with spying though but there's enough romance and family drama throughout as well.


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