When We Left Cuba

Half spy novel and half romance and not really enough of either for me. The spy narrative was interesting, until it kind of just petered out in a twist (a twist that, while it made sense, would have been pretty much impossible for the reader to see coming, even in retrospect, I think, which seems a little unfair). As far as the romance, the entire story is told from Beatriz's perspective in first-person, so I didn't think there was much depth to the love interest and no real idea of what he saw in her, which made it hard to connect to the love story to me. And also I just really don't like infidelity in my romances, and sleeping with an engaged man when you know he's engaged definitely counts for me. It might be in character but there are so many other reasons these characters couldn't be together besides that, ugh. For such a dynamic, interesting character as Beatriz was in [b:Next Year in Havana 34374628 Next Year in Havana Chanel Cleeton https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498524468s/34374628.jpg 55459615], she seemed oddly passive here, which is a real disappointment. I hate to rate anything this low, but I just don't feel like this book knew what it wanted to be, and so it ended up not being much of anything.

After reading Next Year in Havana, I was excited to learn that there are companion novels to that book that continue to tell the story of the Perez family. In this second book about the Perez sisters, the reader follows Beatriz Perez. Of all the Perez sisters, she is the most rebellious and outspoken. Her story is full of adventure and intrigue, making this an entertaining read.

Beatriz Perez and her family were forced to leave Cuba when Castro's regime took control. Beatriz will not be satisfied until her country is free of Castro's reign and she and the other exiled Cubans can return home. She risks her reputation and her life to actively participate in campaigns to end Castro.

I like Beatriz as a character. She is a strong-willed woman who does not want to settle for a life as a wife when she has bigger ambitions. She also wants to take action against the injustices in her home country rather than just settle into her new comfortable life and forget about the struggles still faced by her fellow Cubans. I respect that. I do not, however, like the love affair in which she becomes involved. It is not healthy, and I feel that it weakens her as a character.

As with the first book in this series of companion novels, I enjoyed learning more about the history of Cuba and the American involvement in it. There are references to the Bay of Pigs event and the Cuban Missile Crisis. This is a part of American history that I feel is not explored enough in history classes, so I appreciate that it is included here in this book.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction, especially those that have read and loved Next Year in Havana. I do not find it is quite as good as the first, but it is still an excellent book.