WHEN WE LEFT CUBA - BOOK REVIEW

Title: When We Left Cuba

Author: Chanel Cleeton

Format: Paperback | Audiobook | E-Book

Pages: 346

Length: 11h07m

Published: 9 April 2019

Publisher: Berkley Publishing

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐

---

Do you fantasize about novels? I mean really fantasize them—the kind of anticipation that borders on obsession, where you hype up a book in your mind for what feels like an eternity before it’s even released. I do this all the time. Especially with books tied to series I already love, or new releases from authors that have long since earned my automatic loyalty. Honestly, there are several top-tier authors on my list whose books I now pre-order without so much as glancing at the synopsis.

Chanel Cleeton was added to that list the moment I cracked open Next Year in Havana last year. So when I heard When We Left Cuba was on the way—part of the Perez family saga—it became an instant, must-make purchase. And from the moment I saw that cover to the moment I finally had the book in my hands, I fantasized about it. Hyped it up. Projected every expectation I could onto it.

And let’s be honest, that’s a dangerous game. Because for every book that delivers, there are plenty that fall short under the weight of your own hopes.

But don’t worry—this wasn’t one of those. Not even close.

Somehow—and I don’t say this lightly—When We Left Cuba may have been even better than Next Year in Havana.

Told through the eyes of Beatriz Perez, the spirited, sharp, and bold younger sister of Havana’s protagonist, When We Left Cuba plunges us into 1960s Palm Beach high society, post-revolution exile, Cold War espionage, and the quiet war raging inside a woman who refuses to live her life quietly. Beatriz is everything I didn’t know I needed in a historical fiction heroine—unapologetically ambitious, emotionally complex, and unwilling to shrink herself to fit into the delicate mould society tried to force upon her.

Cleeton’s writing is evocative and cinematic. From the shimmering heat of Florida’s elite parties to the charged tension of Havana’s memory-laced streets, the atmosphere never falters. You feel the weight of Beatriz’s grief, the sting of her betrayal, the longing for a homeland stolen by politics and power. And amidst all of that is a romance that is—no exaggeration—achingly beautiful. Not just butterflies-and-blushes beautiful, but grown-up, high-stakes, dangerous, earn-it kind of beautiful.

The love story is unforgettable—not just because of the forbidden nature of it, but because it forces both characters to reckon with who they are, what they want, and what they’re willing to risk. And while Beatriz’s romance forms a strong emotional current, it never overshadows her personal growth. This is still, fiercely, her story. Her power. Her voice. Her Cuba.

What Cleeton does so masterfully here is merge the personal with the political—exploring identity, displacement, loyalty, and what it means to be a woman making her own rules in a world that would rather she sit still and smile pretty. And honestly, the fact that Beatriz is given such narrative freedom—to be complicated, to be hurt, to fight for revenge and still yearn for love—is something we don’t see enough in historical fiction.

I turned the final page of this book in absolute silence, letting the weight of it settle. And then I did something I don’t often do: I opened it again, just to reread my favourite passages. That’s how much this book got under my skin—in the best way.

So if you’re looking for a story that blends romance, rebellion, rich historical detail, and a heroine who could set the page on fire just by standing still—When We Left Cuba is a must. This wasn’t just a five-star read for me. It was an experience. One I’ll be carrying with me for a long time.