Wit and Sin

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

Chanel Cleeton’s writing simply enchants in When We Left Cuba. I was intrigued by Beatriz Perez in Next Year in Havana and I couldn’t wait to see if her story would be as engaging as she is. Spoiler alert: it is.

Beatriz is a vibrant, complex heroine full of passion, longing, and determination. After losing nearly everything when Castro rose to power, the Perez family is making a new life for themselves in Florida. Now on the fringes of high society instead of at the center, Beatriz’s mother despairs and looks to marry off her daughters and secure their futures. Only this new life and her mother’s ambitions don’t suit Beatriz at all. The idea of marriage and motherhood chafes even more than it once did in the wake of their exile and her twin’s murder. What Beatriz wants is revenge against Castro and a better future for Cuba. And when the opportunity to work for the CIA arises, Beatriz takes it. Suddenly she’s embroiled in a world of politics and espionage, her secret life taking her farther away from her family. It’s a struggle for Beatriz to keep one foot in both worlds, a fight made harder as she falls in love with a powerful man whose destiny is so different from her own.

Beatriz possesses an inner fire that makes the pages of When We Left Cuba fly by. Her struggle to claim her identity, to make the life she wants when the people she loves are pulling her in another direction was compelling. It’s not an easy road she travels, but I had a huge amount of respect for Beatriz and the hard choices she makes. I don’t want to say much more for fear of spoiling the story. Suffice it to say that Ms. Cleeton does an amazing job of blending fact and fiction, of placing Beatriz in the midst of a tumultuous point in history and bringing all facets of that era to life. Ms. Cleeton makes you care about the characters from the very first page and even if you’re well-versed in 1960s Cuban-American politics you’ll still be sucked into the story, wanting to see how things turn out for Beatriz and the people she loves. 

When We Left Cuba is filled with passion, love, intrigue, struggles, heartbreak, and hope. As with Next Year in Havana, Ms. Cleeton’s writing is gorgeous and I found myself swept away by Beatriz’s story.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.