Reviews

4.5 ⭐

For most of this novel I was sure I was only going to rate it 3... I felt there were things lacking, pieces of the story that I wanted to rush through to get to the next time we'd see certain characters. And then BAM! I couldn't imagine anything less than a five. And then some insta-lovey type thing happened and I settled here.

I loved this story. My favourite parts were of Elisa and her story. I wanted to always be experiencing her story, always wanted to skip ahead to the next time we saw her life. (I never actually did skip... that is blasphemy.)

Marisol's story was beautiful. I had the kind of relationship she had with Elisa with my grandmother. I understand her story and trying to fulfill her grandmother's wishes and also wanting to learn more of her family.

A fantastic novel. Everyone should read this... and I am ANXIOUSLY waiting my turn with Beatriz's book from my library!

zmede's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.75

katiegilley's review against another edition

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3.0

This book was perfect to read during the sweltering days of summer - it's such a good match for the beautiful and tragic streets of Havana. This book tells us the parallel stories of Marisol and Elisa. Elisa grew up in Cuba before Castro took office. Before Castro, her family owned a successful business selling sugar and rubbed shoulders with the powerful and elite in Havana. After Castro took over, Elisa's family fled the island and moved to Florida. Marisol was raised by Elisa, her grandmother. After Elisa's death, Marisol visits Cuba for the first time to spread Elisa's ashes somewhere on the island and learns so much about her grandmother, Cuba, and herself.

I enjoyed this book because I knew practically nothing about the Cuban revolution and have read NOTHING about life on the island. I got a bit bored with all of the love stories but kept reading for the history of the island. However, I AM looking forward to the sequel, which looks like it will give us more information about the juicy tidbit Aunt Beatriz dropped in the last chapter of this book!

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