Reviews

Cleeton's writing is much better here than in Next Year in Havana. There was a lot of telling, not showing, in that book. When We Left Cuba is a gripping spy novel and a female-driven historical fiction story at the same time. Beatriz is constantly having to choose between loyalties and loves, and it was fun to see how that all came together against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

mbkarapcik's review against another edition

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4.0

Mistakenly, I picked up this novel because I thought it was the prequel to Cleeton's Next Year in Havana, but I read it, anyway. I'm glad I did.

Beatriz Perez and her family flee to Florida after the Cuban Revolution. Beatriz vows to get even with the powers that took away her life in Cuba, which included the loss of her twin brother. She meets a dashing senator who takes her breath away and becomes a spy for the CIA.

Right from the start, I was drawn in to the plot and to Beatriz's plight. She struggles with missing her homeland and trying unsuccessfully to assimilate into a new life in Florida. All her parents want is to see her married off to a well-connected man, so she can resume her life as a socialite, but she wants more. She doesn't want to be tied down to a man and children even though she's swept off her feet by a handsome man.

Becoming a spy serves the purpose of giving her the excitement and fulfillment she needs and also avenging her brother's death. I felt like the espionage plot works really well and is full of action, and you sense the unforbidden chemistry between Beatriz and the senator. I loved the writing style, which is descriptive yet not too wordy. Beatriz is the perfect intelligent and independent woman, and I really liked her.

My only issue is that there's an overabundance of political talk about Cuban politics, American politics, the Bay of Pigs, etc. Toward the end, that seems to take up a lot of space, but I did learn quite a bit, so if you want to learn about that period of time, it gives you enough history and context. I just thought it could have been pared down.

Otherwise, I'm eager to read her other historical novels like the prequel to this, which I already ordered from the library, and her new book that isn't really another sequel. It's more of a stand-alone novel.