Next Year in Havana

December 1, 2017
"My grandmother loved a revolutionary," says Marisol Ferrera, returning to Cuba 60 years after her family fled the island only to find herself falling for another attractive rebel.Romance readers who enjoy their love stories leavened with a sizable measure of earnest political history will warm to Cleeton's (On Broken Wings, 2017, etc.) new novel, which offers parallel tales of entwined hearts challenged by oppressive regimes. Elisa Perez, one of the four "sugar queens"--the privileged daughters of a Cuban sugar baron--is the first star-crossed lover. Living in luxury in Havana in the late 1950s, Elisa and her sisters are shielded from the imminent revolution by their father's money and allegiance to the status quo, but then Elisa falls for Pablo, "Fidel [Castro]'s eyes and ears in the city." In the 21st century, Florida-based lifestyle journalist Marisol smuggles her grandmother's ashes back to Cuba, obeying Elisa's wishes to be reunited in death with the country from which she had been exiled. Once in Havana, Marisol discovers not only her family's roots and the letters revealing Elisa and Pablo's secret passion, but also her own emotional fulfillment in the form of Luis, the grandson of Elisa's best friend. Cleeton delivers the two women's descents into dangerous romance with persuasive intensity, but her descriptions of Pablo's and Luis' commitments to challenging the political establishment and her larger commentary on Cuba's long, troubled history make for a heavy contrast. "Why is the Cuban convertible peso so important?" asks Marisol, setting the reader up for another solid slab of social/historical/financial exposition. Somber and humor-free, the novel feels uncomfortably strung between its twin missions to entertain and to teach detailed, repetitive factual lessons.A love story and an homage to the history of the Cuban people, the latter significantly overshadowing the former.

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February 1, 2018
Contemporary romance author Cleeton (On Broken Wings, 2017) has taken a detour through her own family history to produce a luscious novel that will please romance, historical, and women's fiction readers alike. It's 1959 at the Havana airport, and the four Perez sisters are leaving for Miami, unsure of when they'll returnperhaps next year? Cleeton follows Elisa, the third daughter of a powerful sugar baron. Fast-forward almost 60 years to meet Elisa's granddaughter, Marisol, arriving at that same airport to scatter Elisa's ashes. Parallel tales of passion and romance crash against rigid family expectations, wartime violence, and political barriers. These two women, pampered Elisa and independent Marisol, tell their stories of star-crossed love with genuine emotional intensity. Cleeton's almost guidebook-style descriptions contrast revolutionary era with contemporary Havana, avoiding facile dichotomies for a touching portrayal of a fractured people. With Reader's Guide Discussion Questions and a preview chapter from Cleeton's next novel, which will feature Elisa's sister, firebrand Beatriz, this book launches a very appealing and promising series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from December 1, 2017

Florida native Cleeton, drawing on her family history, brings the charm of 1950s Havana to life in her first novel. Elisa Perez is the daughter of a notable Cuban sugar baron whose family is forced to leave the island after Castro's revolutionaries take over the country and destroy everything the Perez patriarch has worked for. The story is told in reverse, beginning with Elisa and her family escaping Cuba under the cover of night and progressing through the events that led to Fidel's triumphant entry in Havana and its outcome. Elisa wrestles between loyalty to her family and her love for a revolutionary fighter; decades later, her granddaughter Marisol returns to Havana carrying Elisa's ashes to grant her final wish to be returned to the city she never forgot. At the same time, Marisol is also trying to find her own answers and perhaps even a chance at love. VERDICT An enticing and wonderful read for lovers of historical fiction and soul-searching journeys.--Adriana Delgado, Palm Beach Cty. Lib., Loxahatchee, FL

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