When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton @chanelcleeton @BerkleyPub #bookreview #whenweleftcuba

Happy Thursday all!

Excited to share with you today my review for this Fantabulous follow up to “Next Year in Havana” a book I reviewed on Tuesday. Both these books are about strong smart women and rich with history.🇨🇺

My Thoughts

An exceptional story about an extraordinary woman! A book rich with love and steeped in history!

Beatriz Perez my queen! There was something about Beatriz that completely captured my heart from the very first page of this book. She was a smart, strong, and sassy woman with an unbreakable spirit and an unstoppable independence. This is a follow-up of sorts to, “Next Year in Havana”, although I’d say you could read this book independently. We do meet Beatriz in the first book (it is the story of her sister Elisa) however Beatrix is on the periphery of that story. Both books are exquisite, however I have to admit I like this book a teeny bit more.

Beatrix might live in the US now, but her heart is still in Cuba. Her family was exiled to the US after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba. Beatriz was the privileged daughter of a sugar barren, she lived a glamorous life filled with parties and glitz. Then her life was turned upside down, she lost her twin brother during the uprise, her family loses all their wealth, and her family is sent away from the land that they loved. Beatrix now has to start over in a new country. Consumed with revenge and a desire to return “home“ she finds herself entangled with the CIA. She also meets a man. A man who is off-limits, A man who will completely capture and consume her. We experience the US Cuba relationship during the 1960s through the pages of this book. We see the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the JFK assassination through Beatrix’s eyes. This book is a true love story, A woman’s love for a country and a man.

Chanel Cleeton’s vivid writing will transport you to the 1960s. The feel and the fear at the beginning of the Cold War seeps through the pages. The historical aspects of this book are compelling, but I have to say the romance wormed its way into my heart. Beatrix Nick’s Love story was so raw, I really can’t think of any other word to describe it. A forbidden love that broke them both and then built them up again. it’s all about Fate and timing and all that.

This was a spellbinding story packed with romance and history rat in a cloak of intrigue! Unequivocally recommend!

*** many thanks to Berkley for my copy of this book ***

About the Book

Publisher’s Summary

In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life – and heart – to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of Next Year in Havana. 
Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. 
The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez – her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro’s inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost. 
As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban-American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future – but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything – not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart.

The Besties

Mackenzie @ PhDiva

Jennifer @ Tarheel Reader

Holly @ Dressed to Read

Kendall @ Sunflower Book Lover

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Have a exceptional day!😍

Berit☀️✨

Treason by Rick Campbell @StMartinsPress #bookreview #treason

Happy Thursday bibliophiles!

I have a special treat for you all today, A review from my dad! When I found this book on my doorstep I just knew my dad would be the perfect reader. He is a retired aeronautical engineer who worked in the US defense industry for most his career. And I was right my dad thoroughly enjoyed this intriguing book and wrote a wonderful review that you can find below! My parents are both avid readers and I enjoy sharing my love of books with them!🌎🌍🌏

My Dad’s Thoughts

Treason tells the story of a sequence of incidents involving the United States and a post-Putin Russia.  The primary action involves Navy Seals supporting and rescuing highest-level members of the U.S. and Russian governments.  The action is rapid and the application of high tech provides a fascinating insight to how future asymmetric skirmishes may be fought.
Present day weaponry has been modernized by better and more-compact electronics and more capable surveillance and detection.   Treason is rampant:  a key Russian upgrade was the direct result of a spy selling them capability from Silicon Valley.  This upgrade was instrumental the planning and carrying out of a coup.
Valuable aids to the reader are a list of characters and a map, a help for ones who must read the book in segments and not straight through.
The book is well written and the story proceeds smoothly.   I enjoyed Treason and highly recommend it.

About the Book

In Rick Campbell’s newest thriller, a military coup in Russia leads to a swift invasion of former Soviet territories – while the US has been rendered powerless to respond. 
In Russia, the military is anxious to assert its military strength and regain its role as a superpower. The Russian president refuses to greenlight a bold plan to disable American strategic nuclear capability and retake Ukraine and the Baltic States, fearing the potential consequences of involving nuclear weapons. But the generals won’t have it and at the first opportunity, they overthrow the president in a military coup. Then they use a narrow window to initiate their bold plan – the Zolotov option – which will render all of America’s B2 bombers and ballistic missiles useless. With the US off the board, they swiftly invade Ukraine with an overwhelming force, an invading Army that even NATO can’t hope to resist. 
Now, it’s game on. Without their primary weapons, the US has to find a way to fight back on multiple fronts. If they’re to have any chance, they’ll have to overcome the malware that has grounded their ballistic missiles and planes, as well as secretly land a SEAL team to help rescue the imprisoned Russian president, and help retake control from the forces that are driving Europe into a continental war. 
Rick Campbell, one of the finest young military thriller writers, returns with his biggest and boldest book to date.

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Berit☀️✨