Although Chanel Cleeton was not alive at the time of the revolution, her historical research was extremely accurate and objective.I wondered about her background and experience prior to writing fictional accounts of the time. Having visited Cuba in 2015, her descriptions of …more Havana were extremely evocative.

Although I generally enjoyed reading the book, I found the characters stereotypical and predictable Each character seemed to represent a stereotype - the strong, beautiful and independent woman, the sister who took a traditional path, the father who hung on to the past, the revolutionary brother, the kind and principled Senator. The last third of the book was disappointing, Beatriz's later dealings with the CIA were never explained, but alluded to a successful career of espionage. How about some details? It all sounded so idealistic.The fairly-tale ending was unrealistic. (less)

John Boyne is an incredible author. He tugged at my heartstrings with Cyril in The Hearts Invisible Furies, and turned me completely around with Maurice in A Ladder to the Sky. Boyne created a character that defies description. Dislikable, vile, ruthless and amoral, Maurice …more stops at nothing to achieve his two dreams - becoming a literary celebrity and having a child. In his path of destruction, he steals, plagiarizes, manipulates and murders. The only person he is unable to lure into his sordid and twisted web is Gore Vidal. This was a haunting book that I can't stop thinking about. (less)