Tag Archives: Chanel Cleeton

THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY by Chanel Cleeton-review

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THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY by Chanel Cleeton-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 9, 2024

With the Great War finally behind them, thousands of civilians and business moguls alike flock to South Florida with their sights set on making a fortune. When wealthy industrialist Robert Barnes and his wife, Anna, build Marbrisa, a glamorous estate on Biscayne Bay, they become the toast of the newly burgeoning society. Anna and Robert appear to have it all, but in a town like Miami, appearances can be deceiving, and one scandal can change everything.

Years later following the tragic death of her parents in Havana, Carmen Acosta journeys to Marbrisa, the grand home of her estranged older sister, Carolina, and her husband, Asher Wyatt. On the surface, the gilded estate looks like paradise, but Carmen quickly learns that nothing at Marbrisa is as it seems. The house has a treacherous legacy, and Carmen’s own life is soon in jeopardy . . . unless she can unravel the secrets buried beneath the mansion’s facade and stop history from repeating itself.

••••••

REVIEW: THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY by Chanel Cleeton is a stand alone, adult, historical, mystery thriller focusing on the Maribrisa, a grand mansion in Miama built as a birthday gift by a man for his much younger wife.

Told from dual first person perspectives, and dual time lines (Anna -1918, Carmen-1941) THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY focuses on deaths or perceived murders of the women of Maribrisa. In 1918, Robert Barnes, tired of New York society, moved his beloved wife to Miami, Florida where he gifted her with one of the most magnificent homes to be build in Florida but from the outset all was not as it appeared to be as cracks in the marriage began to reveal a disheartening reality.

Fast forward to 1942, businessman Asher Wyatt and his wife Carolina, the new owners of the refurbished Maribrisa home, find themselves with an unexpected houseguest in the guise of Carolina’s younger sister, following the tragic drowning of both of their parents. Similar to the 1918 timeline, Maribrisa holds too many deadly secrets, and when Carmen begins to investigate the truth, suspicion and rumors begin to spiral out of control when death and destruction, murder and infidelity mirror one another in two different timelines.

THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY is a story set in a gothic mansion, a mansion that keeps its’ secrets buried deep within the walls. Jealousy and envy, secrets and lies, infidelity and obsession blur as the investigation takes a twist no one expected. The premise is intriguing and enthralling; the characters are edgy, broken and struggling. Not everyone will get their happily ever after, and those that will, reveal a surprising and impassioned love.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton-a review

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The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2023

In 1934, a luxury cruise becomes a fight for survival as two women’s pasts collide on a round-trip voyage from New York to Havana in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s page-turning new novel inspired by the true story of the SS Morro Castle.

New York heiress Catherine Dohan seemingly has it all. There’s only one problem. It’s a lie. As soon as the Morro Castle leaves port, Catherine’s past returns with a vengeance and threatens her life. Joining forces with a charismatic jewel thief, Catherine must discover who wants her dead—and why.

Elena Palacio is a dead woman. Or so everyone thinks. After a devastating betrayal left her penniless and on the run, Elena’s journey on the Morro Castle is her last hope. Steeped in secrecy and a burning desire for revenge, her return to Havana is a chance to right the wrong that has been done to her—and her prey is on the ship.

As danger swirls aboard the Morro Castle and their fates intertwine, Elena and Catherine must risk everything to see justice served once and for all.

••••

REVIEW: THE CUBAN HEIRESS by Chanel Cleeton is an adult, historical fictionalized account of the 1934 disaster near Asbury Park for the cruise ship The SS Morro Castle. THE CUBAN HEIRESS focuses on New York Heiress Catherine Dohan and her fiancé Raymond, Cuban born Elena Palacio, and passenger Harry.

Told from first person (Catherine) and third person (Elena), THE CUBAN HEIRESS follows four passengers on a cruise ship heading to Cuba: New York Heiress Catherine Dohan and her fiancé Raymond, Cuban born Elena Reyes, and passenger Harry but all is not well in the lives of the foursome, as a series of mishaps and problems begin to spiral out of control. Catherine Dohan is engaged to wealthy businessman Raymond after a whirlwind romance but Catherine isn’t whom she claims to be. Her fiancé Raymond leaves Catherine to her own devices but a series of mysterious events including an attack on her life pushes Catherine into the arms of someone else. Meeting a sympathetic stranger who clearly knows the type of man Catherine is about to marry begins to reveal some secrets she knew nothing about.

Meanwhile, Cuban born Elena Palacio is looking for revenge against the man that all but destroyed her life. Believed to have died in a house fire, Elena is desperate to retaliate and take back her life but she will need the help of people on board. Having stowed away on the SS Morro Castle, Elena sets into motion her plans for vengeance and survival.

THE CUBAN HEIRESS is a fictionalized account of the fire and destruction of the SS Morro Castle. The characters and events are from the mind of author Chanel Cleeton set on the ill-fated journey of a ship with some questionable history including the unexplained death of the captain at sea. We are pulled into a story of mystery and suspense, theft and murder, fire and destruction, survival and loss. The dramatic premise is intriguing and entertaining; the characters are animated, tragic and impassioned.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton-Review & Excerpt

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Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton-Review  & Excerpt

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 24, 2022.

When Isabel Perez travels to Barcelona to save her sister Beatriz, she discovers a shocking family secret in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s new novel.

Barcelona, 1964. Exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel Perez has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Isabel’s sister Beatriz disappears in Barcelona, Isabel goes to Spain in search of her. Joining forces with an unlikely ally thrusts Isabel into her sister’s dangerous world of espionage, but it’s an unearthed piece of family history that transforms Isabel’s life.

Barcelona, 1936. Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona after a difficult voyage from Cuba, her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel in tow. Violence brews in Spain, the country on the brink of civil war, the rise of fascism threatening the world. When Cubans journey to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia’s past comes back to haunt her as she is unexpectedly reunited with the man who once held her heart.

Alicia and Isabel’s lives intertwine, and the past and present collide, as a mother and daughter are forced to choose between their family’s expectations and following their hearts.

••••

REVIEW:OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA by Chanel Cleeton is an adult, story of historical fiction focusing on the Perez family that runs parallel to and crosses over with the author’s WHEN WE LEFT CUBA.

SOME BACKGROUND: The Perez family are Cuban immigrants who fled to America during the Cuban Revolution in 1960. Second born daughter Beatriz Perez would be recruited by the CIA for her political ideology, in an effort to infiltrate the anti-Castro organizations. Eventually Beatriz would find herself in Barcelona Spain, and her family hasn’t heard from their sister in close to three weeks.

Told from three first person perspectives (Isabel, Alicia, and Rosa) following two timelines 1937 and 1964, OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA focuses on Isabel Perez’s search in 1964 for her sister Beatriz Perez, who is currently working undercover for the CIA. Isabel Perez, married to a man she does not love, journeys to Spain to search for her missing sister where she will meet and fall in love with her sister’s American counterpart Diego.

Returning to 1937 Cuba, just prior to Spain’s involvement in the Second World War, Isabel and Beatriz’s mother Alicia Perez’s marriage is at risk of imploding. With her two year old daughter Isabel, Alicia Perez heads to Barcelona Spain, where she will stay for an extended visit with parents and younger sister Consuelo, a visit where Alicia will fall in love with someone else.

At the same time, Alicia’s best friend Rosa’s marriage has been rocked by the death of her husband Gonzalo, a man who left Cuba to fight for the Spanish during the revolution of 1934 but Rosa’s world continues to crumble as her in-laws refuse to acknowledge her existence never knowing that the man with whom Rosa has fallen in love, is a man close to their hearts.

OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA is a detailed, dramatic and emotional story of family and relationships, betrayal and heart break. The premise is intense; the characters are flawed and dysfunctional; the romances are tragic and real.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews focusing on the Perez family

Next Year in Havana
When We Left Cuba
The Last Train to Key West

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA by Chanel Cleeton
Berkley Trade Paperback Original | On Sale May 24, 2022
Excerpt

As I sit on the flight from Palm Beach to Barcelona, wondering what possessed me to embark on this misguided adventure, it’s the look in Nicholas Preston’s eyes from our conversation a few days earlier that I remember most. There was no doubt that this was what he wanted, that he was worried about Beatriz as I was, but given their breakup and his desire to respect the boundaries they’d set, he was reluctant to involve himself, choosing instead to appeal to my romantic and sympathetic nature so I would do his bidding for him.It’s a move Beatriz would make in a heartbeat, and it’s crystal clear how two people could be both utterly perfect for each other and impossibly doomed.

It’s been my experience that relationships are often about balance: one person tends to be the star, and the other is there to support them, to play those all-important background roles of advice and support. And sometimes, maybe, the roles shift a bit, although in my reality it has been almost entirely the man who is held in such a place of honor and esteem. Knowing my sister as I do, and her inevitable draw to the limelight whether intentional or otherwise, I can’t see her playing the role of the-woman-behind-the-man while Nicholas Preston ascends to political greatness. And I can’t imagine a man with such political ambitions and connections being happy throwing it all away for a life of relative obscurity.

If Beatriz is in Barcelona nursing a broken heart, the big sister in me wants to be there for her.

The flight is uneventful, the last hours passed staring out the window, questioning the decision to send me rather than Elisa as the family envoy, weighing the odds of Beatriz being happy to see me against the far more likely possibility that she’ll be less than enthused.

“I have a four-year-old,” Elisa pointed out when I suggested she would be more successful and welcomed by Beatriz. “How am I supposed to leave for Spain? Do you suggest I take Miguel with me?” She laughed at that, and given how energetic my nephew is, I can’t quite blame her for not wanting to bring him on an international flight to Europe by herself.

In the end, after much prevarication, and a fair dose of pleading with Thomas, who thought it both unseemly for his wife to travel by herself and has always harbored a strong dislike for Beatriz and her reputation, he reluctantly acquiesced, giving me a week away.

Armed with the return address on Beatriz’s letters to Elisa, a bit of money, my suitcase, and little else, I step off the plane when it lands at the airport in Barcelona and hire a taxi to take me to Beatriz’s home.
After a few initial minutes of conversation in Spanish, the driver leaves me to my own devices, and I stare out the window of the cab as he makes the twenty-minute journey, my gaze on the city.

I thought of dialing Beatriz’s number from the airport, warning her of my arrival before I showed up on her doorstep, but any attempts to call her before this trip have been met with silence, and I must admit I worried a bit that if Beatriz did answer the phone this time, she might tell me to turn back around and return to Palm Beach.

The farther we get from the airport, the more congested the city becomes, and I realize we’re near the center of Barcelona now.

Beatriz’s return address from her letter is a smart building on Las Ramblas with a beige stone facade and little balconies with red wrought iron railings. The taxi lets me off right before it.

It’s the sort of place I can imagine Beatriz living—elegant with a dash of whimsy. I can envision my sister leaning over the balcony railing, her dark hair billowing around her as she calls out good-naturedly to pedestrians, her laughter ringing down Las Ramblas. It is quintessentially Beatriz, both the privilege seeped in living in one of the city’s most desirable locales and the slight bohemian bent a city like Barcelona thrives on: art, music, and culture seemingly on every street corner.

It is a far cry from my life and the one our mother wanted for us in Palm Beach; no doubt, much of the allure for Beatriz was escaping to a place where there is anonymity in the crowded streets and bustling pace, where the need to see and be seen does not reign paramount.

But still, it raises the ever-important question that has been on my mind since Elisa first told me Beatriz had left:

Why?

Why Barcelona?

And given the environs where she’s chosen to live, who is funding this adventure?

A list of names of apartment residents is affixed near the building entry. I scan the directory until I settle on a “B. Perez.”

I set my suitcase down on the ground and lift my gloved hand, my heart pounding as I press the buzzer next to Beatriz’s name.

Excerpted from Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton Copyright © 2022 by Chanel Cleeton. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.

 


 

Chanel Cleeton is the USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.

Follow Chanel: Goodreads/Website/Twitter/ Facebook / Pinterest /Newsletter / Instagram

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The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton-a review

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The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 4, 2021

A feud rages in Gilded Age New York City between newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. When Grace Harrington lands a job at Hearst’s newspaper in 1896, she’s caught in a cutthroat world where one scoop can make or break your career, but it’s a story emerging from Cuba that changes her life.

Unjustly imprisoned in a notorious Havana women’s jail, eighteen-year-old Evangelina Cisneros dreams of a Cuba free from Spanish oppression. When Hearst learns of her plight and splashes her image on the front page of his paper, proclaiming her, “The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba,” she becomes a rallying cry for American intervention in the battle for Cuban independence.

With the help of Marina Perez, a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries in Havana, Grace and Hearst’s staff attempt to free Evangelina. But when Cuban civilians are forced into reconcentration camps and the explosion of the USS Maine propels the United States and Spain toward war, the three women must risk everything in their fight for freedom.

•••••••

REVIEW:THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN CUBA by Chanel Cleeton is an historical and fictionalized account of three women during the 1896-1898  Cuban revolution, and the prelude to the Spanish-American war.

Told from three first person perspectives- twenty five year old American journalist, Grace Harrington, Cuban courier/ revolutionary Marina Sandoval, and nineteen year old, Cuban heiress Evangelina Cisneros, following three intersecting paths THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN CUBA takes liberty with historical fact blending fiction into a story line where three women will change the course of history.

Based in fact, Cuban heiress Evangelina Cisneros, the niece of the former president of the Cuban Republic, is imprisoned on trumped up charges for refusing the advances of Colonel Berriz. Hoping to secure the release of her father, Evangelina finds herself caught between Berriz and prison, opting for prison as the lesser of two evils. When American newspaper giant William Hearst hears of our heroine’s plight, he sets into motion a rescue mission that will change the course of history, rescuing a woman he comes to call The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba.

Meanwhile, Marina Sandoval, and her husband Mateo are sympathetic to the revolutionary cause but shortly after Mateo leaves to fight on the front lines, Marina, her daughter Isabella, and her mother-in-law Luz, are sent to a reconcentration camp, where Marina and her family will struggle to survive. Cleaning laundry for the rich and powerful, Marina will quickly discover that she is of more use as a messenger, couriering important documents and notes for the people working to help make a better Cuba. One of Marina’s final acts of defiance is to courier notes between Evangelina and the revolutionary sympathisers, as they prepare to rescue the imprisoned heiress.

Back in America, twenty-five year old journalist Grace Harrington, desperate to work for Joseph Pulitzer, reluctantly agrees to spy on William Hearst, Pulitzer’s competition in the world of journalism, a task that involves working for Hearst, and researching the events in the Republic of Cuba. As the revolution in Cuba begins to take on a life of its’ own, Grace finds herself up close and personal with sympathetic supporters in America, supporters that will soon include the man with whom she will fall in love.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN CUBA is a complex, detailed, revealing and intriguing story blending fact and fiction into a romanticized version of revolutionary events. Chanel Cleeton reveals some of the atrocities that the prisoners and those in the reconcentration camps had to endure, including the rampant disease and deaths for those struggling to survive. The premise was real and inviting; the characters were sympathetic and captivating. An entertaining and powerful story, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN CUBA is a fascinating and sensational tale of tragedy and survival.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton-a review

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The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton-a review

 

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Apple Books / IndieBound / Penguin

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 16, 2020

In 1935 three women are forever changed when one of the most powerful hurricanes in history barrels toward the Florida Keys in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s captivating new novel.

Everyone journeys to Key West searching for something. For the tourists traveling on Henry Flagler’s legendary Overseas Railroad, Labor Day weekend is an opportunity to forget the economic depression gripping the nation. But one person’s paradise can be another’s prison, and Key West-native Helen Berner yearns to escape.

The Cuban Revolution of 1933 left Mirta Perez’s family in a precarious position. After an arranged wedding in Havana, Mirta arrives in the Keys on her honeymoon. While she can’t deny the growing attraction to the stranger she’s married, her new husband’s illicit business interests may threaten not only her relationship, but her life.

Elizabeth Preston’s trip from New York to Key West is a chance to save her once-wealthy family from their troubles as a result of the Wall Street crash. Her quest takes her to the camps occupied by veterans of the Great War and pairs her with an unlikely ally on a treacherous hunt of his own.

Over the course of the holiday weekend, the women’s paths cross unexpectedly, and the danger swirling around them is matched only by the terrifying force of the deadly storm threatening the Keys.

••••••••

REVIEW:THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST by Chanel Cleeton follows the lives of three women, in a fictional account of the 1935 Hurricane that swept through Key West, Florida on Labor Day weekend.

Told from three first person perspectives (Helen Berber, Marta Perez, Elizabeth Preston) LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST focuses on the journey of three women whose lives are about to cross paths and intersect with the approach of a deadly hurricane in the Florida Keys.

Helen Berner is a young, pregnant woman who is desperate to escape her abusive husband when a stranger, a military veteran offers Helen a way to escape, an escape that will bring Helen in the direct line of the impending storm where our couple will find themselves washed away along with so many of the Florida residents.

Marta Perez is a newlywed -married to a New York crime lord, whose enemies have followed the couple to the Florida Keys but the storm is about to bring more danger than anyone could have expected in the form of a stranger demanding everything including the lives of our story line couple.

New Yorker, Elizabeth Preston is desperate to find her brother, who has been missing for several months but Elizabeth is also on the run from a marriage of convenience to a dangerous man, a man who bought our heroine as payment for a loan. An undercover FBI agent offers to help Elizabeth find her brother John but said agent is currently on assignment, an assignment that involves our story line heroine.

THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST is an intriguing, brilliant and wonderfully fictional story line set against the real-life disaster of the 1935 hurricane that destroyed much of the Florida Keys. With the world struggling to survive in the aftermath of the stock market crash, and ensuing Great Depression, Key West Florida is about to suffer like never before. Chanel Cleeton delves into the lives of three women, all facing an uncertain future but a future that will intersect and converge in more way than one.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton-Review & Giveaway Tour

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WHEN WE LEFT CUBA by Chanel Cleeton-Review & Giveaway tour

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 9, 2019

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.

••••••••••

REVIEW: WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is the second instalment in Chanel Cleeton’s historical, fictionalized account focusing on the Perez family, and the Cuban Revolution.

Told from first person point of view (past 1960-1963) and present day (2016), third person (Beatriz Perez) WHEN WE LEFT CUBA following two timelines, focuses on Beatriz Perez, a Cuban immigrant to America, in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution that destroyed her family, and everyone she loved. Desperate to avenge the death of her beloved brother Alejandro, Beatriz Perez’ political ideology becomes known to the American government, and is eventually recruited by the CIA, to infiltrate anti-Castro organizations in an attempt to ferret out information concerning the Cuban dictator. Determined to return to her homeland once Fidel is deposed, Beatriz finds herself part of an international espionage group headed by the CIA. Meeting US senator Nicholas ‘Nick’ Preston finds our heroine caught between her head and heart knowing her actions will reflect poorly on the people she loves. What ensues is Beatriz’ resolve to avenge her brother’s death, and the multi-decade love affair with a man who is destined for greatness at the cost of her love.

WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is a story of family, politics, relationships and love: of betrayal and vengeance, power and control; of one woman’s fight for freedom and independence, and one man’s love that was never enough. WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is not a story of romance but a love story between a man and a woman; between a woman and the country she lost. Beatriz Perez grew up surrounded by riches and money, and for her parents, it was all about perception and presentation, but our heroine refuses to follow tradition including society’s expectations of a woman, a Cuban immigrant woman, who struggles to be accepted for her ideals, her self-determination and personal autonomy.

WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is a detailed, multi-faceted, and engaging story line that follows the build up to cold war between the US and Cuba, and the ramifications of the Bay of Pigs, the assassination of John F Kennedy, and the consequences of Beatriz’s commitment to Cuba, to vengeance, and to her self-reliance. WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is a powerful, dynamic and imaginative story of one family’s battle to remain true to themselves in spite of the increasing break down of ethical, moral and personal beliefs.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Chanel Cleeton is the USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.

Follow Chanel: Goodreads/Website/Twitter/ Facebook / Pinterest /Newsletter / Instagram

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Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton-Review Tour & Giveaway

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Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton-Review Tour & Giveaway

 

NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA
by Chanel Cleeton
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Genre: women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / ibooks / Indie Bound /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 6, 2018

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity–and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…

Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest–until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…

Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth.

Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

•••••••••

REVIEW: NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA is the first instalment in Chanel Cleeton’s women’s fiction/ historical romance fiction series focusing on the Cuban-American Perez family. This is Eliza Perez, and her granddaughter Marisol Ferrera’s story line.

Told from alternating timelines, and dual first person points of view (Eliza and Marisol) NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA is a story of historical fiction; of revolution; of politics and war; of surviving against the odds during the Cuban revolution; of one family’s history between the present and the past. Upon the death of her cherished grandmother Eliza Perez, Marisol Ferrera embarks on a journey to Cuba, where she will meet her future, and uncover her past. Returning her grandmother’s ashes to her beloved homeland, Marisol will encounter the true meaning of struggle and loss, as she goes in search of her family’s history, finding more than she could ever imagined.

NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA is a fictionalized account of one well-to-do family’s struggle growing up in the 50s during the Cuban Revolution, their flight to freedom, and the promises made to one day return. We follow as one woman defies her family as she falls in love with a man of questionable affiliations; and another woman discovers that the past never forgets; that lessons learned are easily forgotten.

Chanel Cleeton pulls the reader into the turmoil and upheaval of Cuba in the late1950’s; where family is pitted against family; neighbors against neighbors; the rich against the poor. An engaging, brilliantly written, and intoxicating tale of the human spirit, love and never letting go.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Originally from Florida, Chanel Cleeton grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.

 

Website:   www.chanelcleeton.com
Facebook:   www.facebook.com/authorchanelcleeton
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1545366192398558/
Twitter:   www.twitter.com/chanelcleeton
Goodreads:  www.goodreads.com/chanelcleeton
Newsletter:   www.chanelcleeton.com/mailing-list/
Instagram:  www.instagram.com/chanelcleeton/

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the author.

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Into The Blue (Wild Aces #2) by Chanel Cleeton-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

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INTO THE BLUE (Wild Aces #2) by Chanel Cleeton-Review,Book Tour & Giveaway

Into The Blue Banner

INTO THE BLUE
Wild Aces #2
by Chanel Cleeton
Genre: adult, contemporary, military, romance
Release Date: July 5, 2016

Into The Blue

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 5, 2016

Eric Jansen—call sign Thor—loves nothing more than pushing his F-16 to the limit. Returning home to South Carolina after a tragic loss, he hopes to fix the mistake he made long ago, when he chose the Air Force over his fiancée.

Becca Madison isn’t quick to welcome Thor back. She can’t forget how he shattered her heart. But Thor won’t give up once he’s set his sights on what he wants—and he wants Becca.

Thor shows Becca that he’s no longer the impulsive boy he used to be, and Becca finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. But will Thor be able to walk away from his dream of flying the F-16 for their love or does his heart belong to the sky?

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REVIEW: INTO THE BLUE is the second installment in Chanel Cleeton’s contemporary, adult WILD ACES military, erotic romance series focusing a group of U.S. Air Force fighter pilots known as the Wild Aces. This is fighter pilot Eric ‘Thor’ Jansen, and attorney Becca Madison’s second chance story line. INTO THE BLUE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous installment is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person points of view (Becca and Eric) INTO THE BLUE looks at the rekindling romance between attorney Becca Madison, and fighter pilot Eric Jansen. Ten years earlier Eric walked out of Becca’s life when his decision to join the Air Force interfered in Becca’s plans to go to law school. A broken engagement, and their plans for the future shattered until Eric’s return home to South Carolina ten years later, following a devastating loss that affected everyone on his team. Coming home meant coming back to Becca, and the possibility of starting over with the woman he has always loved.

Eric and Becca had been high school sweethearts with a promise for the future but different goals, different directions in life, and Eric’s need to find himself found our couple at opposite ends. When neither one was willing to compromise, the ‘it-couple’ from South Carolina were no longer an item, but their love always simmered in the back of their minds. A rekindling romance, and the potential for change allows for the possibility of something more. The $ex scenes are intimate, provocative and intense.

The secondary and supporting characters include all of Eric’s fellow fighter pilots including Jordan and Noah (book one). Noah is currently stationed in Korea but Jordan’s return home comes with exciting news. Alex ‘Easy’ Rogers returns pining for a woman who lost her heart to another man- a man who will be not be coming home. Easy’s story will be told next in ON BROKEN WINGS.

The world building continues to focus on the fighter pilots: their assignments; their missions; their family and their lives. There is always the possibility that not everyone will return, and in this the couples struggle with the potential of broken hearts and broken lives.

INTO THE BLUE is an emotional story line. The reader is pulled into the heartbreaking aftermath of one man’s decision to walk away from the woman he loves. The premise is passionate and compelling; the characters are fascinating and real; the romance is a second chance at forever. INTO THE BLUE is not as intense as FLY WITH ME but you can’t go wrong with a sexy fighter pilot who goes for what he wants.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one-FLY WITH ME

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Into The Blue Teaser

 

excerpt

Eric’s hand felt warm against mine—warm and big. He squeezed, and even though he touched my fingers, I swore I felt an answering tightness around my heart, as though the power to crush it lay in the palm of his hand.
I wanted to pull back, had never intended to let him get this close, but here we were, and I didn’t move. The temptation was just too strong to ignore and it felt too good to have him hold my hand.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered again, his voice and eyes full of an emotion that spelled trouble.
This time I did pull back, too close to losing my heart. Too much time had passed, too much between us. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that this could be something again, of letting old feelings confuse me.
“I need to go.”
“Can we get dinner sometime, or coffee, or something?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I know I don’t deserve for you to let me in again, not after what I did, but what if we just gave it a chance. If we took things slowly? What if we started as friends?”
I didn’t know how I was supposed to answer that one, what slow was with people who had the kind of baggage we did. We’d been engaged; I didn’t know how to pretend we were just two people getting to know each other. At the same time, I didn’t really know him. Not anymore. But what was the point of getting to know him if he was just going to leave again?
“What’s changed?”
“What do you mean?”
“What’s changed?” I repeated. “You’re back here, but what’s different? What’s the point? You’re going back to Oklahoma in a few weeks, aren’t you?”
He nodded.
“Then what?”
He shifted in his seat, his expression guarded. “Well, we have the deployment coming up, and then I’ll probably go on to my next assignment. I don’t know where yet.”
Yeah, I’d been here before.
“So nothing has changed. Not really.”
“I’ve missed you.”
I’d missed him, too. It wasn’t enough. It had been ten years. We’d been apart longer than we’d been together. It wasn’t like we could just hit “Play” and pick up where we’d left off.
“We still want different things.”
He didn’t answer me for a beat. “What if we didn’t want different things?”
I froze. He knew me too well, knew just how to worm his way back in.
“Don’t try to make this about me. Don’t come back here with your ‘maybes’ and your ‘what-ifs’ and expect me to hang my future on it. I’ve been here before. I know how this goes. You’ve been back, what, a day? Do you honestly think that after everything we’ve been through, I’m going to trust that you want a future together? That you’ll actually choose me?
“I’m not going down this road with you again. I’ve been there and all it did was give me years of heartbreak. I don’t trust you anymore. There is no us. Not anymore.”
I grabbed my wallet, putting some cash on the table for my breakfast. I got up on shaky legs, not giving him a chance to respond, not sparing him another glance.

about the author

Chanel CleetonOriginally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure.

Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband.

Chanel writes contemporary romances, women’s fiction, and thrillers. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, Assassins, and Wild Aces series.

Website: www.chanelcleeton.com
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giveaway

Chanel’s publisher and The Reading Cafe are offering a paper copy of INTO THE BLUE to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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