Blog Blitz + Review: The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin/Berkley
At the end of the nineteenth century, three revolutionary women fight for freedom in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s captivating new novel inspired by real-life events and the true story of a legendary Cuban woman–Evangelina Cisneros–who changed the course of history.
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.
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**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**
I mostly read Contemporary Romance and throw a couple other genres in every now and then, Historical Fiction being one of them. I have fallen in love with Chanel Cleeton's writing since I read Next Year in Havana, and I always look forward to her releasing her next book. I can always depend on her writing about strong and determined women. The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba is the latest release in the author's Cuba Saga. I want to thank her for introducing me to Cuba, a beautiful and resilient country, and educating me to its complicated past.
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba was like the previous books very emotional and intriguing. I fell in love with the three main characters Evangelina, Grace and Marina. Normally I am not a big fan of multiple POVs but Chanel just does such an incredible job in making the story flow perfectly. I was 100% connected to the characters and looked forward to seeing how they would fare in this book. I was rooting for them, and when they found themselves in bad situations it hurt my heart. This book made me feel so many different emotions.
I loved how everything was connected and the characters at times found themselves in the company of each other. I love that the author continues to write about Cuba but chooses a different historical event to focus on. It is very educative and piques my interest to do my own research. This book was great and it held my attention until the end. The author really brought the characters to life, and I loved that some of her characters were based on real people. I already look forward to Chanel's next book.
About The Author
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 and Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
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