When we left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
Goodreads blurb: 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…
My take: 3.5 out of 5. The continuation is not as good as the original. I absolutely loved Next Year in Havana, this is a nice follow up to keep engaging with the characters but its nowhere near its original. I would still recommend it and I’m still going to keep reading about the Perez sisters, but Beatriz story is not as engaging nor as realistic and heart wrenching and Elisa’s.
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
Goodreads blurb: When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better. That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex: he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she has just started to understand herself. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family, she takes on a role she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.
My take: 4 out of 5. This is the third book in Hoang’s Autism spectrum romance novels, after the Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test and I might say this was my favorite. I really enjoyed Quan, and although Anna exasperated me many a times during the novel, her growth is so powerful and its also a great understanding of how different people operate. The only weird thing in this continuation that the series is doing, is that its I think a bit far fetch that two close cousins end up with girls in the spectrum, having a spectrum cousin. Although I love that she focuses on this, by keeping it in the family it makes it less believable, when what they are trying to do is make it fully representational and mainstream.
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Goodreads blurb: Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most. Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up
— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
My take: 4.5 out of 5. This was my first Colleen Hoover book and it destroyed me. There were tears , a lot of tears. I cant speak much to the plot because i definitely do not want to spoil it, but lets just say there is a lot of emotion happening. What I really enjoyed is that one of the few romance books where i really do not know what’s going to happen from the start. There are twists that are not expected and your heart gets pulled in many different directions. There are few straightforward answers, a lot of grey, lots of heartbreak and it just seems so real. Read this book
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