The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton #ChanelCleeton @BerkleyPub @sophiarose1816

Posted April 12, 2023 by Sophia in Book Review / 8 Comments

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton #ChanelCleeton @BerkleyPub @sophiarose1816The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton
Published by Berkley on April 11, 2023
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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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.

I’ve been tracking with Chanel Cleeton since I first picked up her contemporary romance and then was utterly captivated when she moved into historical fiction spotlighting Cuban-Cuban American History and women characters in particular.  I bring that up because this latest was something of a surprise blend in style of her older romances and more recent historical fiction.

Like her other books, A Cuban Heiress in anchored in specific historical events and the times.  In this case, I was already somewhat familiar with the 1930’s era incidents on the luxurious SS Morro Castle that sailed between NYC and Havana all when America was in a Great Depression and Cuba is roiling after a recent revolution.  There was the fire and the murder of its captain.  I knew it remains an unsolved murder to this day because I revel in historical mystery documentaries on TV and podcasts.  Chanel Cleeton set her own dramatic dual thread mystery plots on this fatal voyage of the Morro Castle and I was hooked right away.

NYC heiress Catherine Dohan comes aboard with her fiancé, Raymond, and his daughter and from outward appearances she is the envy of others.  In reality, she’s walking a tightrope over alligator infested waters because she’s not who she pretends to be, Raymond isn’t the best, and someone from her past is aboard.  But, that’s not the worst.  She needs to find out really fast who aboard is trying to kill her.  Harry, an adventurer jewel thief, becomes her unlikely partner in crime solving and I was tickled that it was turning out to be more.  Theirs was a caper-style affair I found highly entertaining.

The more smoldering emotion side of the story comes from the woman who really is an heiress.  Wronged, betrayed and left penniless, Elena Palacio, whom everyone thinks is dead, plans to get her revenge and seek justice when she gets to Cuba.  In a stunning twist, these seeming separate stories collide.  The second half was full of surprises and tension.  I didn’t see some of that coming.

A Cuban Heiress read quickly for me and, like I said, had a different feel than her previous historical fictions with less emphasis on the character of the individual women and their place in the historical events going on and more attention to the cast of characters as they related to the driving plot.  I didn’t mind at all, but I did have to adjust expectation.

Whether the reader is seeking Cuban flavored historical fiction, historical romance with a strong feel of historical setting, or a good mystery, A Cuban Heiress delivers it all on a silver platter decadent enough to grace the real luxury cruise ship, Morro Castle.

 

 

Sophia
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Posted April 12, 2023 by Sophia in Book Review / 8 Comments


8 responses to “The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

  1. I love historical fiction and had never heard of the SS Morro Castle though now I’m seriously intrigued! I’ve had this author on my TBR for years and I just put this book on hold at the library. It sounds fantastic!