I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton Also by this author: Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, Our Last Days in Barcelona, The Cuban Heiress, The House on Biscayne Bay
Published by Berkley on September 30, 2025
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 352 •Format: E-ARC •Goodreads
London, 2024: When American expat Margo Reynolds is hired to source a book that’s more than one hundred and twenty years old, she thinks her greatest challenge is going to be that there’s only one copy in existence. However, it quickly becomes clear that her client isn’t the only person determined to procure the book at any cost. Thrust into a deadly quest, Margo teams up with an unlikely ally—the man she loved and lost—and is forced to confront the ghosts of her own past as the lingering feelings that simmer between them ignite.
Havana, 1966: Pilar Castillo’s days are spent working as a librarian in Havana, her nights spent hoping for her husband’s freedom after his unjust imprisonment. But Pilar has a secret that could jeopardize her life. She’s fighting Fidel’s regime in her own way, and when she comes into possession of a book that was published more than sixty years earlier, she must decide how much she’s willing to risk to protect the literary works entrusted to her care.
Boston, 1900: For Cuban teacher Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to participate in the largest cultural exchange between Cuba and the United States is not only a chance to represent her country at a critical time in its bid for independence, but also an opportunity to work on the book she’s writing. When a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger alters the course of Eva’s summer at Harvard, and as secrets, lies, and forbidden love rise to the surface, Eva’s life—and legacy—is irrevocably changed.
I am a long time fan of Chanel Cleeton. Several years ago I read her first Cuban historical fiction novel and I was hooked! I’ve read all of her historical novels since and most land firmly in the four and five star realm for me. While The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes had many of the things I love about Cleeton’s writing – multiple POVs across women in different points in history, highlighting different parts of Cuban history, etc – I found this novel in particular struggled a bit with pacing for me personally. While overall still a worthwhile read, especially if you are interested in Cuban history, I would recommend many of Cleeton’s other stellar Cuba-based historical fiction novels over this one (Next Year in Havana and The Last Train to Key West are particular favorites).
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes follows three women across Cuba, the United States, and England across the 1900s to modern day. At the center of the story is a mystery of a rare novel that impacts the lives of all three women in different yet profound ways. While characters are commonly linked across time periods in Cleeton’s novels, I found that it took a while to become invested in how their stories intertwined (perhaps I am spoiled by her Perez family stories!) I was mostly intrigued by modern day Margo and her relationship drama with her ex husband, followed by Eva’s summer school program at Harvard (such an interesting piece of history I never knew about!) but found Pilar’s chapters somewhat of a slog to get through (which really shouldn’t been the case, given that the stakes were perhaps higher for her than the others).
Around the 30-40% point in the novel the story did pick up as the mystery takes a more serious – and deadly- turn in the modern day timeline. Margo’s chapters and journey became really compelling and I was SO curious as to who was trying to find the book before her and why. I was also super invested in how the mystery led her to teaming up with her ex-husband and working through some of their old wounds. I think Cleeton’s mystery writing chops really shine in this story and I would love to see her delve into the sub-genre even more, as the heist/stolen artifact element was really interesting.
As always with Cleeton’s books, I learned a LOT reading this. I truly love that about historical fiction, and it never ceases to amaze me how Cleeton continues to find new stories to tell about fascinating parts of Cuban history and the ramifications through the generations. I think this is a worthwhile read for anyone who’s a fan of the subject matter or of Cleeton’s work in general.
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