You might know Chanel Cleeton from her novel Next Year In Havana, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Group Pick, but her newest book The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba is my personal favorite from her. This is historical fiction set at the height of the Pulitzer & Hearst newspaper war in the 1890s. The story follows three women, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba Evangelina Cisneros, a was the poster girl for the Cuban revolution, a journalist who is inspired by Nellie Bly, and a cuban revolutionary fighting in Havana.

The last few years I have found myself drawn to historical fiction, I blame (or credit) Chanel Cleeton. When I read Next Year in Havana a few years ago, I was struck by how much I learned while being thoroughly entertained by the different, connected storylines. I’ve been reading more historical fiction and historical romance than I have contemporary romances ever since. The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba was another instant favorite for me! I was intrigued by all three of the main characters, all revolutionary in their own right– Marina Perez, a wife and mother doing her part in the fight against the Spanish, Grace Harrington, a novice journalist following the lead of trailblazing Nellie Bly, and Evangelina Cisneros, a real-life Cuban woman imprisoned in Havana. The mixture of fictional characters and imagined events (based on research) and real people and events make for a compelling story. The plight of the Cuban people during this Cuban Revolution, the politics of the time in Washington, DC and New York, and the newspaper wars between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst are fascinating. The birth of yellow journalism, and the questionable practice of reporters/publishers creating/influencing the news and how the public reacts to events. The glimpses into the conditions under which so many working people, especially women and children, toiled just trying to survive are both maddening and heartbreaking. I consider myself a well-educated person, but with every book of Ms. Cleeton’s I read, I learn so much more about history, especially Cuba’s history–the abuses suffered at the hands of the Spanish, the reconcentration camps in Havana, the inhumane conditions in the prison for women–yet I don’t feel like I’m in a history class, but rather, I’m learning it through the experiences of the characters, both real and fictional, in her books. Once I picked up this book, I found it very difficult to put down. I kept googling these (real) characters to get more background, and to find out how their lives turned out, I was so intrigued and caught up in the story! Ms. Cleeton used to write romance novels, which is how I came to know her work; this isn’t a romance, but there is a romantic element to the story. In fact, there are multiple. Ms. Cleeton has a way of grabbing the reader’s attention, and not letting go—not even after the book ends. As usual, I cannot recommend this book enough! If you haven’t read the previous books, Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, and The Last Train to Key West (all standalones), you owe it to yourself to do so—I promise you will thank me!

Cleeton does an amazing job at transporting you to the exact time her books are taking place. This story took me right to the 1890’s when Cuba was under the Spanish regime.

This story follows three strong female protagonists. The women are strong, powerful and bada$$.

I was consistently on the edge of my seat following the revolution. This story had espionage, spies, love, romance, politics, war, jail breaks, and heartbreak.

Again, absolutely loved this one! Another #historicalfiction to add to you #tbr !

If you travel to Key West, Florida, there’s a buoy where tourists line up to take their pictures. It proclaims the site is the southernmost point in the continental U.S., and that it’s 90 miles to Cuba. With this geographic closeness, it’s no wonder that the United States has always been concerned about affairs in Cuba.

Author Chanel Cleeton, a Florida native who grew up on stories about her family’s exodus from Cuba following the latest Cuban Revolution, has made a career telling stories about characters who personify the Cuban/American relationship. In 2018, her novel Next Year in Havana became a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, elevating the author’s profile. Her new book, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, takes readers to the oldest time period Cleeton has explored—the 1890s. This Cuban Revolution is against Spain, and as America is drawn into the fight, three women seek their own freedom.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the review.

Chanel Cleeton is back with a prequel to the Perez family stories. This time, she examines their ancestor, Marina during the 1896 war between Spain and the US on Cuban soil.

Evangelina Cisneros, dubbed The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by the New York newspapers, and journalist Grace Harrington’s stories are also the focus of this tale.

Cleeton’s vivid imagery and captivating stories make learning about Cuba’s tragic history compelling and help give context to the Cuba we know today.

I came within 80 pages, but couldn't force myself to keep reading this book through to the end.

I had previously read and loved Chanel Cleeton's "Last Train to Key West", and it's not that I wasn't interested in either of the main characters or the plotlines inspired by the real life of Cuban rebel Evangelina Cisneros, or the fictional reporter Grace Harrington, but I think the story just dragged on far too long for me.

I found most of the fictionalized content to be extremely repetitive, and felt that it turned a very interesting story quite tedious...and more than once I talked back to the book saying, "enough already!"

The other thing that bothered me was that I felt that the language was too modern for the time and setting of the book. I read book this on my e-reader and wish that I had marked some of the passages to provide examples, but it didn't read like historical fiction for me, it read more like present day fiction.

Anyway, just my unpopular opinion...I see that a lot of other people really enjoyed the book, so check out other reviews, or read the book for yourself! I will definitely remain a huge fan of Chanel Cleeton, I just don't think this was her best work.

Worth noting this is the 2nd book I have read by one of my favorite authors that was likely either written or edited during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and I wouldn't be surprised if that has had some sort of unfavorable effect on the end result -- and I'm not totally ruling out myself (as the reader) either, since I'm tending to prefer light-hearted happy stories to historical fiction over the last 18 months.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

What is your favorite book or movie set in Cuba?

The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba is the story of three revolutionary women in the late 19th century struggle for Cuban independence.

Evangelina Cisneros is eighteen years old and suffering in a notorious prison. Her father was arrested for being a rebel against Spain and Evangelina was exiled to an island. While there, the beautiful Evangelina caught the notice of the man in charge of the island. When she rebuffs his advances, she finds herself thrown into prison. Her story catches the fancy of William Randolph Hearst who dubs her “the most beautiful girl in Cuba” in his papers and helps to rally a frenzied United States to go to war with Spain over Cuba. Grace Harrington works for Hearst and struggles to make it as a female reporter in a man’s world. Marina Perez is estranged from her wealthy family over her choice of husband, but as her husband fights, she works to help the cause in Havana. Will these three women succeed in their missions?

I enjoyed this book. It was told in three different viewpoints for the three different women. I didn’t know much at all about the Cuban fight for independence and I found it fascinating. I was even more fascinated to learn that Evangelina Cisneros was a real person, and her story follows what is told in this novel. I enjoyed all three-story lines, but my only complaint was that I didn’t feel that I really got to know the women as well as I would have liked. The plot was good, but I think their characters could have been developed a little further.

Favorite Quotes:
“There are those who are afraid that the change we seek will leave them pushed to the fringes of a society they have mercilessly dominated for so long.”

“Our lives are not defined by one thing; we are more than the events that happen to us,”

Overall, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba was a captivating look into the Cuban fight for independence and yellow journalism of the late 19th century.

Book Source: Review Copy from Net Galley and Berkley. Thank-you!

I love a good tie in. This book does it perfectly. I love Chanel Cleeton's ability to teach me something interesting while reading a fun fictional story. One of the characters in this book are real, This is about the Cuban War of independence from Spain, which took place from 1895-98. This follows 3 women, a journalist and two revolutionaries. was absolutely fascinated by the world of stunt girl reporters and newspaper wars that she throws herself into, just as I was equal parts enthralled and heartbroken by the story of Evangelina Cisneros, the most beautiful – and courageous – girl in Cuba. And how wonderful to meet another member of the Perez family – the plucky Marina, whose story intertwines with the other women's.

This story was so so good!!!
Chanel beautifully weaves together the story of these three completely different women. They each have a different perspective of this time in Cuban history. It's impossible to read this book without thinking about how long Cuba has really been fighting for it's freedom, to think about how long it's people have been struggling. Chanel puts so much research into these books and you can really feel it all over this book.
I really loved the way the stories intersected at different moments in these women's story. It never felt forced and always felt to me like it added to the story and helped push the story forward. I also really love the way she weaved real stories and fiction in order to create this beautiful full picture.

Chanel Cleeton’s writing is completely transporting. I feel like I’ve learned so much about Cuba from her books. Particularly as we never really covered Cuba except for the Cuban Missile Crisis and Remember The Maine in my history classes. The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba is an attention grabbing book that covers Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain. I was captivated by this book and would have read it in a day or two if not for real life getting in the way.

The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba has three main characters. They are Grace, Marina, and Evangelina. Grace wants to be a reporter like Nellie Bly and so she finds herself a job with William Randolph Hearst as a reporter, secretly spying for Pulitzer with the hopes that she can earn herself a job at Pulitzer’s paper. Marina was from a wealthy family (the Perez family from Cleeton’s other books) but she married a farm boy and now she finds herself in a reconcentration camp in Havana taking in laundry to earn money and survive. Evangelina is a real woman from history and is the titular most beautiful girl in Cuba. She has been jailed and accused of luring a Spanish officer to be attacked by the revolutionaries. Evangelina, however, maintains that he attempted to force himself on her.

The three women featured in this book cross paths throughout. However, each provides a unique perspective to the Cuban fight for independence. We learn about the yellow journalism more in depth. Additionally, we get a perspective of the jail for women as well as the reconcentration camps. I learned that so many people died in Cuba during this time due to what Spain had put them through.

Aside from actually learning something from this book, I felt like The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba had vast entertainment value as well. There are different romances for each of the three main characters. There are scents which felt like nail biters. I felt as though I could relate to Marina, Evangelina, and Grace in different ways. All three characters had me rooting for them. Cleeton has written another winner.

An amazingly written book that clearly painted a picture. I loved learning more about these characters and this time period. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Historical fiction and multiple POVs are 2 of my favorite things, and this story nailed both of those categories for me. I was swept up in the newspaper journalist storyline right off the bat, and loved the back knowledge on Pulitzer and Hearst and the newspaper wars during the late 1800s. I honestly didn’t know very much at all about the Cuban War of Independence - and I was drawn into the time and place with the author’s beautiful writing. I loved learning about Evangelina and her real life stories - and definitely found myself doing my own research into her incredible story. I loved how Grace, Evangelina, and Maria’s stories brought them together and how many similarities the women shared in their determination while being totally different in so many ways. This has been one of my favorite reads this year 🤩 and has definitely pulled me out of my historical fiction slump.

This is my first of Cleeton’s books and most definitely won’t be my last 💕

I always look forward to a Chanel Cleeton novel. The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba was a refreshing historical fiction read in that I do not find many books that are engaging and about Cuban revolutionaries. There is the story of Grace, who wants to be a reporter and interviews with both Hearst and Pulitzer for a job. Not surprisingly, she is going to have to prove herself. There is Evangelina Cicneros, a real revolutionary unjustly imprisoned, and Marina Perez, employed as a laundress but secretly a courier for the resistance. The three women intersect and their futures take interesting twists and turns. I appreciated how well researched this book is, and that I simply had to find out what happens to each woman.

I love historical fiction, especially when it centers on stories I know very little about. The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba takes place right before the Spanish-American War and revolves around three women. Evangelina Cisneros (a real person) is unjustly imprisoned in the Casa de Recogidas, the infamous women's prison in Havana. Her story is the one that captures New York newspapers' attention and propels the United States into war. Marina Perez (the same Perez family from Cleeton's other novels) is a revolutionary who abandoned her wealthy family for the love of her husband. She acts as a courier in an attempt to bring Cuba the freedom it has long desired. Grace Harrington is a reporter for the New York Journal who longs to be another Nelly Bly. I was captivated by each woman's story and how they are willing to fight for their beliefs. I highly recommend this one!

I have to admit, I haven't really been in the mood for historical fiction lately. Unless it's written by Chanel Cleeton and in that case I am 100% going to read it. Her latest, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, is another hit in my humble opinion and as with many of her previous books, she deftly switches between multiple points of view, all with equally compelling and courageous heroines. But what's interesting about this novel in particular is that it's inspired by the real-life events and true story of legendary Cuban woman, Evangelina Cisneros (who you better believe I googled after reading this!).


Three different women take the stage in this book, which takes place during the 1890s. First there's Grace Harrington from New York City, who is caught up in the feud between newspaper tycoons, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, before ultimately landing a job with the former. She's eager to prove her mettle in an industry filled with men and soon the stories emerging from Cuba provide her with life-changing opportunities. The other two women, Evangelina Cisneros and Marina Perez, are stationed in Havana and both are enduring terrible circumstances. Eighteen-year-old Evangelina is unjustly imprisoned in a notorious women's jail but when Hearst learns of this, he puts her story in the newspaper and calls her "The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba" so she can become the catalyst for Americans to help Cuba gain their independence from Spain. And lastly, Marina and her family are suffering and separated but she wants to do her part to help the cause and becomes a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries, specifically to break Evangelina free.


As I mentioned earlier, I found each of the individual women's stories to be equally riveting and I read with anticipation to see how their paths would eventually converge. I admired how resourceful and determined each were to not just sit back and accept their circumstances. They all wanted to fight the good fight and each did so in different ways. I will say that I really enjoyed Grace's point-of-view in particular though because it was so interesting to read about the Gilded Age in NYC and what is was like to have these two feuding newspapers (I didn't know any details about this prior!). There's also some romance in this book but the focus was definitely on what Grace, Evangelina, and Marina were each going through and what was happening in history during that time (just a FYI in case you were looking for more historical romance).


Do I recommend? I do! I've enjoyed all of Chanel Cleeton's historical fiction novels dealing with Cuban history.

Struggled to get through this book. Maybe I have reached the saturation point of Cuban revolutionary history. I do enjoy Chanel Cleeton's other books, but this one was not for me.

I’m not always a big fan of historical fiction, but Chanel Cleeton has risen to the top of my list. She is now an auto-read author for me. When I read one of her novels, I’m not only entertained but educated. I had never heard the true story of Evangelina Cisneros or much at all about the history of Cuba. Cleeton does a fantastic job of taking a true story and fictionalizing it in a way that stays true to the actual history.

I absolutely adore Chanel Cleeton's books and this was no exception. It did take a much slower start in the beginning as this one definitely feels much more historical in theme than her others, but once I got into it - I was all in.

She has this way of making you care abut every single one of the women featured in her books. By the end, you fell like you know them personally. As always, the book is layered with history, love, and strong females whose lives intersect in the most beautiful of ways.

The fight for the independence of Cuba takes center stage, and how it affects these three women's lives. And it's once again, beautifully written, rich in historical facts and descriptions that transport you to Cuba and NYC, and full of the strength and power of some pretty inspirational females - always a recurring theme in her stories that I am happy to devour.

And I love the character connections in each of her books - they are always fun to stumble upon!!

This was not my favorite in the series. I did not feel the characters connected very well and I did not feel connected to the story. The story felt contrived to me. I have been a huge fan of all the other books, especially Next Year in Havana and When We Left Cuba, but this story fell a little flat for me.

Another great book in the Havana/Perez family saga. This one took place in the late 1800s and centered on the buildup to the Spanish-American war, a time period and topic I know very little about. While I didn’t love this book as much I did Next Year in Havana and When We Left Cuba, I did really really enjoy all of the history in this one, and learning more about real-life Cuban woman Evangelina Cisneros. I hope that Chanel Cleeton continues writing about the Perez women, because I can’t wait to see what comes next for this incredible family.