This book was all kinds of special for me. While I can't relate to this particular experience, I, too, have been a migrant making sacrifices time and again. Not only was the plot gripping, it also made me feel seen - and countless other immigrants whose voices are often unheard.

Find Me In Havana is a tale of a Cuban woman and her daughter migrating to the US. I don't usually read historical fiction, but this one felt so right - it allowed me to travel through time and space at the time we're not able to travel freely at all. In this sense, it reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, another five-star listen.

Find Me in Havana is told from Estelita and Nina’s perspectives - a mother and daughter whose story is being told. Estelita was an actress since a very young age, which allowed her to move to Hollywood, where she later on had Nina. But when Estelita suddenly dies, Nina begins to seek answers to the many unanswered questions she had about her mother's life and death. It's a beautiful and emotional story, which is apparently based on true events, something I didn't know while listening.

Most of all, I think one reason why this novel felt so special was the fact that I listened to the audiobook version. It's narrated just right, so beautifully and full of emotion, that I couldn't stop listening.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I am not sure what exactly I was expecting when I got this advance copy audiobook. From the cover and title I expected something a little sexier and less mother/daughter trauma.

Find me in Havana is a strong and thoughtful book about how there is always two sides to everything and every story.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me this audiobook in exchange for my honest review

Find Me in Havana by Serena Burdick is a historical fiction book about a Cuban woman and her daughter. Find Me in Havana is based on the true story of Estelita Rodriguez.

Estelita Rodriguez is a Cuban actress and singer that moved to Hollywood for her career. After her mother’s unexpected death, Nina looks back through Estelita’s life to try to figure out what caused it. Estelita and Nina have a complicated and difficult relationship.

I didn’t know anything about Estelita Rodriguez before reading Find Me in Havana but now want to know more about it. Find Me in Havana is an interesting story about Hollywood and how fame affects people and their families. There are also parts about Estelita growing up in Cuba.

Find Me in Havana is told from Estelita and Nina’s perspectives. This really helped the story by allowing the reader to understand both character’s feelings. I enjoyed reading about Estelita’s and Nina’s relationship. There were many times where Nina thought her mom was putting her career or other people before her, but from Estelita’s perspective the reader sees that is not the case. Estelita’s mother and Nina’s grandmother was an important character which showed another mother daughter relationship.

Nina was sent to boarding after dealing with a traumatic event. She thought her mother didn’t want to deal with her or the situation which wasn’t true. Later, someone told Nina her mother didn’t want her anymore.

Find Me in Havana is full of emotion and history. Cuban history isn’t talked about frequently, so that was a nice addition to this story. Find Me in Havana includes rape and abuse. Estelita has multiple husbands and all of them do not treat Nina well. Nina always felt like her mother chose her husbands over her.

I listened to the audiobook by Marisol Ramirez and Frankie Corzo. They did a great job narrating which added to the story.

Thank you NetGalley, Edelweiss, Harper Audio, Harlequin Audio, Harper Collins and Park Row for Find Me in Havana.

This book was the perfect escape. It was lovely and fun. It was my first book by this author and I will definitely be on the look out for more!!

Thank you for the advance copy of this book.

The story switches between a mother's and a daughter's perspective as they navigate some tumultuous life events (kidnapping, a revolution, abuse, drugs, rape). Based on the cover, I expected "Find Me in Havana" to be a lighter read, but given the previously noted topics, it's a quite serious read.

The underlying message is that relationships are hard--and you need to communicate. It felt like so much conflict could have been avoiding if everyone just talked more openly to one another.