This was my first time reading one of Chanel Cleeton's books and it did not disappoint. The book is a cross between women's fiction and historical fiction. The book takes place in 1964 after the Perez family has exiled to Florida from Cuba after Castro's revolution. The eldest daughter Isabel Perez decides to travel to Barcelona to save her sister Beatrice and while in Barcelona discovers a family secret. The book shifts back and forth between present and the past in 1936 Barcelona when Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona with her daughter Isabel after her husband had an affair.

Overall this book did a great job of weaving together historical facts about Spain in the 1930s and 1960s, mother/daughter relationships, each Perez sisters personal story, and of course some romance. While this is my first book from Chanel Cleeton, it certainly won't be my last. I look forward reading from her backlist and getting to know more about the other Perez sisters when they each tell their own story.

A part of me kind of wishes I started reading the books in publication order so I got to know each sister from the beginning but the book is stand alone and not part of a series so you can read this without having read any of her other books like I did.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Berkeley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this advanced reader copy.

The lives of a mother and daughter intertwine unexpectedly when a mysterious photograph puts the past and present on a collusion course.

The story of the Perez family captivated me. The transition between the two timelines and perspectives was fluid, and I appreciated the integration of societal issues and the political backdrop. The similarities in the journeys of these two strong, determined women were also fascinating. The touch of romance in this story made it all the more beautiful!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this voluntary review are my own.

The Perez Sisters return May 24th, 2022 and this is my favorite one yet!!

Our Last Days In Barcelona follows the oldest Perez sister, Isabel. After losing contact with her sister, Beatriz, Isabel makes a trip to Barcelona to locate Beatriz and to make sure she is safe. Once she arrives at Beatriz's apartment she finds a soon to be ally, Diego but no Beatriz. Diego and Isabel join forces to find Beatriz. Mix in a mysterious photo, family demands, a rocky marriage, and making her own happiness a priority... we have an unputdownable book.

The one thing I really love about Chanel Cleeton's writing is you get a history lesson but you are so caught up in the beauty of the story it doesn't come across heavy or detailed. I love seeing Cuba and now Barcelona through her eyes. Told between two timelines, the story blends seamlessly into a perfect climax.. and the epilogue gave me goosebumps. 🔥

This book is part of a series, and can be read as a standalone, but I think to really absorb the story fully readers would benefit from reading the prior books.
Perfect for those that love: historical fiction, women's fiction with romance overtones, and family sagas mixed with a little mystery.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher, Berkeley Publishing Group for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

Our Last Days in Barcelona

Isabel does everything that she can for her family, even if that means putting her happiness on the back burner. So when her sister Beatriz disappears Isabel drops overhang and travels to Barcelona to find her. She meets one of her sisters friends and they team up to hunt her down. Only does Isabel find more than she was looking for....she uncovers a family secret and possibly finds happiness along the way. Without knowing it Isabel and her mother Alicia have lived a similar life. Will Isabel live the path similar to her mothers? How do you choose between doing what is best for your family and what is best for you?

This was my first book by the author. Its not my usual genre but I did find myself enjoying the book. The book is told in multiple point of views, I think it helped the story flow. I liked following along the different journeys the different women were facing. It's crazy how similar and different all of them were. I liked the meaning I took from the book...sometimes you have to be brave. You have to do things you don't typically do. It is okay to be scared, everyone is scared of something. I found Isabel to be very brave. Flying to a different county alone is insanely brave. Looking for your sister with a stranger is insanely brave. I don't want to go into full detail, but I admire Isabel. I also really liked Beatriz she was unapolegetically herself.

While I was reading the book I found myself smiling at the moments Isabel shared with Diego. He seemed like such a kind soul. I liked the Perez family but I think he made the book for me!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received a gifted galley of OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA by Chanel Cleeton for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Publication Date: 5/24/2022
Rating: 4.5 / 5
OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA returns us to the Perez family. Beatriz has been in Barcelona and has lost touch with her family. Her older sister Isabel heads over to track her sister down. Their relationship is frayed, but she is still her sister and she’s worried. It turns out that Barcelona holds secrets and mysteries for the Perez family. Unknown to Isabel and Beatriz, their mother Alicia had once been there with Isabel as a baby before the rest of her siblings were born. A mysterious photograph have them asking questions and wondering what the secrets were that their mother is keeping.

Chanel Cleeton’s writing is so easy to settle into and this book is no different. I was immediately intrigued by the mysteries laid out for us. Beatriz’s life working in secrets and subterfuge leave a lot of room for danger to sneak in. Isabel’s life is generally about seeking safety with a husband she doesn’t love but a life that gives her stability. Still, she can’t help but be drawn into the secrets her sister has uncovered.

I really enjoy the Perez sisters. They have lost a lot with the loss of their homeland in Cuba and the political upheaval that had them fleeing to Florida. Finding out their family’s history in Spain, also at a time of a lot of turmoil, gives even more to their story. We’re following multiple POVs again in this book with Isabel in the ‘present’ (1964) and Alicia and a friend in Cuba in 1936. The mystery of this one kept me hooked! I loved the way the author managed to tell parallel stories that interconnected in unexpected ways.

OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA is out today! This was a beautifully told story and I would definitely recommend this one to the historical fiction fans!

Read this if you:
•love Barcelona
•have sisters
•like reading about family secrets
•like an ending that will give you LITERAL chills
•like strong female characters

Chanel Cleeton does it again. I’ve read all her books and I’ve loved them all, this one being no exception. As soon as I picked up this book I couldn’t put it down. Chanel has a way with words and it makes it easy to read and suddenly 2 hours have passed. Historical fiction can be hit or miss for me, but this series is 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you NetGalley & Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub day: May 24

4.5⭐️ for Our Last Days in Barcelona by @chanelcleeton

Thank you to @chanelcleeton, @netgalley, @letstalkbookspromo, & @berkleypub for allowing me to read this ARC of Our Last Days in Barcelona.

Blurb: The Perez’s are back again. This time, Isabel is trying to figure out who she is as a married woman, while trying to keep her family going. Her sister Beatriz is in Barcelona on a mission, but has missed a birthday of their youngest sister, Maria, which is unlike her. Isabel heads to Barcelona to try to find not only Beatriz, but herself, while there, she finds herself ensconced in another family mystery. Her mother denies that she has ever been to Barcelona, but the pictures tell another story. Isabel & Beatriz help each other find who they are meant to be & help their mother get rid of some of her own demons.

This was another fantastic story of the Perez family. I will be completely honest, I’ve only read Next Year in Havana, but have the others on my tbr. I love Isabel. As the oldest in her family, she shoulders a lot of the expectations & responsibility to keep her family moving in the right direction. Beatriz, as one half of the next oldest, is able to spread her wings a bit & be who she feels she needs to be. Isabel wants to know what true love is, as she doesn’t think she’s ever felt that. Her mother & grandmother both basically said that you stay in a marriage out of loyalty, not out of love. Isabel doesn’t know if she wants to do that. She needs to find out for herself. I also loved learning more about the Spanish revolution time & how the affected so much in the Perez family history, like any war would. @chanelcleeton’s stories just transport you back to that time & that place so easily. I love reading her books!

I appreciate #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Our Last Days in Barcelona. We see the fabulous Perez sisters at it again. Isabel goes to Barcelona in search of her sister, Beatriz.
While there, Isabel finds a photo of her mother and herself as a young child - sitting in a cafe in Barcelona. Isabel has no memory of this. The story weaves brilliantly between Isabel reconnecting with Beatriz and her mother's story - Alicia - and her adventures in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. We some insight into the background of Perez family before the first book, Next Year in Havana. Another wonderful book by Chanel Cleeton!

I loved this book and will be checking out this authors previous books!!!!! This book made for an awesome and fascinating read.

I have enjoyed each book in the Perez family saga, and Our Last Days in Barcelona is second only to Next Year in Havana which ranks as one of my favorite books ever, so that says a lot. The eldest Perez sibling, Isabel travels to Barcelona to find Beatriz who has gone missing.

Beatriz, as you know if you’ve read her story, When We Left Cuba, is a risk-taker who is very involved in Cuba’s fight for freedom from the Castro regime. Isabel, on the other hand, is the solid, reliable, responsible, duty-bound sister who married a man she didn’t love to insure her family’s position in Miami. Even making the trip alone to Barcelona is completely out of character for Isabel. I loved watching Isabel discover and explore her independence, finding not only her errant sister, Beatriz, but herself, along the way.

The book alternates between 1968 Barcelona and Cuba/Barcelona of 1936/1937, between Isabel’s story and those of her mother, Alicia, and cousin Rosa. Three different stories of three strong women facing life-changing events and making far-reaching decisions. I was intrigued by the mystery of Isabel’s search for the truth of her past, as well as how she would handle and face her future. I have never liked Alicia Perez, the matriarch of the family. She’s always struck me as cold and calculating, caring only for the family’s social position and not at all concerned with her children’s happiness, often coming across as harsh and mean, but in Our Last Days in Barcelona, we see a younger Alicia, as a new mother questioning her marriage and the choices she’s made in her life. I saw her in a new light which went a little towards helping me understand her better. The stories of all three of these strong women are interesting, intriguing, fascinating even.

Chanel Cleeton’s passion for Cuba, her love for its people and history is clearly obvious in her stories of the Perez family. I have been on an historical fiction kick the last couple of years, I have learned so much about the history of Cuba (and Spain) from her books, all while being thoroughly entertained by her fictional Perez family.

This, and other books in this series are women’s fiction as opposed to romance, but there is a strong romantic element to most of the books, this one is no exception. While I do believe this book can be read as a standalone, I think it would be beneficial to read the previous books for a richer experience.

Another wonderful Chanel Cleeton book another in the Perez sisters series but can be read as a stand-alone.The lush setting of Barcelona, Isabel a wonderful character searching for her sister the dual timeline makes this another gorgeous book by this author.Looking forward to many more in the series.#netgalley #berkleybooks

Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton continues the stories of the Perez family. This book focuses on Isabel, the oldest Perez girl, The story fills in some of the family’s history stretching back to the 30s during the Spanish Civil War. It is a book about family, love, obligation, and history. Ultimately, it is a story about how women in this family, like so many women everywhere, make choices that are for the service of others and how they learn to discover their true selves.

I LOVE THE PEREZ SISTERS.

And Isabel is no exception. I love her determination to find Beatriz, her willingness to do whatever it takes to protect her family. And how much she grows over the course of this story. Plus Diego 👀 he’s a big part of that.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the dual timelines and multiple POVs. Cleeton is such a master at really immersing you in a story, and I loved the fresh, albeit tumultuous, setting of Barcelona in this one.

All in all another spectacular historical fiction novel from Chanel Cleeton, and I’m looking forward to reading it again after publication 😍

OUR LAST DAYS IN BARCELONA by Chanel Cleeton

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-arc! OUR LAST DAYS IN CUBA is out 5/24!

SUMMARY:
Told in multiple points of view over different generations, the Perez women are back and stronger than ever. Isabel travels to Barcelona to save her maybe-in-trouble spy sister. There she finds Diego, that makes her question life as she's known it, including her safe marraige. 30 years prior, Alicia travels to Barcelona with her young daughter Isabel, after finding her husband in an affair. The city is in a civil war and unsafe, but she's reunited with a childhood crush and not in any rush to return home.

MY THOUGHTS:
I just love Chanel Cleeton's books, her mix of history and love and strong, lovable women. You just root for them and for their love. The major theme of following expectations vs following your heart was huge in this book. I know a lot of historical fiction centers around war, and war was present in the book, but wasn't the main focus.

I loved these women, and particularly loved Isabel and related to her as the oldest daughter. However, I enjoeyd reading about all two- three, if you include bits about Rosa- in the story. The pages suck you in and you just root for the women.

I wish I had started a character map when I started this series, because I want to know how all of the characters and books are connected, but my memory can't keep track of them all.

Ok, I enjoyed this one. It was entertaining & I liked reconnecting with the Perez family.

I liked the two different story lines, but wish they had been integrated a bit better. Or perhaps a little bit more throughout the book. It wasn’t until the end when the stories of both generations were pulled together.

I really liked getting to know Isabel better and watch her come into her own. I liked how she put family above everything but also gained the strength to finally put herself first.

I also liked getting to know Alicia, Isabel’s mother, better as a young mother. I liked seeing her history in Barcelona.

Overall enjoyable.
(3.5ish)

I loved Isabel's story. This series by Chanel Cleeton is fantastic. This book can absolutely be read as a stand alone, but I recommend starting with Next Year in Havana and enjoying all the Perez family stories. This book weaves historical fiction, art, family challenges and so much. Highly Recommended series!

Chanel Cleeton has made me love her even more with her latest novel, Our Last Days in Barcelona. Who knew there could be more family drama and intrigue in the Perez family?
Traveling back and forth between 1964 and 1936, we are immersed in the danger and heartache that follow the Perez women. With her trademark ability to weave history and heartache we learn so much more about the strength and sacrifice that define Isabel, Beatriz, Alicia, and Rosa. The ending will absolutely tear at your heartstrings, but it was perfect!
Hoping there will be more books focusing on the Perez Family, as Chanel is an auto-buy author for me.
Thank you to Net Galley, Penguin Random House, and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Palm Beach, 1964. Isabel Perez is stuck in a marriage to a man she doesn’t love, but her pragmatic nature appreciates the safety and security it offers, and she has no desire to change it—until she goes to Barcelona to find her sister, Beatriz. Despite a bitter argument and family rift, Isabel loves her sister deeply, and it’s unusual that nothing has been heard from her in some time. In Barcelona, Isabel meets Diego, who frightens her a little because, like Beatriz, he’s involved in a world of subterfuge. But as their ease in one another’s company grows, Isabel knows she is in danger of abandoning everything she holds sacred. With emotional turmoil threatening to overwhelm her, she returns to Palm Beach and the dependable normality of marriage and family. There she confronts her mother about a photograph, putting a lie to her mother’s claim that she (Isabel) has never been to Barcelona, and paving the way for a 1930s backstory.

Isabel’s world is immersive from the outset, and the novel is hard to put down. The author’s effortless prose is addictive, the sentiments resonating deeply, and there’s a touching sadness that pervades the text, one of shattered dreams, lost hopes, unrequited love, and lives filled with what-ifs. Exploring poignant themes―societal expectations for women, barriers to women’s education, fear that life has no purpose, how we are shaped by both what we have survived and what we leave behind―the novel sheds light on the dangerous politics of 1930s Cuba. Art becomes Isabel’s sanctuary as she paints her emotions onto canvas and comes to understand that family and loyalty mean everything but are diminished without passion and the ability to follow one’s heart. This is a highly anticipated continuation of the Perez Family series and an impressive story of a family in exile.

As usual, this series continues to impress me. A story of survival, of enduring, even through the horrors of war, from Cuba to Spain to the U.S. across decades and multiple generations. I loved this story, loved Isabel and the strength she showed, loved Rosa and Alicia and their will and tenacity. And I loved the ending too, with Isabel learning how to live for herself finally.

I started this book two different times. The first time I had a lot of time on my hands but a lot of stress and worry in my heart. I was overwhelmed by the cast of characters and my beloved Perez sisters were not speaking to me. I knew that was not the right time, so I put it aside. I picked it up again a few days ago and was immediately immersed in Perez family drama, just the way I like it! I flew through this book, just as I had with all the others.

Beatriz is back! Although this is not her story, she plays a major role as Isabel, the eldest Perez sister, tries to find herself and find happiness. Isabel has spent all of her life being pragmatic and always doing what was right for her family. When she goes to Barcelona to find Beatriz, she is confronted with family mysteries and self discoveries. As usual, Cleeton intertwines several story lines. We hear from Isabel and Beatriz, as well as the Perez matriarch, Alicia, and her cousin, Rosa. I was captivated from the beginning with the mystery, and espionage, and romance. Be careful not to lose your focus toward the end thinking everything is getting all wrapped up in a nice little bow, or you will miss the best little, gasp-worthy surprise! And did I mention boss lady Beatriz is back??!