BOOK REVIEWS by LINDA MOORE: THE CUBAN DAUGHTER by Soraya Lane

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MY THOUGHTS:

I read the first book in the Lost Daughters series and absolutely loved it. It left be breathless. This one is just as good. Another one that will make you cry for the characters. Cry for the women and the babies. The family. The connections that are found. This series is about finding families. Finding mothers who had to give up their babies for various reasons. This one was so tragic. But it was also so beautiful. I loved every single minute of this book.

You meet a young couple in this story who meet and fall deeply in love. A young woman who is adored by all of Havana. Who makes heads turn when she enters a room. Esmeralda Diaz is the oldest daughter of the sugar king of Cuba. He takes her to London where he has a business meeting with a young man that will make him even richer than ever. Make both of them much money. What he doesn't know is his much adored daughter will fall madly in love with this young man who's name is Christopher Dutton.

When Christopher meets Esmeralda his life changes in ways I'm sure he never expected. He spends as much time with her as possible considering he would never be able to marry her. Her father would never accept him as he is not Cuban. She's to marry a good Cuban boy. But Christopher falls for Esmeralda and even travels to Cuba to seal the deal with her father just so he can see her again. They sneak off one night and spend it together. When he returns home to London both are very unhappy. But Christopher writes to Esmeralda. Her father finds out and locks her in her room.

You meet Claudia. Claudia finds out that her grandmother was adopted and never knew it. Her grandmother had died and Claudia missed her awful bad. She has a tiny box that contains a business card and a drawing of a family crest. Her dad helps her find out as much as possible about both. Seems the drawing is of the Diaz family crest so Claudia goes to Cuba to find out what she can. She meets the dashingly handsome Mateo and they fall madly in love. Mateo helps her find as much information about the Diaz family as possible.

Mateo is a hard working young man and dedicated to his family and to Cuba. He helps Claudia find out what he can. His mother finds an address for one of Esmeralda's sisters in the United States so Claudia goes there and finds out so much. She meets family that she never would have known about. You learn so much about the Diaz family and Esmeralda.

I loved most of the characters in this book. Most were so good and so caring. I didn't however like Esmeralda's father in the least. He was ok at first but then he turned on her so quickly. He was a very cruel and controlling man. I also didn't much care for Christopher. To me he should have come and fought for Esmeralda. Not just sent a few letters. No, he should have fought. I absolutely adored Mateo. He just seemed perfect. He and Claudia were meant to be together. No doubt about that.

This is a very heartfelt book. It will make you shed a lot of tears. When I read the end and how Hope felt I had to take a break. I couldn't stop weeping. That was just sad. I love Hope. She has the perfect name. She helps young ladies who are left with pregnancy. Left pretty much alone and ostracized by society because they are pregnant. Good grief. Get over it. Anyway she is their last "HOPE." I love her so much.

Thank you #NetGalley, #SorayaLane, #Bookouture, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five huge stars. I can't wait for the next book in this series. Have tissues handy when you read this. You'll need them.

SYNOPSIS:

The Cuban Daughter: A totally unforgettable and heartbreaking page-turner full of family secrets (The Lost Daughters Book 2)

Cuba, 1950: As Esmeralda moved past Christopher, her breath stilled as he caught her finger in his. It was only a split-second, their fingers intertwined in a hold so brief that no one could have possibly noticed, but it told her everything she needed to know. He didn’t just come to see Cuba. He travelled all this way to see me.

London, present day. When Claudia discovers that her grandmother was born at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, everything she thought she knew about her family is shattered in an instant. Looking down at a faded family crest, she is determined to discover how it can possibly relate to her grandmother. Soon Claudia learns that the crest belongs to the Diaz family, once one of the wealthiest dynasties in Cuba. Impulsively Claudia books a ticket to Havana, feeling sure in her heart that she will be able to uncover her family’s true story.

Arriving in the bustling and vibrant city she meets a young man named Mateo, a chef who loves nothing more than to cook his family’s recipes. As they get to know each other over dinner, Mateo says that his grandfather worked for the Diaz family and he too wants to uncover what happened.

But when they arrive at the Diaz family home, they find it completely abandoned as if preserved in time from the 1950s. It’s not long before they uncover a heartbreaking story about Claudia’s family and of a young woman who was forced to leave behind everything she’d ever known in search of true love.

As Claudia becomes closer to Mateo, will her family’s story of bravery and sacrifice inspire her to follow her own heart to Cuba? Or will the tragic love story force her home?

An utterly gripping and heart-wrenching novel about family secrets, lost loves and new beginnings. Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.

About the author

Soraya Lane graduated with a law degree before realising that law wasn't the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women's fiction, including the #1 Kindle bestselling novels The Last Correspondent and The Secrets We Left Behind.

Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she's not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.

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