What do readers think of The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton? Write your own review.

I enjoyed this novel which centered around a young Cuban teacher who participated in a summer school program at Harvard, which would change the course of her life as well as her descendants. The story moved between three time periods and, while easy to follow, the formula felt a bit predictable. The author's note at the end was interesting and I do enjoy her novels. Will look forward to reading another one soon.

This book is an average read for me. The plot of the story was interesting, particularly the story following Pilar. The other 2 views were a bit disjointed and almost felt like they were forced into the book to have the multiple timelines.

I think this book would have held more of my interest if it focused only on Pilar's story. Towards the end of the book, I found myself skimming through as it felt very wordy but not enough interest in the story.

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton.
There are three separate story lines over three different time periods. The first is in 1900 after the Cuban War of Independence and Spanish American War. The second is during the middle 1960's under the rule of Fidel Castro. The third is set in present day. I found the first two story lines to be authentic and believable, but the third one seemed contrived and forced.

While it was an interesting read, it was difficult to follow. I think the same result could have been achieved by focusing the novel on the first two story lines and leaving out the third story line, …more which was not as engaging or authentic as the first two. Although the story was unnecessarily confusing, I am glad I stuck with it until the end when it did all come together.

In addition to the story lines, the novel highlights how powerful and important books can be and the emotional impact they can have on individuals. I really liked the idea of how a book can have such an impact on multiple people's lives and how it can bring people together.

As mentioned, a theme of the novel focuses on the importance and power of books, and this could make for a great discussion in a book club setting. However, I am not sure I would recommend this book to my book club because the story was overly complicated and difficult to follow.

While this is not one of my favorite books, I did learn a number of interesting things about various periods and events in Cuba. I would recommend it to readers interested in Cuba during post war and Fidel's rule. (less)

This book has three distinct characters: Margo Reynolds in 2024 who works for clients who want to get help finding rare items; Pilar, a librarian, dabbles in writing her book and protects books that Fidel's regime wants to purge in 1966; and, Eva who is a teacher of literature in Cuba in 1900. She is one of the teachers that went to Harvard for a commingling of teachers and cultures. She wrote the book after her time there.

The author rotates each character's actions, and I found it difficult to switch so frequently. The book centers around Eva's book, A Time for Forgetting, which has only one copy left. Pilar, …more in 1966, was given the book for safe keeping. Margo has second thoughts about trying to find the book when she is frightened by a murder and sinister characters.

I have not read much about Cuba during Fidel's reign, but this book needed a better way of chunking the chapters. The constant with from one character and time frame to another made it hard to make the time sequence smooth. Eva's book was disappointing and not worth the cloak and dagger chapters. (less)