I have enjoyed the books I have read in the Perez Family series, and wanted to finish them all for my Finishing the Series Challenge. I also heard good things about the Short Story, A Night at the Tropicana and was able to get the audiobook through KU. I enjoyed both of these and am now looking forward to Our Last Days in Barcelona.

The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba (The Perez Family #4) by Chanel Cleeton, Narrated by Frankie Corzo, Holly Linneman, & Rebecca Soler 

Published May 4th 2021 by Berkley, Penguin Audio

5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have been reading and enjoying the Perez Family series and this is the 4th one. They do not have to be read in order, as they are about different generations, with this one being set in 1896. Grace Harrington wants to be a newspaper reporter. She really wants to work for Joseph Pulitzer, but ends up working for his rival, William Randolph Hearst. He gives her the opportunity to write about a young woman in Cuba, who is unjustly imprisoned in a notorious Havana prison. Evangelina Cisneros is arrested when she refused to give in to the sexual advances by one of the soldiers working at the reconcentration camp she is living in with her family. Hearst uses her story as a rallying cry for the US to get involved in the Cubans fight for independence from Spain. The third woman in this story is Marina Perez, a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries in Havana. With Grace’s reporting, and Marina’s messages to the revolutionaries, they are able to help Evangelina and change the course of history.

I really enjoyed this story, and found that I liked that it wasn’t just Marina’s story, but also Grace’s and Evangelina’s. I really knew nothing about this fight for independence, so I learned a lot as well. These women took chances that many would have been afraid to take. They were strong, independent women, who were willing to sacrifice for what was right. There are a lot of other characters in this one, that played important roles in this story, including some romantic interests. If you are a fan of historical fiction, especially one where strong women played an important role in history. I was able to listen to the audiobook narrated by Frankie Corzo, Holly Linneman and Rebecca Soler. Having this team of narrators, the story came alive and helped me connect to the characters. If you enjoy audiobooks, I recommend this one.

A Night at the Tropicana by Chanel Cleeton, Frankie Corzo (Narrator)

Published October 1st 2023 by Amazon Original Stories

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Night at the Tropicana is a short story set between Miami and Cuba. It’s 1939 and the Trainer family is in Havana for a holiday. They have been invited to opening night of the Tropicana nightclub. Natalie Trainer is there before heading off to college, and she meets a young lawyer. They spend the night talking with the plan that they will write to one another. Unfortunately, her mother finds his address and destroys it. She wants her daughter to go to college, find a man, get married and have a wonderful life in the US. Fast forward, and Natalie is an adult, a doctor and the Cuban Nationalists are having a fundraiser for children in Cuba. We get to see what has become of Natalie’s life. This was a short, but sweet story that I enjoyed. I liked Natalie and the story from her past. I will say I did figure out what was going to happen, but it was still an enjoyable story. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Frankie Corzo. I very much enjoyed the performance with her wonderful storytelling and voices.