WHEN WE LEFT CUBA is the fabulous sequel to NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA. The first book told the tale of Elisa Perez and her granddaughter Marisol. In this book, we follow Beatriz Perez as she dreams about going back to Cuba to kill Fidel Castro. Beatriz even gets recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Castro's inner circle. Her thirst for revenge is all she can think of, until one fateful evening when she meets a US senator that will steal her heart. This is a forbidden romance, and Beatriz is torn between her love for her home country and the love for a man who can never be hers.

As with NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA, I was captivated by WHEN WE LEFT CUBA. I had come to really like the entire Perez family and could not wait to read about them all again. Beatriz is the wild sister - and will do anything to avenge the death of her twin brother. It's not that odd that she is willing to put herself in danger to get a chance to kill Castro, the man she holds responsible for her brother' murder. However, she did not expect to fall in love with an American senator. I quite liked both parts: Beatriz working to get to Castro as well as her forbidden love story. This book was fascinating to read and learn about Cuba's history... I only wish that more of the story had taken place in Cuba instead of in the US.

WHEN WE LEFT CUBA can definitely be read as a stand-alone book. However, to get the whole picture, I do recommend reading the first book as well.