Why have I taken so long to read Chanel Cleeton? I am not a huge historical fiction reader but I enjoy it from time to time, especially if it features strong female characters like in The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. This was told via multiple perspectives, all adding to the overall story. And what a story it was!

Evangelina Cisneros is thrown in jail as a rebel during the Cuban War on Independence. She is dubbed "The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba" by the press. Telling the tale of her imprisonment helps raise awareness of the truth of what is happening in Cuba.

Grace Harrington is a young female reporter who lands a job at William Randolph Hearst's newspaper in 1896. She becomes more and more aware of the realities of the war in Cuba and wants to write about the women who often go unseen and unheard.

Maria Perez is a young Cuban woman who gave up her life of privilege and was renounced by her family when she married a poor man for love. Trying to make ends meet while she cares for her daughter and mother-in-law, she becomes a secret courier for the Cuban Revolutionaries in Havana.

We follow these three women's stories, each showing bravery, strength, love and compassion in her own way. I love that this was based on the real Cuban heroine. What an extraordinary woman and life! I thoroughly appreciate reading a work of historical fiction like this that can not only entertain but educate. Cleeton has a gift for story-telling that simply sweeps you away. I listened to this one audio and easily lost myself in the tumultuous time period for hours on end. I must read her previous works soon.