Goodreads says, "London, 2024: When American expat Margo Reynolds is hired to source a book that’s more than one hundred and twenty years old, she thinks her greatest challenge is going to be that there’s only one copy in existence. However, it quickly becomes clear that her client isn’t the only person determined to procure the book at any cost. Thrust into a deadly quest, Margo teams up with an unlikely ally—the man she loved and lost—and is forced to confront the ghosts of her own past as the lingering feelings that simmer between them ignite.
Havana, 1966: Pilar Castillo’s days are spent working as a librarian in Havana, her nights spent hoping for her husband’s freedom after his unjust imprisonment. But Pilar has a secret that could jeopardize her life. She’s fighting Fidel’s regime in her own way, and when she comes into possession of a book that was published more than sixty years earlier, she must decide how much she’s willing to risk to protect the literary works entrusted to her care.
Boston, 1900: For Cuban teacher Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to participate in the largest cultural exchange between Cuba and the United States is not only a chance to represent her country at a critical time in its bid for independence, but also an opportunity to work on the book she’s writing. When a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger alters the course of Eva’s summer at Harvard, and as secrets, lies, and forbidden love rise to the surface, Eva’s life—and legacy—is irrevocably changed."
Eva is a young teacher in Cuba who has the chance of a lifetime to spend her summer at Harvard in an ambassador program between Cuba and America. It's 1900, so this is a wonderful opportunity for her to step outside of Cuba and see what else the world holds. While there, she experiences new things and even some romance. From her trip to America, she wrote a novel, A Time for Forgetting. Many years later, in 1966, Pilar, a librarian, is entrusted with this book. Pilar has smuggled rare books out of Cuba to avoid the regime's grasp on them. Pilar has even dealt with the regime personally, as her husband was arrested by Fidel's men. In 2025, Margo is someone who deals with rare items that are hard to come by. She is tasked with the job of finding A Time for Forgetting, which has been missing, but she doesn't know why she needs to find this book or who is making the request. The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton weaves three time periods and three storylines together very well while also bringing to life Cuba's interesting history.
Eva is experiencing a whole new world by being a part of the ambassador program between Cuba and America, as the cultural differences are vast and the 20th-century world is changing. I felt that Eva's character could have been developed a bit more, as I wasn't drawn to her story line as much as I thought I would be. On the other hand, Pilar's plot thread in 1966 is more compelling in that she is tasked with taking care of rare books and protecting them from Castro's regime - Eva's book being one of them! Lastly, Margo's modern-day story line involves a mystery and some suspense as well (there's a murder!) as she tracks down A Time for Forgetting. Meanwhile, readers are wondering who has requested that Margo find the only copy of this book and, more importantly, why.
As always in Chanel Cleeton's novels, readers will gain insight into Cuba and its complex history. The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes brings to life both Cuba and Margo's globetrotting adventure. While this wasn't my favorite of Cleeton's works, I believe her fans will still be satisfied, especially those who appreciate the impact of books. A rare book intertwines the lives of three women, and readers who value that theme as well as the power of books, will particularly enjoy the story. In the comments below, let me know if you're a fan of Chanel Cleeton and if you've read The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes.
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