An utterly gripping and heart-wrenching novel about family secrets, lost loves and new beginnings…
About The Book
A totally unforgettable and heartbreaking page-turner full of family secrets (The Lost Daughters Book 2)
Cuba, 1950: As Esmeralda moved past Christopher, her breath stilled as he caught her finger in his. It was only a split-second, their fingers intertwined in a hold so brief that no one could have possibly noticed, but it told her everything she needed to know. He didn’t just come to see Cuba. He travelled all this way to see me.
London, present day. When Claudia discovers that her grandmother was born at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, everything she thought she knew about her family is shattered in an instant. Looking down at a faded family crest, she is determined to discover how it can possibly relate to her grandmother. Soon Claudia learns that the crest belongs to the Diaz family, once one of the wealthiest dynasties in Cuba. Impulsively Claudia books a ticket to Havana, feeling sure in her heart that she will be able to uncover her family’s true story.
Arriving in the bustling and vibrant city she meets a young man named Mateo, a chef who loves nothing more than to cook his family’s recipes. As they get to know each other over dinner, Mateo says that his grandfather worked for the Diaz family and he too wants to uncover what happened.
But when they arrive at the Diaz family home, they find it completely abandoned as if preserved in time from the 1950s. It’s not long before they uncover a heartbreaking story about Claudia’s family and of a young woman who was forced to leave behind everything she’d ever known in search of true love.
As Claudia becomes closer to Mateo, will her family’s story of bravery and sacrifice inspire her to follow her own heart to Cuba? Or will the tragic love story force her home?
An utterly gripping and heart-wrenching novel about family secrets, lost loves and new beginnings. Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.
Listen now! UK: http://ow.ly/mm4w50Np7pB US: http://ow.ly/7Kt550Np7pA
My Thoughts
Oh, what a beautiful story! Taking place in two time frames this time-slip would not let me put it down. Taking place in the 1950’s and modern days in Havanah and England. The atmosphere is perfect it just draws you in. Esmeralda is a rich beautiful young woman living in Havanah in the 1950’s with her Papa and 3 sisters. She is the eldest sisters and the apple of her father’s eye. Social expectations hold her head and shoulders above normal society and it feels as though she lives in a gilded cage. She lives in opulence and her Papa freely lets her spend money on dresses and fripperies. What she doesn’t have is the freedom to love the man she is in love with. Christopher is the man she loves; he is a businessman from England. When she goes missing there is a scandal. What has happened to Esmeralda, and will she ever see her family again?
In London present day Claudia is dealing with the death of her grandmother and when her mother asks her to help trace her grandmother’s history the only clue, she has is the family crest. From London to Havanah, she travels, once there she meets Mateo a fabulous chef whose grandfather used to be a cook for Esmerelda’s family. Working together will they be able to put the pieces together of what happened to this elite family. So many twists and turns, so heartbreaking. Each page had a new discovery on it of history, mystery, intrigue and intensity.
This author really knows how to draw you in!
Pub Date 23 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
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The Author
Soraya Lane graduated with a law degree before realising that law wasn’t the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, including the #1 Kindle bestselling novels The Last Correspondent and The Secrets We Left Behind.
Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she’s not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.
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Vegan Book Blogger 
This sounds like a really interesting book. A dual timeline done right can be riveting.
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Oh yes, it
was indeed riveting. I hated seeing it end.
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I wish I could read all the books, because this one sounds wonderful. I enjoy a good dual timeline story and have read a few set in Cuba where I learned a lot about the revolution. Wonderful review, Deanne.
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I read the first book in the series as well, it’s such a wonderful series and a new book in the series comes out in Oct.
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I didn’t realize it was a series. Off to check this out now.
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Oh my, it’s really, really good. I just signed up for the blog tour for the next book in the series, out in October.
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