What if you found out your success was built on lies told by your father that caused great misfortune to people dear to you? What if you had the opportunity to do something about it…twenty-five years later and at the risk of your own life? Would you or wouldn’t you?
This is the dilemma award-winning Miami Architect Cid Milan suddenly faces in this 90,000-word, mainstream novel. A Cuban immigrant forced to abandon his country as a teenager during the tumultuous Mariel boatlift of 1980, Cid is a self-made man who arrived in the United States with nothing. He’s an example of what can be accomplished in America through hard work and determination. He hobnobs with the Mayor, has a sexy model for his girlfriend, and is building the most luxurious condominium on Biscayne Bay. But when his dying father, Colonel Jose Milan, a well-known political dissident, confesses to him a shocking family secret from Cuba, Cid’s life implodes.
Colonel Milan reveals that in order to ensure Cid could leave Cuba unharmed, he collaborated with Castro’s police -- willfully betraying both Cid's best friend, Joaquin, and forsaking his pregnant girlfriend Sandra. Overnight, Cid’s world is turned upside down. Trying to unravel the mystery of his own past, Cid realizes there’s only one thing he can do: return to the land he abandoned. In his quest to learn the truth, Cid rediscovers himself and his roots as he reunites with Joaquin and searches frantically throughout Cuba for Sandra and the secret she has kept from him all these years: his son. In the process, Cid learns an invaluable lesson about love, forgiveness and redemption that changes his life forever.
I started reading this not really knowing what to expect. I only hoped I wouldn’t be bored. Well, I was far from bored, I was fascinated.
The story starts with a Cuban family being forced to leave Cuba during the boatlift of 1980. The story is focused on Cid Milan, who was a teenager when he first arrived in the United States.
When we meet him, he's a very successful architect in Miami, and I expected the story to follow in a predictable pattern. He was handsome, wealthy, had a large company, and a beautiful girlfriend. However, he wasn’t totally content with his life. He spent very little time with his family as there was, apparently, a lot of conflict with them. This is when I began to be really hooked because there was clearly more to this than I had first believed.
When his dying father requested that he come to see him, he did so, begrudgingly. Once there, however, he found out that twenty-five years before, his father had done something to him and to someone he loved which was unforgiveable. Now he realized that he would have to return to Cuba to resolve the situation. He talks his brother into accompanying him and makes his plans.
I became totally involved now. What would happen to him when he returned? Certainly it would be extremely dangerous, but he felt he had to go. I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what would happen.
This was fascinating to me, as I discovered all the difficulties he faced as he tried to resolve all the problems his father had caused. It was so interesting to follow him in Cuba, a country which we have heard so much about, but in these past years have really not known much about and what was happening there, and how dangerous it actually was.
I was on the edge of my seat as the mystery of what had happened slowly unfolded. I was completely involved in the characters and the story. Mr. Pereda is very skiled, and his writing kept me glued to my chair, flipping pages, dying to see how everything was resolved. The result was a very unusual but very happy ending.
This story was probably one of the most well written that I have read in a long time. It really kept my interest, was well worth all the time I put into reading it, and it was something I kept thinking about long after I set my eReader aside. I would give this a 5 Plus, if that was possible.
Rated 5/5 flowers.
FTC Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author and Goddess Fish Promotions in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you for your review.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your wonderful review and for having me on your blog today. I will be checking in and out to answer questions from your readers and respond to their comments.
ReplyDeleteMJ...what a great review. With all the books that you read, to hear you say, "...one of the most well written that I have read in a long time" is certainly very high praise. I think, too, that the Cuba setting is intriguing.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a great review, and I was thrilled when I read it. Some of those places I describe in Cuba aren't known by many tourists. Thank you for your support Catherine Lee.
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