Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

11 reviews

kshertz's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

In love this author and this whole series. I couldn’t put the book down which is always 5 stars for me. The mix of real Cuban history and this ship with the fictional story of these two women was perfect. When their stories come together, it’s so satisfying. The pace is perfect. There is no smut at all, totally closed door, but I still absolutely loved it. Which speaks highly of how well it was written. Definitely recommend for historical romance lovers ❤️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Murder, and Infidelity

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.5

Finished reading: May 24th 2024

“It's a delicate balancing act to keep all the lies I've told straight, to keep everything from going up in flames.”

It's no secret that I consider Chanel Cleeton to be one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and her stories haven't let me down yet. I've been meaning to read The Cuban Heiress ever since it was published last year, but somehow once again it took me longer than expected to do so. I'm SO glad I finally did pick it up though, because I ended up having an absolutely fantastic time with this story! There is just something about her writing style that draws you straight in, and I literally flew through this book. The Cuban Heiress uses a dual POV structure, where we switch between Elena and Catherine during their journey aboard the SS Morro Castle. I found both women to be intriguing from the very beginning, although Elena's story was the more gripping of the two. The active cheating in Catherine's POV was not my cup of tea, although with everything explained in the end and Raymond being such a despicable character it is quite easy to forgive her. The plot is less intricate than some of her other books, but between the writing and the characters I was more than entertained. I do always love a story set on a ship! There was mystery, there was intrigue, there was romance, there was revenge, there was murder, there was an explosive ending... And a lightning-fast pace to get you there. I also loved that it was partly based on real events! The Cuban Heiress was yet another winner for me and I've yet to rate her stories below 4.5 stars. Recommended! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Car accident, Death, Grief, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence

keelirae113's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Medical content, Infidelity, and Abandonment

tctimlin's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Cleeton has taken a real event (the unexplained fire in 1934 on the cruise ship Castle Morro on its return from Havana to NYC) and used it as a jumping off point to craft a tale of intrigue.  The two women protagonists include a Cuban woman believed to be dead stowing away to Havana and a servant-class woman posing as an heiress to snag a rich fiancé.  Or at least that’s what appears to be going on when the book opens.  But there are deceptions, murder attempts, smuggling, and thievery, and a little bit of romance, all of which keeps the book moving quickly, until our fictional characters run into actual history and the boat catches fire.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Classism, Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

chelseylb1988's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death of parent

jilliebeen2003's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Violence

kimveach's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a super fast read.  I finished it in one sleepless night.  I loved the mystery, the 1934 setting, and the story based upon the SS Morro Castle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Blood, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Dysphoria and Alcohol

emmas_bookshelf's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I have enjoyed and learned something from all of Chanel Cleeton’s historical fiction books and this was no exception! One thing I did think was a bit different about this one is that while political tensions in Cuba are certainly mentioned, they’re much more in the background than being a focus of the story. The actual focus here is the POVs of two women on a round trip cruise from NYC to Havana in the midst of the Great Depression, and unraveling the mystery of why they’re on the ship and what their missions are. It was very twisty and intriguing! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, and Violence

amberlfaris's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Murder and Fire/Fire injury

lindsayerin's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship