London, 2024: American expat Margo Reynolds is renowned for her talent at sourcing rare antiques for her clients, but she’s never had a request quite like this one. She’s been hired to find a mysterious book published over a century ago. With a single copy left in existence, it has a storied past shrouded in secrecy—and her client isn’t the only person determined to procure it at any cost.

Havana, 1966: Librarian Pilar Castillo has devoted her life to books, and in the chaotic days following her husband’s unjust imprisonment by Fidel Castro, reading is her only source of solace. So when a neighbor fleeing Cuba asks her to return a valuable book to its rightful owner, Pilar will risk everything to protect the literary work entrusted to her care. It’s a dangerous mission that reveals to her the power of one book to change a life.

Boston, 1900: For Cuban school teacher and aspiring author Eva Fuentes, traveling from Havana to Harvard to study for the summer is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a whirlwind adventure that leaves her little time to write, but a moonlit encounter with an enigmatic stranger changes everything. The story that pours out of her is one of forbidden love, secrets, and lies… and though Eva cannot yet see it, the book will be a danger and salvation for the lives it touches.

Three timelines, three women navigating their time, one story that connects them all. Margo (2024). Pillar (1966), and Eva (1900) are all searching -- for purpose, love, and community. But their searches are all connected by a book written by Eva, lost in the turmoil of a Cuba fraught with political fear.

Eva is a young woman without family, longing for connection. She finds joy in teaching in Havana and is thrilled when she is invited to spend a summer in the US learning about the States and teaching. The summer in Boston is filled with activity and learning, and one moonlit encounter shifts her perspective and changes the course of her summer. The story she writes is one filled with longing, secrets, and stolen moments.

Pillar is surviving. Isolated and in fear, her husband is in prison and she doesn’t know who she can trust. A neighbor fleeing under cover of darkness entrusts her with a book and a task, further fueling her fear of others finding her secrets.

Margo hunts for antiques and rare collectibles. When she takes a job to acquire a book before it goes to auction, she had no idea it would flip her well ordered world on end. The dangers that begin to infiltrate her life have her turning to her ex-husband to help connect the dots in her search.

Three timelines, one connecting thread, this book flips between very different emotions and tones in each setting. The hopeful optimism in Eva’s trip to Boston contrasts with Pillar’s 1966 political fear. Margo’s present day scenes serve to add a dimension of mystery and suspense to the opposing feelings from the Cuban stories. Each character is developed in a way that feels true to her time and situation, while also challenging the themes and views they are facing. I loved watching each of them as their strength builds in the face of their individual challenges.

I spent much of my time reading this at the edge of my seat, flipping as fast as I could comprehend towards the moment the stories would connect. I loved the way these three women’s stories tied them together despite their very different situations. This book quickly moved to the top of my September Favorites, and will stand as a favorite for the end of the year as well.

Chanel Cleeton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Cuban Heiress, Our Last Days in Barcelona, The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, When We Left Cuba, and Reese’s Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. She received a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.