Our Last Days in Barcelona

Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton was recognised as an NPR Best Book of 2022. Described as "a master class in family and political drama, in star-crossed love stories and in capturing the enormity of what home is." - NPR.

In this captivating novel, Isabel Perez travels to Barcelona to save her sister Beatriz and unwittingly uncovers a shocking family secret.

In Barcelona, 1964, having been exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Beatriz's mysterious disappearance in Barcelona, Isabel sets off to Spain to find her. She soon teams up with an unlikely ally and is thrust into a dangerous world of espionage her sister is entangled in. However, it is the discovery of a hidden piece of family history that truly transforms Isabel's life.

The story flashes back to Barcelona, 1936, where Alicia Perez arrives after a challenging journey from Cuba. With her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel by her side, she finds herself in a country where violence brews and the brink of civil war looms. The rise of fascism poses a global threat, and when Cubans travel to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia's past emerges to confront her as she unexpectedly sees the man who once captured her heart.

The lives of Alicia and Isabel weave together, with the past and present colliding, as both mother and daughter face difficult choices between their family's expectations and following their hearts.