I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t get into it. The writing is wonderful and the storyline is great. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I found my mind wandering and not really being able to focus on the story. I feel like many others will love this book and should definitely give it a shot. It just wasn’t for me.

I did struggle to get into this story at first but I did enjoy it and I did like the writing style.

I do recommend this book.

I listened to the audiobook of Find Me in Havana in less than twenty-four hours! I couldn’t stop listening and needed to know what happened to Estelita & Nina!

This one is based on the true story of Cuban entertainer Estelita Rodriguez. She moves to America and works hard to become a famous singer and actress. Unfortunately, a series of horrible men keep trying to destroy her.

This book is full of emotion, history, and tells the story of a very complicated mother/daughter relationship. I enjoyed hearing both Estelita & Nina’s prospectives.

I recommend this book to lovers of The Seven Husband’s of Evelyn Hugo or Next Year in Havana. It was a total four star read for this history lover!

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this audio advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Trigger warnings- This book features child abuse, child abduction, rape, and domestic abuse.

TW: Molestation, Sexual Assault, Rape, Parental Kidnapping, Domestic Abuse/Intimate Partner Violence, Drug Addiction.

This book was basically just Trauma Porn™ - just fyi y'all.

Where do I even start?

- Author Choice

A book about Estelita Rodriguez, a famous Cuban actress and singer, with segments concerning the Cuban Revolution, was written by a non-hispanic, white female. While Estelita's daughter, Nina, agreed to the creation of this book and completed interviews with Burdick for the development of this story, I can't help but feel that this narrative would have been significantly better portrayed had a Cuban (or even a latinx author tbh) written it.

Nina mentioned in an interview that she wanted the world to remember the star her mother was and all the sacrifices she made to achieve and maintain her dream job - so wouldn't that have come across as more authentic if she'd chosen someone directly from her culture? Someone who was directly impacted or tied to Cuban politics and the corresponding violence there? Someone who understood the pride that is so closely intertwined with being a Cuban individual in spite of how hard life has fucked them over? No? ... We're going with a white woman you befriended when she was 19? oh... okay. Like, to each their own but I would not have chosen that.

- Book Motivation

Excuse me, but aren't I supposed to like Estelita if the primary motivator for this book is to 'remember a forgotten star?' Congrats, she got my attention, but also, I kinda hate her. In fact, it's very difficult for me to even be indifferent toward her when she did the following:

***************SPOILERS************* SKIP TO NEXT SECTION IF NECESSARY******************

1. Didn't kick out her third husband *immediately* after walking in on him molesting Nina. HOw?

2. BARELY spoke to Nina after the assault before placing her back in bed to sleep. The same bed she was LITERALLY just sexually abused in. Like????? Not even a few sentences of comfort?? No sentences telling her she's not to blame??? JFC woman. You suck.

3. She literally states her daughter has never, and will never, be her priority. But like, she's a CHILD. Nina literally needs some emotional care and looking after.

4. Abandons her daughter the second something job related occurs or men are involved. As long as Nina isn't with her father, Estelita is gucci and borderline neglectful.

**************************END OF SPOILER****************************

Moreover, for a book that's supposed to remind me of a star - it had VERY little scenes regarding her rise to fame, challenges in the field, career highlights, and methodology in prepping for acting or singing gigs. This book seemed to focus more on trauma porn than anything else. No puedo.

- Poor Advertisement

I'm gunna copy and paste the summary exactly how it appears, alongside my notes, so that you understand my frustration having just finished this book.

<i><b>Cuba, 1936: When Estelita Rodriguez sings in a hazy Havana nightclub for the very first time, she is nine years old. From then on, that spotlight of adoration--from Havana to New York's Copacabana and then Hollywood--becomes the one true accomplishment no one can take from her. Not the 1933 Cuban Revolution that drove her family into poverty. </b></i>

***Besides the first chapter with Estelita's POV as a child - we don't actually get to the Havana, Cuba storyline until 50% in, and even then, we leave that setting a few trauma porn chapters later. Besides, Estelita isn't exactly close to her family; she left Cuba when she was a child and was pretty well off tbh on account of being, ya kno, famous.

<i><b>Not the revolving door of husbands and the fickle world of film. Not even the tragic devastation of Castro's revolution that rained down on her loved ones.
</b></i>

***Again, we don't even get that much information about said "loved ones" and Castro's revolution until the 50% mark, and even then it doesn't last until the end of the book. Literally, the first half of this novel is a separate story in and of itself centered on the parental kidnapping of Nina to MEXICO and the quest to escape once she's rescued.

<i><b>Thirty years later, her young adult daughter, Nina Rodriguez, is blindsided by her mother's mysterious, untimely death. </b></i>

*** NINA IS ONLY AN ADULT FOR THE LAST 10%-ISH OF THIS BOOK THO. THE STORY ALTERNATES PRIMARILY BETWEEN GROWN ESTELITA'S POV & CHILD NINA'S POV GTFO. Also mysterious? Let's not kid ourselves. Nina knows deep down in her gut what happened. I mean, c'mon now, she accused the guy to his face.

<i><b>Seeking answers no one else wants to hear, the grieving Nina navigates the troubling, opulent memories of their life together and discovers how much Estelita sacrificed to live the American dream on her own terms.
</b></i>

***What exactly did Estelita sacrifice? She seemed okay disregarding the majority of her family and point blank stated her daughter was never a priority to her. She didn't sacrifice shit. You have to be genuinely concerned about a thing or care about it for it to be a true sacrifice. Sigh.

<i><b>Based on true events and exclusive interviews with the real Nina Rodriguez, Find Me in Havana weaves two unforgettable voices into one extraordinary journey that explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child, and the ever-changing landscape of self-discovery.</b></i>

***The self-discovery is barely existent - just sayin. And LMAO "... explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child" should be replaced with any of the following and it'd be more correct than that statement -
1. ... explores the generational violence and trauma between mother and child.
2. ... explores how easy it is for a mother to leave her kid in a boarding school or with her abuela for weeks or months at a time.
3. ...explores the severely poor coping mechanisms of both mother and child.

I just... ugh.

Find Me in Havana (which honestly shouldn't even be called that considering we spend the majority of time either in LA or Mexico) was disappointing in so many ways and unnecessarily graphic. Like, for why?

Didn't like it, but listened to the entire thing in audio because I'm apparently a masochist.

Positives:

- You can tell the author did some research.
- Narrators were on point.
- Felt for Nina from her very first POV. All the adults may have sucked but she was just a child in a series of shitty situations without appropriate active supports.


Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this audible in exchange for an honest review. I probably would have purchased this book otherwise. *shudder*

Find Me in Havana by Serena Burdick sounded like a fascinating story from before my time. I have been trying to widen my cultural influences, but this story was less than captivating for me. I found the book to be somewhat depressing. I requested from NetGalley a review copy after reading the blurb and listening to a sample. Marisol Ramirez and Franki Corzo both performed the book quite well. They have authentic sounding accents and really brought the characters to life.

This book called out to me right away. It’s a historical fiction novel based on the true story of Estelita Rodriguez, a Cuban actress who rises to Hollywood stardom. Told in a series of letters, it alternates between Estelita and her daughter, Nina, spanning from 1936 when Estelita is first discovered as a child star, to 1966, when Nina is grieving over her mother’s mysterious death.

This book is mainly a family drama with historical context, and an added touch of Hollywood/fame. I hadn’t heard of Estelita Rodriguez before, but I found it fascinating to read up on her as I went along. It also taught me a lot about the 1933 Cuban Revolution and its impact in the following decades, and as someone who knew basically nothing about that, I can say that the author did a great job providing context and detail that wasn’t too dry or complex. The author interviewed the real-life Nina in her research, which I think added a lot because the plot felt like nonfiction, but with the drama and flow of fiction. The characters endure some awful traumas, so be prepared for a heavy read.

I really enjoyed this one and recommend to historical fiction fans. I’ve heard it compared to Evelyn Hugo and I can’t express how much I disagree lol. I loved both but...yeah, no. Although if Evelyn is your type of book, you probably will like this too. This one has much less Hollywood.

Trigger warnings - rape, sexual/domestic/emotional abuse, child molestation, explicit violence.

Find Me In Havana by Serena Burdick is a beautiful and sad story about the lives of Estelita Rodriguez and her daughter Nina. It is told through letters between the mother and daughter and spans decades. It was rich in history and sadness, It does contain some difficult sujects, such as rape and molestation, so if a reader is not comfortable with those topics, they would want to pass on this book.

While the story itself did feel slow and drawn out at times, I found myself to be fully invested in learing where the story would end up and how the lives of Estelita and Nina played out, Estelita had quite a life, she was a well known singer and actress from Cuba, with a big and complicated family. I may not have thought she always had her priorities straight, but she did truly love her daughter. I was sad for Nina through out the book, she did not have it easy and carried so much guilt with her. That guilt led her to own bad choices. The relationship between the mother and daughter was strained at times, but the sotry was unique since it told each of their sides of it.

I was so glad that the author ended the story the way that she did and gave us a glimpse at the life that Nina went on to live. I appreciated the feeling of closure.

The narration was increditble for the audiobook for Find Me In Havana. Marisol Ramirez and Frankie Corzo gave heartfelt and emotional perfomances that really enhaced the book and overall experience for me, I would definelty recommend it to any of my friends that enjoy listening to Historial Fiction Audiobooks.

Thank you to Harper Audio for my copy of the Audiobook for Find Me In Havana in exchange for my honest opinion.

I decided to slip one more book into 2020 having no idea what a treat Find Me In Havana would be. This was the last book I read for the year and also one of the best. I’m always attracted to a story set in Cuba. The story begins in 1936 Cuba and expands to New York and Hollywood. It is based on Estelita Rodriguez, a well-known Cuban singer and actress. The story is filled with tension not only from the oppression of the Cuban government but from the circumstances, and especially men, in her life. Multiple narrators are used to reveal the events of her life. Much of her story and that of her daughter is pieced together from the memories of her daughter. It is heart-breaking at times but ends on a wonderful note of love and perseverance. Burdick is an excellent storyteller. I’m going to read the author’s backlist. Publish date is January 12, 2021, today or tomorrow, depending on your time zone.

Thank you to Net Galley, Harlequin Audio, and Harper Audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for my review.

This is a beautiful, but sometimes heartbreaking story of three generation of mothers and daughters dripping in old Hollywood charm. It is based on a true story. My one criticism is that the publisher’s synopsis is not reflective of the story. There are a couple of letters, but this isn’t an epistolary Nobel. Also, the death in the description isn’t a key part of the story until the last 10% of the novel. That aside, I really enjoyed this one.

Loved this Cuban historical fiction. I got some Evelyn Hugo vibes. The stories were great and full of emotion and history. However the netgalley audio on the app is not good. The audio stops playing every 20 minutes and you have to close the app and reopen it to make it play again.

I enjoyed this mother-daughter-grandmother saga, This is a story bases on the true events of Estelita Rodriguez’s life. I did not know about this actress and her life. It is told in letters between mother and daughter. This book was intense and tragic. I was hooked early on in the story from the beginning. This story goes back and forth between California and Cuba. Its a story where you keep listening or reading hoping for a happy ending.
I loved the audio of this book. The characters were life-like. Even though it was a historical fiction it wasn't overloaded with facts. I highly recommend this story.

Thank you to the author, Net Galley, and publisher for the ARC of this Audio book for an honest review.

Find Me in Havana
By: Serena Burdick


📕 Genre: Historical Fiction
📕 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/ 5

Thank you, NetGalley, for your gift of an advanced reader’s copy of this novel.

Find Me in Havana, based on the successful and beautiful Cuban-American actress Estelita Rodriguez (1928-1966). The novel is in the form of personal letters back and forth between Estelita and her daughter Nina. The deep mother-daughter love they had for each other was continually tested as life dealt them some low blows. Also, we get a look at the unique mother-daughter relationship between Estelita and her mother. The story reminds us continually how complicated a mother-daughter relationship can be, yet in the end, this relationship is always indestructible. The novel takes us from Hollywood to Mexico, then Cuba, and back to California. Estelita’s love of her Cuban culture makes the story come to life even when she is at her lowest point.

The novel’s historical context displays the best and worst in people these women encounter in the U.S., Cuba, and Mexico. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

⚡Trigger warning for sexual assault and Domestic violence

4 stars
This was a sweeping historical fiction story that takes you from LA, to Mexico and Cuba. The story of Estelita Rodriguez and her daughter Nina is told by alternating perspectives between them. This gives insight into the characters feelings as they are not very good at sharing them with each other. It also allows the reader to see what is the motivation behind some of the decisions that they make. Estelita is so focused on her career that she loses sight of the importance of motherhood and struggles with it throughout the book. Nina wants her mother’s love and attention . They face many challenges throughout the story including a kidnapping rescue in Mexico, Cuban imprisonment and sexual assault. The author did a great job building tension and keeping the reader engaged throughout. . This book is based on a true story and shares little known history. My only complaint is that the ending fell a little flat. I was hoping for more resolution and some justice. I would have also liked to hear more about Estelita’s film career. I appreciated the celebrity names in the book but without some background as to their relationship it fell a little flat.
Thank you #Netgalley for the audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review

My first introduction to Serena Burdick was through her novel The Girls with No Names where I instantly fell in love with her exquisite writing style. I am a huge fan of historical fiction novels that bring to light a piece of untold history in a fresh and entertaining way and Serena Burdick delivers.

Find me in Havana is told in a series of letters by both mother and daughter. Estelita Rodriguez, a Cuban Hollywood actress that starred in roles alongside the famous John Wayne. Nina Lopez, Estelita’s daughter, who grew up watching her mother shine for the world always from a distance. It’s is a story about a mother’s quest for the American dream and at what cost she’s willing to go to attain it and her daughter’s struggle to understand why.

This is definitely not a light-hearted novel. The subject matter was tough and hard to digest, but I found myself taking a pause to acknowledge the artistry of the author. The writing was just plain beautiful.

Based on true events and interviews with Nina Lopez, Estelita’s daughter, this heart-wrenching and intimate story is told in two voices between mother and daughter and explores the tight bonds that bind family and is a testament to the unconditional love of mothers and daughters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of Find me in Havana in exchange for my honest review.

Being a huge fan of historical novels, who is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, you can only imagine my delight to discover a Cuban actress named Estelita Rodriguez.  Before reading this book, I had never heard her fascinating and heart breaking story.

Estelita was born to a prominent family in Cuba that was later torn apart by the Cuban revolution in the early ‘30s.  She began her storied career singing in a Havana nightclub when she was a young girl.  Estelita’s mother left behind her husband and other children to bring her daughter to the US where Estelita began acting as a teenager.  Between 1945-1966, she starred in many Western films with top actors such as Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson.  Despite her success and talent as an actress, she endured multiple failed marriages, a rocky relationship with her mother, and a daughter who desperately wanted a regular mother to hang out and watch tv with.

This story is told through a series of letters and the differing points of view of Estelita, and her daughter Nina. This colorful story takes you through an international kidnapping, episodes of  abuse, the dark tale of a visit to Cuba during the revolution of 1959, familial grudges that are never let go, substance abuse, and the drama of Hollywood. An amazing actress who accomplished so much, despite the double standards at the time.

It's the never ending quest of a mother who will do anything to win her daughter’s love; a grieving daughter’s refusal to accept the cause of her mother’s death who discovers all the sacrifices her mother made. In knowledge there is forgiveness.  

Thank you #netgalley #HarperAudio #HarlequinAudio for this #arc #audiobook

Trigger warnings: suicide, misogyny, war, violence, kidnapping, child molestation, rape, murder

The story is told by both mother and daughter, beginning with mom Estelita Rodriguez's upbringing in Cuba in the 1930s. She lives through the Cuban Revolution and dreams of going to America. She begins singing on the radio and in Havana nightclubs before she is discovered, eventually becoming a famous actress in America.

Estelita's daughter Nina is born in America and doesn't feel Cuban. She looks back on her childhood with a mother she admired but didn't really understand. Her mother's career and poor choices have made Nina's life harder than it needed to be.

Estelita makes the mistake of bringing Nina to Cuba when she hears her father is ill, and they end up stuck in Castro's Cuba in a house frequently visited by Che Guevara. Estelita dies at 37 in California of unknown causes, but this book gives an explanation for what may have happened to her.

This novel was not at all what I expected based on the blurb on the cover. It's billed as a family story about the "sensational life" of a golden age actress, but there is much more in this novel. It's a study of how war kills the spirits of innocents and a detailed look at a complicated maternal relationship. It ends as a murder mystery that may never be solved.

Estelita and Nina each have their own narrator, which helps to differentiate between each woman's story. Frankie Corzo convincingly portrays both the innocence of a child and Nina's moments of being wise beyond her years.

Recommended for fans of family sagas. Those interested in the Cuban Revolution or Hollywood biographies may also enjoy parts of the story.

The story unfolds in a series of letters between Estelita Rodriguez and her daughter Nina Lopez. The story begins in Cuba in 1936 with Estelita’s family struggling following the Cuban Revolution. Growing up with a group of sisters who loved to sing and dance, Estelita is discovered in a nightclub in Havana as a young girl and arrives in the U.S. at age 15 to sing at the Copacabana in New York City. Nina is the result of a marriage to actor Chu Chu Martinez, the first of her four husbands. As was the often the case during this time in history, Chu Chu forbade his wife from performing. Estelita leaves the marriage and is discovered in Hollywood, beginning an acting career and appearing in movies such as Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin.

Nina’s relationship to her mother remained strong, despite many horrific events that fell upon the two. Upon her mother’s mysterious death in 1966, Nina finds her self on a journey, reflecting on memories of her mother’s life and all that she endured to find her American dream.

The story would not be complete without the mention of the one constant in both Estelita and Nina’s lives- Estelita’s mother. A strong woman herself, she encourages Estelita to follow her dreams to Hollywood and becomes a stabilizing figure for Nina. The book really shines to me in the depth and sacrifice of all three women to create a good life independent of having to be someone’s wife. Therefore, I find it interesting that Estelita married so often in her 37 years.

I found this book to be a very interesting read. It provides the reader with an immersion into the Cuban Revolution. It also is demonstrates the way women have historically experienced injustice and atrocities as they strived to be something more. As a warning to more sensitive readers, this book has elements of physical abuse, misogyny and rape. It is a difficult read at times because of this, but an important one to completely understand the story.

I listened to the audiobook version of the book which was narrated by Marisol Ramirez and Frankine Corzo. Their performances were very good, and provided a sense of realism to the story. Their voices were articulate and expressive. I listened to the book at my usual 1.25x which provided a comfortable experience. I would not hesitate to recommend the audiobook version of the book to those that enjoy this format.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for the honest review provided here.

This is a hard read that needs a lot of trigger warnings. Despite that, this is a beautifully written story from two POVs. It took me a while to get into it, but it is interesting and, like much historical fiction based on real characters, I would love to know how much it true and how much is fiction.

The cover is gorgeous and goes with the vibe of the book. The audiobook is well-produced with two narrators.

It was quite hard to get into the story. I finally got in around 85% into it when Nina was trying to make her mother accept what was romantically good for her.. basically anything other than her abusing stepfather. This was a tipping point with dramatic consequences and my soul then dove into the story of Estelita and Nina Rodriguez.

A sad, dramatic, historical fiction novel based on the life of Cuban-American actress Estelita Rodriguez, who I have never heard of before. This woman has fought all her life in order to be able to live her dream thanks to the talent God has given her. Unfortunately, the men in her life kept trying to destroy her until they succeeded. So, so sad. As women, especially in the 20th century (less now), one could not fathom a life without a husband, even if this life partner kept trying to change us and reprogram us: stay home, make babies, take care of them, be their servant. So relieved that things have changed for women, though not completely, but at least to make it acceptable to have a good career, dress how we please, not have children if that is not a desire of ours, and be with a man that we love and who respects us. Don't get me wrong, we still have work to do, mentalities still need to be changed, but we are getting there.

I think I might have enjoyed the book version better than the audio.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this audio advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for a arc copy for a honest review.

Find Me in Havana is a 5 star read. I hadn’t heard of Estelita Rodriguez a Cuban actress. best known for her roles in many Westerns with Roy Rogers for Republic Pictures, as well as her role in Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo.

In January 1953, Rodriguez married actor Grant Withers; they divorced in 1955. ... On March 12, 1966, Estelita Pego was found dead on the kitchen floor of her home, at age 37. The cause of death was complications of influenza. She is interred at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, CA.

Her daughter Anna talk’s about the life of her mom through letters and what Nina has gone through herself.

Happy Reading

Lisa