The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

Star rating: 5/5 

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this gifted digital ARC! 

Summary:

This story takes place in Key West and revolves around ancestors of the Perez and Preston families.

Helen is pregnant, in an abusive marriage, and terrified. Mirta has just been married off to a notorious gangster she barely knows. Elizabeth has fled New York and her fiancé in search of her lost brother. The three women's lives intersect, each of them being faced with difficult and scary choices. The Last Train to Key West is a story of strength, bravery, and love. 

Review:

My favorite Cleeton book yet, by far! I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I found the first two novels in this series to honestly just be fine. They were interesting enough, but they didn't grip me. This story absolutely gripped me. I could not put it down - I tore through it in less than a day. All of the main characters felt real, well-developed, and believable. I loved all of their strength and how it was portrayed in different ways - to Mirta, strength was agreeing to marrying someone she barely knew because of family duty. To Elizabeth and Helen, strength was walking away from marriages they knew weren't suitable. This story is much more plot-focused than history-focused compared to the first two books in this series, and while I might have liked a little more history added in, it overall worked really well for me. I highly recommend this book for fans of Cleeton's past work, as well as fans of Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn.