Blog Tour: 'Last Dance in Havana' by Rosanna Ley!

Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?

England, 2012. Grace has a troubled relationship with her father, whom she blames for her beloved mother's untimely death. And this year more than ever she could do with a shoulderto cry on - Grace's career is in flux, she isn't sure she wants the baby her husband is so desperate to have and, worst of all, she's begun to develop feelings for their best friend Theo. Theo is a Cuban born magician but even he can't make Grace's problems disappear. Is the passion Grace feels for Theo enough to risk her family's happiness?

I'm both excited and honoured to be a part of the blog tour for Rosanna Ley's newest book 'Last Dance in Havana', which was released on May 19th by Quercus, today! I was first introduced to Rosanna's writing when I got the chance to read and review her novel 'The Saffron Trail' last year (click here to read my review), which I really enjoyed. I had been looking forward to checking out another one of Rosanna's works, so when I got the chance to be part of her blog tour I immediately said yes. Be sure to also check out the exclusive guest post from Rosanna herself in which she tells us a bit more about the research she did to write 'Last Dance in Havana', so don't forget to scroll down!

'Last Dance in Havana' is mainly set in modern-day England and 1950s Cuba; two completely different places connected by the main characters in the book. Elisa fell in love with Duardo as soon as she saw him for the first time, but their love is a complicated one, especially when Duardo decides he wants to be a part of the Cuban revolution. Now, many years later, Elisa can't help but still long for Duardo and Cuba, even though she has built up a new life for herself in England. Elisa's daughter-in-law Grace is facing problems of her own; her husband wants to have children, which Grace isn't too sure about, especially not now she notices she is developing feelings for her good friend Theo. Both Elisa and Grace need to figure out what it is they want from life, and, most importantly, whether they can find that in England...

Rosanna Ley has the ability to really transport her readers to another time and place with her words, and that's definitely what she also managed to do with her latest release 'Last Dance in Havana.' I loved joining main characters Elisa and Grace, who each had their own fascinating storyline, which were also connected to one another in a clever way. I particularly warmed to Elisa; I really liked her from the start and was rooting for her to find the happiness she had been longing for for quite some time already. While I had a bit more difficulty warming to Grace, her storyline did interest me and every time I had a free moment I picked up the novel, curious to see what was going to happen next.

This is only my second novel by author Rosanna Ley but I've really come to admire her vibrant and realistic descriptions of faraway locations, such as Cuba in this particular book. It's clear she's an author that does her research and as I was reading the book I could easily imagine myself walking down the streets in Havana, putting myself into Elisa's shoes. While I do feel the book could perhaps have been a bit shorter (it's almost 500 pages) in order to keep a steady pace at all times, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for Rosanna to treat us to another gorgeous read. 'Last Dance in Havana' is a vibrant, well-written, convincing tale about love, family and finding happiness; a great piece of women's fiction and definitely a read to pick up if you're looking for a quick escape or a bit of sunshine!

Rating:9/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Guest Post by Rosanna Ley!
I'm both honoured and excited to welcome Rosanna Ley to the blog today; in the post below she tells us all a bit more about the research she did before writing 'Last Dance in Havana'.

Cuba was way outside my personal experience - writing this novel would be a challenge. 
To help me on my way I began with an overview of the country – culture, history, geography - from books such as Enduring Cuba by Zoe Bran; documentaries and films like Soy Cuba directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.  And then there’s the Internet, of course... 
I had some themes in mind. Massage and magic (I don’t know any magicians but I had some lovely massages) power and control and dancing. In Biography of a Runaway Slave by Miguel Barnett I discovered the amazing Esteban Montejo. This young African slave on a Cuban sugar plantation, was also a runaway, fought in the War of Independence and experienced the Cuban Revolution before he died at the age of 113, in 1973 - the hundredth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Cuba. Wow. What a life...
No Way Home by Carlos Acosta helped me imagine how it would be to leave Cuba, and since I was planning to write about the rumba, I also enjoyed watching him dance! And Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara helped me explore how it might have felt to fight in the Revolution.
And then it was time to go there... I visited Havana, Trinidad, Vinales and Cayo Levisa. I walked the streets, looking for where my characters might live, work, play. I imagined places as they might have been in the 1940s, during the Revolution, when slaves worked on sugar plantations in Valle de los Ingenios. And I talked to as many Cuban people as possible to get their take on the politics, the living conditions, the culture. It was a challenge, yes. But it was so much fun, trying to get the flavour...

Review & Interview: 'The Saffron Trail' by Rosanna Ley (2015)

Once, there was a girl who loved saffron. She loved its secrets, its mystery, and best of all, she loved its hint of magic.
After the death of her beloved mother, Nell travels from rural Cornwall to the colour and chaos of Marrakech. Her marriage may be on the rocks, but exploring the heady delights of Moroccan cuisine could help her fulfil her dream of opening her own restaurant.
It's there she meets Amy - a young photographer trying to unravel the story behind her family's involvement in the Vietnam War. The two women develop a close friendship and discover a surprising connection between their own pasts.
This connection will take Nell and Amy on a journey to find their own 'saffron trail' - from the labyrinthine medina and bustle of Moroccan bazaars all the way back home to Cornwall and to the heart of their families' origins.
Rosanna Ley's newest novel 'The Saffron Trail' will be released on the 21st of May by Quercus and I must say it is a release which I have been quite excited about the past couple of weeks! Not too long ago I was contacted about 'The Saffron Trail' and I straight away loved both the cover (it's just stunning!) and the description of the story. I hadn't read any of Rosanna Ley's other novels and definitely looked forward to checking out her work. I was also lucky enough to get the chance to do an author Q&A with Rosanna herself, so be sure to scroll down to read her answers! 
Nell is still trying to come to terms with her mother's unexpected death a few months ago and her husband Callum doesn't seem to understand how difficult it is for her to say goodbye to her childhood home. When he surprises her with a birthday cookery course trip to Morocco, Nell isn't too sure at first but then decides the trip might help her with answering some questions about her mother. Photographer Amy also finds herself going to Morocco to take photos for an upcoming event at the Lyme Regis gallery she works at. She also wants to use the trip to Morocco to hopefully discover more about the disappearance of her beloved great-aunt's son Glenn. When Nell and Amy meet, they immediately hit it off and become friends. Morocco has a lot to offer the two women, but will it bring them the answers they are both looking for?
I was not familiar with author Rosanna Ley or her books before I got the chance to read 'The Saffron Trail', but I'm really glad I was introduced to her work because I really enjoyed this novel. The book focuses on several different storylines which were all interesting and captivating in their own way. There's Nell who is struggling in her marriage with her husband Callum and still has lots of questions about her recently deceased mother; Amy is trying to find a good balance between her work and private life, which is only made even trickier when a handsome stranger steps into it; and we meet Amy's great-aunt Lillian, who has been through a lot in her life and Amy wants to help her find some closure. I straight away warmed to the different characters and their stories and loved reading about them and seeing how it would all turn out.
The book offers a lot of information on and descriptions of Morocco and specifically its cuisine. This, on the one hand, really helped to set the scene and created a specific atmosphere, but some of the descriptions were quite lengthy and a bit repetitive. The book is also quite long (over 500 pages) and I think this could have been less by getting rid of some of these lengthy descriptive paragraphs. The book included quite a few twists which I did not see coming, which only made it even more of an enjoyable read which I didn't want to put down. I have high hopes for Rosanna Ley's other novels and can't wait to pick up another one of her works in the future. 'The Saffron Trail' is a truly captivating and well-written novel which I enjoyed from start to finish; a great read!

Rating:9/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Author interview with Rosanna Ley!
I'm really excited to have had the chance to ask Rosanna Ley some questions about her newest release 'The Saffron Trail', which you can find below. Thanks so much, Rosanna, for being willing to take part in this short interview! :)

Can you tell us something about your new novel, ‘The Saffron Trail’? The main characters in the novel are Nell and Amy who meet in one of those perfect and tranquil riads in Marrakech. Nell is learning about Moroccan cuisine and Amy is a photographer. They become friends and the novel follows their journey as they try to untangle their lives and their relationships and as they attempt to uncover the mysteries and strangely connected secrets of their pasts. In order to do this they travel to Essaouira, to a saffron farm in the foothills of the Atlas mountains and then back to Roseland in Cornwall and Lyme Regis in Dorset. At the heart of the mystery and of the story are the threads of red gold which are saffron...
Where did you get the inspiration for your novel? Is it in any way based on your own experiences? The first inspiration came from saffron itself – from wanting to find out about how it is grown, how it has been used over the centuries, why it is such a ‘secret spice’ and why it is so much more expensive than gold... I visited Morocco because it is one of the best producers of saffron and realized that the labrynthine nature of the medina leading to the heart of the riad, echoed the tangled relationships and inner truths that I wanted to write about. And no, it’s not based on any of my own experiences, apart from things that happened while I was actually there in Morocco, researching the novel. For example, we were taken into the Jewish quarter in much the same way as Nell, with very similar results!
Can you tell us a bit more about the main characters, Amy and Nell? Nell is a girl who loves saffron. She has always been very close to her mother and when her mother dies at the start of the novel, she feels incredibly lost and alone, which adds to the pressure on her marriage. Her ambition is to open her own restaurant and she would love to find out all the secrets that her mother has kept from her over the years and which she fears may now be lost to her. Amy seems fearless and independent to Nell, but in fact she too has her own vulnerabilities and is finding it hard to build confidence in her work as a photographer and to trust a man. Amy’s mother is busy and doesn’t realize how much Amy needs her time and attention; as a result Amy has grown very close to her great aunt Lillian. When Jake Tarrant visits the gallery where Amy works in Lyme, sparks fly...
There’s a great cast of supporting characters in the novel as well. Which character did you most enjoy writing? I enjoyed them all in different ways. Lillian was great because she has such a deep history and so much has happened to her; she has suffered a great loss but is a survivor. Glenn was interesting because of his views and the decisions he made and because it allowed me to write a bit about the Vietnam war. But I think my favourite was Amy – she just flowed!
Did you do any particular research for parts of the book? Lots! Places obviously – Marrakech, Essaouira, the Saffron Farm and waterfalls in the Atlas mountains, Roseland in Cornwall. The hippie trail and where people went at this time in the late sixties. The history of the Vietnam war. Moroccan design and cuisine. Bridport and the GIs during the second world war. And saffron.
Can you perhaps tell us something about your future plans? Are you perhaps already working on a next novel? Yes! I am writing a novel set in Cuba and Bristol, working title ‘The Last Rumba’. One of the themes is power in relationships and how it can be used and abused. One of my characters is a magician and I have fallen ridiculously in love with him...
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? Don’t be in a hurry. Take time to read, think, dream, plot, plan. Write not what you know but what you want to explore. Let the idea for your story compost. Create a space for it. Then write (every day if possible) as spontaneously as you can. Edit ruthlessly. Never give up.
What is the last book you read that you’d like to recommend to others? ‘We are all totally beside ourselves’ by Karen Joy Fowler. Cleverly structured, well written and thought provoking.
Which book could you not live without? A book of poetry by John Donne (but these days it is mostly in my head).
And last but not least, if you had to describe ‘The Saffron Trail’ in just three words, which words would you pick? Lost and Found.