Published : 15th October 2020
Publisher : Myriad Publishing
Format : Kindle, Hardback
Genre : Historical Fiction
* All words highlighted in Grey are affiliate links to either purchase from a range of sellers or links to the authors sites. Where ever possible I will try and provide different versions of the book on all purchase sites.
Thank you Emma and Lauren @Myriad for this blog tour and interview opportunity.
Synopsis
Henry O'Toole sails to America to escape poverty and famine in Ireland, only to find anti-Irish prejudice awaiting him. Determined never to starve again, he changes his surname to Taylor and heads south to Virginia, where he can pick up work as a travelling blacksmith on the prosperous plantations.
Maple is a slave on Jubilee Plantation. Given to her half-sister as a wedding present by their father, she longs to return to her daughter and husband. When sassy house slave Sarah arrives, she sees her chance at last to be reunited with her own family.
Sarah has her own troubles. She has to learn to navigate the hierarchy of her fellow slaves as well as the power system of her new white masters, and now the mysterious blacksmith is promising her the world, and her freedom too.
An extract from the book:
𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. "𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴", 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴. "𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺". 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥. "𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘥".
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.
"𝘈𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨."
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, "𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘵".
𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 "𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦".
𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 "𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰, 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰".
𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥.
My Review 👑 BOOK OF THE MONTH PICK 👑
The story starts in 1848 with Henry, struggling to survive in Ireland with his family during the potato famine. Knowing they won't survive the poverty in his home land a Situation occurs that leads Henry and his siblings to board a boat to America for a better life but once he arrives he soon realises that the Irish are not exactly welcome and that making a life for himself is going to be a lot harder then he imagined. Letting go of his Irish roots Henry changes his name and lands himself an apprentice position as a blacksmith but yet again he is put into an impossible situation and he ends up fleeing on his own with another mans cart and tools.
Sarah is sold to a plantation as a house slave. Miles away from her family she feels bereft and alone but the other slaves take her under their wing and unusually the master is not unkind and does not punish unjustly so under the watchful eye of Maple, the head house slave, Sarah settles in to her fate.
Maple has been house slave to Master Johnson and his wife for many years. She is the sister to the masters wife and had to follow her when she married the master leaving her husband, mother and daughter Rose back on her fathers plantation. She lives everyday knowing that her family she had to leave behind are ruled with an iron fist and swallows the bitter pill of serving her half sister daily.
When Sarah is sent onto a neighbouring property she happened to come across Henry on his cart looking for work. This one chance meeting will change their lives for ever.
Told over the above three narratives you get to know every character in depth and feel so strongly for the injustice of those times.
This book takes you deep into the horrors of the 19th century with all the injustice and pain that surrounded slavery. I do not want to give anything away with this one as it was absolutely amazing and I would urge everyone to pick it up and read it.
Also the beautiful cover means so much more when you have finished the story.
Why I Loved It
Why did I love it... well to answer that question I could literally be here all day!!
This book totally consumed me for the entire weekend and I could not put it down until I finished it and knew how it was gong to all come together. I found myself at times both angry and sad for the lives these characters were living and went on quite the google fest after I had finished to appease my thirst for more historical knowledge.
I loved the characters, loved how this entire story was based on the authors Great Great Grandparents and loved how Tammye's writing utterly draws you in and makes you feel like you are right there on the plantation. The description and detail to where the story is set really adds to the lives that you are reading about, making this a beautiful atmospheric read.
I was extremely lucky to have been asked by Myriad to interview Tammye Huf about her book. Click HERE to watch and learn all the glorious things that helped Tammye write such a powerful and moving story.
Rating
★★★★★
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Meet the author
Originally from the east and west coast of the USA, I have lived in the UK with my husband and three kids for the last twenty years. I love nothing more than to immerse myself into new places and experiences, and I love the way that books allow me to do that, travelling the globe or even back in time with the turn of a page.
Since earning my BA from Wellesley College, I have been a teacher of various ages and abilities as well as a copywriter and a translator. I've had the pleasure of seeing my short stories published in several literary magazines and being named the third-place winner of the London Magazine Short Story Prize 2018. My debut novel, A More Perfect Union, will be published in October with Myriad Editions.
Connect with Tammye
A huge thank you to Myriad for this beautiful bouquet of flowers that you sent as a thank you for my interview with Tammye.
I am ever grateful that you asked.
I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this review, if you have read this book why not drop me a line telling me your thoughts?
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