When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

 

This is a short novel, but it packs a wallop. When the Reckoning Comes takes place in a small Southern town where Mia has returned reluctantly to attend her childhood best friend's wedding. Mia had escaped Kipsen ten years before, along with the horrifying memory of a trip to Woodsman, an abandoned plantation deep in the woods. 

Mia doesn't want to return but Celine, her only white friend growing up, calls and begs her to attend. Celine, Mia, and Jesse all grew up poor and on the outs with the kids of Kipsen. Celine and Jesse stayed, and now Celine is marrying a rich man at the newly renovated Woodsman plantation. 

Mia arrives, and is horrified by what she sees at the plantation: all black servers, reenactments of slave labor, and a basic white-washing of all the terrible history of Woodsman Plantation. Rumors of ghosts of the slaves still abound, and it's definitely a place that looks beautiful but is rotten at the core. There have been a few weird deaths on or near the plantation over the years, and rumors that the slaves have returned from the dead to exact revenge on townspeople who are descended from the white people who worked and lived at the plantation. Can they be true? And what does Mia believe?

As the wedding morning arrives, Celine is missing from her room and no one can find her. Tensions start to rise, and Jesse and Mia frantically try to figure out what happened to Celine, all the while conscious of supernatural activities ramping up. It appears the ghosts have arrived, and they are angry.

This was truly a spooky read. The horrors of the plantation and the absolute depravity of plantation owner Roman Woodsman made me cringe a few times. The anger of the dead slaves is palpable, and wow I'd be bent on revenge, too. After all, it is said their blood soaked into the soil and has remained there all this time. Not even graves for those who died. 

It's short, brutal, and oh so good. Wow. A powerful novel about slavery, the attempts we have today to gloss over the horror of it; the way it decays a town and poisons generations. The tension in this novel slowly bumps up until your heart just about leaps out of your chest. 

I haven't read horror for a bit, and this was a great way to dip my toe back into this genre. History and horror are an interesting mix. 

Rating: 5/6 for a terrifying novel about revenge, racism, the afterlife, and how true history will always comes out. Some things should be left to rot in the woods. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

It's been many years since I've read Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles series, so I was delighted to see he has returned to that world with this new series. I absolutely love contemporary fantasy that mixes in old magical elements, along with a sense of humor that makes me laugh as I read. 

Set in Glasgow, with a few stints in Edinburgh and other places, this novel stars the charming Al MacBharrais, a sixty-something sigil agent who is caught up in a mystery involving the Fae. 

A sigil agent works between the human world and the Fae world, making contracts that help keep both worlds apart, yet allow for some contact between the two when necessary. Sigils are handwritten symbols of magic, made with specially created inks. It requires years of apprenticeship and there are only 5 sigil agents around the world. Al owns a publishing house, and uses it as a front for his magical work.

I loved the cast of characters and can't wait to read about future adventures. A hobgoblin that loves to steal whiskey, an office manager that has a special talent for fighting, and assorted Fae that keep things complicated. Oh, and did I mention Al has a curse on him? If he talks to people, eventually they hate him--as in turn purple with rage and try to kill him. So he's forced to use a text to speech phone to communicate with anyone he wants to keep in his life. An ongoing theme for future novels is Al's pursuit of whomever cast the curse, and finding a way to remove it. It's cost him dearly over the years, and he's done with it. 

I enjoy science fiction/fantasy, and it's been a bit since I've read anything. It was just what I needed to get me reading after weeks of not being able to concentrate. Pure fun, a good plot, endearing characters and plenty of magic. I look forward to reading more about Al and his associates. 

Rating: 5/6 for a promising start to a new series. Featuring a cast of characters both human and Fae, along with hobgoblins, ghostly dogs, and other mythological creatures, this is an enjoyable romp through a world full of magic mystery, and good whiskey. 

Available in hardcover ebook, and audio.

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Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

This novel caught my eye when I read the short description on the dust jacket--post Civil War? Yep. Sign me up. I continue to be fascinated with the Civil War and the years after, when quite frankly, the U.S. was still a mess. This novel was even better than I had hoped. 

Dual storylines tell the stories of 1875 Hannie Gossett, former slave and now sharecropper at Goswood Plantation, and 1987 Benny Silva, first year English teacher at an impoverished school in Augustine, Louisiana. The same  place where Hannie's story begins. Little does Benny know it, but she will be instrumental in uncovering Hannie's story, long forgotten under the burden of poverty that haunts Augustine. 

Hannie knows her former master had a mistress, and a daughter: Juneau Jane. His wife knows, too, and is a cruel woman, along with her daughter Lavinia. Juneau Jane secretly travels to the plantation one night to find paperwork that will prove her father has given her land of her own. Lavinia knows about it, and when Juneau Jane can't find the paperwork in the library, Lavinia convinces her to travel to New Orleans to seek out a businessman who will help them find the papers. Unfortunately, Lavinia is up to no good, and Hannie disguises herself in order to drive the wagon that takes the young ladies to New Orleans. Once there, they fall into really big trouble, and it's up to Hannie to save the girls and get them safely out of harm's way. Their journey will take them to Texas in search of William Gossett, who left on a business trip months before and has not been heard of since. Will they find him? Will they safely make it back home? 

In 1987, Benny's struggling to contain her class, and is in despair she'll ever be able to reach her students. On a walk one day, she discovers the grand Goswood plantation house, sitting empty. It's maintained, but no one lives there. She spies a very full library inside and decides those books will help her reach her students. Nathan Gossett is the owner, but wants nothing to do with the home. He's also Benny's landlord, renting her a small home on the edge of the town's cemetery. As Benny explores the library, she digs deeper into the town's past, and the tangled history of slavery, war, and freedom. She also learns more about Nathan's family and the tangled web that keeps him from living at Goswood. 

So how does Hannie's story mesh with Benny's? I can't tell you--you have to read the book! I still can't decide which story was more compelling. Hannie's desire to find her family-all sold off years before, is the main driver of her mission in life. It's also what connects the past to the present, in many surprising ways. 

It took me a bit to get into this novel, but when I finally did wow--such a good story! There's an author note at the end, letting you know how Lisa Wingate came to write about the book of lost friends. It's pretty interesting, and a must read. 

Rating: 5/6. I highly recommend this novel for book clubs, history buffs, and anyone who loves a read packed with drama, plenty of interesting characters, and the enduring love of family. Hannie is one amazing character you won't soon forget. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

Read Off the TBR Pile: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

This is a novel I've been wanting to read for quite some time. February is African American History Month, and I felt this was the perfect time to read it. I finished last night, and had to take some time to digest, because it's a book that left me gobsmacked. 

First of all, Colson Whitehead is an amazing writer. Amazing. This was a novel that grabbed me and occasionally let me come up for air. I  read it in chunks, because some of it was brutal, and left me feeling a bit sick and horrified. 

Cora is a young slave working the cotton fields at the Randall plantation in Georgia. Two brothers own two parts of the plantation, and while she is under the ownership of the less brutal brother, it is still a harsh life. Her mother Martha had run away when Cora was very small, and the famous slave catcher Ridgeway had failed to bring her back to the plantation. Ridgeway just could never let that go, and that plays a big part in Cora's journey throughout the novel. Cora herself is at turns angry and bitter at her mother for leaving her, and desperately missing her mother. 

Cora's owner dies, and his brother Terrance takes ownership of the whole plantation. Terrance is quite possibly the most sadistic and horrible character in the novel. He has his eye on Cora, and she is terrified of what's to come. Caesar, a fellow slave, decides to run, and asks Cora to go with him. The two run away and so begins Cora's amazing flight to freedom. 

The underground railroad is stunning; it's an actual railroad, complete with trains and tracks. Cora travels from Georgia to South Carolina and beyond. At each stop she thinks she's found a safe place. The people who help along the way are all part of a huge network of folks who risk their lives to keep the railroad moving. Some of them pay a harsh price. 

I can't tell you more, because if you haven't read it, you should and discover Cora's journey for yourself. While some reviewers expressed disappointment in not getting to know Cora on a deeper level, I didn't find that to be true. The brutality she experiences is told in a matter of fact way which makes it that much more awful. This was every day life. I was reminded at times of witch hunts--people taking the opportunity to turn others in on suspicion in order to get even for imagined slights. I was reminded of World War 2, when people took great risks to hide Jews and help them get to safety. I was reminded of those people who were so afraid for their own safety that they willingly, and sometimes gleefully betrayed others in order to survive. Time and again, Whitehead reminds us that the machine of the South was relentless, asking for more and more human flesh to keep it churning, greedy for more cotton, more money. 

The "magical realism" of the railroad and some of Cora's experiences portray a world gone mad and out of control. Time and again, Cora meets and loses someone; she must continue on this journey alone. Ridgeway has not given up on finding Cora and bringing her back to the plantation. He's obsessed with her, and will not let Martha's daughter escape. 

Will Cora make it to freedom? Is it worth the sacrifices and loss she must suffer?   Will she ever find Martha?

This is a novel that will stick with me for a long time. I feel emotionally exhausted. Worthy of all the accolades, and definitely one of the best books I've read in a very, very long time. 

Rating: 6/6 for a Pulitzer prize winning novel that is astonishing in the brutal portrayal of slavery and a flight to freedom. A cast of unforgettable characters and excellent writing make this truly an epic read. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.  

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Read Off the TBR Pile: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: A DNF that I Finally Finished

May has been a month where I've skipped the fun and frothy books and instead dove straight into the tough reads. I can't lie; reading too many in a short time frame tends to bring me down. 

That is part of the reason why I tried reading Homegoing before, and just couldn't do it. I definitely believe in books not only reflecting your mood, but affecting your mood. Homegoing was a tough read for me; I picked it for my book group's May read because it would push me to read it. We meet on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to the discussion we'll have about this thought provoking novel. 

Homegoing  is about eight generations of people who come from two half-sisters who don't realize the other exists. One sister, Effia, stays in Ghana and is married to a white British officer there to help with the slave trade in the late 1700's--when British interests in acquiring and selling slaves was huge. Unbeknownst to Effia for most of her young life, she has a half-sister, Esi, who was also raised in Ghana, but in a different village and a different tribe. The cruelty of slavery and tribal affiliations begin early with Effia and Esi, as Esi is captured by raiders and sent to the dungeons at the Castle, the very place where Effia is living with her British husband. Esi is shipped off to the United States, to become a slave and begin the chain of events that will shape her descendants into the 20th century. 

Effia doesn't have it all good, either. Despised by her step-mother, caught between two worlds, unhappy with her life, her descendants remain in Ghana for generations, until Yaw, disfigured by an accident as a baby, moves to the United States to teach. Finally, the two branches meet in San Francisco as Yaw's daughter Marjorie and Esi's great-great-great-great-great (I think?!) grandson Marcus travel back to Ghana in a very moving final chapter. 

There are so many stories, and each is heartbreaking. No one in this novel has a happy life. The issue of slavery is so prevalent for both sides that it is soaked into the fiber of their being. Seeing the chain of generations, and reading their stories, it is very clear why, even today, events that took place hundreds of years ago keep thundering through our lives and our nation.  The women in this novel are extraordinary; fierce, strong, and survivors of enormously horrible situations. Sprinkled through the generations, there are also men who stand out. 

The story that I most connected to was H's story. Born into slavery (his mother's story is so sad I can't even think about it!), freed after the Civil War, and sent to work in coal mines as punishment for not being able to pay bail, H is such a strong character through every trial that comes his way. His journey was probably my favorite part of the novel. So, so good. 

Homegoing is a very emotional novel, and that is what makes it hard to read quickly, or in one sitting. You have to sit with it, think about each generation as they tell their story, and follow the chain of history down through the generations. Family history, world history, magic, spiritual belief, ancestor respect-all are a part of this novel, along with the all too often whims of fate.  People sometimes don't understand how something that happened 200 years ago can affect our present day; this novel shows that very thing over and over again, and for that, this is a novel that everyone should read. High schoolers and college age students should read this and discuss it together. 

I am very glad I returned to this DNF and finished it. Not many books have the power to deeply move me; Yaa Gyasi's astounding novel joins that list. 

Rating:  5/6 for a novel that is not an easy read-not because of writing style, or plot, but because of the powerful characters who live, love, dream, and survive tragedy after tragedy through the generations. I highly recommend this for book groups, high school and college students, and anyone interested in history. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audio.

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Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: A DNF that I Finally Finished

I Finally Read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Oh, Kitchen House.  You've been on my TBR list for years and years.  You've been sitting on my bookshelf for so long your pages are yellowed.  Why it took me so long to finally read you, I don't know.  Maybe I was afraid you wouldn't live up to my expectations.  Maybe it finally took reading Kitchen House for a book group that did it.  So now, I've finally read you, and I am feeling very torn in my feelings about the book. What?!

Told in alternating chapters between Lavinia, a young Irish indentured servant, and Belle, the slave (and secret daughter) of the Captain, owner of Tall Oaks Plantation, The Kitchen House takes place in late 1790's Virginia.  Miss Martha, wife of the Captain, is a delicate creature, who is convinced that Belle is the captain's lover; her two children Marshall and Sally are spoiled plantation kids.  Things start to go sour when a tutor is hired to teach Marshall.  Poor Marshall.  It's obvious he's being sexually abused by the tutor, but as the story is told through the eyes of a slave and a young, naive girl, there are plenty of hints, but he's never caught.  That tutor destroys Marshall, and Marshall ends up becoming a horrible adult.  When Marshall takes his anger out on his sister Sally, the tragic consequence sends Miss Martha into labor with her third child, and sends her mentally over the edge.  She's never the same again.  That's just one of the many tragedies that visit the slaves and owners of Tall Oaks.  No one is safe from the hardships and sadness that seem to arrive like clockwork.  

At the heart of this novel is the treatment of slaves, and the fact that there are slaves.  Knowing there were decades to go before emancipation made this a bit harder for me to read.  Lavinia was a bit of a frustration for me, as well.  She's just a young child when she arrives at Tall Oaks, rescued from a ship after her parents, Irish immigrants both die onboard.  With no other family (her brother Cardigan is taken away by someone else), the Captain brings Lavinia home, to be an indentured house servant.  After recovering from her ordeal, she ends up staying most of the time in the kitchen house, which is where all the meals were prepared, and situated away from the main house for safety's sake.  There, she is drawn into the loving family of Mama and Papa, Uncle Jacob, Ben, and Belle.  It doesn't matter to her that they are slaves; they are the family she needs, and they love her and take care of her.  It takes Lavinia years to understand that she is treated differently because she's white and they are black, and considered property.  As the years pass, Lavinia doesn't ever seem to really understand the complex relations that swirl around the plantation.  I found her naiveté to be annoying, and I wanted her to be a strong, capable woman.  I never felt like she achieved that at all.  

Yes, there is so much that happens in this novel.  People finding happiness, even if only for a brief time; tragedy upon tragedy; folks giving up on life; children neglected in their youth growing into unpleasant adults.  There's even the sadistic overseer who always appears at the worst times.  It's a definite soap opera.  

So, I did like the story, but I felt there was so much crammed into it, that there was never a peaceful time for anyone.  Will, as a neighbor who helps run Tall Oaks at certain times, was the most decent man in the whole bunch.  Lavinia I found to be annoying the most as an adult, trapped in a terrible marriage, and also trapped by the few options she had--but instead of fighting hard, she caved.  I was hoping for a heroine who really met life head on.  Lavinia wasn't that person.  Belle, poor Belle.  She never got a break, and was never acknowledged publicly as the daughter of the Captain.  

I'll be discussing this novel next week with my book group, and I'm interested in what they will say about it.  I felt it was a little too soap opera-ish, with a weak main character in Lavinia.  There weren't any surprises at all in the plot; I felt like I had read this storyline before.  

Rating:  2/6 for a solid story that shows a lot of research; but I felt Lavinia's naiveté held her back, and the novel suffered for it.  Too much drama, and just outright crazy happenings. Every plantation life trope was in this novel. 

Available in paperback, large print, audio, and ebook. The paperback also has book group questions to help guide discussion, if you need them. 

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I Finally Read The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

This book has been on my "gotta read" list for over a year.  I finally got the chance to read it, thanks to Rebecca at Penguin-Random House books.  I'll admit I had a vague idea of what this book was about, and that drove me to read it.  But what I thought it was about and what is actually was about ended up being different, and much more than I expected.

This novel is based on two women who had the guts to stand up against slavery and the lack of rights for women in the 1820's.  A hundred years before women got the right to vote.  Sometimes a loud roar starts off with a quiet growl.  Sarah and Nina Grimke form two parts of an amazing trio of women; the third woman, Handful, was Sarah's slave.  Sarah's mother gives Handful to Sarah on her 11th birthday.  Sarah is a pretty smart kid.  She reads books from her father's library (he's a judge, wealthy, slave owner, and lives in Charleston) and dreams of one day becoming a lawyer.  She is horrified at the gift her mother gives her, and refuses to become the owner of Handful.  She even writes out a statement freeing Handful and leaves it for her father, sure he'll abide by her wishes.  Instead, the statement is ripped up and left outside her bedroom door.  She is Handful's mistress whether she likes it or not.  Thus begins a 30 year journey between two woman: one black, one white, one free, one enslaved. 

We come to know Handful and her mother, Charlotte, the family's seamstress.  Charlotte is feisty and determined to one day be free.  She quilts her family's history and sneaks out to make extra money to one day buy her and Handful's freedom.  And yes, you guessed it--things don't go so well.  The brutality and downright wrongness of slavery makes blatant appearances to Handful and Charlotte, as well as Nina  and Sarah.  The relationship between Sarah and Handful was a complex one; I expected more of a novel about a close relationship between the women, but that didn't happen.  Sarah is haunted by Charlotte's demand that one day Sarah free Handful.  Sarah finds it much harder to do this than she ever imagines; can she ever grant this wish and free Handful?   Sarah's life as a privileged upper-class white woman in Charleston has left her in a prison created by society's rigid rules and regulations regarding women.  While Nina became the more famous of the Grimke sisters, it is Sarah's story that is the focus of this novel.

The novel is told in alternating chapters between Sarah and Handful.  It took me a bit to get into the story, and I think this was because I kept getting distracted from the book.  The ending is one that made me tear up.  It comes full circle.  Knowing some background of the Grimke sisters certainly helped me have a good framework before I got too deep into the story, and I would certainly read the author's notes in the back of the book before you begin the novel.  

A powerful novel about the horror of slavery, friendship in all of it's complications, and amazing women who were afraid but stepped forward and fought anyway.  

Available in paperback, hardcover, e-book, and audio.  

Thank you to Rebecca from Penguin/Random House for a copy of the book!  

Rating:  8/10 for a novel about women who saw wrong and fought hard to change it, sometimes at great cost to themselves.  

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The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

I've been returning to the South again in my reading lately.  But, the book I'm reading now is about time travel and England, so I've moved pretty far beyond the South after this novel.  I'm sure I'll be visiting the South again soon.

But--Blue Asylum is definitely not a typical Civil War-Era type of novel.  It explores a problem many women faced in the 1800's:  not agreeing with their husbands, and being accused of insanity.  Off they are sent to asylums, often not ever seeing freedom again.  

Iris Dunleavy has been sent to Sanibel Island (off the coast of Florida) to an asylum (the best, most expensive one around) because she is not the biddable wife her husband wants.  She's been set before a judge, convicted of insanity, and sent away.  All in the midst of the Civil War; her husband is a Virginia plantation owner who is truly cruel and mean.  What Iris did to stroke his anger is slowly revealed throughout the novel--but she is by no means insane.  If anyone is, it's her husband.  

On Sanibel Island, there is a cast of characters:  Dr. Cowell, the man in charge;  his young son Wendell who is the only child on the island; and Ambrose Weller; a Rebel soldier suffering moments of intense PTSD.  Ambrose is an honorable man; quietly playing chess--he's different from the rest of the inmates who are clearly quite insane.  Iris is determined to leave the island, but Dr. Cowell refuses to believe her story--his blindness masks a growing attraction to this patient who is quite unlike anyone else on the island.  

Wendell is a 12 year old boy who has spent most of his life on the island.  He runs around, fishes, collects shells, and tries very hard to move past an infatuation with a previous patient that ended in tragedy.  He is a bit lost and trying to find his place on the island.  

Iris and Ambrose soon connect and begin to play checkers every day, telling each other their tales, slowly revealing what brought them to Sanibel Island.  They are falling in love, and even though Iris is married, they hope to escape and be together.  Can Iris save Ambrose from his war demons?  Can Iris ever be believed, or will her husband win again?  

I've read some reviews where people said this book was just too depressing.  It is sad.  It reveals the horrors of war and slavery; and making choices that can haunt a person until they are driven mad. Can we ever be at peace with our past?  I'll just say that Ambrose will tear your heart out.  

Add this to your list if you like Southern fiction.  It reminded me a bit of The Rebel Wife --a twist on the usual Civil War fiction.  It also would be a great book group title.  

Rating:  7/10 for Iris and Ambrose and their haunting tales; a subject that it not explored much in modern fiction, and a beautiful setting on Sanibel Island.

Available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli: Review and Giveaway!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know I love to read historical fiction set in the South.  Glow has now been added to my collection of favorite Southern novels.

Glow follows the story of the family tree of Solomon Bounds, a white man who settles in the mountains of Georgia is the early 1800's. What makes this novel special is that as you read, you go back up the family tree, not down.  The story starts with young Ella McGee and her mother, Amanda.  They live in Washington, DC in 1941.  Amanda--a mix of Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, is working  on racial equality and making herself very unpopular in the community around her.  A rock thrown into her home one night makes her realize leaving is the only option.  But--she can only get one bus ticket out that night.   Reluctantly, she puts Ella on the bus to Georgia, with instructions on where to get off and who to meet.  

But things go wrong, and Ella is left injured on the side of the road in Georgia.  Two elderly women, Willie Mae and Mary-Mary, find Ella and take her to their cabin in the woods to heal her and her dog.  In doing so, Ella's family tree and Willie Mae's family tree connect.  We begin the stories of Amanda's life as a child in the same region--her loving parents, her elder brother Bud, and her love for Obidiah Bounds, a young black boy who's father is the only black person around to own a large farm.  Amanda's childhood stories are interspersed with Ella's time at the cabin with Willie Mae and Mary-Mary.  It is important to look at the chapter titles--each chapter is the name of the character you will be reading about.  If you don't it can get you off track and a bit confused.  I found it helped me reset my mind to go back to a particular character's history.  There is also a family tree at the beginning of the book to help you keep track of each character and where they are in the history of this family.

This novel is chock full of superstition, racial tension, and the beauty of the Georgia mountains.  Jessica Maria Tuccelli is an amazingly descriptive writer.  Her ability to write about the color of a river, the smell of flowers, and the blazing colors of the leaves are a gift to savor.  And the heartbreak and happy times for each storyteller are simply told yet pack a power punch of emotion.  

You too, will fall in love with Ella and, most of all, young Amanda.  She really is the voice of this novel and seeing things through her young eyes makes them even more poignant.  The love of mothers for their children, the mix of Cherokee, white, and black histories, and the drive for the human spirit to never give up are all themes that run throughout each and every story--from Ella all the way back to Willie Mae's early life as a slave.  

Did I tempt you?  How about a chance to win a copy of Glow?  You can!
Just add a comment to this post and I will pick a winner on Monday, April 29th.  *open only to US residents*

Rating:  8/10 Compelling story about the history of  Hopewell County and one of the founding families.  Beautifully written novel for a first time author.  Perfect for book clubs!  Fans of The Kitchen House will like this one.

Available in paperback, e-book, and audio.

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Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli: Review and Giveaway!

The Woman At The Light by Joanna Brady

I don't know what to make of this novel.  I've thought about it for a day before writing this post, and I still don't know how I feel!  

The main character is Emily Lowry, a young woman from New Orleans who's married to Martin Lowry and lives at a lighthouse on Wrecker's Cay near Key West in the 1830's.  She's the mother of three children and another one on the way when one morning Martin leaves in a boat to fish and never comes back.  

Emily is determined to stay at the lighthouse and collect a salary since she really has no where else to go and doesn't want to fall on the mercy of family in Key West.  She convinces the authorities to let her stay, taking care of the lighthouse and providing a crucial service to the ships sailing close by the dangerous reefs that surround the Keys.  

A few months after her husband has disappeared, Emily still holds hope he is  alive, but she's struggling to keep everything moving smoothly on Wrecker's Cay.  And then Andrew shows up.  He's a runaway slave who jumped ship during a storm and made it ashore.  Emily soon realizes he's a gentle man who is willing to help around the island in exchange for a place to sleep and food.  He quickly proves himself invaluable to Emily as her pregnancy advances and their feelings for one another change into dangerous territory.  After all, it is 1839; the South is firmly entrenched in the slave economy and love between a white woman and a black man is forbidden.  

Oh, the stuff that happens to Emily!  This truly is a soap opera of a novel.  I absolutely loved the history of Key West, the information on women lighthouse keepers (most of them widows), and the tropical feel of this novel.  Emily's life has major ups and downs, lost love, money, hurricanes, family deaths, and just about everything else tossed in to make her life far from boring.  She's the Erica Kane of Key West.  

So did I enjoy this novel?  Well, it wasn't what I expected.  I had no idea I was in for such a ride with Emily.  Do I like Emily?  Kinda sorta.  She is an admirable woman, but at the same time she irritated me a bit with some of her completely stupid behavior.  It takes her awhile to become a strong woman and make choices of her own, but she does.  I felt like it should have taken place in 1888 not 1839--it seemed a bit historically out of whack with Emily's thinking and ability to take command in situations where a woman would not have had a chance to decide.

If you like historical fiction with  a bit of soap opera involved, try this.  It's got it all and you will not be bored.  I think I was expecting more of a serious novel that all took place at the lighthouse, since it's such a major part of the story.  I found myself rolling my eyes a few times at some of Emily's antics but after thinking about this novel for the past day, I will say my overall opinion is one of more enjoyment than annoyance.  

Rating:  3/5 for the history of Key West and the author's ability to put you in a young Key West!  I want to go there.  And while there are sad moments in the novel, they are not overwhelming.  

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The Woman At The Light by Joanna Brady