It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Jan, 7, 2019)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This was a quiet week. Our New Year's Eve celebration was quiet and at home. The snowy roads didn't make going out very enticing. Also New Year's Eve and New Year's day boasted the coldest temperatures and windchills of the season so far. Those same snowy roads meant I didn't get out to exercise as often as I should have.

Sunday Evening Forecast

My town is right in the center of the picture. It looks like we have another snow event coming in Sunday night into Monday which might mess up next week's exercise plans too. Right now on Saturday afternoon we have temperatures warm enough to melt the snow on our driveway which is nice even though it will just make way for the next snow. The city was out clearing the snow from the sides of the streets on Friday. I got behind the process and got to watch the major snowblower fill the dump truck with snow before I could get around it. It is nice that they do this since the large banks of snow at intersections make turns an adventure. Our street is quiet but to get anywhere requires joining a much busier one.

I spent some time this week setting up my reviews and other posts for February. Now I just have to read the books. It was also time to set up the 2019 reading log and the next State of the Stack post. I set my Goodreads goal to 240 books thinking that I'll probably be increasing it twice before the year is over.

January is a quiet month for TV watching for me. I don't watch any series television. I'm just waiting for the baseball season to start. I'll probably watch some football but without any emotional attachment since my team didn't make the playoffs.

My calendar is almost completely appointment free but I do have my annual physical and mammogram later in the month.

It looks like it will be a good time to hunker down and read.

Year End Report

This year I read 353 books. One hundred fifty-one of them were mine which includes re-reads, recent purchases, and books which have been languishing on TBR mountain for a while. I read 202 review books this year. I read a total of 122,454 pages. I averaged reading 29 books a month.

My Kindle got a workout. I read 274 ebooks this year. In fact, I bought a new Kindle on Prime Day because my old was was looking worn out.

I read 128 YA books this past year. I keep track of some of the categories I read. This year mysteries/thrillers topped my list clocking in at 168 books.

I added 486 books to my LibraryThing account. 364 were Kindle books. 201 were review books. Right now, 218 of my additions are still marked TBR.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh & Veronica Chadwick (Jan. 29) - Romantic suspense review book that was more erotic than romantic. My review will be posted on Jan. 23.
• A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (Feb. 5)  - Excellent YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast with wonderful characters. My review will be posted on Jan. 24.
• Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (Mine) - next in Peter Grant/Rivers of London urban fantasy series. My review will be posted on Jan. 26.

• Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong (Feb. 5) - Fourth book in the Rockton thriller series. My review will be posted on Jan. 30.
• Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop (Mine) - 2nd in Black Jewels Dark Fantasy series. My review will be posted Jan. 13.

• Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins (Feb. 5) - YA time travel story with a post-apocalyptic future. My review will be posted on Jan. 29.
• Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop (Mine) - Conclusion of the first Black Jewels trilogy. My review will be posted on Jan. 20.

Currently

The Invisible Ring by Anne Bishop is the 4th book in the Black Jewels series and a prequel to the first trilogy.

Next Week

• The Antidote by Shelley Sackier (YA; Feb. 5)
• The Military Wife by Laura Trentham (Feb. 5)
• The Blood Spell by C. J. Redwine (YA; Feb. 12)
• Past Due for Murder by Victoria Gilbert (Feb. 12)
• Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose (Feb. 12)
• Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto (YA; Feb. 12)

Reviews Posted

• Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden
• The Hangman's Secret by Laura Joh Rowland

• The Au Pair by Emma Rous
• The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

• Pit Perfect Murder by Renee George (Free)
• Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet

• A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang
• Release the Virgins edited by Michael A. Ventrella

• The Invisible Ring by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels 4)
• Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels 5)
• Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels 6)

• The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels 7)
• Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels 8)
• Twilight's Dawn by Anne Bishop (Black Jewels 9)

What was your week like?

ARC Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

The Paragon Hotel
Author: Lyndsay Faye
Publication: G.P. Putnam's Sons (January 8, 2019)

Description: The new and exciting historical thriller by Lyndsay Faye, author of Edgar-nominated Jane Steele and Gods of Gotham, which follows Alice "Nobody" from Prohibition-era Harlem to Portland's the Paragon Hotel.

The year is 1921, and "Nobody" Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line.

She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the premises. But as she meets the churlish Dr. Pendleton, the stately Mavereen, and the unforgettable club chanteuse Blossom Fontaine, she begins to understand the reason for their dread. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in Portland in fearful numbers--burning crosses, inciting violence, electing officials, and brutalizing blacks. And only Alice, along with her new "family" of Paragon residents, are willing to search for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the Oregon woods.

Why was "Nobody" Alice James forced to escape Harlem? Why do the Paragon's denizens live in fear--and what other sins are they hiding? Where did the orphaned child who went missing from the hotel, Davy Lee, come from in the first place? And, perhaps most important, why does Blossom Fontaine seem to be at the very center of this tangled web?

My Thoughts: Alice James, whose nickname is Nobody, tells this story in the form of a memoir meant for someone she loves. It's 1921 and twenty-five year old Alice is on a train to Portland, Oregon, and nursing a gunshot wound. She is rescued by Pullman porter Max who takes her to the Paragon Hotel where her wound is treated by Dr. Doddridge Pendleton, war veteran and the hotel owner.

The Paragon is the only hotel for blacks in Portland. Therefore, Welsh-Italian Alice isn't necessarily welcomed. But Alice grew up in Harlem before it was a black enclave. After a childhood in a Raines Law hotel where her mother worked as a prostitute, she got involved with the Italian crime families who were fighting for domination there. Her ability to become anyone or go unnoticed called her to the attention of one of the would-be crime lords who convinced her that he was on the side of right and good. She befriended a number of the people - black and white - who worked in the club and speakeasies. When she learned just how dirty her boss was and was shot by a former childhood friend, she needed to disappear.

As she settles into the Paragon, she makes new friends especially Blossom Fontaine who is a flamboyant lounge singer who is hiding a number of secrets. When Davy Lee, the little mulatto boy who is the mascot of the hotel, disappears, the employees of the hotel begin a search knowing that the police wouldn't have any interest in finding one missing black kid.

Oregon was not a good place for blacks to live. Laws were passed to make it illegal for blacks to live in the state and the Ku Klux Klan had a very large presence there. The police and the local white citizens generally supported the klan's goals of making things good for white protestants. Though a few thought the cross burnings and lynchings were going a little far. The whole racial situation frightened the residents of the Paragon.

I enjoyed this story of a young woman who finds a place and a purpose. She finds friendship and love. The setting was well-done. The language consisting of so much 1920s slang and coming from the mouth of a very sassy young flapper made me almost need a translator. Luckily, the Italian saying that were common in the parts of the story that took place in Harlem did have footnotes translating them.

This was engaging and entertaining historical fiction about a difficult time in America's past told by an observant and likable main character.

Favorite Quote:

I take a drag. It's asphalt and moonlight, better than thesoup. Not quite as good as the liquor. If you're wondering, this is the Nobody I was around Mr. Salvatici. Sees everything and everyone, comments with unflinching candor, wears couture Lanvin crinolines and oilsking kip waders with equal aplomb, can talk jazz for hours, drinks like a trench laddie, and follows orders. Burrows into closets for people's skeletons. That sort.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

You're supposing that you hold in your hands a manuscript. A true story I knitted into a fable, tinted with my own brushes, chiseled tappity-tap until its rough edges were erased and nothing but clean smooth autobiography remained.

Friday 56:

"There's not something wrong with Rooster, is there?" Joe inquires, black brows slanting.

"Goodness, I hope not, the man could crush a Packard truck. Does he rub you funny?"

This week I am spotlighting The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye. I got this eARC from Edelweiss. It is a historical mystery. Here is the description from Amazon:

The new and exciting historical thriller by Lyndsay Faye, author of Edgar-nominated Jane Steele and Gods of Gotham, which follows Alice "Nobody" from Prohibition-era Harlem to Portland's the Paragon Hotel.

The year is 1921, and "Nobody" Alice James is on a cross-country train, carrying a bullet wound and fleeing for her life following an illicit drug and liquor deal gone horribly wrong. Desperate to get as far away as possible from New York City and those who want her dead, she has her sights set on Oregon: a distant frontier that seems the end of the line.

She befriends Max, a black Pullman porter who reminds her achingly of Harlem, who leads Alice to the Paragon Hotel upon arrival in Portland. Her unlikely sanctuary turns out to be the only all-black hotel in the city, and its lodgers seem unduly terrified of a white woman on the premises. But as she meets the churlish Dr. Pendleton, the stately Mavereen, and the unforgettable club chanteuse Blossom Fontaine, she begins to understand the reason for their dread. The Ku Klux Klan has arrived in Portland in fearful numbers--burning crosses, inciting violence, electing officials, and brutalizing blacks. And only Alice, along with her new "family" of Paragon residents, are willing to search for a missing mulatto child who has mysteriously vanished into the Oregon woods.

Why was "Nobody" Alice James forced to escape Harlem? Why do the Paragon's denizens live in fear--and what other sins are they hiding? Where did the orphaned child who went missing from the hotel, Davy Lee, come from in the first place? And, perhaps most important, why does Blossom Fontaine seem to be at the very center of this tangled web?

ARC Review: The Au Pair by Emma Rous

The Au Pair
Author: Emma Rous
Publication: Berkley (January 8, 2019)

Description: Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother, Danny, were born in the middle of summer at their family's estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.

Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is smiling serenely and holding just one baby.

Who is the child, and what really happened that day?

My Thoughts: This story interweaves two characters and two time periods. In the present day, Seraphine is dealing with the recent death of her father at their home Summerbourne on the Norfolk coast. When cleaning out her father's things, she discovers a photo of the day she and her twin brother Danny were born. But the photo shows only one baby along with her parents and older brother Edwin.

Seraphine has always felt different than her two brothers. They look alike and have similar outgoing personalities. Seraphine has always felt like an outsider in her own family. She was raised on the story of her mother's suicide on the day they were born. No one - her father or her grandmother - will ever talk about that day and what happened when her mother died. Rumors of changelings and family curses told by the locals were a torment to her as a child and fed her own confusion about her place in her family.

She decides to try to track down the au pair who was taking care of Edwin and who spent a year with the family leaving right after their birth and her mother's death. The second story takes place in  1992 and is told by Laura Silveira who was the au pair for the family and who tells the story of the family she worked for and the tangled and twisted events of that year.

While Laura was quite easy to find, she doesn't want to talk about that time. And someone else doesn't want the past brought up again and enforces this with creepy letters, threats on mirrors, and messages burned into the lawn. Despite her brother's wishes to leave things alone, Laura persists in trying to find out what happened twenty-five years earlier.

I enjoyed this twisted story of family drama. The characters were well-drawn and interesting people. The writing was engaging and kept me glued to the story.

Favorite Quote:

She looks from me to Danny.

"But I look nothing like the lady in the photo and that would leave both of you with no know parents, and yet you both do look like your parents..."

Her shoulders slump. She shakes her head in defeat.

"Well. I'm glad we sorted that out," Danny says.

I glare at him, and then Kiara pulls a face, and then Edwin snorts, and suddenly, we're all kind of laughing, united in our bafflement.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Hangman's Secret by Laura Joh Rowland

The Hangman's Secret
Author: Laura Joh Rowland
Series: Victorian Mysteries
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 8, 2019)

Description: From award-winning author Laura Joh Rowland, a story about the darkness that lurks within and the deadly secrets that beg to be revealed.

Intrepid photographer Sarah Bain and her motley crew of friends are back to hunt criminals in the dark, seedy underbelly of Victorian London, but little do they know, the darkness may lurk closer than they first divined.

Photographer Sarah Bain and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and sometime street urchin Mick O’Reilly are private detectives with a new gig―photographing crime scenes for London’s Daily World newspaper. The Daily World is the latest business venture of their sole client, Sir Gerald Mariner, a fabulously wealthy and powerful banker.

One cold, snowy January morning, Sarah, Hugh, and Mick are summoned to the goriest crime scene they’ve ever encountered. A pub owner named Harry Warbrick has been found hanged and decapitated amid evidence of foul play. His murder becomes a sensation because he was England’s top hangman and he’s met the same fate that he inflicted on hundreds of criminals.

Sir Gerald announces that the Daily World―meaning Sarah and her friends―will investigate and solve Harry Warbrick’s murder before the police do. The contest pits Sarah against the man she loves, Police Constable Barrett. She and her friends discover a connection between Harry Warbrick’s murder and the most notorious criminal he ever executed―Amelia Carlisle, the “Baby-Butcher,” who murdered hundreds of infants placed in her care.

Something happened at Amelia’s execution. The Official Secrets Act forbids the seven witnesses present to divulge any information about it. But Harry had a bad habit of leaking tips to the press. Sarah and her friends suspect that one of the other witnesses killed Harry to prevent him from revealing a secret related to the execution. What is the secret, and who hanged the hangman?

My Thoughts: Sarah, Hugh and Mick get their next case when they are called to a gory crime scene. A man - Harry Warbrick - is found who was decapitated after hanging. Sarah, Hugh, and Mick are quick to see that it was a murder. Their boss Sir Gerald tasks them with solving the crime which puts a new, hot-shot reporter's nose out of joint and doesn't endear them to the police department either. It especially causes trouble with Sarah's boyfriend PC Barrett and his boss Inspector Reid who already carries a grudge against them.

The case gets complicated when they learn that the victim was the hangman who executed Amelia Carlisle, the baby-butcher, who murdered hundreds of infants left in her care. The gang is sure that Warbrick's death had something to do with that hanging but happenings at hangings are covered under the Official Secrets act and they can't get anyone to talk.

This story was filled with twists and turns. All of the lead characters' romances were under pressure. Sarah and her police officer boyfriend are stressed because they are working as rivals on solving the crime. Hugh's relationship with Sir Gerald's son is not only stressful but also illegal according to English law. Mick's crush on an older actress is tested when she becomes the lover of one of the prime suspects in their case.

Sarah is also busy trying to find the father who abandoned her mother and her 20 years earlier when he was accused of raping and killing a young neighbor girl. Inspector Reid is determined to bring the whole case back into prominence to get his revenge on Sarah because she's a better detective than he is. In Sarah's quest to find her father, she learns some things about her parents' past which explains why her mother treated her the way she did.

This was an engaging mystery with a great setting and strong characters.

Favorite Quote:

"That's why his pub is called The Ropemaker's Daughter," Hugh says. "It's a polite name for the gallows."

It's said that when a man is hanged, he marries the ropemaker's daughter. I imagine hands that have tied nooses pouring me a drink, and I shiver. "Why was Mr Warbrick running a pub?" I call.

"Hangings pay ten pounds apiece," says a woman outside. "Not enough to live on."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

State of the Stack #79 (Jan. 1, 2019)

This is my monthly State of the Stack post. It is my way to keep track of my review books and to hopefully reduce the stack that I have waiting for me. I take a look at my review commitments on or near the first of the month. Link with Avalinah's Books (description below) to check out other people's progress. She has just recently started a meme about review books.

Here is my Review Books Spreadsheet I list them in publication order and sort them by month. I can quickly see how many books I have for each date. Ideally, this keeps me from over-committing to review books. Check my spreadsheet to find out where I got each book.

I also do this post because sometimes (frequently) review books sit on my stack for a while before I read and review them. I try to read and review books within two weeks of publication date. Sometimes I can't, though, if too many books are releasing on the same date or if the book arrives too near its publication date and my calendar is already full.

I am very grateful to the authors and publishers who support my reading habit.

2018 Progress Report

I reviewed 210 2018 releases and DNFd at least 9. Sometimes I just deleted the book from LibraryThing and my review list and so there are probably a few more than 9 that I DNFd. Eighty-seven of the books I reviewed were YA or Middle Grade titles.

I've already reviewed seventeen 2019 releases with reviews scheduled for near their publication dates in January.

Currently I have 34 books to be reviewed extending out until May. Seventeen of them are YA or Middle Grade titles. Four of them were published before 2018 and were received from a publicist when I agreed to review the latest book in that same series.

I Read This Month

These are listed in the order I read them. Links go to my reviews for all that have been posted already. Otherwise, the date the review is scheduled for is listed and the link goes to Amazon.

1. Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden (Jan. 1)
2. The Hangman's Secret by Laura Joh Rowland (Jan. 2)
3. The Au Pair by Emma Rous (Jan. 3)
4. The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye (Jan. 5)
5. This Promise of Change by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy (Jan. 8)
6. Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz (Jan. 9)
7. A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot (Jan. 8)
8. Tear It Down by Nick Petrie (Jan. 10)
9. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (Jan. 12)
10. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (Jan. 15)
11. The Burning Island by Hester Young (Jan. 16)
12. Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye (Jan. 17)
13. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (Jan. 22)
14. The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle (Jan. 19)
15. One Tough Cowboy by Lora Leigh & Veronica Chadwick (Jan. 23)
16. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (Jan. 24)
17. Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (Jan. 26)

Read Previously, Reviews Posted This Past Month

1. Deadfall by Stephen Wallenfels
2. A Moment in Crime by Amanda Allen

I Added These Books

These are listed in the order I received them. Links go to Amazon. Date published is listed in parentheses.

1. An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber (April 2)
2. My Favorite Cowboy by Donna Grant (Feb. 26)
3. Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn (April 2)
4. The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle (Jan. 22)
5. The True Queen by Zen Cho (March 12)
6. Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto (Feb. 12)

My Review Pile

Old Ones

• Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch (2012}
• Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch (2012)

• Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch (2013)
• The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (2016)

February

• Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong (Feb. 5)
• Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins (Feb. 5)
• The Antidote by Shelley Sackier (Feb. 5)

• The Military Wife by Laura Trentham (Feb. 5)
• Past Due for Murder by Victoria Gilbert (Feb. 12)
• How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson (Feb. 12)

• Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto (Feb. 12)
• The Blood Spell by C. J. Redwine (Feb. 12)
• Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose (Feb. 12)

• Immoral Code by Lillian Clark (Feb. 19)
• In the Dark by Cara Hunter (Feb. 19)

• My Favorite Cowboy by Donna Grant (Feb. 26)
• We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlar Kay Mejia (Feb. 26)

March 

• The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets (March 5)
• If You're Out There by Katy Loutzenhiser (March 5)
• The Pioneer by Bridget Tyler (March 5)

• The True Queen by Zen Cho (March 12)
• The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees (March 12)
• Murder in Belgravia by Lynn Brittney (March 13)

• The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst (March 19)
• Winter War Awakening by Rosalyn Eves (March 19)
• Secrets Never Die by Melinda Leigh (March 19)

• Sherwood by Meagan Spooner (March 19)
• Killing November by Adriana Mather (March 26)

April

• The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman (April 2)
• An Artless Demise by Anna Lee Huber (April 2)

• Caterpillar Summer by Gilliann McDunn (April 2)
• Dreaming Darkly by Caitlin Kittredge (April 9)

May

• The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (May 7)
• Spark by Sarah Beth Durst (May 14)

Next Month's Plan

I'm a month ahead with reviews. Since I sunsetted my YA blog, I need to be more selective in choosing books to review. In February, reviewing 4 books a week as I usually do, I only have room for one book from my TBR mountain. I want to be able to read and review more of the books I own. I am going to try to limit myself to choosing only 8 review books a month in 2019 starting in April since I already have more than that for January - March.

*********

I am also linking up with the State of the ARC meme. Here is the explanation and rules.

State of the ARC is a monthly meme at Avalinah’s Books meant to motivate you to finish up all your long overdue ARCs (Advanced or Early Reader Copies). You can track your reading progress and link up with your own post. Most commonly it comes out on the 30th of every month.

Rules of State of the ARC:

• Mention that you’re linking up with State of the ARC @ AvalinahsBooks, which is a fun way to share our ARC progress, challenges, wins, woes and mishaps.
• Include the link to this post, or the current State of the ARC post. You can use my State of the ARC image too.
• Don’t forget to visit all the other people in the link-up and comment.
• And most importantly – have fun!

YA Book Review: Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden

Inventing Victoria
Author: Tonya Bolden
Publication: Bloomsbury YA (January 8, 2019)

Description: In a searing historical novel, Tonya Bolden illuminates post-Reconstruction America in an intimate portrait of a determined young woman who dares to seize the opportunity of a lifetime.

As a young black woman in 1880s Savannah, Essie's dreams are very much at odds with her reality. Ashamed of her beginnings, but unwilling to accept the path currently available to her, Essie is trapped between the life she has and the life she wants.

Until she meets a lady named Dorcas Vashon, the richest and most cultured black woman she's ever encountered. When Dorcas makes Essie an offer she can't refuse, she becomes Victoria. Transformed by a fine wardrobe, a classic education, and the rules of etiquette, Victoria is soon welcomed in the upper echelons of black society in Washington, D. C. But when the life she desires is finally within her grasp, Victoria must decide how much of herself she is truly willing to surrender.

My Thoughts: This historical fiction story tells about Essie, a young black girl in Savannah, in the 1870s and 1880s. Essie's mother is a prostitute who came to Savannah on Sherman's March to the Sea. The first few chapters tell about Essie's childhood being hidden in closets when her "uncles" came to call.

Essie was befriended by a cleaning woman who convinced her mother to send her to school. While she learned to read, she eventually left because of bullying by those who looked down on her because of her mother's profession. She relied on the cleaning woman - Ma Clara - for emotional support and to learn to take care of herself. She depended on books she found at a second hand store to continue her education.

When she was fourteen, she found a job at a boarding house and fell out with her mother. She was given the opportunity by a visitor to the boarding house to change her life. Dorcas Vashon offered to give her a new life if she was willing to leave her past behind. Because she wanted to better herself and find a purpose in life, she took the offer. Part of her new life involved a new name and, at sixteen, she became Victoria.

The story details all the things she had to learn and the books she read while learning to become a member of Washington, D.C.'s elite black society. She really did change her life as she learned those things. The lists of the books she read was daunting. She needed to learn how to fit into a society the paid attention to art, fashion, and etiquette. She got so involved that she almost lost her original purpose of making things better for her people.

It was realistic, but disappointing, that she needed to find a husband to realize her dreams. It was also difficult to know that this was the period before the rise of the Jim Crow laws when the small gains earned by blacks after the Civil War were going to be wiped out. I would be curious for the author to write more about Essie's (Victoria's) life.

Favorite Quote:

Three days later Essie stood in Strangers' Ground with Binah, Ma Clara, Gravedigger Bogins, Gravedigger Scriven, and Reverend Zephaniah McElroy.

And with the past snatching her back.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from the publisher. You can buy your copy here.