to Jacqueline Friedland , Author of “Trouble the Water” for writing such an intriguing, intense, captivating, and riveting novel, I love the vivid descriptions of the times, the landscape and colorful cast of characters, The Genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Fiction, with an essence of Romantic Adventure, The timeline for the story is about twenty years before the Civil War, taking place in Charleston, and England, The story centers around the time of American Slavery, the early Abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad,
The author describes her characters as complicated and complex, Douglas Elling is a wealthy British, serious, and aloof widower, now residing in Charleston, His wife and young daughter perished in a fire that is suspect as retribution against Douglas for his beliefs, Douglas lives in a mansion with lots of space,
Abigail Milton is seventeen years old, living in England,and her once middle class parents are now in poverty, Her parents send Abigal to live at Douglas house and work with a governess, Abigails father is friends with Douglas, The parents are hoping that Abigal will benefit, and they can recover their losses,
Both Abigail and Douglas come from England, and arent familiar with slavery, The wealthy neighbors have slaves and dont treat them well, The wealthy in Charleston are having parties and balls, Abigail has left secrets and betrayals behind and is having difficulty showing trust, She is having a difficult time adjusting to the new way of life, The author has a wonderful way of describing the homes and fashion of the times,
There are twists and turns and some tense dangerous events, There is deception and lies, In Charleston, for those people who feel that there should be freedom, there can be devastating consequences, I recommend this wonderful novel for those readers who appreciate Historical Fiction,
My :stars
Trouble the Water was wellresearched and transported me to preCivil War Charleston, South Carolina, Im a sucker for novels where there is a hidden abolitionist among the characters, Its always good to see who people are behind the masks he or she wears in the public,
This historical background and research was impressive but often came at a cost as it was dropped into conversations, that didnt always seem natural.
Freidland did a great job at building the tension between those who were in favor of slavery, versus those who were opposed, Theres so little grey area in that subject so the sides were quite drawn, The abolitionist movement and the Underground system were important to the storyline, as ultimately it was those topics that propelled the story forward, The romance was a bonus, yet was quite expected by the reader,
Ive read many books about slavery from the POV of slave, owner, mistress, governess etc, so this topic is not new to me, After much thought, I believe this book would soar if put under the YA umbrella, The simplistic writing, plot driven story and likable characters, even those you like to hate, makes this an excellent introduction to historical fiction, slavery and the Underground Railroad.
I read tons of YA and even middle grade books, as often the simplistic telling is what makes the story shine, Overall, I enjoyed Trouble the Water quite a bit and look forward to what this debut author has in store for us next, This was a refreshing read for me, There's a nice complexity to the story and the writing style,
Would have been an instant classic with a bit more development, There's a crossover of story lines that could have been more evolved, I could have easily readmore pages for that sort of expansion on characters and story,
Yeah, it was a bit romancey, but redemptive and believable, Overall, I enjoyed it. I loved this so much! Simple writing and accessible historical fiction, I tend to get bogged down if an author gets too flowery with their writing, so I appreciated the straightforward manner in which Friedland writes.
This is totally outside my comfort zone, but I found myself turning the pages and racing to the end like I would any thriller.
Loved the characters and the omnipresent narration, This is Southern Historical Fiction/ romance wrapped up in neat packaging, I also really appreciated the slavery and abolitionist discussion if anything, I'd like more of that, I can tell a lot of research went into this, Well done, Jacqueline Friedland! I so enjoyed this debut by Jacqueline Friedland, The author has a tremendous gift for settings her descriptions are vivid and historically rich a perfect draw for lovers of historical fiction, Friedland tackles serious subjects slavery and abolitionism but does so with a light enough touch to keep the story moving at a perfect pace.
I highly recommend this novel,.
This was four until the ending,
Overall though, I really enjoyed this, I was kept intrigued by the slow revelation of certain things and I liked the gradual development of Abby and Douglas' relationship, I kind of wish Douglas had let Abby help with his abolitionist activities, but still really enjoyable, This book started on a gutwrenchingly vivid note, but it ultimately fell flat for me, Early on, I thought I would not be able to read it, I thought it was too heavy of a subject matter, but it didn't end up dwelling on any aspect for too long, The story was told from multiple characters perspectives and takes place primarily in Charleston, South Carolina, I would say there were three main characters, Douglas, a successful businessman in shipping, Abby, his temporary ward, and Clover, a pregnant slave, It is a romance and historical fiction and is trying to do too much within the page space allotted,
Douglas has dealings in the Underground Railroad, Abby is from Liverpool sent by her family because of her unmanageable temperament, which is explained and understandable, but her family doesnt understand and thinks a change of scene is in order.
Clover is a slave in the nearby Cunningham household, Abby is in her presence maybe twice, and I dont believe Douglas ever was so there was little connection between the Clover and the other MCs, I felt the characterization of the Cunningham family was off, They seemed like a caricature of a quintessential Southern family, and their role was to show the Southern way of life with slaves, throwing in facts and statistics that were suspect at times into conversation as way to show the author did the research rather than true to character.
The romance was nice enough but not very compelling, Not enough time spent on the development of the relationship to be very satisfying, The writing is clean and strong, but it needed something more to standout, Not a bad read. Just not a great one either,
I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, Surprisingly fast paced despite the very plotheavy themes with multiple challenges, growth and an overlay of tension that keeps readers flipping pages, this was a unique presentation that brought together historic events, challenges and choices in ways not before seen.
Abigail Milton is a British girl, born to the middle class in thes, Her family has encountered difficulties and debts, and since she is of that age it is time to prevail on a family friend in Charleston to take her on.
She is put aboard a ship destined for the city, to live with wealthy family friend, Douglas Ettling and his family,
But things have changed and Douglas is now widowed, and wants little to do with raising this girl instead handing her
off to the care of a governess to finish her education and prepare her for a life in Charleston society.
Much to Abbys delight, shes not forced into interactions with the gruff and disagreeable Douglas, but instead discovering this new place, the ways of society there and becoming more settled and curious about her situation.
Soon, Abby overhears Douglas and another man discussing a slaves impending escape and their aiding in that process, This brings instant questions to Abby, as she discovers that her benefactor is, in fact, an abolitionist and far from accepting the status quo of all good Southern landowners, he is quietly working against that system, or as quietly as one can after knowing his wife and young daughters death in a fire were a result of his beliefs.
Soon the story changes as Abby understands the gravity of her situation and that her initial impressions of Douglas were wrong as she looks at the issues around slavey, Planter Class, abolition, the outdated and outmoded if very current beliefs about the humanity of the slaves, and their rights, as well as the early incarnations of the Underground Railroad, Douglas support of those looking for freedom, and her own relationship with Douglas framed by her new understanding of him and the dangers that seem to be everpresent in her new home.
Friedland brings all the research clearly forward, allowing readers to experience both public and private faces of society at that time, revealing dangers to those who arent supportive of slavery as well as those running from bondage with the help of many who are willing to risk lives, reputations and lands to aid them on the way to freedom.
A fast paved and atmospheric read that brings readers into the decades just before the Civil War when the abolitionists in the south have started to act, rather than simply believe, in the rightness of their cause.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review, I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility,
first appeared at sitelink I am, Indeed
I was expecting this book to be heavier in history and lighter on romance, but it was the other way around.
The plot and characters felt somewhat underdeveloped, and I didnt think some of the characters actions were realistic, I also didnt like the part of the plot that was hinting about Abby being abused, I decided to move on to another Georgette Heyer book instead of finishing this one, This well researched historical fiction novel is a debut for the author, She did a fantastic job of creating very real characters in the historical setting of Charleston, SC, twenty years before the civil war,
Abigail was born into the middle class in England but when her family fell on hard times they decided to send her to Charleston to live with an old friend, Douglas.
Because she was only, Douglas hired a governess to teach her in both book learning and how to be a proper young lady in Charleston society.
Abigail quickly learns that Douglas is a disheveled very unlikable man who hadn't gotten over the death of his wife and daughters two years earlier.
She kept her distance from him until she overheard a conversation about how he was helping a slave escape to the north, Once she learned that they had the same opinion about slavery, their relationship improved and the reader begins to hope for happiness for both of them.
The author did considerable research on the South before the Civil War with her information about slavery, the Underground Railroad and the Abolitionists.
If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a book you don't want to miss,
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review, All opinions are my own, What an amazing debut novel set during the precivil war era,
I dont usually read historical romance but this story just grabbed me from the beginning, It was so well researched and written that you really felt like you were in Charleston in! Even though it is a romance, it also covers the important issues of that time, namely slavery and abolition without being trite and cliche.
The heroine, Abby is a strong independent woman, which is rare for such a period, She was honest and loyal, though young and insecure, She goes through a lot in her young life and it was great to have her be avenged, and get a happily ever after.
Douglas, the main character, fights for what he believes in and you cant help but root for him,
The book moves at a fast pace and keeps you interested from the beginning, I would definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction and I will keep an eye out for future works from this author,.stars.
s Charleston, SC, slavery and the Underground Railroad, when abolitionist sentiments and actions can destroy your family,s England when a change in economic situation can change the life of a middle class family forcing them to send theiryear old daughter to a place of safety with a friend in Charleston.
There is hardship and despicable treatment and loss, Two people whose lives have not been easy will change each others lives, This is a love story, but I gradually found it to be more, Its about the prewar south, a view of the white upper class society vs the plight of their slaves, about the lengths that people who stood for humanity and freedom would go.
Abby Milton is sent to stay with her fathers old friend Douglas Elling, She is reeling from things that happened to her in England when her family faced poverty and he is withdrawn and grieving awful losses.
She learns of his involvement in the abolitionist movement and sees him in a different light, He discovers things about her life in England and vows to protect her, As we suspect, they begin to heal each other by their presence,
I was disappointed that there was not more of the abolitionist activity, It was when characters came to life with their passion for helping others that the intensity of the story was deepened, The antics of the Cunningham sisters made this feel a little melodramatic, but in spite of this , I found I was captivated by the story.
Oh and I loved the Epilogue!
I received an advanced copy of this book from Spark Press through NetGalley, .