by James Reese

A Fantasy, 2005 by William Morrow, 534 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

This one is marketed as a fantasy. While it has elements of that, it is really historical fiction. The paranormal elements involve Wiccan and witchcraft practices that were common in the time period. It also is marketed as having erotic elements. While this is technically true, some of them are rape and sexual assault so avoid this one if you need to.
That voice is DIFFICULT to get into. It’s not even a language problem, although writing in 1800s English is wildly different than writing in modern English, I think it’s the drop into the specific scene you start in. You aren’t sure exactly what’s happening and, as an opening scene, this doesn’t give you the best clues.
The historical fiction aspects, while well researched, were slow and dry. Also, it’s mildly unbelievable that one person witnessed so many events or met so many people. Likely because of this, the people you meet (besides the main character) are flat and don’t add much to the plot.

American history well told. While it’s not, by any means, the point of this book the focus on slavery and other American historical struggles was well done. The main character, being new to the states, was the perfect vessel for learning all of this information.
The historical aspects were well researched and fit timelines. It may not always be clear why they’re included but they at least fit.

For me the lack of depth to the characters and the dry historical aspects were problematic.