Beautiful cover! This is the story of Rosa Rendon.She was the daughter of free slaves and lived a good life in Trinidad in 1776.The British come to Trinidad and her life changes.She leaves for Montana to get away from all that’s happening. This story has three intertwined together and connect eventually.
One of thestory lines is about Rosas son Victor who is trying to find himself and she helps him connect to his Trini roots.
Beautifully written even though there are three stories set in different eras which have to come together.The author manages to depict Rosas struggle with racism very vividly.
Thankyou Netgalley for this arc

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Very well told narrative that presents the reader with 3 story lines told over a span of 33 years. The setting is both the Caribbean and North American in the early 19th century. It tells the story of Rosa, the 3rd child in a free black family that owned a farm in Trinidad. The English take over the island and conflicts arise as to the status of free blacks. The story follows the path of racism and sexism in it's many forms. It touches on many topics that still exist in society today. 4*

Bighorn, 1830. Rosa Rendon grew up with Apsaalooke tribe. Her son Victor, the only one of seven children, struggles to have visions. He craves the good fortune the other boys speak off. He thinks of himself as born unlucky.

A run-away slave, young girl, appears at the tribe’s site. Victor tries to comprehend what this is all about. He doesn’t understand the life the girl describes.

One day, Victor hears words that his mother probably escaped from Trinidad. Is she like the girl? Runaway slave. He wonders what he doesn’t know about his own mother.

The story shifts back in time to the Isle of Trinidad in 1796 and reveals Rosa’s story.

The writing is certainly of a very talented writer. It is an interesting story, but of a slow progression. The historical background involving English and Spanish rule is rather light and I was hoping for more of that. It is mostly character driven story. And for such stories you need to feel a strong connection with those characters, which I didn’t.

On a personal note, I was attracted to this story because of the historical background of English and Spanish rule and of course I wanted to find the story of the main character. But personally I am not attracted to tribal stories. If you for example like such stories as Pocahontas, then you may like this story. This wasn’t the right fit for me.

Three tales get woven into one in this book that brings us to the Caribbean and North America of the start of the nineteenth century. Together they form the story of Rosa Rendón, daughter of a free black man who managed to create through his hard work a good life for his family on Trinidad, until the English take the island from the Spanish and life for free black people on Trinidad takes a turn for the worse. Rosa is a strong young woman. Her story is one of struggling with all kinds of discrimination, injustice and abuse, because of her looks, her race and her gender. I was really involved in that story and could hardly put the book down during those chapters that focused on her.
I struggled a bit more with the other storylines.
Creadon Rampley's storyline was interesting and I see why it was there. It gave him the necessary character building before meeting the Rendóns and then afterwards provided a point of view on Rosa that was not her own, which was a blessing for the later part of her story. I had a bit of trouble with the style though. It's probably because English is not my first language, and reading something written in some dialect is always harder. Somehow I have trouble getting over how 'wrong' the language is (even though I'm well aware it is intentional and this is a personal problem and not a fault of the author).
The third storyline was more problematic. I never got interested in Victor, her son, even though his was the story the book started out with. I don't mind the use of his quest to find his vision and the trip his mother takes him on to reconnect with his roots as the framework for Rosa's story, but I could have done with less interruptions and distractions from what I felt was 'the real story', and I fail to see the relevance of most of his chapters...

Even with this issue, I really liked this book. I wanted to read on and it kept popping into my thoughts at random moments during the day. I think it would have been a five star read if there had been less of Victor's story to interrupt the tale that really captivated me.

I spent a lot of time with this book and am still not satisfied.  The story moves between 3 time periods/ locations, leaving me with questions that are not addressed later. As much as I tried, I did not enjoy this book.

I did love the cover!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Lauren Francis-Sharma weaves each character’s story along a timeline covering 33 years by jumping backward and forward in time. She does a masterful job of pacing the backstories and the narrative to keep you turning pages well into the night. I fell in love with the main character for her determination and her refusal to give up when her whole world is threatened.

Set in Trinidad, in 1796, the story of Rosa Rendón, the third child in a free black family, that own a farm and a profitable blacksmith business. Rosa is a fiercely passionate and strong willed young woman who rebels against the traditional roles of cooking, cleaning, getting married and keeping a house. When the British come to rule Trinidad and the Spanish ways and rules gradually change, Rosa’s family is threatened. They risk the loss of their property, their home, their business and their way of life.

As trouble brews in Trinidad, Rosa must leave her beloved homeland and family and travel to North America. The journey takes Rosa to Bighorn Montana. In 1830, Rosa must help Victor, her son, in this quest to find his vision by taking him back to his place of birth and reveal the secrets she has kept.
#netgalley #BookoftheLittleAxe

I was a big fan of Lauren Francis-Sharma's first novel and I was eager to see her take on historical fiction, especially as this sounded like an alternative western like Tea Obreht's Inland. Unfortunately, I thought the narrative choices were much more shambling than the plot - a young boy finally learning the truth of his heritage - required. There are three timelines - one in the American West in the 1830's, one in late eighteenth-century Trinidad, and one concurrently beginning in Louisiana - which are all fascinating, but leave a lot of loose threads to be tied up. Did this character die or simply disappear? Why did that character make such an uncharacteristic decision? Also, there are so many selfish actions, betrayals, and abandonments that it was hard for me to find any joy in the story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It was remarkably confusing. I felt like I was dropped in on the middle of a book and was expected to already know who the characters were, how they were living and everything about their entire world. I felt like I never got caught up, and the result was just frustrating. That was disappointing considering the premise for the book is really fascinating. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me.