Ruby King is twenty-four-years-old when her mother, Alice, is found murdered in the home she shared with Ruby and Ruby's father, Lebanon. The police show little interest in--to them--another death in the King's black neighborhood, but Alice's death unhinges Ruby and leaves her alone with her violent, abusive father. Her only confidante is her best friend, Layla, who knows how long Alice and Ruby have suffered under Lebanon's wrath. But Layla is angry that Ruby won't do more to get away from Lebanon and she's even angrier at her father, a pastor, who has been close to Lebanon all these years, and yet never did anything to free Alice or Ruby from his abuse. Layla is determined to save Ruby, but as she works to rescue her friend, she starts to uncover a world of secrets and lies flowing back generations.

"I'm stitched together by the lies I tell myself and the lies people want to believe about me." ~Alice

I found this excellent and timely book to be incredibly well-written, with a power and tenderness to it that goes far behind your typical debut novel (I had to double check that this was actually West's first novel, I was so impressed).

West tells her story from a variety of points of view--Ruby; her late mother, Alice; her father, Lebanon; her best friend, Layla; Layla's father, a pastor; and more. We even hear from a central figure in all of these characters' lives--their church, via its omnipresent voice. The plot spans generations, with West giving a nuanced look at each of her complex characters. She does an amazing job of showing the power of family, for both good and bad. How choices can affect generations: one person's bad decisions can pass poison on, with children reliving dysfunction and sins.

"How can there be a me without her?" ~Ruby

No one is simply good or bad here, though Lebanon is not an easy-to-like man. Abused and neglected by his own parent, Sara, we see how Sara's neglect has turned Lebanon hard. But West is such a good writer that Lebanon is not a one-dimensional bad guy, as much as you want to hate him. I was incredibly impressed at how she could create sympathy for so many of her players, even when they did despicable things.

"Without Sara, who do I blame for...being me? Are children supposed to forgive their parents for the horrible things they've done?" ~Lebanon

This novel does an impressive job at delving into racism, domestic abuse, and sexual assault and trauma. The city of Chicago appears as its own character, springing to life via West's lovely prose. She expertly shows the difficulties black people face on the south side (and in general). I read this book during George Floyd's murder and found myself highlighting passages about police brutality that just hit me right in the gut. It's very powerful.

West's book features a variety of characters--they can be hard to keep track of at first, and I was glad to have the family tree in the beginning of the book. A few times the plot felt repetitious and the middle dragged a bit, but it picked up in the second half. There's a surprising amount of twists and turns. Overall, this is a realistic look at racism and domestic violence, but also friendship. It's quite well-written and layered with a twinge of hope throughout. I can't wait to see what West writes next. 4+ stars.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew it was something I needed to read. Little did I know just how much I would end up loving it. This book is a hauntingly beautiful, yet powerful book that I know I will be thinking about for a long time to come.

I don't even think my review is going to do justice to how much I loved this book. There are just so many parts to this story that kept me glued to the pages - so many things that I cannot say for fear of giving something away - yet I will try to articulate some of my feelings here.

One of my favorite parts of this story is just how complex the characters are and whether they were likeable or not - and believe me there are some unlikeable characters here - the way the story is crafted, your opinion of these characters is constantly changing. Just as I thought I had one character all figured out, something would come to light that would have me rethinking things...and I absolutely loved this. The whole book is structured this way - much like that of an onion, where the layers are ever so slowly peeled back to reveal what's inside.

This story explores the complicated history between two families and the secrets that have been kept thinking that it was in everyone's best interest. It is gripping and compelling and will have you see just how generational trauma and the cycle of violence can be carried on. It is hard not to feel all the emotions while reading this and yet there is the sense of hope throughout - hope that just maybe things can have a different outcome.

I absolutely recommend this book to everyone and I think it would definitely make a fantastic book club read - there is so much to unpack here. I know I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for what comes next from this talented author - for a debut novel, she hit it out of the park with this one!

I was gifted a copy of this book from @netgalley and @Harlequin in exchange for an honest review. This book is due out on June 16, 2020 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Saving Ruby King is a must read. It follows two main sets of families, all interconnected through many generations. Both families have secrets and those secrets have affected their personal lives and their relationships with each other over the years. SRK is told through the voices of many characters over several decades, but the author does such a good job, I was never confused. The writing in this book is gorgeous and had me hooked at the first page. These characters will stay with me for a long time. I can't wait to read more from this author. #savingrubyking #netgalley #harlequin

Thank you NetGalley, Catherine Adel West, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!

Saving Ruby King is a poignant debut novel by Catherine Adel West. It is difficult to decide where to begin with this story, I could never do it justice in a brief synopsis. So let’s start with Alice King. Alice King is married to Lebanon King and they have a daughter named Ruby. Lebanon is abusive to both mother and daughter. Alice does her best to keep it under wraps, meanwhile, her daughter’s anger grows. Ruby is also best friends with Layla Potter, the daughter of Pastor Jackson Potter. Pastor Jackson and Lebanon’s past are deeply intertwined in ways no one can expect. When a murder occurs, Ruby is in danger and Layla will stop at nothing to help her. Secrets are discovered that have affected these families for generations.

“Forever and to the end. That’s what they say instead of I love you.”

SAVING RUBY KING
This book is a MUST read! It is emotional and feels deeply personal for the author. Yes, there is mystery but it is about friendship, faith, and family. I was hooked from the very beginning. There are multiple points of view crossing over timelines but that didn’t bother me. I felt that it flowed beautifully and shifted timelines in just the right moment. One of the points of view is the church. Not a person or persons, but a building. I felt that this aspect is so unique and quite powerful. The building is a witness, specifically to some of the events that will change the lives of generations.

The family relationships are extremely complex in this story. There is love. There is hate. There is misunderstanding. I want to dive into these complexities, but that would reveal so many spoilers. My favorite aspect is the friendships. Loyalty and doing anything for a friend shines in this story. Ruby is troubled, but Layla will not leave her side. Their friendship made me cry more than once. But the loyalty in friendships span generations as well…but again, spoilers. So I shall refrain.

The author goes into the racial divide in Chicago. The hardships that the Black community face are very real and she describes it so vividly. You just really need to read this book for yourself. I loved every aspect of this book. It is thought-provoking and deeply emotional. I will now eagerly await her next book. 5 perfect stars for Saving Ruby King.

Trigger warning: This book contains graphic descriptions of child abuse and domestic violence.

If you binge content on Lifetime and the ID channels, you are gonna love this one. Saving Ruby King speaks from several different perspectives of people who are either connected by blood or history. Based in Chicago, it starts off with a murder. Ruby, the child of the victim, is distraught and needs helps in many ways. Throughout the book, you meet everyone in her village for good and for bad. The last half of the book had me unable to put it down. I just had to know what happened next. The ending was shocking.

This debut novel was stunningly and compellingly written. The basic plot concerns two black families and a church in South Chicago.

The author deals with a number of complex issues deftly: race, family, and friendship among them.

The story is told through the viewpoint of several characters. One viewpoint is that of the church where much of the action takes place. The anthropomorphicization of the building was disconcerting. I would have preferred a different kind of narration. Other than that, I highly recommend this book and eagerly await the author's next creation.

I was given an ARC. I am leaving my honest review.

I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

I went into Saving Ruby King having no idea what the book was actually besides the quick synopsis.

So, the majority of the book takes place in a church in Chicago's South Side. It deals with many topics such as religion, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, incest, suicidal tendencies, and gun violence. But it also deals with deeper topics like mortality and guilt. Lots of hard hitting topics smashed into one book, and it definitely worked.

Ruby King, the girl, cannot bare the thought of having to live with her father Lebanon after her mother is shot and killed trying to unlock their front door. Everyone knows whose behind her murder. She never could quite hide the scars and bruises Lebanon left on her. He fits the description of her murderer and everyone knows it. Ruby thinks she's tough, tougher than her mother ever was. She will not let Lebanon lay a hand on her, even if that means killing him herself.

Layla Potter, Ruby's best friend and confidante, will fight to the death to save her friend from suffering the same fate as Auntie Alice. Layla has an innate need to protect Ruby from everyone. Now, she is a tough cookie. She stands up to her father, the Reverend. She believes there is more to life than doing the bidding for someone like Lebanon. She believes there is a life outside the church that her father is downright oblivious to.

But there's a history between Ruby and Layla's dads. Once upon a time they were the best of friends. They would, and did, do everything together. They protected each other. They had secrets buried that could destroy the lives they built.

But the aspect that really got me, and got me a turned around a few times, was that their GRANDPARENTS were all friends. Which came with a whole slew of secrets they kept from their children and grandchildren. Forever, and to the end.

This book was actually really good for a number of reasons.
Besides being a debut author who happens to be black and a woman, it fits a new genre that I'm dying to read more of. Ruby and Layla are both in their early-mid twenties. It's hard to find books that tackle this many topics, let alone one that features characters my own age. It was amazing and heartbreaking to set foot into Chicago's South Side with Catherine Adel West's words.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for sending me an e-arc of this book!!

Saving Ruby King hits shelves June 16, 2020!

4 amazing stars for this brilliant debut!

Get your highlighters ready! This is one of those books where you are completely captivated by the author's writing. Ms. West's mastery of the written word is clearly evident and you will need to add her as an auto buy author for the future.

This is not a criticism of the book, but a warning to readers who have read the summary. This is NOT a mystery/thriller. This is very much an exploration of a place, its people and secrets that were kept long ago that have impacted future generations. That is very nondescript of course, but that's the best way I can summarize it. The reader has a magnifying glass held over the South Side of Chicago and you are witness to the King and Potter families lives and the story begins with a murder of Alice King.

The other warning I would mention is that this is not at all a fast paced read. With each chapter, the author slowly unveils the story of these characters until you get to about the 75% mark and then you are turning pages so quickly you find yourself at the end. And what an ending!

I'm in awe with how deliberate Ms. West's writing is. She had a plan on how she wanted this book to go and she stuck to it. In a world of popular, fast paced reads (and there are some fantastic ones), she danced circles around that style of book and as long as you have the patience for the wait and see approach - you will not be sorry.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Park Row and Catherine Adel West for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Review Date: 06/13/2020
Publication Date: 06/16/2020

This author is from Chicago and this is her first novel. The story revolves around two black families and a church. When Ruby King's mother is murdered it is ruled a result of a burglary gone wrong, in spite of the years of abuse that her husband forced her to endure. Ruby's friend Layla knows that Ruby is now the one in danger and is determined to help her. The plot involves family secrets and 'the sins of the father' is a primary theme. It is told from various points of view, even that of the church that play a large role in the novel. This is a wonderful dark story that is a great recommendation at any time, but particularly right now. I loved it.

Some books you read and get to a spot in the story where you say "oh" and your heart deflates. You are hollowed out. This is one of those books! Except with this story, you are already in a state of heightened hollowness before you reach that revelation. These characters, their lives, their interactions! Oh my goodness! So many internal and external struggles that leave you yearning for them to find peace. This book easily could have degraded into a depressing, oppressive look at the plight of the black man in society, dealing with the inequities in law enforcement, toxic masculinity, etc. Instead, Ms. West is amazing in her presentation. With the addition of life long incredibly strong female relationships, the end result is a solid look at how people just get on with living their lives and dealing with their situations, whether internally or externally created.

Abuse echoes through generations in this carefully plotted and beautifully written novel which opens with the murder of Alice King, mother of Ruby and wife of Lebanon. Told from multiple perspectives and in shifting time periods, it frames Ruby in the eyes of her father, her friend Layla, Layla's father Jackson, and her own. And interestingly, the church where she worships and Jackson preaches. Who killed Alice? Lebanon's mother Sara abused him as she was abused and he abuses Alice and Ruby in turn. Layla is conflicted, Jackson tortured, and there are so many secrets that you the reader will know but they do not- with one giant exception that will not be revealed until the end. This is complex, thoughtful, and atmospheric in both time and place. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is worthy of the praise it has received- an excellent and thoughtful read.

Yet another kick ass debut novel! When Ruby's mother is murdered, she is left alone with her violent father. Her best friend, Layla, understands the danger of this and is desperate to get Ruby out of the house, but this leads to the uncovering of some secrets that will change their lives. An excellent read.

There could not have been a more urgent time to read this novel. It touched on so many of the issues that have been highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement and the tragic death of George Floyd, another black man killed by those that are supposed to uphold the law.

This novel is set on the South Side of Chicago and centres around two families that are tightly connected. Both families harbour secrets, but one knows love, the other only pain.

This was not an easy read. It was not supposed to be. It was a hard-hitting, often painful read that made my heart shrink with sorrow for the people at the core of the story. The book touches on domestic abuse, incest, racism and suicide, but so worth every bit of heartache I felt whilst reading it.

This book does what so few books do. It looks at events from a number of perspectives. It does not excuse domestic violence, but it does show how hard it is to break a cycle of abuse. You also do not often get the point of view from an inanimate object, in this case a church building. I thought this tool was well-utilized to tell this particular story. It brings a whole new meaning to ‘if walls could talk’.

Overall, I was impressed with this novel. It felt very human and very necessary. The characters felt very real, as did their stories. Highly recommended.

An excellent and engrossing story, well written and poignant.
The cast of characters is well thought and the author delivers a story that mixes fiction with her memories.
I loved it and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Saving Ruby King is an excellent book that I had trouble putting down.

This book is truly a story about trying to save Ruby. Ruby is not the only one who tells her story. Layla, Ruby's best friend and both of their fathers also give you a glimpse into who they are as well as being able to see the past through their grandmothers.

This is a tale that tells the very different struggles of two families who have been tied together for three generations now.

Saving Ruby King is an adult fiction, mystery novel set Chicago’s South Side and whose story is largely centered around Ruby King, a young, Black woman who lives at home with her parents when one evening—upon coming home and opening the front door—her mother Alice is devastatingly shot and murdered leaving Ruby to live at home alone with her abusive father, Lebanon. The police dismiss Alice’s murder as just another act of violence in a black neighborhood and Ruby runs away from home to finally escape. While her best friend Layla and her father search tirelessly to bring Ruby back home, shocking family secrets begin bubbling up to the surface, culminating into a dramatic and surprising conclusion. In addition to being a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat mystery novel, Saving Ruby King also explores several highly relevant and important themes, like racism, prejudice and domestic abuse while also showing the power of friendship and reminding us that our past doesn’t have to determine the present.

I really enjoyed reading Saving Ruby King. Not only was it difficult for me to put down and I found myself on the edge of my seat almost the entire novel, I also really enjoyed how the book shows characters that have major flaws, specifically in terms of violence and abuse, but also making the reader feel empathy by sharing how their past experiences shaped who they end up becoming. I also felt like the book touched on several important themes, including racism, prejudice, domestic abuse while also illustrating the power of friendship and loyalty. I really loved this book and I am so excited that I had an opportunity to read it before it comes out.

I was invited to read Saving Ruby King last month, and I found myself to be immediately intrigued by the blurb of this title. Especially considering recent events in the world... Because we can't have enough own voices stories out there to help educate us more. That said, I have to say that I'm having a really hard time rating this book, and I ended up having mixed thoughts about the story as a whole. I'll try to explain below what worked and didn't work for me.

On one hand, Saving Ruby King is undeniably a very important and powerful read: an own voices debut set in both present and past Chicago that helps give us some insight in the race problematics and issues black people have to face even to this day. This element was the driving force behind this story and the main reason I kept reading. BUT. On the other hand, a big part of the story also focuses on religion. There is nothing wrong with that, but I personally have a huge aversion to stories that focus on religion, and even more if they start sounding preachy. This has nothing to do with the quality of this story, but instead is rather a personal reaction to an element I wasn't expecting to be so present... But the fact remains that I struggled to keep reading every time religion came in focus, which was a lot.

Apart from my obvious issues with the focus on religion, Saving Ruby King is a fantastic debut. The writing, the complexity of the plot, the multiple POV structure, the character development, the mystery around and secrets of multiple characters, the race problematics, the story of abuse, the violence and also a note of hope... This story has so many elements and it makes for a multi-faceted and rich story. The plot follows multiple characters both in past and present, and it can be a bit of a juggle in the beginning to keep track of how they all fit together, but Saving Ruby King provides us with helpful family trees to make things easier. I also particularly liked the perspective of the church, which was both unique and gave us a more neutral insight in past events.

This is not an easy story to read, and will most likely make you feel uncomfortable. I applaude Catherine Adel West for the realistic development of the plot and characters, and for not being afraid to show the ugly truth and for the characters and elements to go dark and unsettling. This is a story about race problematics as well as a story of domestic violence, child abuse, self harm, murder as well as a spark of hope... Beautifully rendered, and if you are not bothered by the strong presence of religion in the story, you will be blown away by this story. Trust me, this story is worth reading for the black voices and focus on race problematics alone.

This story turned out to be a timely read for me as I picked it up the week that all the George Floyd protests began. While this is historical fiction, the author brought her real-life experiences growing up in Chicago in the 1960s to the story. In nearly every way, it reads as nonfiction and is entirely believable. I don't want to give away the story, but at the start, there are a lot of characters, and it can be confusing- stick with it, and it will more than pay off.

A powerful book! I read <i>Saving Ruby King</i> during the weeks of the protests after George Floyd's murder. I highlighted so many notes and quotes well worth remembering.
So much violence. So many secrets.
Ruby King's mother has died. Her friend worries about her. There are many POVs. The most intriguing one is the church itself.
I read this book on my kindle, thanks to Netgalley. I must order a hard copy when it is published. Many thanks to Catherine Adel West for her persepectives on growing up in Chicago.

As a person who reads primarily psychological thrillers, I don’t always find domestic fiction clicks the same for me in that “Holy, what EVEN just happened here?!” way. But today my friends, let’s discuss a book that does JUST THAT.⁣
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Saving Ruby King is so DAMN GOOD, and my number 1, 2 & 3 reasons for loving it so much all come down to how Catherine unfolds her plot + characters. I talk a lot about how I LOVE complex + unlikable characters and walking into this story was a jackpot of both. But here is the THING with this book - Catherine has this unbelievable way of peeling back the layers of her story, so JUST as you finish a chapter and have formed your opinion on someone, she goes ahead, peels a layer back, takes everything you think you know and dumps you on your assuming head. You are left to reassemble all your opinions and feelings about a character and you realize that you didn’t know shit about them before and now, good lord, new favorite character alert. ⁣
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I don’t even know how she does it. What I know is I got 2 chapters in, became obsessed with the fact that this plot rivals some of the best thrillers I’ve read this year, then proceeded to devour the rest of the book in short order.⁣
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I literally won’t tell you anything beyond that, because this particular book deserves to be read spoiler-free and without expectation (well, expect a great book, but that’s IT).
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Absolutely MAGNIFICENT and I cannot wait to see what Catherine does next.