This was definitely a well researched, pulls no punches look at the incredibly difficult realities of surviving as a woman during this time in the Jamestown colony. With that being said, if you’re looking for a cheerful, uplifting book, this isn’t it. However, that’s not to say this was a bad book. The writing was overall pretty good with the exception of what seemed like dropped plots only for them to resurface later and the not so great ending. I really liked Lily’s character. Temperance...not so much. I would really only recommend this book to someone who has an interest in this time period.

The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze is an interesting historical fiction novel that depicts the harsh environment and realities that the settlers of Jamestown faced during the harsh circumstances they faced trying to forge a new life in uncharted lands.
This book is written in third person as well as first person/journals written by Temperance. There is no easy way to describe how difficult this situation was for everyone then. This was especially true for women. Here the reader gets a first hand glimpse into the struggles and difficulties faced by women in Jamestown colony.

The characters were overall interesting, however I had more interest and sympathy for Lily (Temperances’s maid) vs Temperature herself. I felt she had more redeeming characteristics. I would have enjoyed finding out more in-depth information about these women then what was depicted, however it was still an enjoyable and informational read.

4/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Unfortunately for me, it fell flat.

What worked for me:
While the research for this book appears to not have really gone beyond Wikipedia (I wanted to read more about Jamestown after reading this book and began on Wikipedia just to have much of the plot of this book, including specifics such as eating snakes and boiled shoe leather, repeated to me), I did feel like I was in Jamestown with the characters. The time and place felt authentic.

The desperation also felt authentic. The characters, though none of them terribly fleshed out, did seem authentic and like they fit in the setting of this book. The unbelievably harsh reality of their lives was excellently portrayed. I keep thinking about the part in the book when the colonists ate snow simply because there was plenty of it. That was an excellent example of how such desperate circumstances must have felt.

The writing was smooth and comfortable to read. I was expecting the book to be a first-person account given the title of the book. Instead, it is mainly told from the third person with a few portions of Temperance's written account included here and there. I was quite worried having portions of a journal thrown in there and shifting back and forth between first and third person would be odd. But it actually worked quite well. At times, the author's brilliant writing can rip the reader's heart out. And I can't recall an instance of the author "telling" us instead of "showing" us. Excellent job there.

Lily, the titular character's maid, is a wonderful character. I enjoyed her very much. She makes the most sense, is the most well-drawn and is a heroine I can and did root for.

What didn't work:
Temperance Flowerdew was unlikable. She was manipulative, and I thought she felt the world revolved around her. She also often didn't make sense. She was a champion of the Native Americans and often sang their praises. And then she purchased African slaves. She even admitted she believes being a slaveholder is wrong but then said it's a problem for her children to solve.

There is no uplifting sense of survival at the end of this book. There is nothing uplifting about this book at all. Temperance endured and survived an unspeakably difficult winter. She survived only by doing something shocking and horrific. And still, the book kind of ends. She doesn't really have any thoughts about it. She isn't overly changed or moved by it. She is all of a sudden at supper several years later and listens to her children go to bed and that's it. Does she speaks about a difficult pregnancy. What happened with that? All we know is she ended up wealthy. Not knowing how this unbelievable winter she survived at the beginning of the Jamestown colony affected her makes the entire book seem kind of pointless. The beauty of historical fiction is imagining how events would have made a person who lived them feel, how it would have affected them, the human emotional element to the story. That has not been accomplished in this book. Instead of learning how Temperance has been changed by this event (which it positively would have changed anyone), we simply get a rehashing of what we already learned in history class - winter in Jamestown was devastating. But how did this affect the survivors? I have no idea even after reading an account "written" by one.

Some of the plot points were missing for a good chunk of the book, and when they are brought up again at the end of the book, I'd forgotten about them and had to go reread portions. Temperance manipulated a character into doing what she wanted by threatening to reveal he knew about a challenge he failed miserably at. We learn this early in the book. And then it isn't mentioned again until the book is almost complete. I honestly said, "huh?" out loud when we got back to this character. I had to go back and reread the beginning of the book.

The "gift of sight" Lily has seems to be forgotten throughout much of the book and then brought back up every once in a while. Other than the first thing she sees before it happens, Lily doesn't really foresee much, honestly.

Would I recommend this book? I'm not sure. I think the author's writing and ability to really help the reader feel the desperation the colonists endured are absolutely worth recommending. There are memorable portions of this book. Is it worth spending money and time on? Perhaps, but I wanted to throw the book out the window after finishing it because the ending leaves so much to be desired. Would I keep my eye out for this author's future books? Absolutely. I think she is a talented storyteller and would be interested to see how she develops as an author.