I was so very excited to receive an ARC of this book through Net Galley. Lost Roses, the previous book in this series, was absolutely amazing and I have recommended it to everyone I know who loves to read. Sunflower Sisters, like Lost Roses and Lilac Girls, deals with very difficult topics and offers up scenes and dialogue that are sometimes hard to get through.

Sunflower Sisters is set during the Civil War and focuses on three women, Georgeanna Woolsey (a heroine who accomplished so much) Anne-May ( the cruel mistress of a plantation in Maryland and Jemma (a slave on the plantation). The atrocities of slavery are so overwhelming it must be very difficult to write about it in a way that makes it readable but also stays true to the reality. While I did love this book it sometimes felt as though it focused too much on the Woolsey family (where they traveled, what they ate, what they wore) and not enough on the relationships between Jemma and her family, especially her sister Patience.

The author did an excellent job of weaving together the horrors of the Civil War, the accomplishments of Georgeanna Woolsey, as well as her sisters and mother, to establish nursing during and after the war with the unbearable treatment of Jemma by Anne-May. As with the other two books you simply cannot believe that someone could treat another human being so inhumanely. As historical fiction the book educates the reader about the feelings of Southerners and Northerners about the War, the realities of slavery, the treatment of women on a daily basis and especially those who bravely tried to provide nurses on the battlefront.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the first two - although it is not necessary to read the other two books before reading this one, as each focuses on a different time and different characters.

Thank you to Net Galley, Martha Hall Kelly and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: March 31, 2021

Sunflower Sisters is an amazing book about true friendship, war, culture change, politics, and money. Set in the years that surround the Civil War it is about a real family and is based on letters that actually exist about an amazing family of women who are heroes in their own right. The main character is a young woman that is a personal slave on a tobacco plantation in Maryland. Her owner is a cruel and sadistic woman. This slave is surrounded by family and bears many physical and emotional scars from her severe life on the plantation. This book showcases not just the brutal life of slavery but the struggles and prejudices against women during the time period. Well-written, likable characters, and amazing plot showcase the talent of Martha Hall Kelly. My thanks to her for writing this book. Thanks to #NetGalley#Sunflower Sisters for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Martha Hall Kelly has become one of my favorite authors. Her characters are wonderful and she brings history to life with each turn of the page. Her writing is so rich, descriptive and captivating that I want to read her stories slowly and savor every detail.

The Sunflower Sisters introduces us to the Woolsey women of New York during the civil war. I loved them all. Martha Hall Kelly used family letters and historical documents to tell this story of real women who were strong, good and determined to overcome the obstacles of their day to support each other, the slaves, the soldiers and the people they loved. I want to read other books about them, now that I’ve read The Sunflower Sisters and the author’s notes at the end of the book.

Many thanks to the publishers at NetGalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

This book was clearly well researched and engaging. The plot was engaging and well organized, the characters were interesting to read about. There were several scenes (involving sexual assault and lynching/hangings) that were incredibly difficult to read and get through. I think it is worth mentioning that these things are present in the book in case readers do not wish to read these types of scenes. The scenes themselves are short and easy to skim over, but the repercussions of those scenes are talked about in ripples throughout the rest of the story.

The final installment of the Ferriday/Woolsey trilogy. This book follows George Woolsey, an abolitionist, Jemma, an enslaved girl, and Anne May, Jemma’s owner. The book is set throughout the years of the Civil War. Their stories intertwine with one another throughout the book. The characters are all very realistic and you feel like you really are a part of their lives.

I was so thrilled when I got an ARC of this book. I have read her other two books in this series and was so excited to learn there was another one in the series. I really didn’t think I would get an ARC of this book, so basically when I did, I read it right away. Her characters really do come alive. I found myself hating characters and wishing things upon them, but at the same time loving characters and looking forward to their character growth.

Martha Hall Kelly is an amazing writer and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. I am so sad this trilogy is over. I would love to read another book about the Woolsey sisters because Kelly has made them seem so interesting and amazing. I really wish Jemma was a real person because she sounds amazing as well and I wish someone else’s story had ended like hers in real life. If anyone deserved anything and everything it was her.

It is clear this book was well researched and Kelly did her homework on the Civil War and the treatment of slaves. I also thought it was interesting to set the plantation and the slavery in Maryland since it was a border state and didn’t actually leave the Union. Very well done book and highly recommended. I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out to finish my collection.

Thank you NetGalley, Martha Hall Kelly and Random House Publishing for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

I will post this on IG 2-3 weeks before it publishes. I will post on goodreads now.

This is a historical fiction book written about three woman, Anne Mae, Georgy, Jemma.
One was mistress of a plantation. Including all the indoor and outdoor slaves. She inherited the plantation from her aunt. The aunt had promised to set some of the slaves free and had left papers stating that. However, anne Mar destroyed the papers and kept the slaves.
Jemma was one of the slaves that worked in the plantation house. She helped with helping her mistress dress, combing her hair, reading and writing for her and cleaning. As well as making dresses for her and ironing. She had been taught to read and write from the Aunt who had owned the plantation.
Georgy came from a wealthy family. She was one of seven sisters. And they had a brother who was the youngest of the family. She studied to become a nurse and helped the wounded and dying soldiers of the civil war. Her family were against slavery and helped anyone they could, including Jemma.
Great story written about strong, courageous women.

A great historical fiction read.

I hand not read the previous books ( I know, I know) but I didn’t feel lost and I was able to enjoy this civil war book.

This is my first book by this author and it won’t be my last

An amazing well laid out story. There is so much in the book about slavery, women's trials in nursing and the civil war, sisters love and young romantic love. To find out this is based on some real people and then many actual events was inspiring. The family of the Woosley sisters and the contribution they made to history as well as with each other.

There is so much in the book to enjoy and contemplate it really does round out the series written by Martha Hall Kelly with some amazing women represented. Martha has really done justice to this series as well as the women in the series, showing strength, love, courage and the bonds of women. Nicely done and thank you to Netgallry for the wonderful opportunity to read this novel and share my thoughts and opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 3
Plot development: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 4

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

Standard civil war, historical fiction story. Solid characters that will keep the reader invested in their journey.

SUNFLOWER SISTERS
BY MARTHA HALL KELLY

In Martha Hall Kelly's gorgeous epic multilayered story called, "Sunflower Sisters," its scope takes on the Civil War era in which we are introduced not only to the philanthropic Woolsey family in New York City but also a slave girl named Jemma and her impoverished family living on Peeler Plantation in Maryland. Anne-May is the mistress and owner of Peeler Plantation and is very cruel to her slaves who work the tobacco fields. Jemma is the house slave who is separated from her family who she loves. Anne-May has already sold off Jemma's sister Patience to a nearby plantation called Ambrosia next door. As Jemma is sent to Ambrosia by Anne-May for errands she sees sunflowers wrapped around posts and trees. She has no idea what they mean but they do carry a cryptic message. Jemma and her family get treated so poorly by LeBaron and his crew always lurking around punishing the slaves inhumanely. It made me so angry. The civil war is being fought as a backdrop and Anne-May's husband and brother who has a kind heart go off to fight on separate sides leaving her to oversee the plantation where she runs it into the ground by overspending and carrying on with a married man who owns a shop where she buys her snuff which she becomes addicted to. Anne-May sells Jemma to a couple up North along with Sally Smith who was her cook and like a grandmother to Jemma. Jemma gets conscripted into the war as a drummer boy and gets shot in the shoulder by confederate snipers and that is how she comes to meet nurse Georgeanne Woolsey and her mother who are working as nurses to care for the dying and wounded soldiers.

The Woolsey's are from a prestigious and well to do family who live in New York City. They are abolitionist's and when the war starts Georgeanne and Eliza work as nurses. Their are a lot of male nurses, orderlies and doctor's who don't treat them with much respect and the two sister's are well trained and know what they are doing. After Eliza, who is married and Georgeanne who is not are sent home they receive a telegram from the army saying the only brother and son in the Woolsey family is wounded Georgeanne and her mother set off at once to the battlefield only to find out that he is okay and that it just a superficial wound. It is there at Gettysburg where Mrs. Woolsey, a widow and her daughter Georgeanne care for the overflowing amounts of men and sometimes young boys who are gravely wounded. That's how they meet Jemma and take her under their wing and she is free for the first time in her life. Jemma enjoys the life of freedom but wants to get her mother and her sister Patience their freedom as well.

There is a menacing specter at work to try to rob Jemma of her freedom which I won't spoil here. The Woolsey's offer Jemma a room in their home and become her protector from the many evil people who would like nothing better than to capture Jemma for various reason's one of which she is in possession of a secret that can have Anne-May and her boyfriend Jubal jailed for doing something that amounts to dire consequences. I really thought that this was a compelling plot rich with well fleshed out characters whom were mostly good and decent people trying to serve our nation. There are also a few vile and evil character's out for themselves that do not treat the African American's well at all. I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading "The Lilac Girls," which I own but have not got around to reading it yet. I think that lovers of historical fiction will want to read this historical novel that was really well written and entertaining. It covers a vast cast of character's but they are very easy to keep straight. I will read anything this talented author writes and I highly recommend this historical novel. I felt completely drawn into the story as if I was inside it among these character's with their trials and tribulations. There are many Woolsey sister's and they are a close family who are good citizens and are in service to their country and try to work tirelessly not only in finding ways to help the war effort but all of humanity. I am sad to leave these character's behind and this novel is worthy of its five stars plus.

Publication Date: March 30, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Martha Hall Kelly and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#SunflowerSisters #MarthaHallKelly #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
A Civil War story about a family who fights for the rights and freedom of slaves and the relationship they have with the ones that have escaped slavery- either by being granted freedom from their masters or by facing the fears of being runaways.
I'll admit the sections of the book with details of how the slaves were treated were hard to read but the victories, no matter the size, made this book a good read.
All of Martha Hall Kelly's books are some of my favorites reads!

If you loved “Lilac Girls” and “Lost Roses,” you won’t be disappointed in the final installment of Ferriday/Woolsley trilogy, the “Sunflower Sisters.”

Martha Hall Kelly is a master at dropping her reader into noteworthy historical events while making the reader fall in love with timeless characters who will resonate with you long after the story ends.

Here, we meet slave, Jemma, her master, Anne-May, and a New York nurse, Georgy, in a tale of the Civil War, the end of slavery and a way of life in America.

Many novels have been written about the Civil War, even from the point of view of a slave, but this story is unique because of its characters who jump from the page with their authenticity. What is most admirable about these women is their humanity (even Anne-May), resilience and strength.

The themes of this novel are especially timely as our country continues to remain divided over issues of inequality and social justice. You do not have to read the previous novels to enjoy this book, though after completing it, you are definitely going to want to.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an opportunity to read this novel.

This is a completely captivating and poignant story and beautiful way to end the trilogy. It was engaging and lovely to the very end. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the opportunity to read this book.

Absorbed every page of this book. I am very sad that this family’s story has come to an end but so happy that Martha Hall Kelly introduced them. I loved Jemma’s story and was completely transported

I have waited for the third and final novel in the Ferriday/Woolsey trilogy. This did not disappoint! In true Martha Hall Kelly fashion all of the characters are wonderful (and despicable) , the writing wonderfully rich, descriptive and captivating.

This novel is narrated by three one. One of which is Georgeanne “Georgey” Woolsey in the battlefront as a nurse and crusader with her sister Eliza. They venture from NY to DC and witness horrors in Gettysburg.

The second is Jemma, a slave on a tobacco plantation who lives through horrors unspeakable with her mother and father. Her sister is enslaved at the plantation next door. Jemma try’s to escape , but is torn with leaving her family behind.

The third is Anne-May , the plantation owner. She is vile and horrible. She tries to use her charms to draw a secret Southern network of spies and finally gets exposed to a fate she deserves.

This book takes you through every single emotion and back. As always it was a delight.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for my honest review in exchange for an advance copy.

I have not read the previous books in the Ferriday/Woolsley chronicles. I think I would have liked to have read the previous books.
With that said, I found Sunflower Sisters to be a well researched story. Many parts are hard to read and even harder to comprehend.
Set in the Civil War era, the story is told from the viewpoint of three women....a nurse, a slave and a slave owner.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

SUNFLOWER SISTERS tells the story of the large Woolsey family, fierce abolitionists who actually lived in Civil War New York City. The story focuses mainly on Georgeanne who worked as a nurse, but all the siblings appear in the book. The other main characters are Jemma, a slave living on a Maryland plantation, and Anne-May, her mistress. Kelly does not shy away from the brutality of either war or slavery, so the book is tough to handle in many places. But, both Georgeanne and Jemma are exceptionally strong women, and when their stories intersect, the book really takes off. You really are rooting for them. I was much less interested in Anne-May’s story, and found her to be a stereotypical southern belle. Although Jemma and Anne-May are entirely fictional, Kelly has used the letters of the actual Woolsey family to craft that part of the story. Georgeanne is an ancestor of one of THE LILAC GIRLS, but the book stands completely on its own and is a well-written, satisfying read.

Martha Hall Kelly captured my heart with Lilac Girls and Lost Roses, so I was thrilled to have received this ARC. Sunflower Sisters takes place during the Civil War and is told from the viewpoints of a MD slave, Jemma, her owner, Anne-May, and a NY nurse, Georgy. The stories of how the slaves are treated are poignant and difficult to read, especially when they are being punished. Jemma’s plight, strength and tenacity captured my heart and I experienced a roller coaster of emotions with each of her accomplishments and struggles. All of Kelly’s characters come across as incredibly authentic with both good and bad qualities. Even the loathsome Anne-May showed moments of humanity at times. Both Jemma and Georgy must face an abundance of prejudices and both emerge as extremely strong women.

As with all of Kelly’s books, I was impressed by the amount of research that went into this. Though the characters are fictional, they are based on actual people and events told through letters. I have not read a fictional Civil War book quite like this ever. I love that it is told from 3 very different points of view, which convey the many quandaries of this time in history. It raises many difficult questions about why things were the way they were and how the terrible events of the past are affecting society currently. This is an absolute must-read for 2021.

Kelly’s newest book traces the story of her ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a woman who nursed Union soldier during the Civil War, a young slave girl, Jemma, and Ann-May Wilson, wife of a plantation owner. Georgey doesn’t want to live the life of a pampered spoiled heiress and instead, decides to embark on a career in nursing,. Meanwhile Jemma is enslaved on the Peeler Plantation and lives in fear of the cruel and abusive overseer. Ann-May is in charge of running the Peeler Plantation after her husband enlists. The story of these three very different women converge as the Civil War exposes the barbarity of the practice of owning human beings. Kelly is an amazing writer and brings to life the unsung heroines of American history