I was in a slump so it took me quite a while to get to reading this but I'm so glad I did! Yellow Wife is a powerful and heartbreaking book, and one I feel everyone should read once in their lifetime.

I read this during the lockdowns, but mental health derailed my review. This story is brutally honest. It was actually painful to read, but we shouldn't look away from these truths of history. Pheby is a phenomenal protagonist and her courage, resilience, and boundless love for her children carry the story beautifully. Her strength is a bright light in the face of the worst evil that humanity is capable of inflicting. Everyone should read this book, but I caution you to expect all the possible triggers you would imagine from this subject matter. Thank you to Sadeqa Johnson and Simon Schuster for this ARC!

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I put off reading this novel and I’m not sure why. But when the time came to read something different and something short, I picked it back up. I read several reviews beforehand and many people warned that it took awhile to get into it, or it was a laborious but necessary read. So I mentally prepared myself, and strapped myself in for the read.
I have no idea why I didn’t read this sooner. I was engaged right away and absolutely loving the characters. It is a story about heartbreak, slavery, freedom and it’s really fantastic. It was not laborious for me at all but I completely agree that it’s a necessary read. It’s beautiful and heart wrenching. I literally read this in a 24 hour period.
Loved it!

Absolutely fantastic. Such a well written emotional read. Pheby had so much to overcome as she uses her intelligence and wits to survive and make sure her family survives.

Yellow Wife is a raw and heartbreaking story. It's not an easy read by any means but it's important.

Included in February round-up of historical fiction for Zed, Zoomer magazine's online books section.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells of a woman's life that is not her own. Born on a plantation and protected by the Master's sister and the high status of her mother, who is a medicine woman, Pheby Delores Brown lives an easier life than most slaves.
After a tragic carriage accident results in the death of her mother and severe injury of the Master of the plantation, the Mistress of the plantation has Pheby sold and Pheby must use her education and wits to survive in her future circumstances.
This story is full of intense scenes of violence carried out against slaves who had no rights and were treated with complete indifference as to whether they lived or died.
Highly recommend to anybody interested in this time frame of history.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think I have read any other books that have dealt with slavery in their sense and it really was an eye opener for sure. It’s so hard for me to even fathom treating another human so poorly. And then everyone just doing what they need to do to survive. It was truly heartbreaking. It was an amazing story to see what Pheby had to overcome and didn’t let it get her to down. She was such a strong character for herself and her children and even Essex.

I would recommend everyone to read this novel.

Incredibly moving and meticulously researched reimagining of one mulatto slave woman’s life as a mistress (or “yellow wife”) to a cruel Jailer in Richmond, Virginia. Pheby is born into slavery but promised her freedom on her eighteenth birthday by her Plantation owning, white father. Her dream of freedom is thwarted however, when out of jealousy her father’s wife secretly sends Pheby away to a large jail/slave market. Once there Pheby catches the eye of the jailer and he takes her for himself. Together they have five children (plus the son Pheby had from her first love, Essex). The rest of the story is a true testament to the love and sacrifices a mother will make to try to give all of her children the freedom she was never able to achieve. Trigger warning there are some disturbing infant death scenes. Amazing debut for Sadequa Johnson > pairs really well with Robert Jones Jr’s debut, The prophets!!

A powerful historical fiction based on the life of a slave ,Pheby,in Virginia in 1850. Once her master dies she is sent to the Lapier jail in Richmond to be sold as a "fancy girl" .The ower of the jail takes her in and makes her his yellow wife. The story is complex ,inspiring and heartbreaking,
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. It's one of my favourites to handsell and the story was inbcredibly engaging. I didn't want it to end.

Beautifully written historical fiction. Phoebe is born a slave, but light skinned. The death of the plantation owner dashes her hopes of freedom at age 18, and instead she is sold off to a brutal slave trader. Brutal at times, especially during her times at the slave jail at Hell's Half Acre, this nonetheless is an uplifting salute to bravery and self-reliance.

This is one of those books that everyone should read. If people read this then I imagine they wouldn’t hold onto any old thoughts about people of color. This is a heartbreaking story. It is honest and raw and horrible all at the same time. It doesn’t have easy topics and it will choke you up more then once. But I promise it is worth the read.

This story was so hard to put down yet it was emotionally difficult to witness at times. It transports the reader back to the mid-19th century before the Civil War when slave trade was a booming business. It follows an enslaved woman, Pheby Deloris Brown, of mixed black and white descent whose mother was a slave and father was a wealthy plantation owner. A series of events lead Pheby to the Infamous Devil’s Half Acre jail in Virginia. There she becomes the Jailer’s property and mistress, set apart from others but not fitting into either world. This story is loosely based on the life of Mary Lumpkin and Lumpkin’s jail. It is a profound look at slavery in the 1800’s with raw and unadorned descriptions that may be on the edge for some readers. I loved this book! Definitely in my top five this year. A must read for anyone who is drawn to historical fiction.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada.and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The characters in this thought provoking book are deep and well written. This is an important book that opens a window into the history of the slave trade and the people it affected.

1850, American South, Bell Plantation. Young Pheby loses everything all at once. The life she knew is swept away from her by angry and mean Missus; she has to start anew but where should she found strength and desire to love, when everyone and everything she had ever loved disappeared in a blink of an eye?

Amazingly crafted story inspired by the pages history. Fabulously built characters who came alive from printed pages. Particularly I enjoyed how Pheby Delores was portrayed - her inner struggle of being herself as her mother taught her, free in spirit and mind, be mindful of her people, at the same time, her position as a jailer’s mistress spoiled her, gave her power she didn’t ask for and was not ready to employ. Her every day struggle to survive and to protect the ones she loves.

Not once I reached for the box of tissues, as the story will tear you apart. However, it was worth it! A beautiful creation of Sadeqa Johnson!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

Yellow Wife is the story of a young black female slave named Pheby Brown and her life as a slave. Honestly, I hated almost every minute of this story. Even the sweet parts and happy parts of Phebys life were heartbreaking to me. Though the book is called a piece of historical fiction, I know that Pheby's story is one that so many women went through and it honestly broke my heart to read.

Yellow Wife wasn't what I would call an easy read as it was very emotional and sad, but Sadeqa is such a good writer, I was compelled to keep reading her words. Pheby's life and journey came to life for me and I would recommend it to anyone that loves gripping historical fiction.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Canada and Sadeqa Johnson for the opportunity to read Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson.

TW: rape, abuse (emotional, physical, mental, children), torture, death of babies

If it was possible for me to give Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson more than 5 stars I would. This one deserves all the stars because it is just such a good book. Reading it took me back to the days when I was obsessed with reading the works of Alex Haley, Roots and Queen specifically. It evoked the same kind of emotions, thoughts, and conversations that those books did.

I don't really want to say too much because then I would be spoiling it, but don't feel bad for liking a book that introduces such depravity and cruelty to you. The sad thing is that even though this is a work of fiction, the events in the book are a lot closer to reality than any of us would like to think they are.

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
Rate 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (96% A+)

Beautiful, powerful and an incredibly written historical fiction with sensitive subjects to read. The story is going to make you angry, sad and happy but at the end grateful for the life that you have right now.

I agree with @sloan_read that: “It feels wrong to love a book so much that puts human cruelty front and centre.” (@sloan_reads)

The story follows Pheby from her life in the Big House and plantation where she grows up with her mother. Then some tragic event comes in Pheby life and her life is starting to change. Then the story is taking place in Jail in Richmond with Rubin Laiper.
Yellow Wife is not only focused on slavery, brutality, rape, racism, whipping, murder and more, but it’s focused on motherhood. Pheby mother is showing Pheby that she has a potential in the world and that she can’t call herself a “Slave Women”. The bond they have is everlasting.

Sadeqa Johnson did amazing research for this book and even it’s a work of fiction you know that this is a history and this really happened. The stories like this cannot be ignored and its my honour to read this historical fiction on this theme plus it’s Black History Month.

The author Sadeqa Johnson has created a beautiful story with amazing plot and characters, only ending is rushed and finished. I want to read few more chapters! Although, I really liked the book and it’s going to be on my list of top 10 in 2021 definitely!

I am highly recommending this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this book!

Not for the faint of heart, this epic story of slavery and survival. Ms Johnson has crafted a thoroughly engrossing, historically detailed, brutally honest account of life for a mulatto woman forced into desperate circumstances to survive despite all odds, and to protect the ones she loves. As a beautiful, talented daughter of a white master and black slave, Pheby comes from an odd kind of 'privilege' and must turn her entire life around when everything changes. Couldn't put the book down. Highly recommend.

The yellow wife has a quote before the book begins by William Wilberforce: “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you didn’t know” This is such a poignant and timeless quote.
What an eye opening, compelling story about race, discrimination, perception, self-worth and family. With what seems to be growing unrest between black communities and police agencies reported in the news in the last couple of years I have been drawn to learn more about black and other minority groups. This is historical fiction but is based on the life of an incredible woman. Like everyone else, I learned about slavery and the mistreatment they endured but I am not sure I knew how some of those insanely wrong views seem to have carried over the generations to today almost as if by DNA. It is as terrifying and worrisome as it is sad.
Of course it has long been known that families of wealth and power choose fair skinned slaves for maids and house help over dark skinned. Many of those men abused the girls and women for their own twisted desires. I didn’t realize that the more fair skinned were called “yellow”. These so-called yellow slaves sometimes would be bought and occasionally become wives. The children of yellow women and the slave owners got raised with the benefits of the white people even while their mothers knew no such benefits.
This story shows to what lengths men of wealth and power as a direct result of slavery and slave trade go to to keep profiting on the lives of others.

I was given an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.