A beautiful book recounting the life of Mrs. Dorothy Kirwin Thomas. Born into slavery, Dorothy secured not only her own freedom, but that of her family and built herself an empire in the islands of Montserrat, Dominica and Barbados. Ambitious and driven, Dolly never let the men in her life take her focus off her children and helping her family succeed. A lovely retelling of the life of a fascinating woman.

The life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a woman of color who escaped from slavery and became one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the Caribbean during the colonial era, is the basis for this book.

I didn't know anything about the book when I started it, and feel like I really had the opportunity to get to know Dorothy, her struggles and her achievements. The short chapters made the incredible amount of information easy to process, as we move through Dorothy's life from her childhood as the daughter of a slave, to the success that made her a wealthy woman amidst white oppression in the Caribbean.

While Dorothy's life was fascination, the book felt a little choppy at times as it skipped across the years, and across the men Dorothy loved and who fathered her children. Yet despite those missing pieces, the book still felt a little long, and I found myself racing through to get to the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy.

I was in awe of this woman, her story and the writing of Island Queen, based on the incredible real-life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, who was born into slavery and went on to become wealthy and powerful--on her own terms.

I will be honest and admit I was initially intimidated by the size of this book, it is an investment, but thankfully a worthwhile one. Author Vanessa Riley is a captivating writer. The personality of Dolly, the men and children in her life and the places she calls home are all so incredibly well done, you will be transformed by this epic read.

I was able to read and listen to this. The audio, narrated by Adjoa Andoh is masterful, giving power, depth and emotion to this incredible cast. I would happily listen to her for another 20 hours!

What struck me most is for all the heartbreak and injustice Dorothy faces, there's a powerful strength, determination and independence that is so inspiring to read. There are tons of quotable gems throughout this story. I appreciated the history and labor of love involved to make this as accurate as possible, while still crafting a captivating story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio and William Morrow & Custom House for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow this was such an amazing book definitely one of the best I have read this year! Reading about the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas was so interesting! I started reading this not knowing what it was about and eventually looked it up, and to see that it was based on her life was amazing to me. Definitely will read this one again in the future.

I loved that the book centers in the Caribbean. There’s very few life it. I love the cyclical writing aspect to it as well, but I’m not a fan of the historic retelling. I found myself skipping sections until the plot thickened.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction.

Dorothy (Dolly) Kirwan Thomas was a real person born in Monserrat in 1756, the daughter of a white plantation owner and an enslaved black mother. The story of her life and how she came to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the Caribbean makes for a fascinating tale. Vanessa Riley uses the limited historical record to bring to life an amazing woman who freed herself from slavery, and raised ten children as well as creating a thriving business despite the many challenges thrown at her as a woman of color in the 18th and early 19th century. It was not an easy life, but the struggles and triumphs she grew through make this story well worth reading, even if there are so many children, spouses, and grandchildren involved that it is sometimes difficult to keep track of all the individuals.

This is an inspiring story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas who was born in Montserrat 1756 and died in Demerara in 1846. She was born into slavery and spent her entire life fighting for her own freedom as well as the freedom of her children and family. Dorothy was a strong woman who fought against injustices throughout her life. She was tireless in working to achieve her dreams as a woman and a person of color.
I would recommend Island Queen for fans of historical fiction. The Author's Note following the novel is full of background information. Very interesting!
I received a digital copy of this book thanks to Netgalley.

This is an incredible, inspiring story based on the real life Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a woman born into slavery who not only bought her freedom, but the freedom of her children and family and went on to become one of the wealthiest people in the Caribbean. Even though this is almost 600 pages long, it moves quickly and I learn so, so much. Well researched, fascinating history and so inspiring.

Thank you William Morrow and Custom House for the advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.

Vanessa Riley just can't go wrong - she always gives me the untold history that I crave. Vanessa writes so fluidly and accessibly, I feel like I have the island breezes running through my hair as I learn and enjoy. Vanessa Riley is an auto-buy for me. I don't even look at the title, cover, or description.

Fantastic story. The timeline jumped around a bit which made it a little difficult to follow, that's the only reason it's 4 stars instead of 5. Loved the strength and vulnerability of the MC where she made the best out of what life handed her. I doubt I could have done the same. A+

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley is the incredible story of Dorothy Kirwain Thomas. Her life from slavery to a wealth business woman. I love historical fiction and can tell a lot of research went into this book. It was a great story but a very long read. I didn't enjoy the beginning of the story. It doesn't flow. I wasn't there on the island and almost did not finish it. Some sentences seemed to be missing words ie. a or the. The middle of the story seemed to flow and transported me to the islands. The end dragged. I liked the book but was ready to be done with it. Thank you for allowing me to read and comment on this book.

Island Queen is a very good novel about a very extraordinary woman that feels like a return to epic sagas about strong women persevering against the impossible popular in the 1970s – think A Woman of Independent Means or The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. But Island Queen is based on the real life of a very real woman, and Vanessa Riley largely succeeds in bringing her to life.

Dorothy – Doll - Kirwan Thomas was born into slavery in Montserrat.  Her mother is her father’s property, and her fury at and love for the man is equal in measure. She yearns for him to legitimize both their children, and he has promised to grant them their freedom after his death via a clause in his will.

Dorothy and her sister Kitty are favored and cosseted by their rarely-home father, and Dorothy is nicknamed “Doll” by him and taught how to work with figures.  But, always aware that she is her father’s property as well as his daughter, Doll understands that freedom is not truly hers.  On that point, more often than not, she must deal with her half-brother, Nicholas, whose petty acts of cruelty escalate until they culminate in multiple acts of incestuous rape resulting in the birth of her first child, Lizzy (nine more will follow in time).  Doll is only fourteen at the time.  Soon thereafter she watches her sister be auctioned off as a punishment for her retaliation against Nicholas.

Realizing that Nicholas will never rest until she’s broken and dead beneath his heel, Doll flees to South America with Kitty, who had been purchased by Doll’s only friend,  a planter named John Coseveldt Cells.  Doll hopes to send for Lizzy and her mother when she can afford to pay for the freedom of all five of them; she gives birth to another child, Charlotte, conceived in a rape that occurs just before she leaves.

And so she sets about earning the necessary funds, first by becoming a merchant, then by starting a maid service, then by buying a store, then by investing in hotel properties, and finally by becoming a planter herself.  From loving Cells to falling for Joseph Thomas, the merchant she marries and who becomes one of two of her true loves, to entering into an affaire of the heart with the future William IV, Doll keeps her dignity paramount – and ensures that her  daughters and sons are well cared-for and safe from tyranny.  Eventually, she is called upon to apply diplomacy to the situation when British rule threatens the freedom of those she holds dear.

Island Queen is soapy, but it’s filled with a rich, full-blooded sense of purpose and life.  There’s only really one misstep in the entire book, but it’s not enough of one to prevent me from giving it a hearty recommendation.

Doll is self-made in every single respect but she can never forget the past. There are beautifully harrowing passages that tackle how she feels about the slaves working on her own sugar plantations that will fill the reader’s heart with sympathy for her, for instance.  Riley explains in her author’s notes that she sought to write Dorothy’s story with all of its complexities and to portray her with all of her imperfections.  The book pulls this off well, and Dorothy is no plaster saint, but a full-blooded human being.  Cells and Joseph, too, come off as complex people – human, neither all good or all bad.

The book fearlessly speaks to the racism Doll, her family and her children experienced, and discusses the legal strictures that hemmed in women like her the world over.  It also takes a deep peek into the society she would’ve had to live in, and the way she raised her very different children.

My only real problem with the book is that I would’ve liked a deeper look into the business world in which Doll thrived.  A lot of ink is spilled on her personal life and private affairs, but I’d love to know more about how she built her brand, and convinced white settlers of British and Irish stripe alike to employ the services offered by a Black woman.

Island Queen is just the right mix of personal intrigue, historical scope and true tale.  It’s an absolute delight.

Note:  Rape, sexual abuse and incest play heavily into Doll’s backstory.

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I’ll be honest, historical fiction is not a genre I typically read. Yet, there was something about this book’s cover and blurb that pulled me in and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

Mrs. Dorothy Kirwan Thomas is a fierce, loving, intuitive, courageous, and stubborn black woman. Overcoming many challenges from growing up in slavery, to buying her own and her family’s freedom, to building an empire, she never wavered in working towards providing a better life for her loved ones. Author Vanessa Riley shows her due diligence of her research to show these aspects of Dorothy’s life.

However, I was a little upset that there was more focus on Dorothy’s love interests rather than her business and family relationships. Now, this may be because there was not much documentation from Dorothy’s point of view given her lack of literacy. None the less, I was wanting to “feel” her struggles, her losses, and her gains and in my opinion I think this was lacking. Hence the four stars.

Given the triggers this book encompasses from rape, incest, abuse, racism, plus others associated with the time frame of 1746-1846 this was a compelling story to read. It shows how love, strength, courage, and family can overcome even the dire of circumstances. Mrs. Dorothy Kirwan Thomas is an inspiration to not only woman of color, but to all woman and I’m privileged that I had an opportunity to read about her.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

There are many stories that haven't been told because they'd been lost to the shifting sands of time. The story of Dorothy (Dolly) Kirwan could have been one of those. Born a slave, a girl in Montserrat to a slave mother and white father she had nothing but her wits, willingness to work, desire for freedom and love of her family to motivate her, and motivate her it did. Through the trials of slavery, rape, incest, Dorothy kept seeking to find a way to lift herself out of her circumstances. Eventually purchasing her freedom along with that of her children and mother Dolly through much hard work. Driven, confident, and hard working Dolly became the mother of ten children, she was a property owner, and became a very wealthy woman herself. The fictionalized version of her life brought to the fore many of the issues that women of mixed race faced and Dolly found a way to better the lives of those she loved. Amazing, brilliant, wonderful a fantastic read.

I could immediately tell I was in for a wild ride with this one. The best historical fiction is based on a lot of in-depth research, but also author passion for their subject matter to keep it being dry as dishwater. Dorothy Kirwan Thomas was a real person you can Wiki, and her life does seem to be unbelievably filled with adventure, danger, and courage. Born a slave to Betty and a slave owner on the island of Demerara, a Dutch colony of Guyana, Dorothy is determined to make something of her life by making herself an entrepreneur in the mid 18th century. This seemed unheard of for ANY woman in that era, but especially for a Black woman born into slavery. You can't but admire how Dorothy lived her life--the wealth she acquired, the 10 children and multiple lovers she obtained; but Riley's telling doesn't make her into a saint or a sinner--no mythological creature here. It did strain belief a few times, but we know that truth is often stranger than fiction. This was a very hard one to put down. I found myself thinking about Dorothy's life and her struggles with her adult children often, wanting to go back to the novel. I appreciate this author bringing this Black heroine to life--it was a beautiful novel. Highly recommended.

This was such an interesting story! Following a woman who was born a slave as she navigates and changes her life, this is an amazing book! I loved learning all about Dorothy Kerman Thomas. She was an amazing woman, and her strength is something to be modeled by others. A beautiful and necessary read!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

As a history teacher, I love reading stories about less well known events and people in history and Island Queen did not disappoint. Before reading this, I knew nothing about Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, but what a fascinating women she was! Born into slavery, and then becoming free and making her own way is truly a remarkable story that shows how strong and resilient Dorothy had to have been! Island Queen was beautifully written and I cannot recommend it enough!

I was prepared to love this book. It is based on a true story about an incredible black woman who was enslaved, bought her freedom and became a successful businesswoman. Unfortunately, I can't remember the last time I disliked a book this much. It was too long and only focused on her relationships with three men. I wanted to know more about her and about how she managed her trade as a black woman during this time. A wonderful story is in here somewhere but this author did not tell it.

3.7/4. I received a digital copy of Vanessa Riley's Island Queen earlier this month via Netgalley (thank you!), and eager to read a historical fiction account of the incredible Dorothy Kirwan, I jumped right in. Riley's background as a romance writer shone through the pages, giving the chronicle a dramatic, engaging, and thoughtful lens. It's easy to fall into step with the novel's tempo . . . at least, at first it is. Unfortunately for me, at the halfway mark the book lost its momentum, changing from a story to a list of events. Though I had enjoyed reading about Dorothy's romances, challenges, and suffering in the beginning, as the novel moved on, it couldn't seem to find its footing in keeping Dorothy constantly growing as a character in addition to introducing her to new trials and tribulations. As a result, the pacing and structure could benefit from some refining, cutting, and refocusing. Still, despite these issues, I'm still glad to have read Riley's novel and appreciate the weight of historical research that went into this story. For this reason, I'd selectively recommend this book to others and will look forward to Riley's future works.