This beautifully penned story is so much more than a forbidden interracial romance between a white Irishman and a Black slave woman. It’s about the difficulty in giving flame to love and the difficulty in fully understanding each other when surrounded by insurmountable adversity on every level.

Inspired by the true story of the author’s great-great grandparents, an enslaved Black woman and an Irish immigrant, this southern historical fiction explores identity, sacrifice, belonging, race and love.
Henry O’Toole arrives in New York penniless after fleeing the potato famine in Ireland. Due to anti-Irish prejudice, he can’t find work, so he changes his last name to Taylor and heads towards the plantations in Virginia. Due to circumstances he can’t control, he fortunately finds work as a travelling blacksmith making rings and shackles for plantation owners. When he arrives at Jubilee Plantation, he falls in love with Sarah, a slave girl. What follows is his quest to free Sarah and their joint fight against the prejudice.

Although the narrative is propelled by the blossoming love these two have for each other, the author highlights characters ranging from the plantation owner to the cook to the cotton pickers and reveals their individual struggles. The stories of each are masterfully woven together, showcasing the progression of the slavery movement as seen from many points of view.

“Starving ain’t the only dying we know about … I know you’ve been though a hard, hungry life … I want you to understand that slave suffering is a different thing. When somebody owns you, there ain’t nothing they can’t do to you.”

The quote above sums up the entire book and reveals the tension between the couple as Henry fails to understand the freedom he experiences versus the controlled life Sarah leads.

Inspired by real events and titled in reference to the US Constitution, this emotional and eye-opening read reveals how the past shapes our present and how necessary it is to choose love in a world mired in extreme prejudice. It has potential for screen adaptation.

Publishes January 11, 2022.

I was gifted this advance copy by Tammye Huf, Forever Publishing, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Historical Fiction is my first love. Often these books are slower reads for me though. Not this one! I devoured it! Like read it in one afternoon, couldn't put it down! Loved this book!

As someone who never reads romances, this one certainly got me. What a wonderfully told story this was. The storyline was so very different from the bulk of popular historical fiction coming out nowadays and it was such a refreshing read because of it. And the story having historical basis in the Author's own family made it even that much more interesting. I'll be recommending this to anyone who has an interest in historical fiction, romances, or just an all around good book.

It is 1848 at The Jubilee Plantation and slave Sarah arrives to take care of six year old Thomas. Maple is in charge of the Kitchen and the Lady of the house, she also happens to be her half sister. Henry is from County Cork, Ireland...he made to America running from the potato famine and arrives in Virginia as a blacksmith working on Jubilee Plantation. The minute he lays eyes on Sarah it is love, for her it takes a bit more time.

I loved this book so much. Southern Historical Fiction is my favourite genre and I just couldn't get enough of this tale. It's part history, part romance and part biography....but 100% wonderful. We get all three points of view in this novel and I liked that about it, it goes from 1848 to 1850 so there is a lot going on and I never wanted it to end. I am hoping there may be a book two in the works as I would like to know what happens to Henry and Sarah in their future. The author based this story on her great-great grandparents (Suzie and Henry) and I think it led to an authenticity to the story, I loved learning about that. I highly recommend this intelligently told tale of how love can conquer all, even at the worse of times and to remind us that we are all human no matter the colour of our skin. All. The. Stars.

Read if you: Want a unique and mesmerizing Civil War story, based on the author's ancestors.

This is heartbreaking at times, but a gripping read.

Librarians/booksellers: Your historical fiction fans will definitely want to read this.

Many thanks to Forever/Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so good you won’t want to put it down once you start until you finish, and not even then. It’s a great window into what it was like to be both Irish and Black and in love in a world where the only acceptable background was White and English.