I had never heard of this part of American History - The Kingdom of Happy Land. Although this is based on true events and a real person, the writer does have to fictionalize parts of the story because not everything is known about the whole journey, the people and the Kingdome. Louella (the Queen) suffers terribly under slavery as does many around her (and do many, many under slavery as we know). The author shows this in certain circumstances. She sets up the reasons why, after the Civil War, a group of former slaves, leave their plantation in Mississippi and head North to find a place where they can reside in peace. Louella has married William, a preacher, and together they are the leaders of this group. Louella is a very strong woman and needs to be because she suffers many tragedies in her life. William is more of a "put your faith in God" man and not a person of action like Louella! They are good for each other, but they do clash a lot in their marriage! They lead the people to eventually found the Kingdom of the Happy Land in South Carolina and build a society where it's a "all for one and one for all". For the most part they are happy but they do deal with challenges. William's brother, Robert, causes some big issues along with the Whites in the area - the KKK and broken promises, beatings, etc. There are problems within the community too - greed, sickness and jealousy. It was fantastic to learn about this part of American History I had never heard about! I am a history buff and can't believe I'd never heard about this! However, some parts of the story just didn't flow for me and some parts read as a YA novel. Enjoyable overall but a little too long for me too.

This was an epic story! Louella was quite a woman! The way the story is told is so well-done that I had to remind myself several times that is based on a true story. This is a story that everyone needs to read! Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Description
In 1869 a kingdom rose in the South. And Louella was its queen.

Over the twenty-four years she’s been enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one thing: hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there’s no room in her heart for love, not even for the honorable Reverend William, whom she likes and respects enough to marry.

But when William finally listens to Louella’s pleas and leads the formerly enslaved people out of their plantation, Louella begins to replace her hate with hope. Hope that they will find a place where they can live free from fear. Hope that despite her many unanswered prayers, she can learn to trust for new miracles.

Soon, William and Louella become the appointed king and queen of their self-proclaimed Kingdom of the Happy Land. And though they are still surrounded by opposition, they continue to share a message of joy and goodness—and fight for the freedom and dignity of all.

Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen shares the unsung true history of a kingdom built as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life.

My Take:
Like most true stories of Black American history, this is not a story or triumph-this is a story of how our struggle continues. While this is a story I would add to lists which house historical novels during Reconstruction, this feels like a story for academic discussion and not so much a book club.

Oh my goodness! This was such a good book! The American Queen was Louella Montgomery and her husband was William. They were born into slavery and lived on a plantation in Mississippi. William was massa Montgomery's son. When the slaves were emancipated, louella's plan was to get away from the plantation and to get away from Mississippi. William had told her stories about how his mother had told him stories about a happy land, where black people took care of and respected each other. So they packed up and left and took several ex slaves with them. They also took with them William's brother, Robert, who had been passing for white.

As they traveled from Mississippi to South Carolina, they ended up with 200 ex slaves. They were directed to the home of Serepta Davies, a white woman who had hundreds of acres of land that she was doing nothing with. On this land where acres and acres of oak trees. The ex slaves moved into the existing slave quarters and agreed to cut down the trees and sell the lumber so that they could purchase land from Mrs. Davies. With the purchase of the land, they built homes and a church that doubled as a school during the week. Luella and William could read and write so Louella taught the children and many of the adults how to read and write. Once the construction started, Louella and William we're dubbed queen and king of the Happy Land. They had an all-for-one and one for all mentality.

William was a minister and he pastored his flock well. Everything went as planned and the Happy Landers thrived. As it turns out, Robert wasn't a good person and Louella couldn't stand him. And he didn't think too highly of her. But he had his brother's ear, and William decided to make him his right hand man. Luella felt like he was pushing her aside.

And then sickness swept through the land claiming several lives, and William got sick. Luella did everything she could in nursing him back to health but it wasn't meant to be, and he died. He wasn't even cold in his grave yet when the community decided to make Robert king. This didn't go over well with Louella. They bickered and fought but in the end, Louella decided to give in and serve with him. Up until then Robert have been spending and exorbitant amount of time in Spartansburg where he was drinking and carousing. He had a daughter named Elmira that they picked up when they got to South Carolina. She had hoped that she and her dad could reestablish a relationship but that didn't happen. And it turns out that he has three other children in Spartansburg.

Robert had built a barn that Louella knew nothing about. There was a reverend Ezel who traveled throughout the Carolinas preaching. He had become good friends with William and whenever he was in town he preached at William's Church. After William died, the Reverend told Queen Louella about the fact that there were people from the Happy Land who had been selling corn whiskey. Luella new immediately that Robert was behind it, so she went out to the barn and found a still there where they had been making the corn whiskey. She made Robert tear it down.

Eventually, Robert got sick. On his deathbed, Robert confessed to Louella that he had borrowed $500 from a man in Spartansburg and the debt had come due. Robert didn't have the money. He had put the Happy Land up for collateral. Robert's name was on the deed but so was louella's. A few months after Robert's death the guy Robert was indebted to came to collect. He served papers on Louella for a court appearance. The plan was to auction off the land.

I found myself engrossed in this true story. The author did the characters justice by making them extremely believable. Oh, and Queen Louella and King William had three children. Their first daughter, Lily, died at birth. In Mississippi, louella's mother had been sold to a slave owner in South Carolina. She had told Reverend Ezel about this and ask him to keep his eye open for her mother.

What I liked most about this book was how these industrious black people created and enduring community. It was indeed what Queen Luella had prayed for: a community where people were well respected and looked out for each other. I gave this book five stars. I would have given it 10 if that were possible.

I enjoy finding out about historical figures (especially those of color) whose stories have been forgotten; but have led extraordinary lives.

This is a wonderful story of community and finding hope where there has only been despair and disappointment. Having the determination and perseverance to live a life in dignity and peace.

What a powerful read. I can't say that about too many books I have read. As I read it, I didn’t realise it was based on a true story. The struggles and resilience of these people were amazing. Their trust in God was inspirational. The characters were well-written and the storyline flowed beautifully. I found it very hard to put down. I also enjoyed the explanation at the end which helped to understand the true story. I received this as an ARC and freely give my review.

This book is beautifully written and crafts it's characters so beautifully. My only critique is that it reads slow for me. I do wish there was more interpersonal plot/relationship examination earlier in the book. Louella is such an interesting character and we see some tension between William, Robert, and her early on but I feel like there would be so much more interaction & detail (especially within the family- like Mama Sue and Ambrose). This depth earlier in the novel would have allowed me to feel more attached to our characters and enabled me to be more immersed in the text. It is a beautifully written, descriptive, modern example of a pastoral novel though.

The American Queen by Vanessa Miller is inspired by the story of Louella Bobo Montgomery and her dream of being free in a place called "The Happy Land." And yes, this place is real.

After leaving the only home she knew, Louella, her husband, and 30 other free folks traveled to the Carolinas to establish a new beginning for themselves. Not only was this story a learning experience about the unfairness of the American Justice system, but it was also layered with the struggle for women's rights, equality, identity, poverty after the war, and other glaring issues throughout the story.

I wanted more depth to the story. More rawness. I understand the story was to enlighten us about a thriving black settlement during the 1860s and the "crowning" of the first black American King and Queen, but if you're going to talk about it, talk about it. There's no need to sugarcoat treatment we already know history glazes over.

Full review over at The Litt Librarian

STUCK IN MY BRAIN

❤️ After I closed this book, the story stuck in my mind, I couldn't quite shake it off
❤️ Louella was amazing! I loved how she took her hate and rage and turned it into a strength to the benefit of others. She was the essence of a strong woman
❤️ I love that this was based on a true story, it hardly seems believable, such an amazing story

I tried with this one, I really did. The premise is so interesting, and I ended up going off to do some of my own research on The Kingdom of the Happy Land. Emancipated former enslaved people founding one of two kingdoms that has ever existed in the United States? Yes, please!

The problem for me was the prose itself. It read like it was written for a much younger audience than I expected. While the situations are serious and should provide a lot of emotional fodder, it felt flat. I set it aside once, came back to it again, and still couldn't get through it.

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley and am leaving my review voluntarily. I see that it really clicked for some people, but the writing style wasn't for me. I'm glad other people enjoyed it. If I wasn't reading it as an ARC, I would have set it aside and moved on without comment, since I think that my frustration comes from my editor brain wanting more showing and less telling.

All the emotions! The ordeal of slavery them trying to make a life after slavery and learning to trust God when it is impossible to trust anything! Beautiful written and well researched, The American Queen is a must read!

I tried very hard to read this book. I found the premise very promising and interesting, as well as being a very fascinating glimpse into history. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect with the language and style of storytelling. Ended up DNFing.

A great piece to make known how enslaved people were treated, even after slavery was illegal by law. Amazing story of a resilient woman who spoke her mind and wanted her freedom. Story of loss and gain, sorrow and happiness. So much was felt and I can't even fathom how they got through it all. I had no clue that there had been a place like this and it's pretty dang awesome that it existed. A king who promised his queen that she'd one day be one, and so she was. Brilliant story to tell.

Such a great story! I had no idea about the Happy Land. So bittersweet and beautiful. Louella is such a great heroine. She deserves so much more attention.

This historical fiction set in the south right after the Civil War is about Louella Montgomery a former slave who traveled with her family to establish a place for her people to live in. Louella has to deal with bitterness and hatred of those who enslaved her and this at first this seeps through to her relationship with others. When Louella and her husband have to leave the plantation they were enslaved at, others go with them as well. Going north they encounter more former slaves who decide to go with them. Eventually they all settle in a place that they establish the Kingdom of Happy Land, a community that looked out for each other and Louella and William, her reverend husband, are proclaimed the King and Queen of Happy Land. Louella endures struggles and heartache throughout the journey and throughout her life, but she finds joy in the Lord and her family and community.
This was a fascinating book about something I did not know about. I liked Louella’s strong character and liked the dynamic between her and her husband William. The difficulties and joys of Louella and her family and community were told well and honored Louella and William and what they accomplished at that time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Vanessa Miller for letting me review an arc copy from NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley.com for the ARC. I found The American Queen to be an interesting story but had a difficult time with the style of writing. The usual format didn't pull me in and while I wanted to root for Louella and the dream and reality of Happy Land I was left disappointed. Progress really is the enemy and we will forever be left with what if.

Louella made an impact on me from the moment her gaze latched on to a noose that was hanging from an oak tree.This was the moment when Louella knew she was free. It was that moment when the members of the community looked up to her and her leadership shined. Quickly she knew education would give the group true freedom. In order to have strength, the group managed to make a community, and they earned money as a group and fed the group. Eventually, they grew into several hundreds.

The community called themselves Happy Land, which started out as a dream and grew into a home. Happy Land made Louella and her husband William, into the King and Queen of the group. According to the author, the story of the Happy Land was a true story, yet nothing can be found in the history books.

Their lives were endangered by the KKK,which made it difficult to enjoy a peaceful life. The group’s lives were like a triple stacked Oreo cookie. The bad, then misfortune and back to good. I was tempted to flip to the ending, I wanted the groups' lives to be the icing part of the cookie.
According to the author, the story of the Happy Land was a true story, yet nothing can be found in the history books.

Thank you Vanessa Miller, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this amazing book, in which I wrote an honest review.

The American Queen tells the true story of Queen Louella. A formerly enslaved woman from Georgia, who along side hundreds of other formerly enslaved people started their own kingdom called the Happy Land on the border of South and North Carolina.

Starting from the plantation where she was enslaved, journeying through Alabama and Mississippi and eventually spending almost two decades at Happy Land, this story is full of ups and downs.

I love Queen Louella and the way she takes care of her people, always motivated to uplift them and share good things.

What an incredible and inspiring story. I’m so happy I found this book and Vanessa Miller, I can’t wait to see where she goes next with historical fiction.

You can really tell how well researched this book was and the care Miller put into the fictional side of it, trying to tell the story as closely as she believed it to be.

This book is out 1/30/24! Run and preorder it, add it to your TBR, you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher and #vanessamiller for the e-arc

5 Stars!

This book is an amazing story. Everyone should know about The Happy Place and the King and Queen. I am so glad I got to read this and will be talking about it and recommending it to everyone. This book is set just after the civil war when the slaves were freed. A brave group of people overcome their horrible circumstances by coming together and build a community. This is a story of love and friendship as well. It is based on a real place and real people.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Faith VS Slavery

The American Queen by Vanessa Miller was emotionally draining to read with characters you love and hate. Families have to endure loss and separation time and time again. This story was written where you felt the tears, the cold, and the pain.
The songs throughout the book were familiar and evoked memories.
For me, there were three favorite characters Mamma Sue, William, and Louella,
Louella refused to be silenced and treated less than a human.'
William's faith and prayers kept him grounded.
Mama Sue was the Balm In Gilead.
American Queen is a must-read.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC of American Queen; this is my honest review.

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