Happy Land is a modern-day masterpiece with compelling storytelling and beautiful prose. Those who have read Take My Hand are already aware that author Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a literary force and an integral, much-needed voice in our current political landscape. (And anytime, really.)

It’s about familial legacy, community, and sacrifice, featuring strong female characters and a part of history that we all should have learned about in school.

I will read all of the things that Perkins-Valdez writes and greatly appreciate the experience.

Happy Land is ideal for readers who enjoy emotionally resonant, multi-generational historical novels that explore themes of family legacy and resilience against the backdrop of African American history

There was once a time where there was an existence of an African Kingdom in the United States. This community was built in the Appalachian mountains by former slaves, and they called it the Kingdom of the Happy Land. Told from the perspective of Queen Luella, we learn how they started their own school, treasury, political system, and how they purchased many acres of land in order to prosper from their hard work.

Flash forward to present time, and Nikki is called to visit her estranged grandmother, Mother Rita. Nikki learns about the secrets of her family history, including how this land was basically stolen out from under her family, and how this caused a falling out between Mother Rita and Nikki's mother. Her grandmother urges Nikki to take action and claim back what is rightfully theirs.

"Some history came down from a mother's whisper"

This Book! I devoured it, it was so rich in a story that I didn't even know existed. Generations of a family can carry so much untold history, and it is so important that those stories get passed on. The author did a fantastic job describing just how easily land, worth millions of dollars in present time, could be stolen out from under these African American families. This book is the best reminder of why I love historical fiction.

An intergenerational story where a woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom and her family's ties to it.
Nikki's grandmother calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to come see her in the western hills of North Carolina. Nikki's mother and grandmother haven't spoken in years and Nikki is determined to find out why. But instead her grandmother tells her a story of a kingdom on the mountain and of her great-great-great grandmother who was its queen.
Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land and the lives of those who lived there. She learns of her family's secrets and how this land is her legacy. A legacy she must learn to protect before it's stolen away.
What a beautiful cover!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

✨ Review ✨ Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

A story of love, family, freedom, race, and land ownership

Thanks to Berkley and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Nikki goes to visit her grandmother in western NC, only to learn about her ancestors’ history in this land. Her grandmother, Mother Rita, runs a small flower farm there, which Nikki's never visited because of the strained relationship between her mom and grandma. As she starts learning about this land and their people, Nikki's understanding of her grandmother and their ancestor grows.

The story jumps between Nikki in the present day and her ancestors, recently freed from slavery, who formed a community called Happy Land to live away from the violence that marked the Reconstruction era. The book is based on a real-life community with the same name, that formed as a kingdom, with a queen and king that governed. Learning about this kingdom, even the parts that were speculation, was truly a joy. I can't believe I'd never heard of this before.

I appreciated this also for its honest depictions of race and power in both the past and present -- the racial violence and economic disadvantages of the formerly enslaved folks and the types of legal manipulation used to wrest land from black landowners today. This book is a powerful look at these issues across 150+ years.

Not least, this is one of my favorite covers of 2025 so far - it's absolutely gorgeous!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: historical fiction
Setting: western North Carolina
Pub Date: April 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ historical fiction
⭕️ topics of race and landownership
⭕️ flowers and the natural world
⭕️ multi POV/timeline books

I've heard a little bit about The Kingdom of the Happy Land before but this was my first time actually diving in. I loved learning about the people especially Queen Luella. We love a scandalous queen! I knew I was getting historical fiction based on a true story but I didn't know that I would get a little romance too. I loved that. I also thoroughly enjoyed the contemporary fiction storyline. It's generational story that happens way too often. I would highly recommend this one. I'll also be reading Dolen Perkins-Valdez's backlist for sure!

Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars

4.5 stars - This was a beautiful story, rich in history and deeply compelling. I knew some of the very broad strokes of communities that were created and land being stolen, but this was my first real introduction to the topic and while sad and heartbreaking at times, this was a heartfelt, interesting, and compelling story to read. All the characters were so fascinating, I liked the dual timeline aspect, and I thought the writing style was engaging. The middle was a bit slow for me, but I still really liked the story and I'm happy I read this.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the eARC - all opinions are my own!

HAPPY LAND by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Happy Land was one of my most anticipated books of the year, so it pains me to deliver anything less than a stellar review. Like its predecessor, Happy Land is also inspired by true events. This dual-timeline story is a fictionalized account of the real-life "Kingdom of the Happy Land," an intentional community established by formerly enslaved Black Americans in the late 19th century.

I am fascinated by intentional communities, and found that aspect so interesting! I was inspired and deeply moved by the tenacity and resilience of the kingdomfolk! And I'm endlessly grateful that Perkins-Valdez shed much-needed light on this little-known piece of U.S. history.

That said, after experiencing the brilliance of Take My Hand, Happy Land fell a bit short of my high expectations. It felt like a missed opportunity to go deeper, and to do more. The writing itself felt overly simple, and I craved the same depth the author delivered in Take My Hand. Additionally, certain aspects within the modern timeline felt unnecessary. Keep in mind that I read this with my eyes, and perhaps the audiobook would've been a better fit. Either way, I am clearly an outlier in my opinion because it's receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, so I'd still recommend it. 💕

Thank you Berkley Pub for my gifted copies 💗

I had a little trouble connecting with this one at the start. I’m not really sure why, but when I put it down, I wasn’t grabbing to pick it back up. But both sides of the story grew on me. It slowly grabbed me and didn’t let me go.

I flopped back and forth on which timeline I liked more. I ended up a little triggered by the current one where Nikki is visiting Mother Rita and getting to know her again. It’s a powerful story about family. But Queen Luella’s strength, courage and resilience moved me.

It’s a celebration of women and black history. How the past roles up into the future. And a reminder of what some have gone through and the unfairness it involved.

Bahni Turpin and Ashley J Hobbs did an excellent job of bringing both timelines to life. They embodied the heart and emotion of the book.

What an incredible book! I listened to the audiobook and it was superb narration! And the cover art is the best.
It's powerful, heartbreaking, and full of hope, shedding light on an important part of history that many people may not know about.
Happy Land is a deeply moving and beautifully written novel that is quite the unforgettable story.

Special thanks to the author & @berkleypub for my gifted copy ‼️

Set at the backdrop of the Reconstruction era this book was inspired by the true story of a Black community created by formerly enslaved people fleeing South Carolina in hopes of a better life. Dolen sheds light on a kingdom not often spoken of in American history and few are able to recall its true origins. Happy Land was a place where the people could live in peace, experience freedom, & build a community where their people could thrive.

But what happens when you have no knowledge of your history or the value of the ground you walk upon? You end up like Nikki and her mother unconvinced that you could be a descendant of royalty let alone an heir to property worth millions. Maybe you’re like Luella and know that land ownership is a far greater reward when you understand the power it possesses. That is until you make a deal with a crook and he shows you why you shouldn’t have trusted him in the first place.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. The author wove the timelines together so well and added her own personal perspective based off research of Happy Land’s origin. At certain points you can’t discern fact from fiction which I loved. I read Vanessa Miller’s book The American Queen last year so I felt like I already knew these characters and reading this only heightened the connection. Exploring themes that delve deeper into heirs property, family ties, ancestry, the importance of having a will, the roots of systemic racism in land ownership, and financial disparities. Dolen has such a unique approach to historical fiction and the way she tells her stories to draws readers into a time period we’ve never been is unmatched.

She even went as far as shaking up the kingdom with a little drama and all I can say is she delivered. From uncovering the truth about the loss of the land, Luella’s ties to William and Robert, the influence Luella’s father had over her, and the tension with Mother Rita and her family made this book remarkably compelling. If you haven’t read yet I highly recommend you add it your TBR!

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️

4.25 Overall
Another wonderful historical fiction novel. It is clear that the author researched the real-life American Kingdom to bring an authentic feeling story of the life of Queen Luella.
This book has a dual timeline. In the present time, a descendant of Luella, Nikki, is learning the history of her family while trying to save a part of her family's history. The second timeline follows Queen Luella, her life, and her struggles to save her family.
I enjoyed the historical parts of the novel more than the modern storyline. But both storylines come together nicely and are well written.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC!

Yes…I am crying. Happy Land is a beautiful book that really brought me into the past post emancipation. The focus on Luella and the resilience and strength of black women was beyond touching. I loved how you could tell Dolen did extensive research on this topic and how wonderfully she weaved fiction into history. My mother loves studying black history and I bought this book for her on publication day because I knew she would love it too.

Happy Land is about the kingdom of Happy Land where black people created a kingdom in the Carolinas after being freed after the Civil War. William and Louella were named King and Queen of Happy Land, and now their descendant, Mother Rita is recounting the story to her granddaughter, Veronica/Nikki. Mother Rita is a fierce defender of her right to live on the land, even when there are some trying to lay claim to it.
It is a beautiful story of people who know that owning land is an important way to establish yourself and build wealth.
I loved it and I will continue to read everything Dolen Perkins-Valdez writes!

Quick and Dirty
-dual-time historical fiction
-complicated family drama
-based on a true story
-racial justice subplot

I didn’t think DPV could ever match Take My Hand. I was wrong. From the moment I picked up Happy Land, I was SUCKED into the story by the characters, the drama, and the mystery. Why did Mother Rita call Nikki home? How did Louella’s story fit into the picture? The list goes on and on. While the story may seem straightforward, the author’s mastery of nuance and character development kept me engaged, eager to see how it all fit together. The icing on the proverbial cake was how she collected the various storylines into a single narrative at the end, focusing on the injustice of unlawful land acquisitions.

No one tells social and racial justice stories quite like DPV. And while this didn’t pack as big of a punch as Take My Hand, I was nevertheless enthralled by the story, the characters, and the historical elements. Starting over after slavery took courage. Starting a kingdom after slavery took courage to a whole new level. Hearing how Louella mobilized the women of the community to create a sustainable income and demand a seat at the proverbial table was powerful. And the emotional drama between Nikki and Mother Rita was heartfelt and refreshingly relatable. The idea that we are where we come from, our families of origin, rings truer for me at this stage of life, and that’s just what this book focuses on. No matter where we go, how far we climb, or how far we run, we are who we are. I am rambling now, but that’s how this book affected me. I loved it so much and can’t wait for everyone to meet these characters!

ARC/ALC Review

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
5 STARS

Thank you, Berkley, for the free eARC of this book and another thank you to PRHA for the free audiobook! #berkleypartner #PRHAudioPartner

SYNOPSIS: Summoned to North Carolina by her estranged grandmother, Nikki uncovers a powerful legacy: the Kingdom of the Happy Land, founded by formerly enslaved men and women. As she learns of her ancestor Queen Luella, Nikki must decide how far she'll go to protect the land, and her history, from being lost forever.

REVIEW: I have so many things to say about this book that it will be impossible to capture them all in this brief review. In short, I loved this book. Dolan Perkins-Valdez has solidified herself as one of my very favorite authors.

Perkins-Valdez is adept at bringing a historical moment into our contemporary context, and Happy Land is no different. I loved how she expertly wove together the timelines of this book. I was not aware of the Happy Land kingdom, but I am glad this book opened this time and place in history.

Most poignant perhaps, is the very real, and still pressing, theft of land that effected many Black Americans. Many lost their homes and a chance at generational wealth as land was stolen under laws that were designed to disenfranchise.

I listened to the audiobook while reading an eARC of this one, and I was blown away by the narration by Bahni Turpin and Ashley J. Hobbs. What a beautiful and gripping performance!

Happy Land is a story of resilience, love, hope, and survival, and I’m so grated to the author for penning this book. This will be a top read of 2025 for me, I am sure of it!

Publisher: Berkley, Penguin Random House, PRHA
Pub date: 4/8/25 – OUT NOW!!

Happy Land is another incredible and informative historical fiction story from Dolen Perkins-Valdez. It is a story of free people who founded their own community in the hills of North Carolina. They created Happy Land, their own kingdom with its very own king and queen.

“It must have taken such belief in the magic of possibility for those kingdom folks to call themselves royals somewhere along the way our family had lost that wonder.”

My heart was breaking for the Lovejoy women and their estranged relationship and the stubbornness that kept them apart for so many years. It’s a frustratingly beautiful story about our connection to the land, land ownership, legacy, the importance of knowing our history, and honoring our ancestors that made way for us.

The story unfolds slowly exposing family secrets, hidden generational trauma that worsens over time with no acknowledgement. The story is told in dual timelines and multiple povs. I thoroughly enjoyed both and thought they meshed seamlessly. I was very much captivated by Luella’s story. Queen Luella lived a life! The dual timelines show how much the past impacts the present for generations and the importance of overcoming childhood and family trauma. This book pulled out so many emotions. I have a huge soft spot for stories that portray grandmother, granddaughter, mother, daughter relationships and especially stories that make me think of my own grandmother. I was a bit frustrated with the women's stubbornness in some instances. As grown women we have to be more willing and open to work through tough situations together. I just wanted them to be open and honest with each other but understandably familial relationships can be tough to navigate especially with an elder like your grandmother or your mother. This multigenerational story is an eye-opening read inspired by true events. A story of Black resilience among heartache. A story of Black people seeking and embracing freedom, love, joy, education, living life in community on their own terms.

If you love historical fiction, black history, multi-generational stories, strong women, complex family dynamics then you will love Happy Land. Super appreciative of Berkley’s Influencer Hub for Underrepresented Voices. Thanks so much to @berkleypub @berkleyromance for the gifted eARC!

Happy Land is multigenerational family saga is all about dreaming big and persevering through life’s challenges. The story unfolds through Nikki, who heads to North Carolina to help her grandmother, Mother Rita. What starts as a simple call for help becomes an eye-opening exploration of family secrets and lost connections.

The dual perspectives, the modern day struggles of Mother Rita and Nikki and Luella’s experiences as the Queen of Happy Land, are brilliantly woven together. Nikki’s character truly resonated with me. She begins feeling lost and complacent but evolves into someone who actively seeks fulfillment for herself and her daughter.

Luella’s journey is equally captivating. Thrust into leadership at a young age, she becomes a beacon of hope for her community, never losing sight of her dreams even when faced with insurmountable odds. Her resilience is inspiring, making her chapters some of my favorites.

Beyond the engaging story, I found the historical context enlightening. The author sheds light on land ownership issues and the legacy of Black communities, making me reflect on how much has been lost over generations. The fact that Happy Land was a real place adds an intriguing layer to the story.

Overall, Happy Land is a compelling exploration of family, legacy, and resilience. Perkins-Valdez masterfully blends historical depth with contemporary urgency, making it a must read. If you’re interested in history and personal growth, this book is for you!

First, I have to give credit and praise to the cover designer—this cover is stunning. And I’m really happy that I was able to get the galley for this book. After reading The American Queen, I was looking forward to seeing where the author was going to take this story, especially since it had just recently been explored. I also had high expectations because I really loved this author’s previous work, Take My Hand. That book showed me how gifted Perkins-Valdez is when it comes to tapping into historical moments and bringing them to life in a way that urges the reader to become more informed. She also knows how to develop characters that connect us—both to the fictional world and to the real-life figures she’s drawing from. There’s something deeply personal in the way she approaches historical fiction, and that’s a major strength in all her work.

That said, I have to be honest: Happy Land is strong in a lot of ways, but I was really, really bored through a large portion of it. I don’t usually mind dual perspectives, but in this case, I would’ve much preferred if the focus had remained solely on Nikki—watching her uncover her ancestry, learning about her grandmother, navigating her relationship with her own mother and daughter. We do get some of that, but I think the novel could’ve gone deeper. I honestly could’ve read an entire book on Nikki’s journey alone—through old records, land deeds, family memory—and it still would’ve been just as powerful.

So while I appreciate Luella’s parallel storyline in theory, I found it distracting in practice. It kept pulling me out of the narrative I wanted to follow. Nikki’s story had emotional momentum and generational tension that really resonated. Luella’s chapters, for me, didn’t have the same urgency or intimacy—and they took up space that I wished had been spent digging further into Nikki’s present-day discoveries.

Now, let me be clear: this book still matters. I would absolutely recommend reading it. The themes are incredibly important—especially the way it addresses how generational wealth was stripped from formerly enslaved people, and how entire families were intentionally targeted and pushed out of the spaces they built. This book is also a major meditation on generational connection—how the young must preserve what the old have built, and how the old need the young to care enough to do that work. Nikki slowly grows to appreciate her grandmother’s deep relationship to the land, something she never fully saw through her mother, who ran from that lifestyle. Her mom wanted out—to break away from that world entirely.

Parts of Happy Land reminded me of Brea Baker’s nonfiction book—which I highly recommend everyone read immediately. In that book, Baker discusses how intentionally Black people were made to mentally disconnect from farming, from working with their hands—how it’s been so heavily associated with slavery and struggle. But she also talks about the importance of reclaiming that relationship to land: not just tending it, but owning it, protecting it, and passing it on. Perkins-Valdez touches on this same truth in a fiction context, and I really appreciated watching Nikki go through that reconnection with her roots—how she, her daughter, her mother, and her grandmother begin to rebuild what was lost.

I think this book had a really strong start and a beautiful ending. But there’s a lot in the middle that I struggled with. I kept nodding off, putting the book down, picking it back up—again and again.

Part of that might be because I read The American Queen not too long ago, and that book primarily focuses on Luella, William, their journey to Happy Land, and its gradual decline. So hearing Luella’s story again in Happy Land wasn’t something I was necessarily craving. And knowing the real history of Happy Land, I found some narrative choices questionable. In history, William dies and Robert becomes king—it wasn’t that William went away and came back. So I do think some of the storytelling was adjusted for drama, and those changes didn’t always work for me.

I also felt the book under-emphasized key historical reasons for Happy Land’s decline. A lot of the downfall had to do with people leaving—chasing work opportunities, dealing with economic changes like the railroad, increasing debt, and a lack of young people coming in to sustain the community. The elders began to pass away, and no one was left to carry the legacy forward.

So while I understand why the author centered Nikki’s role as a bridge between generations, I just think I would’ve loved this book more had it not tried to do so much with Luella’s timeline. Regardless, I’m still excited for anything this author puts out. I love the stories she brings to life and the way she approaches historical fiction—always thoughtful, always layered, always making you want to learn more.

A granddaughter is summoned to a small North Carolinian town by her estranged grandmother, where she is shocked to learn her family’s origin story and the history of the land on which the property resides.

I continue to be nothing short of impressed with novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez and her gripping and evocative stories based on such vital moments in history. In this, her sophomore novel, she explores the sense of community building and connections formed in a small North Carolina town, between those who were formerly enslaved, now living in their own kingdom deemed “Happy Land.”

This is a story filled with sadness, and yet, is ultimately incredibly uplifting. I loved the idea that they brought a piece of their African heritage to North Carolina and created their own Kingdom there in NC.

While the narrators, both in the past and present, walk us through the legacy of the family and their land, as well as their rich family history, the underpinning that shines through is the idea of community and of finding those connections to the past. At its core, this story gives voices to the countless African American families who have lost the lands they worked to make their own. One element that worked so well stylistically is the parallel the author develops between how this family came to own the land and then lost it (in the past) and how they were able to take it back once again (in the present). Tying back in the hardships of today with those of the past.

This story is very character-driven, but in the best of ways. Our MC in the present, Nikki, struggles with a sense of isolation, her family no longer speaking to one another. And yet when she learns more about this large, interwoven family she never really knew she had, as well as their history, she feels a part of something so much bigger, no longer feeling alone as she had. And while romance is certainly not at the center of the story, it is the thread that is so beautifully weaved throughout much of these characters’ lives. There are a couple of truly remarkable love stories, one centered around the most romantic kind of love, and one of deep friendship, born from the hardships life had brought their way, both as heartbreaking as they are balm for the soul.

Read if you like:
▪️Multi-generational stories
▪️Black history
▪️strong FMCs
▪️complex family dynamics
▪️dual timelines and POVs
▪️evocative writing

Thank you Berkley Pub for the advanced copy.