"Amity" is a gorgeously written work, with characters that arrived fully fleshed out and memorable. I also enjoyed its setting - the fact that it took place in Mexico in an era that was in the wake of both the American Civil War and still in the midst of Second Mexican Empire proved to be a fresh take that I welcomed very much. My main qualm would be that like in Harris's previous work, "Sweetness of Water", author Nathan Harris's writing still carries a bit of inconsistent pacing. At times I was very much gripped by the story, and other times I found myself struggling through lulls. Still, overall a very enjoyable historical fiction read.

An excellent story from start to finish. We follow Coleman and June, two siblings who have remained working for the family who previously enslaved them after the Emancipation Act (after being ripped from their mother as a child, it's the only home they've ever known). June gets taken down to Mexico with Wyatt, the father of the family (and an absolutely vile man) who is dreaming of re-instating his former lifestyle by starting up a silver mine. After a year, a strange man shows up to collect Coleman and the rest if the family.

Both POVs are equally compelling as we watch Coleman finally come into his own as an independent man, and June struggle to find her freedom and happiness. The plot clips along at a good pace, and the cast of characters is memorable. This is a time an area of history I didn't know much about, and I'm sure others will find it a moving read as well.

This is a new take on the traditional western novel. A brother and sister (Coleman and June) former slaves, struggle to find their way to freedom after emancipation has ended. Their adventures lead them to Mexico after being separated, thru their experiences they find themselves and the true meaning of being free.

Harris does an amazing job of capturing the essence to the meaning of life thru this story, and what one can endure to find ultimate peace and the dream of being free. This story is heartfelt and really shows the true meaning of the human spirit and kinship. This book cannot be missed. I did receive this book as an advanced reader copy (ARC) and all views are solely mine.

1866 New Orleans - June & Coleman are brother and sister and now emancipated, yet not free yet. June is taken with the owner, Mr. Harper, to Mexico and Coleman stays behind to hopefully be reunited with June. They receive a letter from Mr. Harper summoning the family and Coleman to join them in Mexico. The adventure begins for both June and Coleman, hoping to see each other once again.

The writing is beautiful and decriptive, however the plot felt like it waned on and I had hoped for more. A unique "post emancipation" story.

My thanks to Net Galley and Little, Brown & Co for an advaced copy of this e-book.

Nathan Harris' The Sweetness of Water was my favorite read of 2021 so I was super excited for the opportunity to read his newest title.

Amity absolutely delivered on my very high expectations. Opening in antebellum Louisiana, Coleman and June are brother and sister and former slaves. Free, but with nowhere to go and no resources, they find themselves at the continued mercy of their former master. June was sent to Mexico by their master and Coleman has remained in a desperate hope of being reunited with his sister. When he realizes that his sister may never return he sets off, with his master's daughter, to find June.

A gorgeous, touching tribute to family and resilience, Nathan Harris' Amity is the best historical fiction I've read in sometime. Lush prose and beautiful characters fill the pages.

Nathan's novel is a poetic work of art about siblings Coleman and June, who were emancipated but still not free.
Ripped apart by their master who had no claim to them.

Amity is set in post civil war Louisiana and Mexico as we follow the siblings harrowing journey to find each other.

Harris shines a light on the challenges faced by newly freed slaves. It's definitely a story of resilience,courage, and survival in a poignant time in history.

Thanks to @littlebrown , Netgalley and @nathanharrisauthor for my advance copy.

Amazing! This book was stunning. The writing was poetic, descriptive, and emotional. The story an adventure.
Coleman and June are brother and sister and also slaves working for the same family. It's after the war and they are free, but don't have the resources to leave. June is taken to Mexico by her former master as he seeks land and fortune. Coleman is summoned by the former master and his journey begins.
I can't say enough good things about this book and it is a treasure - a story of grit, determination, survival, and June and Coleman's journey towards being reunited and going after their freedom.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Loved the writing. Beautiful and haunting and the author has great talent. The descriptive atmosphere had me picturing the desert and dirt roads, and the horses and covered wagons, and I could feel the unforgiving sun baking on my skin. It made me really feel for these characters and I desperately wanted them to reconnect after such an arduous journey and so long apart and start a new life together. I admired June's strength, resilience, and courage. I especially had a soft spot for Coleman, lover of books and reading and just wanting a home filled with stories.

The plot itself is so interesting and there are likely hundreds if not thousands of stories from this time that are similar to what Coleman and June experienced in Amity of being legally free but not actually free. It's heavy and gives the reader a ton to think about.

What I didn't love was the pacing. It was pretty slow, and just when it picked up, it slowed down again. It felt like it took forever to get through. The long chapters didn't help.

Recommend for readers in the mood for historical fiction who don't mind a more character driven, slower plot.

In 1866 New Orleans a newly-freed Coleman embarks on a perilous journey to find his older sister June, who was taken away to Mexico by her and Coleman’s former master. As Coleman is looking for June he is hunted by marauders who aren’t interested in the fact that he is no longer a slave. At the same time, June who hasn’t broken away from her master finds some peace in a small village. As they search for each other, they must also find a way to exist in a hostile environment. Amity is a story of strength and perseverance, of love and determination and, most importantly, of family and what people will do to get their family back

I haven't read Nathan Harris's first book, but I'll have to now after reading this one as I really enjoyed this one.

The writing is so well done and captures so well the setting that I could visualize the story as we followed June and Coleman in their own paths to find each other again. It was refreshing to also read a story that takes place after the Civil War when slavery was abolished; however, we see in the story that not all slaves were actually freed and that they were still tied to their masters. It was thought provoking and really emotional to follow these two siblings through their trauma.

Thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown and Company, and Nathan Harris for an advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

What an epic, incredible journey of loss and love! This story follows Cameron and June, ex slaves brother and sister, who will stop at nothing to be reunited, navigating dangerous adventures and facing incredible challenges along the way.

The narrative takes readers on a whirlwind journey: an ocean boat ride filled with loss, protecting family heirlooms and pets from thieves, and negotiating with ruthless criminals. The siblings endure kidnapping, imprisonment, and battles against greed. Exciting moments like commandeering a wagon to escape, and bargaining for their lives with corrupt individuals—all while struggling against the relentless heat and desolation of the desert.

Will June survive or escape living under the thumb of her master? Will her little brother be able to track her down in the vast open Mexican desert using only his polite manners and determination? Who will survive and who will be overcome by their perilous journey?

I gave it 4 stars because there were no accents. Having visited Louisiana several times, I was surprised that none of the characters spoke anything but crystal-clear English. Interestingly, characters in Mexico would occasionally toss in a Spanish word, which felt more authentic.

Thank you NetGalley, publishers Little, Brown and Company & author for ARC copy for my honest review

Delighted to include this title in the September edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

"What I knew-perhaps the only thing I knew-was that my heart still burnt like a flame at the prospect of who I might find at the other side of the sea. That if there were any chance I could reunite with my sister, the one person who would make me whole, there was not a single body of water I would not traverse to see her"

Tender. Traumatic. Promising.
That's the emotional rollercoaster I rode while reading the story of siblings Coleman and June. Their bond is so profound, so unshakably strong, it's the single force that keeps them moving forward, no matter what life throws their way.

Historical fiction is quickly becoming my guilty pleasure. It takes me a little longer to get through because every time I learn something new, I fall into a rabbit hole of research. I have to know more! Each character in this story has their own grueling journey through the Mexican deserts of the 1800s. The only promise they carry is that love and purpose will last only as long as the world allows it.

Coleman and June are sold and ripped away from their mother, then torn apart again for the sinister purposes of a man who, by law, had no claim to them. They were supposed to be free, but “freedom” proves to be just another lie.

This is a violent, yet soft portrayal of love. Richer than a seven-layer chocolate cake. You get lost in Coleman’s tenderness and are held upright by June’s unwavering strength. Coleman was my favorite. I loved his strangeness, which really wasn’t strange at all. Just someone too big, too complex, for a world determined to make him feel small, less than nothing.

As always, Nathan reminds us that we are not just readers we are witnesses. He threads each twist, each cruel turn of fate, with the tension of a suspense novel. But then the truth settles in like a slow ache: this isn’t just story. This is history. A history so brutal, so unbearably real, you find yourself wishing it were fiction.

He doesn’t just tell their story he lodges it in your bones. You carry their fear like a second skin, turn each page with breath held tight, chasing flickers of hope. And when you finally see them—truly see them—it feels like a kind of homecoming. Like they’ve been waiting for someone to remember.

I highly recommend you open this book and take the journey to Amity.

This book was gripping, adventurous, full of intrigue and suspense, and HEART. I loved it. The writing and the characters were top notch.

Harris writes so beautifully, especially in how he shows instead of tells about his characters’ interior and exterior lives.
A real page turner. The reader will feel a bond with these amazing characters.
The writing is so beautifully done. And the pacing was perfect.

Nathan Harris has done it again. He has blessed us with richly drawn characters interwoven among a dangerous and unforgiving landscape. Amity takes place in post-Civil War Louisiana and Mexico. Enslaved people have been granted freedom and yet we see how bondage runs deeper than mere laws. Siblings, June and Coleman, have been fortunate to remain in the same household until their former master, Mr. Harper, decides to seek his fortune in Mexico taking June with him. Coleman later follows with Mrs. Harper and their daughter, Florence. Through the lenses of both June and Coleman we witness their harrowing experiences and their incredible tenacity and determination to find each other again. This is not a novel to be devoured quickly, but to savor and appreciate the journey.

June and Coleman are emancipated slaves who've stayed with their former owner. While they are legally free, they remain beholden to Wyatt Harper. Wyatt takes June on a journey into Mexico to make a fortune mining, while Coleman remains behind with Mrs. Harper and her daughter, Florence. Out of the blue, Mr. Harper sends a letter requesting that Coleman join him in Mexico. Mrs. Harper reads the letter as a request for her and Florence to also join Mr. Harper, and the three embark on a sea journey. Much will change for all three along the way, just as things have changed for Mr. Harper and June on their journey into Mexico.

Through the lens of the Civil War's aftermath, Nathan Harris explores what it means to be free and to belong.

Wow! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! This book will leave you wanting for more and the characters and storyline stick with you long after you finish it. Do yourself a favor and pick up this page-turner!

New Orleans 1866
The Civil War has ended, slaves have been emancipated…but June and her brother Coleman have lived their entire life with their owner Wyatt Harper and his family. They can’t think of anywhere to go or how to survive if they leave.
Wyatt decides to leave for Mexico.. thinking he will strike it rich building railroads and mining for silver… he takes only June with him, as he wants her above all else.
Leaving behind his wife and grown daughter. Coleman is now alone without June.
So this story becomes a real adventure..first a ship accident as Coleman and Mrs Harris and daughter Florence leave for Mexico.
Then it becomes as a dangerous western as it goes back and forth from Wyatt and June in Mexico… to Coleman’s journey with Florence through Mexico to reunite the siblings.
Loved this as much as the author’s first book The Sweetness of Water!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Available soon!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was so so good, and I am pleased to know that I have a copy of Harris’s previous book in my library already. Coleman is a character who I rooted for the entire time. He’s so mild mannered and in many ways just completely unprepared for a journey in the desert. I felt many things while reading and the prose was so engaging. If you’re on the fence about this, definitely pick it up.