A historically informative but also entertaining novel.
In Ashby’s historical novel, a Black British officer—a formerly enslaved person—is sent undercover in preparation for the monumental Battle of New Orleans.
In 1814, Maj. Alexander Charteris, British Adjutant of His Majesty’s 1st West India Regiment of Foot, leads a West Indian regiment of soldiers against the Americans in Washington, D.C. and watches with some satisfaction as the White House is engulfed in flames. Immediately after, Charteris is tasked with a clandestine mission of immense importance, he will travel to New Orleans, posing as a “gens de couleur libre” (“free people of color”) refugee to gather military intelligence and foment rebellion among the considerable Black population there. The British plan is to take New Orleans, permitting them to effectively block the westward expansion of the nation and hamper its growth into a rival empire. Charteris is perfect for the job—a Black man born in Grenada, he speaks fluent French, as does his aide on the mission, Sgt. Major Sori, who was also formerly enslaved. The task is a perilous one and has a personal dimension: Julien Fédon, the leader of a violent uprising in Grenada from 1795 to 1796—and the man who once enslaved Charteris—is living in New Orleans under an assumed name. Charteris’ contact in New Orleans is Jocasta Cameron, described as a “hard-edged businesswoman” and a “lascivious courtesan.” Further complicating matters, he begins to fall in love with her and discovers that she’s enslaved by Fédon.
Ashby’s command of the historical material is authoritative—he brings to life the politics and culture of the times and vividly portrays the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, one of the worst defeats the British military suffered in the 19th century. Charteris is a unique protagonist who knows what it’s like to be enslaved and the son of an aristocrat—his father was an English baronet, and Charteris was given an education befitting his pedigree. Experiencing extraordinary racism has left him both cynical and filled with an “omnipresent despair,” a complex psychological profile deftly drawn by the author: He is an “outcast, forever caught between two worlds because of the stigma of his mixed race.” Ashby’s writing can be overwrought and sentimental—he sometimes hits notes a touch formulaic and more than a touch melodramatic, as when Jocasta fears permitting herself to be emotionally vulnerable to any man, and she expresses her trepidation about her feelings for Charteris: “I can’t, cannot, fall for this man…When he leaves, as he will, it will just be one more ache to add to the shards of my heart that I have glued together like a shattered porcelain plate. No man can help me; I can only fend for myself if I am to rescue the one person deserving of my love.” Likewise, the author describes their lovemaking as “as much a melding of beleaguered hearts and minds as a rapturous connection of their bodies.” Fortunately, these stylistic missteps don’t keep the novel from being thoroughly enjoyable.
Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
