I loved this book, the story about slaves in the Caribbean may have already been told but not in this manner with the young narrator giving us insight to his life and that of his brother. The mix of English, Patois and French used gave it authenticity with the historical facts being both informative and interesting. The boys' mission was undertaken reluctantly but as slaves they knew they had to complete the task, even though liberating their friends meant leaving cruelty on one island for the same life on another. A good book club story which would provoke a lot of discussion. Excellent

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a harrowing read this was for me, whilst I enjoyed it felt that I should not (if you know what I mean). Will let other reviews make up their own minds with this one.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sugar Money is a novel that takes place in the sad times of slavery. Our main characters are Lucien and Emile who are slaves set in the slave colonies of Martinique and Grenada in the 1700s. They are brothers at teenage years, and the story is told by Lucien. They set off on the impossible task of smuggling slaves from under the noses of their English masters.
I liked the narrative and characters. However, of course it's an uncomfortable journey, as we know this period of time existed in the history of mankind and lots of people suffered like these.
Overall, I thought the book could be a little shorter, although the narration was very good. Also, personally the details on how these slaves were treated were too much and too disturbing. So, any reader must be prepared for this.

This is one of those saddening times in history, specifically, for the inhumane treatment of people (slaves) on the islands of Granada and Martinique. The author allowed me to eavesdrop into the story that contained snippets of Creole (Kréyòl), a sprinkle of French and a dose of clipped English (no past tense, no plurals) of the period. Nicely done. Unthinkable punishment was routinely doled out for even the most minor offenses. Horrifying beyond imagination. This strong character-driven storyline focused on two brothers. Slaves. The younger brother, Lucien, delivered the first person narrative of this well written, heartbreaking tale.

Emile, age 28 and younger brother Lucien, age 12 were slaves in Martinique - French colony of the Western Antilles. They'd been ordered by a friar to voyage by sea to Granada - purpose, liberate many slaves held captive by the English and return them to Martinique. Their Homeland. Easier said than done. Demand for additional labor was desperately needed in Martinique for harvesting the island's major resource - sugar cane. Sugar was money.

Upon reaching Granada, while in hiding, the brothers secretly made contact with many of the slaves destined to be returned home. Their plight was perilous. The time to escape had been carefully planned. It's execution had to go just right in order to succeed. In the end, it was a race against time. A race fraught with much danger. Life or death.

Jane Harris spent considerable time and effort to her research into this rather short period in time. A few weeks in December, 1765. She went to Granada and followed the actual paths, traveled the historic roads and visited the landmark locations that gave rise to "Sugar Money". Pleasing to the senses, I was enraptured with the colloquialism delightfully found within the narrative. To name just two: "quick-sharp" - something done right away. "Kill-Devil" - their honored Island rum. My thanks for reconstructing these historic events and bringing it all to light.

My gratitude sent to NetGalley and Arcade-Skyhorse Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.