Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.

I enjoyed the story of Cathy Williams, a southern woman that is taken by the Yankee army to work as a cook during the civil war. It was interesting, however the book read a little slow for me.

This was a fascinating story. There are many books about this time in history, the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves. There are so many accounts of what it was like, yet this was a completely original and unique story.
I was interested in how Cathy was treated by the white soldiers of the Union Army, and how the rest of the slaves were treaded after being freed. There were parts that were difficult to read, and it was definitely not something I could sit and read for a long period of time, but it was absolutely worth it.

Recommendation: I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.


*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.*

I found this book to be a pretty good read overall. It was a good story of a strong black woman who was Taken by the Union army as contraband. She went on to disguise herself as a man and to serve in the US Calvary.

I did find a few inconsistencies that were pretty annoying. Such as upon Lee’s surrender...”Won’t be a telephone pole won’t have a hung rebel dangling from it.” Just exactly how many telephone poles were in the south during the Civil War?? This book could use a good editing.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen was a truly amazing book. This one kept me occupied and entertained for over a week! Though I know much of it was fabrication, I enjoyed the author's imagined details of how the larger factual events in Cathay Williams' life came to pass. I plan to read more from Sarah Bird whenever possible. Thank you, NetGalley!

“Here's the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my Mama never let me forget it."

What a book! The story is about Cathy Williams and her story of the Civil War as a black woman who disguises herself as a man so she can join the calvary. This is historical fiction at it's best. Cathy Williams was real, and Sarah Bird does an incredible job of helping us hear her voice, feel what she felt and better understand her plight as a black woman at that time.

I learned about the civil war, treatment of slaves and black people, treatment of American Indians, and what it was like to be in the calvary. Bird beautifully writes about this part of our history with heart and accuracy. I especially loved the relationships in this story. Although Cathy loses almost every person that she loves, she is strong, capable and independent--the kind of woman we should all hope to be.

Brilliant read! Very rarely do I read a book and wish it hadn't come to an end. I was completely hooked from the very first pages. Bird's use of language is magical and transports you right into the story. In parts it's heart wrenching but the strength of the characters shines through no matter how grim the circumstances and how difficult the choices were for them. I would not hesitate to recommend this book and look forward to reading more of the author's work.

Cathy Williams was born and raised as a slave in Missouri. Near the end of the Civil War, she becomes a cook for the Union Army. Naturally tall and athletic, Cathy decides to hide her gender and become a Buffalo Soldier in the U.S. Calvary after the Civil War. This powerful and fictionalized true story is totally engaging and fulfilling. Cathy is such a "huge" character that she literally steps off the page! I loved this story of a strong and capable woman who is aware of her roots and will never forget that she is the "daughter of a daughter of a queen!" Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction!

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird will be available September 4, 2018 from St. Martin's Press. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

General Sheridan and his soldiers were burning everything in sight and took Cathy Williams-a slave-off a plantation as contraband to be an assistant to the generals cook. After the war is over she enlists in the Union Army disguised as a man with the Buffalo Soldiers.
I've always wondered how the Union Army was able to recruit/convince ex-slaves-right after the civil war- to become Buffalo Soldiers knowing what they were going to do to the Indians. It really has always baffled me. This story goes into that a little of that and explores the feelings of the Buffalo soldier’s feelings on this. The Union Army was not kind to the soldiers and I believe used them horribly.
As I was reading this story, I was dreading reading about what was going to happen once they get out west-already knowing its history and the author gives you a vivid picture of their struggles and Cathy’s efforts to keep her disguise as a man.
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen is a top-notch historical fiction story, memorable characters, outstanding history details of its setting, conflict and I’m truly looking forward to more stories by this author.
I obtained a copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
I have rated this book five stars.
Stephanie M. Hopkins

I could not get into this for the life of me. Every sentence is a run on sentence that does not make sense. I have to read over it a couple times to understand what is going on. The first couple of chapters were just fact dumping and was so extremely boring. The writing feels very elementary and plain.

This compelling,well-told tale tracks the life and struggles of the only know female Buffalo Soldier. Author Sarah Bird vividly, sometimes painfully, captures the inhumanity, racism, sexism and danger Black Americans faced during and after the Civil War, especially the precarious fates awaiting Black women.

Told in first person narrative, Bird imagines the life of former slave Cathay Williams, a girl who is torn from her family to be a cook's helper for the Union Army during the Civil War. When the war ends, she faces bleak prospects as a Black woman and decides to flip her name to William Cathay to enlist in the U.S. Army as male Buffalo Soldier after the war. This is an often violent, sometimes heartbreaking story right to the end.

As with all historical fiction, readers need to remember that this is, indeed, fiction. The author places Williams in the 9th Cavalry while the real William Cathay enlisted in the infantry. Other details are altered for the sake of the story. But what a story it is. What a riveting read right to the end.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley

The Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird is a brutally honest, terrifying, thrilling, story of a young strong black girl taken by Union soldiers to be a helper for the cook with General Sheridan's army troop and her life as an adult. The fascinating story of her disguising herself and joining the Buffalo Soldiers for 2 years and the life she leads afterwards. It has a heart breaking ending.
This story is written with heart, grace and warmth for this strong warrior of a woman.
The best I've read so far in 2018!
Definitely FIVE stars.

This is a very well done book following the only female Buffalo soldier. I loved Cathy Williams with how she would fight fear and fight for what she wanted. It was a joy to watch her tongue lash stupid men. Hard to put down.

Oh my, this book is engaging and wonderful. So true to what happened to the slaves after the civil war ended. The North did not truly care what happened to the slaves. Most of them did not care one bit for the Africans any more then the Southerns did. The Northerns were just following orders and refuse to let the South leave the Union. Once the civil war was over there was nothing for the slaves. They were just kicked off the only home they had ever known and made to fend for themselves.

I don't judge Cathy's choices cause in all honestly if I was in the same situation I would probably do the same thing. I admire her for surviving the way she did.

The characters are all well written and the story line is amazing. You need to read this book. The strength of Cathy is amazing the only downside to the book is the very end. It does not end they way you think it should or would. I still have unanswered questions about the story and in some ways that makes it a wonderful book.

This story needs to be read in school!! Why do we not teach more about this part of history? Daughter of A Daughter of A Queen was so good.~It was a historical book that read like a fiction novel and I cannot wait until it's published and I can recommend it to every teacher friend I have.

This is a fascinating work of historical fiction about a person I wish I had learned about in school. Cathay Williams (Changed to Cathy in the book) was a former slave turned Buffalo Soldier... and a woman. Her story is powerful and raw. This book would be perfect for discussion and I expect it to be popular with book clubs.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I was looking forward to it as I love military history and my husband served in the 10th Cavalry and deployed to Iraq with them. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. I found the writing style a bit repetitive and the vernacular difficult to flow with. I'm sorry the book wasnt for me. But thank you again.

This was so well put together. We meet Cathy Williams toward the end of the Civil War, when she is "requisitioned" as a cook for the Union army, under General Sheridan. Cathy is the granddaughter of an Amazon queen, tall and muscular. As a recently freed Black woman, she is swept up in the end of the Civil War and opts to conceal her gender and join up with the peacetime army. Sarah Bird doesn't write a lot (in the galley, at least) about why she chose to pursue this story, or how much of it is based in fact, or whether it's even possible for us to know ANYTHING about women who served in the Buffalo Soldiers branch of the U.S. Calvary after the Civil War, but the tale she weaves is compelling and unputdownable. At 400 pages, this book breezed by. Definitely recommended for history aficionados.

This is a remarkable work of historical fiction based on the life of Cathy Williams. She began her life as a slave, but was endowed with a proud knowledge of her African ancestors. She experienced the Civil War as a Union Army cook. After the war she hid her gender and became a member of the Buffalo Soldiers, an all black regiment who worked in the West.

That story in itself is fascinating, but the details are riveting; I’ll not spoil them for you. There was much enlightening information: the challenges of blacks after they were freed; the treatment of the American Indians; life in the West; behavior toward women. I learned so much from this book.

This is a powerful and important book, full of engrossing historical information and impossible to put down! However you should know that the talk is tough, and the cruelties sometimes difficult to read, although they are not unnecessarily graphic. .

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

If nothing else, "Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen" told me a story about a person I have never heard before. Story of Cathy Williams is based on a true story of Cathay Williams, an American woman soldier during the Civil War. Other than that development of the characters were very much predictable: Rebs - bad, Union soldiers - good, main character - a hero. There are no interesting twists, surprises, no reality of a human nature. It is surely no "War and Peace".

Based on the true story of enslaved woman Cathy Williams, Sarah Bird has written an adventure story for women, fraught with danger and laced with romance and humor. The fact that Ms. Williams was the first documented black female who served in the famous Buffalo Soldiers branch of the United States Army is the jumping off point for the novel. We follow her as she relates her story as a contraband cook to General Sheridan, to the surrender at Appomatox, and on to her decision to dress as a man and become a soldier. We learn how she maintains her disguise for two years as her unit marches across the Midwest to Texas, helping settlers battle the Native Americans. We also experience love and friendship through her eyes. This book is impossible to put down but you also can't read it in one gulp-I had to stop several times to just catch my breath....but those last 100 pages! Be sure to pay your bills and grocery shop before you get there because you will brook NO distractions.!