I love historical fiction. However, there also must be some attempt to follow history in some fashion. There should also be a reliable timeline.

I wanted to like this but it just felt flat and uninteresting. I didn't feel anything for the characters.




NetGalley Review/August 11th, 2020 by Hanover Square Press

Unlike a lot of the reviewers here, I really liked this book.
I thought it was well researched and the writing was good.
I was not aware of several things mentioned in this book so I found that interesting .
Definitely recommend!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Book: The Day Lincoln Lost
Author: Charles Rosenberg
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Hanover Square Press, for providing me with an ARC.

This is one of those books that sounds good, but ends up missing something to really bring it home. When I first started reading, I was very interested in the plot and the characters, but as I kept on going, something just fell apart. The book lost its’ feeling and ended up falling really flat. Plus, the book didn’t really follow history. I know that this is historical fiction and all, but you still have to be at least halfway right as to what actually happened. If not, then you need to make it very clear that this is alternative history.

Let’s talk about history for a minute. Readers are going to pick up on the fact that this does not follow history. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction and, no, they don’t always follow the actual events. However, it also made very clear early on what the author is going to do. We go in knowing that the author has changed things up. This one, it wasn’t made clear. I went in expecting it to actually follow what happened and it didn’t. it felt choppy. On the one hand, it felt like the author was trying to stay true to history, but, yet, at the same time, not. I thought this was going to be a focus Lincoln trying to get elected, not a slave girl. Plus, a lot just didn’t happen. I think the author should have done some more research or had an actual expert look over his information and offer pointers and tips. Then, I think it could have been better.

The plot was kind of a train wreck. There was so many characters and they lacked the proper development, which made it very difficult for me to remember who is who. Plus, the way the book is being marketed has readers expecting one thing and ended up with another. However, let’s talk plot. The plot could have been good. We had all of the bones of a good plot, but it ended up not coming out. Had we just kept our focus on Lucy and her escape, I would have really enjoyed it. However, we, then changed over to Lincoln trying to get elected and it just fell apart. Again, this made for a rather jarring read. I can do messy plots and I expect thrillers to be messy, but it just didn’t work here.

This was a miss for me and everything I’m saying is what others have said. I just hope that the publisher and author listen to us. In this state, the book does not work.

This book comes out on August 11, 2020.

I found the idea of the book interesting but the actual story was a little hard for me to get into and I had a hard time finishing it.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the Hanover Square Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and am reviewing it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love historical fiction as it usually pulls me into a story. These stories are usually based on history and enlightens me to what might have been going on during prior times. I am not sure what is real and what is fiction with this story.

This book follows a trial just prior to the election Lincoln hoped would make him President of the United States. Lincoln agrees to represent a woman who is charged with inciting a riot. This riot was to allow a 12 year old slave girl to escape custody and having to be returned to her master in Kentucky. The book also deals a lot with the Electoral College process in elections. It introduces the Pinkerton Detective Agency noting that they did have some women agents.

Reading this book resulted in me learning more about the abolitionist Abby Kelley Foster and also the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

There is nowhere in the book that the idea that Lincoln lost something is proven. So I feel the title is totally misleading. It is unclear to me why this title was chosen.

I enjoyed the book as fiction. But, this is not one I would strongly recommend to my friends.

For some reason I get emails about the books Charles Rosenberg writes. There’s a few in my ebook shelf. However, I’ve never gotten around to reading any of it. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and now I regret not getting around to the others!
We all know Abraham Lincoln and his Gettysburg Address. We know he’s the sixteenth President and was assassinated at Ford Theater. He’s also known to be tall and wear a top hat, depicted in many photographs. What isn’t popularized is what his life might have been like prior to his Presidency.

The Day Lincoln Lost is a historical fiction account of the months between Lincoln’s nomination and becoming President-elect. Many names, places, situations are similar to the events of that time while many are also fictitious. It is quite interesting to read about a situation a popular political figure may have experienced in his time.

Prior to becoming President, Lincoln was a lawyer who practiced in Springfield, Illinois. During this era, there were strong differences in opinion regarding slavery versus abolitionists. The Southern states were generally for slavery while most Northern states recognized slaves as free and many assisted the slaves in what was called the Underground Railroad.

It might have been common for abolitionists to travel the North to speak about abolishing slavery. It might also have been popular for slaves to escape and head North, many hoping to get to Canada. Lincoln would be cautious in taking slavery-related cases as it could jeopardize his chance to gain a majority electoral vote.

In this book, Lincoln reluctantly takes on a case to defend an abolitionist speaker who was jailed for encouraging others to riot and remove an escaped slave from custody to prevent such slave from returning to her so-called owner. It is quite harmful to take this case as well as to not agree to acquit the speaker should he become President. Apparently, Lincoln did not believe in putting the carriage before the horse, so to speak.

I will admit that I did not know about the politics for a Presidential election where none of the candidates receive a majority vote. I also was not aware that the potential for the South to secede was so great during the election process. There’s always something new to learn when you get down into the trenches, though, right?

The Day Lincoln Lost by Charles Rosenberg was provided complimentary in exchange for an honest review on NetGalley. I give this book five out of five tiaras because it kept me so captivated I actually lost sleep to finish it!

I enjoy historical fiction and even enjoy some alternate theory of history fiction. I thought that was what I was getting when I started reading The Day Lincoln Lost by Charles Rosenberg.
The story opens with a 12 year old slave girl escaping from Kentucky and ending up in Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln was running for President. Ater that point, I began to get a little lost. The writing is good but, the the facts have become so far fetched that I just didn't enjoy it. I realize an author can and does take liberties when writing fiction but, I just did not enjoy this story. I'm sorry NetGalley and Hanover Square. This one was just a miss for me.

Love it. Plain and simple. I'm easy to please when it comes to Lincoln books. You give me a Lincoln book and I'll devour it! Add to that how much I love a good historical fiction book and I'm hooked!

Received this book from Net Gallery and it's a story about slavery where this 12 year of girl escaped and ended up in Lincolns hometown of Springfield Ill. Right before his election. This is suppose to be a free state for slaves but the whole state and town are torn on whether they believe in slavery or not! You have a lot of options going on through the main characters where to me after awhile they start to get boring. The historical facts in this book I will have to disagree with where I looked up some and where wrong,especially when it came to Lincoln's thinking and what actually happened. Will this Lucy slave have to go back with her slave master or can the ones who don't believe in slavery free her? You have a new paper guy starting up a newspaper for abolitionist,you have All sorts of abolitionist people running around,everyone has a opinion but yet no one wants to do anything about it cause someone else may not like it and upset them. You have the famous Abby Kelly Foster making speeches at churches or anywhere someone might listen. The time period is 1860 right before Lincoln becomes president and before the War Between the States. I thought at first it was going to be really good the way it was starting out,but then with this and that it just was the same thing and the story not going anywhere. I was somewhat disappointed because it seem like such a great book.To much political stuff and not enough story for me!

I realize in historical fiction some liberties are taken with the facts. However, this book took to many that weren't even necessary. I am all for tweaking facts but this book made drastic claims. I have read the book and I still cannot tell you what it is about.

While I wanted - badly - to like this book, as a history nerd/geek, there were just too many inaccuracies in relation to too many things that are well known. Yup - its a work of fiction, but a work of fiction based on a great man that actually was important to our country, should have been historically accurate in at LEAST the basics. I'm not even sure why the title is "The Day Lincoln Lost" since he DIDN'T lose. Sorry, just too much wrong here to be able to recommend it. It needs a re-write and a good editor to help bring this to the great book it really COULD be.

I was looking forward to an interesting treatment of the topic, but instead felt that the book moved too slowly and with little to attract attention or renown. Historical fiction needs a lot of factual background onto which the story is painted. I didn’t feel a connection to the story..

This was a good book until near the end where the author spent a lot of time talking about the fact Lincoln did not win the popular vote in the election of 1860, and that the electoral vote was manipulated. In fact Lincoln did win the popular vote as well as a majority of the electoral vote. I felt the book was very boring talking about the election. In reading the historical notes at the end of the book, I discovered the book was not accurate. I’m not sure why the author did not use the actual facts, rather than choose to put them at the end of the book. It definitely makes me question the validity of the entire book. I cannot recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.