The Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly takes us back to the mid-nineteenth century and tells the story of the War Between the States from three perspectives using three women. Georgeanna Woosley is the main sister, of the seven Woosley sisters, in the story. All of the Woosley children did their part to free the slaves and save the Union. Georgie became a nurse and was at the battle of Gettysburg. Anne-May is the character you love to hate. She is the mistress of the Peeler Plantation in Maryland, and is selfish and self-absorbed. Jemma and her family are Anne-May's slaves. The author has done extensive research. The Woosley family actually existed and some their letters are quoted in the novel. At the end of the novel, Kelly give factual information about the Woosleys and there are photos of them.

I'm not going to hint about the story line, but I will say if you like historical fiction, you will want to read this book. It is fantastic! I was able to read it on #netgalley.

Wonderful read. Been reading Martha Hall Kelly since Lilac Girls and as usual she doesn't disappoint. Excellent story telling, likeable characters. Sorry to see it end. Will be waiting for her next one! Thank you Net Galley!!

Received this free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley.
While the story was of interest, and I am sure in every case based on history, it was just a bit boring. Therefore I deleted from my Kindle after 30 percent. I just could not go on. The book alternated between the lives of seven (I think) and the lives of slaves. One of the sisters becomes a nurse and goes to Washington DC within a short time after the Civil War starts. The usual stories on both sides. Loved ones going off to fight and others waiting to be freed.
While I have read many books on the Civil War, I am not sure I could recommend this novel.

Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly is an excellent historical fiction masterpiece that goes alongside her other two books: Lilac Girls and Lost Roses. This book continues on giving us the wonderful and unforgettable stories of the strong and fierce women that were a part of the Woolsey/Ferriday family. I truly loved Ms. Hall’s other two books that covered WWI and WWII eras, so of course I had to read the third book covering the monumental and fascinating lives of the family and friends that surrounded Caroline Ferriday’s great-aunt Georgeanna Woolsey. Here we see the book alternating between Georgeanna (an abolitionist and pioneering Union nurse during the American Civil War, a female tobacco plantation owner, Anne-May Wilson-Watkins, and a female slave, Jemma, that lives within that plantation.

This story is so rich with so much: the struggles and difficulties of women trying their best to become nurses, the atrocities of the battles of the Civil War itself, the harrowing deeds and heroes of the Underground Railroad, and the horrific events that took place in regards to slavery, slave trading, and the physical, emotional, and utter abuse that was forced upon so many innocent men and women that were slaves during this time.

The author was able to take true heroes (and other historical figures) and blend them seamlessly into a fictional narrative that was so real, emotional, stunning, and jarring that just leaves me beyond impressed. I also love the Author’s Note at the end to give us a wonderful gift of where she pulled her inspiration, who these true life heroes were, and where we could find more about this amazing family.

I loved all three books and am so sad to see an end to reading the fascinating stories of the generations of women within this family. I look forward to seeing what she has in store for us next.

Historical fiction at its finest.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for this wonderful ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR, Instagram, and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/30/21.

This is the first book that I have read by this author, Martha Hall Kelly. This book is the last of a trilogy about the Ferriday family and their ancestors. I will definitely go back and read her two other titles, Lilac Girls and Lost Roses.
What I love about books, like the Sunflower Sisters, is when they expose to me real people who lived remarkable lives. The Woolsey family certainly did live fully in a period of time that so fraught with strife. The book takes place during the Civil War and is told from the perspective of three characters.
While the start of the book was slow to build, it did build, and I wanted to find out what happened to all the characters. As always, when reading about the treatment of slaves, on so many fronts, it hurts my heart how cruel people can be. It also astounds me how resilient people can be when confronted with such heartless behaviors.
On another front the treatment of women nurses during the Civil War and the way the male nurses acted also surprised me. This book was researched well and used many actual war time letters to draw the story out.
Kelly paints her characters as full people with all their flaws out on display and their ability to grow and change. You can see where past hurts shaped their attitudes and how time and love could change them. So even if you hate a few of the characters you are still fascinated by them.
Kelly writes in a way that is a bit dispassionate more standbackish. I found at first it was hard to warm up, but once her style of writing became more familiar the further into the book I go the better I liked it.
Highly recommend this book, thank you NetGalley for an early peek at it.

This next review for you comes with mixed emotions my fellow historical fiction book-lits - how so you ask? Well, today’s book is the final book in the Caroline Ferriday family trilogy by Martha Hall Kelly, Author that began with Lilac Girls, followed with Lost Roses, and is ending now with SUNFLOWER SISTERS. I was so fortunate to hear and see Martha talk about Lost Roses at the 2019 Indianapolis Book and Author Luncheon and she is wonderful! This time we follow Carolines’s great-aunt Georgy (Georgeanna) Woolsey along with her equally accomplished, kind, charitably philanthropic, and well-travelled six sisters and one brother, Jemma a plantation slave that will intersect paths with her to become fast friends, and Jemma’s owner Anne-May Wilson Watson of Peeler Plantation. We will travel by hospital ship, buggies, carriages, horse, and foot through Maryland , Gettysburg, New York, and Washington D.C., through the horrific and ghastly bloody Civil War and alongside the fight to end abhorrent vile slavery. Both which resulted in an appalling loss of human life and our humanity that the author attempts to depict through the eyes of three women who led very different lives and walked separate paths but whose stories become intertwined and weaved together by Kelly.

Through the education and awareness historical fiction provides, we not only learn about the draft riots in New York and life as a slave in a border state like Maryland through Jemma’s eyes, but also about treating wounded soldiers from both sides during various military battles while being blatantly disrespected as a volunteer female nurse through Georgy’s eyes. Yet through all of the ardorous trials they must endure, these two ladies are also navigating finding their true loves and those relationships as well amidst life’s immense turbulence.

There are many poignant moments in the book, but being an avid bibiophile, one of my favorite scenes was when Jemma was showing her friend Celeste books in the library and starting to teach her how to write and read. In this section, Jemma warns Celeste repeatedly to be careful though with reading, because books would open up Celeste’s eyes to completely different worlds, options, and ideas creating a whole new awareness. This speaks to the knowledge that books can provide, ending ignorance and opening up possibilities for the reader — thus why slave owners did not want their slaves to be literate and established prohibitive laws regarding and why certain leaders and nations to this day restrict education and information access to many still!! Yet, Martha’s books bare witness to significant historical past events, gender right battles, and the abolition of slavery that these strong and brave women fought for, lest history repeat itself or be forgotten. As they say “dangerous women read!”

There’s also a wide array of subjects for every type of reader to delve into in SUNFLOWER SISTERS. For example, those with medical backgrounds may be particularly interested in the descriptions of the treatments, tools, and medicines used in the battlefield hospitals during the Civil War as well as the natural herbal remedies used by slaves on plantations. They might also learn new information regarding the training of the first nurses for the army and the development of nursing education for females, with Georgy studying under Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell for the US Sanitation Commission and then starting her own school. For history buffs, unique Civil War battles are depicted like The Battle of Fort Royal, where First Infantry units on both military sides (Confederate and Union) from the same state (Maryland) had to fight each other, pitting some families against each other — the only time ever in the US military. There are also famous cameos from Frederick Law Olmsted, Secretary of War Stanton, and President Lincoln. For fashionista readers there is significant detailing regarding ladies’ dress, hairstyles, makeup, and jewelry of that time for daily home life activities all the way to attending Benefit Balls and Events for raising money for soldiers and the war efforts.

Finally, if you want to get more behind the scenes photos and insight into this new book while you await for its release in March, Martha has a Pinterest board for SUNFLOWER SISTERS as well as for her other books that she uses during her writing process. For interested Book Clubs, on her website there is also a Lost Roses beautiful book club kit available that includes discussion questions, an author’s note, historical photos, illustrated letters and maps, ‘enrichment reading’ resources, and menu & recipe ideas. For Lilac Girls, discussion questions and menu & recipe ideas are available as well. I also foresee readers being as fascinated as I was to find out the reason Sunflowers are the theme to this final book!! I will not spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book yet, but due to their ties to the book, I will always think of this additional muse whenever I see a sunflower in the future!
#SunflowerSisters

I thought this book had everything a great historical fiction novel should. The author brought the time period, America's Civil War, to vibrant, visceral life. The characters were real, flaws and all, dealing with impossible hardship and tragedy, many based on actual people. I love that the author included photos and information on their lives at the end of the book. There was war, tragedy, romance, betrayal, heartbreak, and perseverance. This was a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for access to this arc.

Once again, I found this third book in the series by Martha Hall Kelly very slow and less than engaging at the beginning. I continued reading for the sake of a review and, once again, I am glad that I did as the book was very educational and descriptive of some of the horrors of the Civil War. In time, I came to care about the main characters and their intertwined stories and couldn’t wait to get back to it when I had to put it down for the mundane tasks of every day life. You will learn of abused slaves, escaped slaves, and freed slaves, of cruel plantation owners and overseers, and of kind people who love and seek to help all, regardless of color or social status. The realities of this brutal war are in no way sugarcoated and in some places this book is not for the faint of heart or week of stomach. On the other hand nothing is sensationalized of the gore and hardships, and just the reality of those times comes to the forefront, as difficult as it is to read. Despite what I feel was a slow and difficult beginning, I would still recommend this book to friends and give it a four star rating because, in the end, it captivated me. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

What a fantastic installment in this epic series! I adored Lilac Girls and Lost Roses so I had extremely high expectations going into Sunflowers Sisters and let me say Martha Hall Kelly has once again blown me away with this amazing tale! This novel is a sort of spin-off from Lilac Girls, but can be read as a complete stand-alone. Set during the Civil War, Sunflower Sisters follows three women with starkly different viewpoints and experiences. The chapters alternate perspectives which worked perfectly with the storyline. The storyline itself was was very educational and I found myself doing some online research about the Civil War because what shocked me the most was how relatable it was to the current state of affairs in our nation! Martha Hall Kelly is a true master a writing historical fiction and this 5 star gem is the perfect example of that! Sunflower Sisters is a novel I highly recommend to ALL readers— even if historical fiction isn’t your thing, I think everyone will devour this MUST READ like I did!

Sunflower Sisters is Martha Hall Kelly’s third book about the real-life women of the Woolsey/Ferriday family who were philanthropists. According to the author, “when the members of the Woosley family gave up toys, they took up politics.” Sunflower Sisters is about Caroline Ferriday’s great aunt, Georgeanna Woolsey, who worked as a nurse during the Civil War. It is my favorite of the three novels. The other two novels are Lilac Girls (Caroline Ferriday, World War II) and Lost Roses (Eliza Mitchel Ferriday, World War I).

The name Sunflower Sisters is based on the fact that sunflowers were used as a sign of danger on the underground railroad. They would be placed on fences or trees near unsafe places so the escaped slaves would know to avoid those areas.

The novel is told through the points of view of three women. First is Georgeanna “Georgy” Woolsey, second Anne-May Wilson-Watkins, a female tobacco plantation owner in Maryland, and third by Jemma, a slave on that plantation. The storyline regarding Georgy is based upon Woolsey family letters and memorabilia in the family museum. It was fascinating to read of the discrimination against female nurses, and the extra hardships they suffered during the Civil War. The plantation owner, Anne-May Wilson-Watson, is fictional but seems to accurately portray the cruelty of slave owners and their overseers. Anne-May, whose husband is fighting for the Union Army, gets taken in by a local merchant and helps pass war secrets along to the Rebels. Jemma, a slave on Anne-May’s plantation, is a strong young woman, who cares deeply for her family. Anne-May takes advantage of Jemma’s ability to read and write when it comes time to pass on the war secrets. Georgy and her mother, Eliza Jane Woolsey, meet Jemma in Gettysburg after Jemma had been conscripted into service of the Union Army.

While the novel is 528 pages long, the plot moves right along. There is suspense, intrigue, and very interesting information about the Civil War. 5-Stars. Highly recommended.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced reader copy. The expected publication date is March 30, 2021. If you love historical fiction, be sure to put this on your To Be Read List.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. This story is written from 3 personal accounts - Georgey Woosley - one of seven girls in the Woosley family and who seeks out working for the Sanitation Commission during the Civil War as a nursemaid, Jemma - a slave in Virginia on a tobacco plantation and Anna-Maye - the owner of the plantation. This story tugged at ALL of my emotions - from outright rage, love, sympathy and joy. Though I don't seek out books about slavery, this one was so worth the story. Martha Hall Kelly tugs at the heartstrings every time. LOVED this book (maybe as much as The Kitchen House)! #SunflowerSisters #marthahallkelly #mar2021

I loved this book! It was so well written. Set in the civil war,the author did an amazing job weaving the stories of the characters and the war. So happy I was able to receive an arc of Sunflower Girls.

Set during the Civil War, this book alternates between three points of view. Georgey, a staunch abolitionist, turns her attention to nursing to support the northern army. In the south, Jemma is enslaved on a plantation along with her mother, father, and twin sister. Her mistress, Anne-May makes up the third point of view. Anne-May, who lives in a border state, finds ways to pass northern secrets to the southern armies.

This was an ok book. Some of the characters were extremely stereotypical and a bit boring. Georgey and her 7 sisters were hard to distinguish from one another and all seemed the same. Jemma's point of view was the most interesting, and I wish the book had focused on her. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

I was so very excited to receive an ARC of this book through Net Galley. Lost Roses, the previous book in this series, was absolutely amazing and I have recommended it to everyone I know who loves to read. Sunflower Sisters, like Lost Roses and Lilac Girls, deals with very difficult topics and offers up scenes and dialogue that are sometimes hard to get through.

Sunflower Sisters is set during the Civil War and focuses on three women, Georgeanna Woolsey (a heroine who accomplished so much) Anne-May ( the cruel mistress of a plantation in Maryland and Jemma (a slave on the plantation). The atrocities of slavery are so overwhelming it must be very difficult to write about it in a way that makes it readable but also stays true to the reality. While I did love this book it sometimes felt as though it focused too much on the Woolsey family (where they traveled, what they ate, what they wore) and not enough on the relationships between Jemma and her family, especially her sister Patience.

The author did an excellent job of weaving together the horrors of the Civil War, the accomplishments of Georgeanna Woolsey, as well as her sisters and mother, to establish nursing during and after the war with the unbearable treatment of Jemma by Anne-May. As with the other two books you simply cannot believe that someone could treat another human being so inhumanely. As historical fiction the book educates the reader about the feelings of Southerners and Northerners about the War, the realities of slavery, the treatment of women on a daily basis and especially those who bravely tried to provide nurses on the battlefront.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the first two - although it is not necessary to read the other two books before reading this one, as each focuses on a different time and different characters.

Thank you to Net Galley, Martha Hall Kelly and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: March 31, 2021

Sunflower Sisters is an amazing book about true friendship, war, culture change, politics, and money. Set in the years that surround the Civil War it is about a real family and is based on letters that actually exist about an amazing family of women who are heroes in their own right. The main character is a young woman that is a personal slave on a tobacco plantation in Maryland. Her owner is a cruel and sadistic woman. This slave is surrounded by family and bears many physical and emotional scars from her severe life on the plantation. This book showcases not just the brutal life of slavery but the struggles and prejudices against women during the time period. Well-written, likable characters, and amazing plot showcase the talent of Martha Hall Kelly. My thanks to her for writing this book. Thanks to #NetGalley#Sunflower Sisters for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Martha Hall Kelly has become one of my favorite authors. Her characters are wonderful and she brings history to life with each turn of the page. Her writing is so rich, descriptive and captivating that I want to read her stories slowly and savor every detail.

The Sunflower Sisters introduces us to the Woolsey women of New York during the civil war. I loved them all. Martha Hall Kelly used family letters and historical documents to tell this story of real women who were strong, good and determined to overcome the obstacles of their day to support each other, the slaves, the soldiers and the people they loved. I want to read other books about them, now that I’ve read The Sunflower Sisters and the author’s notes at the end of the book.

Many thanks to the publishers at NetGalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

This book was clearly well researched and engaging. The plot was engaging and well organized, the characters were interesting to read about. There were several scenes (involving sexual assault and lynching/hangings) that were incredibly difficult to read and get through. I think it is worth mentioning that these things are present in the book in case readers do not wish to read these types of scenes. The scenes themselves are short and easy to skim over, but the repercussions of those scenes are talked about in ripples throughout the rest of the story.

The final installment of the Ferriday/Woolsey trilogy. This book follows George Woolsey, an abolitionist, Jemma, an enslaved girl, and Anne May, Jemma’s owner. The book is set throughout the years of the Civil War. Their stories intertwine with one another throughout the book. The characters are all very realistic and you feel like you really are a part of their lives.

I was so thrilled when I got an ARC of this book. I have read her other two books in this series and was so excited to learn there was another one in the series. I really didn’t think I would get an ARC of this book, so basically when I did, I read it right away. Her characters really do come alive. I found myself hating characters and wishing things upon them, but at the same time loving characters and looking forward to their character growth.

Martha Hall Kelly is an amazing writer and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. I am so sad this trilogy is over. I would love to read another book about the Woolsey sisters because Kelly has made them seem so interesting and amazing. I really wish Jemma was a real person because she sounds amazing as well and I wish someone else’s story had ended like hers in real life. If anyone deserved anything and everything it was her.

It is clear this book was well researched and Kelly did her homework on the Civil War and the treatment of slaves. I also thought it was interesting to set the plantation and the slavery in Maryland since it was a border state and didn’t actually leave the Union. Very well done book and highly recommended. I will definitely be buying this book when it comes out to finish my collection.

Thank you NetGalley, Martha Hall Kelly and Random House Publishing for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

I will post this on IG 2-3 weeks before it publishes. I will post on goodreads now.

This is a historical fiction book written about three woman, Anne Mae, Georgy, Jemma.
One was mistress of a plantation. Including all the indoor and outdoor slaves. She inherited the plantation from her aunt. The aunt had promised to set some of the slaves free and had left papers stating that. However, anne Mar destroyed the papers and kept the slaves.
Jemma was one of the slaves that worked in the plantation house. She helped with helping her mistress dress, combing her hair, reading and writing for her and cleaning. As well as making dresses for her and ironing. She had been taught to read and write from the Aunt who had owned the plantation.
Georgy came from a wealthy family. She was one of seven sisters. And they had a brother who was the youngest of the family. She studied to become a nurse and helped the wounded and dying soldiers of the civil war. Her family were against slavery and helped anyone they could, including Jemma.
Great story written about strong, courageous women.

A great historical fiction read.

I hand not read the previous books ( I know, I know) but I didn’t feel lost and I was able to enjoy this civil war book.

This is my first book by this author and it won’t be my last