This book is an epic tale of one woman, based on historical records, that shows that Black and brown people did indeed have an important place in the history of Europe and their colonies that is often overlooked. The voice the author uses feels authentic for the character, and as a reader you really get to know and feel for Dolly. The downsides to this book are that it is quite long (almost 600 pages) and there is such a span of time and characters that I sometimes had a hard time remembering who was who and where they were living and who they were married to.

ISLAND QUEEN follows the extraordinary life of Dorothy Kirwan, a freed woman of color in the Caribbean during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

ISLAND QUEEN was on my list of my most anticipated historical fictions of 2021. I read the unique synopsis and was immediately intrigued as I had never heard of Dorothy Kirwan and I find myself drawn to stories about history’s forgotten women. I appreciate the uniqueness of the subject and it went by quickly with the short chapters. Overall, I enjoyed this book; however, I do feel like it was about 100 pages too long.

That being said, I look forward to recommending this title to our audience and will keep it under consideration for a future book pick for our monthly book club.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you , NetGalley and William Morrow for the e-ARC.

Island Queen is a sprawling novel capturing the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas , a Caribbean entrepreneur and former slave who became one of the richest women of her time.

I had no expectations when I started this book. I was not familiar with Riley's work nor did I know anything about the formidable Island Queen. Riley took great care to research the life and times of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas and it truly shows. I appreciated how she was able to condense Dorothy's life into this immensely readable book, highlighting her struggles and her achievements. Riley's resources at the end of the book were truly impressive and I will definitely be looking it up for further reading.

The book is divided into short chapters with each chapter being a year in Dorothy's life. We follow her life from when she was a child, a daughter of a slave and white land owner, to her youth and entrepreneurship, to success to a wealthy woman of her time who was able to hold her own amidst white oppression. Dorothy was so successful: she sent most of her children to Europe to be educated; owned property such as hotels in various islands; and left her children a legacy.

Dorothy was a woman who was definitely ahead of her time, and Riley took care to convey that. Dorothy's drive and personality shines throughout the novel, so much so that, that we don't really get to know some of the more important people in Dorothy's life.

While the book was engrossing and entertaining, the chapters skip years sometimes and the reader is left to infer what happened in between while piecing together clues. Also, I felt the language and dialogue at times sounded stilted.

Overall, the book had a wonderful, "classic" feel to it that gives it a timeless quality. Island Queen is an amazing tribute novel to a phenomenal woman, and I hope everyone reads it because everyone needs to know about Dorothy's life and accomplishments.

Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, the real-life inspiration for this novel, is a woman of color who escaped from slavery and became one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the Caribbean during the colonial era. Riley brings Dorothy’s story to life, covering childhood to long after she’s established herself as a powerful landowner, in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or bogged by details.

Vanessa Riley normally writes romance novels and she’s brought that same level of readability to this book. The chapters were short and quick to get through which set a quick pace through a very long novel. I did start to lose steam towards the end so I could have done with 100 less pages, but Dorothy's life is full of events. I would have liked to see a little more of the day-to-day running of her business and how she trained the girls she employed, but (as I mentioned) it's already a long book and Riley chose to focus on Dorothy's family and relationships.

I had two small critiques that have to do with the historical setting. The first I noticed because a review of another historical novel mentioned it. The phrase “my truth” is a term that’s been popping up during the last few years and it does not have a place earlier than the 21st century. Every time that phrase comes up it pulls me out of the setting. There’s a lot of modern feminist ideas being explored, but given that Dorothy’s character is ahead of her time it never feels out of place, but I could do without the specifically modern feminist language. The second thing is nitpicky, but the term corset is used often and they didn't have corsets in the 18th century, they had stays. Some points I think the author means stays and others I think she means bodice since the character plays with her “corset strings” when she’s fully dressed. Yes, I have been watching historical costumers on youtube, how did you know?

Aside from those things I was delighted to finally get a historical novel set someplace other than Western Europe during the World Wars. There are so many places in history that would be interesting to explore and I’m glad Riley is introducing the world to Dorothy, whose story is so radical that if it was only a story one would call in unbelievable. But life is stranger than fiction and Dorothy’s life shows how true that is.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Island Queen: A Novel" by Vanessa Riley is an empowering story based on the real-life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a woman born into slavery who is able to buy her freedom and that of her family. It is a story that centers on injustice and suffering yet also the strength to go for one's dreams, freedom, and hope. I really hope that people get a chance to read this especially a story that centers on the Caribbean (she builds several businesses and becomes one of the most wealthy women in the Caribbean).

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC for my honest review.

I just reviewed Island Queen by Vanessa Riley. #IslandQueen #NetGalley

Book Review for Island Queen by Vanessa Riley
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Wow, I cannot wait for everyone to have access to this book. It is an epic story based on the real life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas. A woman born into slavery who is able to buy her freedom and that of her family. She then builds several businesses and becomes one of the most wealthy women in the Caribbean. It is a story of injustice but also of strength and dreams. It is also about family and the lengths a mother and grandmother will go to so her children and grandchildren will have what she did not. The men in this story are well meaning but oh so good for nothing. Well not nothing but really Dorothy was the driving force in her success and Riley makes sure we know it. Riley's research is always superb but here she has really outdone herself and has written one of the most wonderful works of historical fiction that I have ever read.

What a beautiful story! I had no idea about Dorothy Kirwan Thomas prior to reading this book. I loved reading about her life and rise through the ranks of society. The book is a tad long but I enjoyed it! The writing was beautiful and well done. I cannot wait to talk about this story with fellow readers!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.