This novel takes the tale of an Irish slave working in the Caribbean islands. This was not an easy read. The main character goes through a lot of hardships. Still, it was an emotional read and very moving. I thought the romance seemed sweet. The only thing I did not like about this was that it should not be titled a mystery because there was very little mystery involved. Still, this was a coming-of-age story about a woman’s determination.

An interesting tale. survival, obsession, upheaval, and more. All these keep the reader hooked from the beginning. It will be interesting to read the next in the series.

Ground as Sweet as Sugar begins with Charlotte Dillon, an infamous rebel Irish man’s daughter, spending her final days awaiting the gallows for murder.
At just age 17, she manages to escape what she thinks is certain death. Unfortunately the alternative isn’t quite what she is expecting.
As an indentured servant to James Blair, sugar planter in St. Croix with deep ties to her family’s enemies, she has to confront the limits of her endurance and try to keep her true identity concealed.

Initially set in 1797, readers are transported between the battlefield of Ireland to St. Croix’s burning sugarcane fields. This multi- perspective book has a whole cast of interesting characters set in both locations, which adds to the ebb and flow of the narrative. The only thing keeping this from being a 5-star book for me is the consistent Point of View switch that occurs in each chapter. I don’t believe I’ve ever come across that before, so it took me some time to get used to it, but I became too invested in the story to let it bother me.

It’s historical fiction at its finest. And there is a nice mix of hot and steamy, sexy sexiness, which I didn’t mind at all. It’s reminiscent of one of my favorite books of all time, The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay with a little bit of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
Ground Sweet as Sugar is just the beginning of an epic saga and I can’t wait to read the sequel, The Virtues of Vice.

Thank you to Victory Editing Netgalley Co-Op for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful exploration of indentured servitude in the late 18th century, and provided a rare glimpse into the world of West Indian plantations.

Charlotte Dillon is consigned to death. Her sentence will be carried out tomorrow. She is resigned to her death, and eager to escape the weariness and tragedy of her life.

When James Blair's facto liberates Charlotte from prison, she becomes an indentured servant bound for a new life under an assumed name. As all of her comrades are members of the "oldest profession on earth", her insistence upon her innocence is not believed.

When James first encounters her, she is not what he expects. She is eloqent, well-read, spirited and opinionated. The closer they become, the less their differences in station seem to matter.

But Charlotte's family is notorious. She has embraced her new identity to hide that notoriety. When her secrets are revealed, the house of cards she has built is destroyed.

I loved this book and can't wait to read the second one.

Ground Sweet as Sugar is a coming-of-age historical story. The heroine, Charlotte, is just seventeen and she is waiting for her execution when she is offered a chance to escape this fate - all she has to do is admit that she is a harlot, deny her real name and she’ll be exported to West Indies, where she has to do her time for seven years. When she meets her new “owner” on the ship, she understands it will not be that easy, since she gets those special feelings and the captain gets those feelings too.
So, it’s a story about irish slaves in the West Indies and a love story between Charlotte and James? No it’s not. This is a story about so much more and every time a new character or storyline is introduced I felt as if I had just walked into a glass door in other ways smooth hallway - there are so many “What?!?!” moments. Things happen all the time and the storyline seems too busy, too cramped with new things. Besides the things that are happening with the main characters, there are strange peeks into things back in Ireland, which are sometimes related to the main story but sometimes they are the “what?!?” moments, that might be explained in the next book.
I’m not saying it’s not a good book, it’s actually a very interesting book, it’s just too busy and not very believable, the heroine acts too much like a modern day teenager, but I will be reading the next book for sure and soon.

Epic historical fiction at its best! Richly woven tale which transported me back in time, travelling from Ireland to the West Indies. With powerful characters, I felt totally immersed in their lives. Feeling the toil and emotions of Charlotte as the story untangled her mysterious past, I turned page after page unable to put the story aside.

Wow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's set in late 1700s West Indies and follows the main character, Charlotte Dillon, daughter of an Irish rebel. She is introduced as a murderer and finds a way to escape the gallows by serving in a brothel in St. Croix. She ends up catching the eye of a local sugar planter and ends up serving as an indentured servant on his plantation.

Things get complicated as the sugar planter, the plantation driver, and other plantation owners are taken with her, all for very different reasons.

Charlotte fights against her own feelings while also trying to secure a place in the world where she doesn't have to answer to anyone but herself. She's an admirable character and you'll find yourself cheering for her as she endures challenge after challenge.

This is one of a two-book series and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one to see how Charlotte's story plays out.

I am wavering between 3 stars or 4 for this one. There was a lot I loved, the setting, Charlotte, the side characters.

However, I found the plot jumping between Ireland and the Caribbean, distracting at times. Especially through the middle portion of the book where we kept switching every page and a half. There were also a few chapters thrown in, and I don't know if I missed something or what, but I have NO idea who the characters speaking were, nor their point in the story. Perhaps it will be cleared up in the second book.

Lastly, I could not stand James! Which is unfortunate since it looks like he is the "hero" of the book. 😂 I just found him weak, wish washy, whiny, and quite frankly...mean! Charlotte deserves someone like the Spanish pirate, I vote for him! 😂

Side Note: While I was expecting this to have "romance" in it, I wasn't expecting it to resemble a bodice ripping ZEBRA HISTORICAL ROMANCE that I devoured by the hundreds as a teen! Not a plus or minus towards my rating, just an observation!

A awesome compelling story of Charlotte an Irish lass set to be hung for murder and James a English plantation owner in St. Croix.
Adventure suspense Loyalty passion,secrets romance.
The story and characters held me captivated throughout the book.
The ending, can't wait to read more about Charlotte and James and what in store them both.
A great story.
Voluntarily reviewed.

I received an Arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and have not been swayed in any way.

Before I get into the story I need to mention all the extra content that truly helped me enjoy this story. The book comes with multiple maps as well as a glossary of historical terms used, and each chapter began with an Irish proverb, this was a fantastic touch, with my favourite being “you’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind”

Ground Sweet As Sugar follows Charlotte who is not only a rebels daughter but also a young woman awaiting the gallows for murder. Charlotte willing to do anything to avoid her execution travels as an indentured labourer to St. Croix.

Charlotte’s Master James Blair is infatuated with her leads him to make increasingly bad choices.

Meanwhile in Ireland, The Troubles have well and truly kicked off. We follow a gang of Irish rebels fighting to take Ireland back and dealing with the infiltration of spies.

These two storyline entwine beautifully, impacting Charlotte and James long after they’ve left Ireland.

The will they won’t they, sexual tension of Charlotte and James relationship was keeping me on the edge of my seat.

As another reviewer pointed out, the Point of View switches, which often happened in the next paragraph were confusing and could’ve used some more indicators that that was happening instead of finding out a couple of sentences in that we were in James perspective, was the only major issue I had with this book.

I give this book 4.25 stars and I plan on picking up the second book soon.

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the electronic copy of Ground Sweet as Sugar by Catherine Heywood. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this novel. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating of this book.

In the opening scene of Ground Sweet as Sugar, a seventeen-year-old girl is living through the night before her death as a traitor. Circumstances gives her the chance to escape her punishment, and she becomes a bond servant to a West Indies planter. The action in this novel kept me engaged throughout the story, and I enjoyed that aspect of this adventurous tale.

There were times I was pulled from the story because the author refers to the characters as the planter, the bond servant, the pirate, and that separated me from them. Once a reader knows who’s POV that is narrating, it would be less intrusive for the author to use a pronoun instead. This kept their POVs from becoming as deep as I prefer, so this influenced my rating.

Charlotte Dillon is the heroine of this tale, and she certainly manages to get into a lot of trouble. Her journey is quite a rollercoaster ride, but she’s gutsy and determined, making her an interesting heroine. While I didn’t like some of Charlotte’s decisions, I did enjoy her character. She has several relationships with other male characters, and since this book ends on a cliff hanger, I’m not sure where those relationships are going.

I found the Irish rebellion history in this novel fascination, and Ms. Heywood has certainly done her research. This is an intricate part of the plot, so that that’s an important aspect. I also enjoyed the descriptive writing. At times, I became part of the scenes, which is always a benefit.

If you enjoy historical novels with plenty of suspense and adventure, then Ground Sweet as Sugar will be an exciting reading experience for you. While there’s much to enjoy in this tale, I don’t plan to read the sequel. Happy reading!

Ground Sweet as Sugar is the first book in a series. In 1797 Charlotte Dillon is set to be hanged for the murder of an upper class boy. She is sympathetic to the Irish Rebellion and the prosecutors believe that to be the reason behind the murder. The day before her execution, a man comes to the gaol to purchase indentured servants to sail to St Croix. He is looking for women jailed for being whores. Women that know who Charlotte is, push her into the line and the man buys her and puts her on the ship. She soon finds herself in servitude on the island of St Croix. This book is not dual timeline, but it is dual place as it mostly tells about Charlotte and her life in St. Croix, but it also continues to keep us abreast of the events in Ireland and the ongoing rebellion. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to review this enjoyable book and and give my honest opinion. #GroundSweetasSugar.