This vital story needs to be told, and I'm happy Ms Riley tackled it. It's clear she did a lot of research into the topic. It is a story about the Haitian revolution told through women's eyes. I love stories about Haiti; my favorite movie about that time is Feast of All Saints.

Ms. Riley's descriptions of places, people, and events during that time were on point, but with that said, I have concerns about the dialogue as, at times, it was dry and hard to read. I had difficulty getting through the book because Ms. Riley is also trying to cover much ground over fifty years, and I found myself losing interest in the story.

With that said, I'm not suggesting this is a book you should pass on. With some editing, changes can be made to this becoming the book of the year. It has all the potential to be made into a movie, one I'd be the first to see! (Linda - Guest Reviewer)

Sister Mother Warrior is beautifully written and the characters you can either love them or hate them. Duchess Gran Toya is very bold and courageous, this character I related to the most. Vanessa has really captured the Haitian culture in this book. I really appreciated this book.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the first Emperor of Haiti. Sister, Mother, Warrior tells the story of his women in his life. They are his adopted mother, Duchess Gran Toya, and his wife, Empress Marie-Claire. The novel tells of how these women influenced Jean-Jacques Dessalunes as he rises from a slave to an emperor. Both Duchess Gran Toya and Empress Marie-Claire are very patriotic and bond together for the good of their country. They both play a major role in Haiti’s independence.

The reader is first introduced to Duchess Gran Toya’s story. Duchess Gran Toya was a warrior of the Dahomey tribe and the king’s wife. In order to save her king, she became enslaved. When her best friend died in bondage, she raised her son who became the future Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines. I really admired Duchess Gran Toya. She was fierce, bold, and courageous. Most of all, I admired her loyalty. She is very faithful to her loved ones and will do anything for them. I also liked her bond with Empress Marie-Claire. Therefore, Duchess Gran Toya was very likable because she always fought for justice.

The other narrator in the story is Empress Marie-Claire. She is a free black Wonsan and lives a life of privilege. She falls in love with a slave who will be the future Emperor of Haiti. The novel tells of Empress Marie-Claire's complicated romance with Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who is very ambitious and complex. I really like Empress Marie-Claire. She is a very compassionate woman. She also fights for justice and has saved countless lives. Therefore, I found her actions to be very commendable. It was also interesting to see her rise to become Empress of Haiti. Empress Marie-Claire experienced many hardships. However, she always put her country before her own sorrows.

Even though Jean-Jacques Dessalines is a major character, I never truly grasped who he was. He was very ambitious and selfish. He did not seem to care about his wife’s hardships. Instead, he cheated on her and had other children. He also was very power-hungry. He cared more about his image than his loved ones. Therefore, Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a complicated character. I initially liked him, but over the course of the novel, I gradually began to dislike him. I can see why his wife had a complicated relationship with him and would later choose her country over him.

Overall, this novel is about justice, war, and freedom. Aside from the main characters, I found most of the supporting characters to be bland with little depth. I also found the beginning to be slow and the ending rushed. I would have liked the novel to be longer to have a fully fleshed-out ending. Still, I found the novel to be very well-written and meticulously researched. The author superbly showed the diversity of Haiti and the different cultures of the Haitian people. She also did an excellent job in portraying Haitian politics of the era. Therefore, Mrs. Riley did a tremendous job in depicting a historical event that I knew little about. I also found the story of Duchess Gran Toya and Empress Marie-Claire to be highly illuminating because I had never heard of these women before I read this book. Therefore, despite its shortcomings, I was intrigued and fully engrossed in the novel. I enjoyed it so much that I did not want it to end! I recommend this novel for fans of Mademoiselle Revolution, Island Beneath the Sea, and Wide Sargasso Sea! Sister, Mother, Warrior is an endearing tribute to two very important women who have become cultural icons in Haiti.

This is a fictional account of the Haitian Revolution that drove out the French and freed an enslaved people, centered on 2 amazing women - Marie-Claire Bonheur, the first Empress of Haiti, and Gran Toya, a warrior woman enslaved in West Africa.

The story moves back and forth in time (sometimes confusingly) and between their lives. Initially a soldier in the West African Dahomey army, Toya is enslaved, ending up in French Saint Domingue. There, she helps raise the future emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

Marie-Claire has an easier life as an Affranchi, a free woman of color, in Cap-Francais. Marie-Claire and Toya are at odds when they finally meet, their backgrounds too different for anything else.

Read this novel to find out how these women became as sisters, and how the revolution gave power to the powerless - but at a high cost.

“A masterful novel about the Haitian Revolution, "Sister, Mother, Warrior" will surely follow in the successful footsteps of Vanessa Riley's "Island Queen." A West African warrior and the first empress of Haiti seem completely different until they unite in a common mission in this engrossing, important tale based on a true story.”

"𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮." —𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳, 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘙𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺

𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳, published July 12,2022, is a historical fiction account told from the perspective of two women, Gran Toya, born in West Africa and Marie-Claire, a free woman of color, who shape the heart of the Haitian Revolution.

I have about 100 pages until I reach the end of this journey with Toya & Marie-Claire. The intersection of their lives, the decisions & the culmination leave a lasting impression in my mind and an indelible mark in history. Historical fiction has always been the gateway (reading) that makes prompts research. Research that colors the missing parts of the bland history lessons of my youth. Such lessons made more my shade due to the literary works of Vanessa Riley. My only disappointment will be that I must wait for the next historical fiction by Riley & the women I'll meet in those pages. Until then, Toya & Marie-Claire, I will see you soon in the final pages of 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳.

SN: ICYMI, I highly recommend 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳, and if you haven't read it already 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯.

I absolutely love reading historical fiction, especially amazing black women from the past who rock and rocked history. Author Vanessa Riley does so using her unique writing style. First with Island Queen and now with, Sister Mother Warrior. One thing you can be sure of is that you are going to get a well-researched topic and you're going to learn some history you might not have known before.

In Sister Mother Warrior, we meet two phenomenal women who were crucial in Haiti gaining its independence from France: Marie Claire and Gran Toya. Gran Toya was a Dahoney warrior from West Africa who was enslaved but who also helped raise Jean Jacques Dessalines, the leader of the Haitian Revolution. Marie Claire is the love of his life and a powerful woman in her own right - helping to nurse and help all, regardless of their race, in the war.

It was a deep read for me and the author does not shy away from the tough truths of the past. Her descriptive writing style made me picture the gruesome torture but also the triumph of overcoming captivity. This literary work lingers with you after the end. It did take me some time to read but the heartfelt conclusion was worth it.

Thank you, #Netgalley and #WilliamMorrowBooks for this ARC.

Once again, a phenomenal historical fiction by Vanessa Riley ( **See Island Queen). The fascinating history behind the women warriors in West Africa who fought and killed for their king, only to end up sold into slavery and shipped away from their homeland. This story is based on the real life women who fought in the Haitian Revolution and the true life stories of two women who led the way, freeing the enslaved from the French.

The most compelling part for me was the women and men who once served in the royal army in West Africa, fierce warriors, to being enslaved, brutalized, castrated, raped, mutilated, and dehumanized in another land. Who were treated like animals and yet still be able to persevere and come together to rebel and free themselves! To never forget where they came from and who they REALLY were...warriors!

A must read for those who love history and historical fiction. Vanessa Riley's research and story-telling will have you so entranced you won't want to put the book down!

I must admit all I knew about the Haitian revolution was that it happened. I was not familiar with the revolution and found the story interesting and inspiring. This is a very important book that tacked a lot of history. The characters are very well-written and the writing is fantastic. This book provided me with a much better understanding of this time in history, and the role women played in it

This is a very important book that tacked a lot of history. It is clear to me that Riley is a master storyteller when it comes to historical fiction. In her hands history especially the women in it, just comes alive. As a historian, I can not express enough how wonderfully she handles historical complexity.

Some of the narrative jumped a bit too fast, especially in the first half of the book but that was understandable given how much history and events have to take place for the story to work.

This story represents the telling of two strong women in a revolution and the story of Haiti. A Black uprising that brought together Abdaraya Toya, an enslaved woman from West Africa and a free woman of color, Marie-Claire Bonheur brought up with wealth. As was her nature, Marie-Claire was forever on the front of helping those who were poverty stricken, endured injustice both economically and socially. This is a strong book, in many ways...passions and strength that help bring the Haitians and their island to independence. The book is vivid in its telling, the research impeccable. For me it was a different type of Historical Fiction as I wonder what that independence brought -- this island, this country is still impoverished and as such the people are still enduring injustice brought about by nature and in many respects, humanity itself.