Ashton Lattimore's first novel is an excellent combination of thorough historical research and good storytelling. She narrates the story in the voices of three main characters: Nell, the daughter of a well-to-do family of free Blacks who had lived in the city for generations; Charlotte/Carrie, a young woman who escaped with her father from enslavement on a Maryland tobacco plantation; and Evie, a still-enslaved young woman brought to Philadelphia by her mistress. Three women from very different circumstances come together at a time when the fever of abolition was running high in the city, but also up against an equally fervent push from those who wished to see the "peculiar institution" continue.

Based on the true story of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, and the 1838 convention of anti-slavery advocates at Pennsylvania Hall, this is a moving and suspenseful story that is sure to have readers rooting for these young protagonists, as they each learn from the others important truths about themselves as well as their place in this country's history.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books Publishing for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.♥️

In this stunning debut novel, the author masterfully weaves together the stories of three young Black women in pre-Civil War Philadelphia, crafting a tale that is both heart-wrenching and hopeful. With a keen eye for historical detail, Ashton Latimore transported me to the streets of Philadelphia, where the promise of freedom and liberty rings hollow for Charlotte, Nell, and Evie.

I was drawn into the lives of these three women, each with their own unique struggles and dreams. Charlotte's longing for a life beyond the confines of her father's household resonated deeply, as did Nell's fierce determination to use her privilege to fight for justice. And Evie's desperate bid for freedom left me on the edge of my seat.

The writing is evocative and immersive, with characters that leap off the page. The story is at once a searing indictment of slavery and racism, and a testament to the strength and resilience of Black women in the face of unimaginable oppression. I found myself rooting for these women, and the pages flew by as I turned through the story.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in historical fiction, and especially for those who want to understand the lived experiences of Black women during this era. It's a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality, and a tribute to the unsung heroines who fought for justice in the shadows of history.

An excellent historical fiction debut novel! The setting is pre-civil war Philadelphia and the story centers on the evils of slavery and the enduring human spirit. I became very attached to the characters and I appreciated the research that went into this book. It felt real without being sensationalized. I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. This is an outstanding novel that deals with slavery, slave catchers, Pennsylvania Hall, the anti slavery Society, abolitionists and much more. The story is based on real people and events that happened in the 1830’s in Pennsylvania and the south. Charlotte and her white looking father are runaway slaves who escape to Philadelphia seeking freedom. Evie is a young black slave who is left behind to do Charlotte ‘s chores. Nell is a free black young lady who lives a very rich and cultured life In Philadelphia and she is involved in helping to end slavery. James is Charlotte’s father who becomes a very successful furniture maker and passes for white in society. I learned a lot about slavery in the 1800’s and the 1780 Act which phased out slavery in Pennsylvania. The plot is well developed and the characters are interesting.

This was an enjoyable read about the lead up to the Civil War. I found it well written with engaging characters who provided three different perspectives on slavery. While the main characters were fiction, I appreciated that some of the folks they interacted with were actual historical figures who were fighting to free slaves in whatever way they could.

It took me a bit of time to warm up to the characters, and I think that, of the three women, the person who grated on my nerves the most was Evie. I kept having to remind myself that she was very young, but there were moments when I was truly exasperated with her feelings towards Carrie and the way that she just reacted with such immaturity. Again, she was much younger than the other two women whose POV we experience, so it was probably a valid way for her to act and feel. Just drove me a little batty when it caused so many problems that didn't have to be there. Nothing truly surprised me as the story evolved, but being able to predict some of the plot twists did nothing to really detract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

While there was an underlying romance in this book, I am very happy that it did not factor significantly in the story beyond serving to move the plot along and to build out the characters a bit more. Yes, it was nice to have one of the ladies also figuring out her feelings, but it was not a major part of the book and just kind of served as a bonus for me.

I feel like this is a good pre-Civil War historical fiction that gives voice to Black women in three very different walks of life.

All We Were Promised is a historical fiction set in Philadelphia, following three women whose stories become intertwined over the course of the novel. For a debut, the novel is impressive. Ashton Lattimore does a stunning job capturing raw and real emotions of her characters in a way that could be felt even off the page. As someone who doesn't read a ton of American historical fiction, I learned a lot from this book and appreciated the thoughtful research that Lattimore did to convey not only the events of the time, but also the tone and reactions of people at the time. Every time I sat down to read this, I felt completely transported. In terms of the characters themselves, they were very complex but I felt a little as the book went on, the three main female protagonists began to blend into more similar / less independent voices to the point that I sometimes was confused by who I was following. All in all a wonderful debut and I look forward to follow along with Lattimore's career!

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

All We Were Promised is a beautifully written and highly informative novel of what it was like to be black or free in Philadelphia in the mid 1800’s before the Civil War. It traces three main characters….one slave, one free and one part of black society for decades. The exhaustive research paints an interesting portrait of abolitionist history of the time period as well as the trials and tribulations of what it was like to be black, frightened and fighting for freedom. Although a little long, still a highly recommended first novel.

“All We Were Promised” is a debut historical fiction novel by Ashton Lattimore. I will say that the historical research of this book was fantastic. From reading other books, I’ve learned it’s difficult to keep track of the pre-Civil War state rules regarding slavery issues, so that (from what I could gather online) Ms. Lattimore seems to have gotten them correct, I tip my hat. This book combined the heartening and disheartening regarding those times. This book’s beginning seemed to be more character study and setting things up, with the last quarter of the book picking up with action and the worlds of the three main characters merging together. I didn’t find this book a quick read, but for a debut novel it was a good read.

This book had everything I needed to leave a lasting impression. The characters ❤️❤️ Not only were the main characters so lovely and worthy of concern, but even the secondary ones were complex and developed enough for me to care about. Darcel anyone? I would love a Darcel spinoff. The specific time and location in history was interesting to learn more about and I liked that some of the characters were real fixtures in the abolitionist movement. And the story. While there were multiple interwoven storylines going on, they somehow all fit so well together and allowed the entire book to never lose any steam. Just overall incredibly lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced read!

I knew nothing about the quest for abolition in Philidelphia during this time and how many different groups it brought to the city. This book is wonderfully written to capture 3 different classes of Black women in the Era. One born free with high social standing, one a runaway and one still a slave. The author did a wonderful job capturing all 3 points of view equally without any of them over powering the other. The fact that they all learned from each others experiences is a point that still rings true today.

I could have continued these girls' stories for another 100 pages, I was not ready for this book to end. look forward to reading more from this author.

Three distinct Black women from different classes of society come together to fight for freedom. All We Were Promised tells the story of slavery and the abolitionists’ movement in pre-Civil War Philadelphia.

Written from the perspective of three Black women whose lives become intertwined, it describes a dark period in history when the status of Blacks was in jeopardy, depending on their socioeconomic backgrounds.

Extensively researched, Ashton Lattimore blends the fictional characters of Nell (freeborn), Charlotte (escaped slave), and Evie (slave) with real people such as Hetty Reckless and events in history to write a rich portrait of Philadelphia in 1837. The story starts slow and then builds into a suspenseful ending, wrapping up a satisfying story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this time in history and loved the characters. I thank NetGalley for allowing me to read and review it. #NetGalley # All We Were Promised #historical fiction

Using the backdrop of the Pennsylvania Hall construction in Philadelphia of 1838, Ms. Lattimore writes a fascinating story featuring 3 black women of the time: Nell, a freeborn black woman from a prominent family; Charlotte, a runaway from a Maryland plantation now settled 4 years later in Philly; and Evie, a close friend of Charlotte whose mistress brought her to Philadelphia and is now engaged to a prominent plantation owner from South Carolina. These 3 characters lives will intersect as two try to help the third to escape from her mistress and to also find a voice calling for abolition of slavery in all parts of the country but it will not be without struggle and violence. Pennsylvania Hall was a real place that was built as a safe venue to discuss women's rights, abolition and reform of all kinds. In it's first weeks of being completed, a convention was held for peaceful discussions of rights of black citizens but during the convention, wild protests took place for days outside the building and the mobs burnt the newly built building down. The research by the author into the laws of the day when it came to moving slaves from the south while visiting in the north, especially in Philadelphia, was so educational and she used this information to build tension to the story as it related to Charlotte and Evie and their former mistress Kate. Many real activists of the time were part of the story as well, giving an authentic feel to the storyline. I especially enjoyed the latter part of the book as the suspense which has been cleverly built up, finally comes to a satisfying conclusion for the reader.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Ballantine Books and the author for the honor to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

All We Were Promised, A story that takes place during the 1800's. The book takes us to Philadelphia and into the lives of black slavery. During that time in Philadelphia there were free slaves, affluent black families who were free, and the black slaves that were runaway's that escaped their master's. If you lived in Philadelphia for atleast 6 months you were free. James who was black but light skinned and passed as white escaped his master in Maryland with his daughter Carrie and changed her name to Charlotte and opened a furniture store that he made himself. He had to keep a false identity up and to do that he kept his daughter as his in house maid. She was a lot darker skinned. Charlotte and her father lived in a lovely house and was doing very well. They left behind family. Charlotte left her friend who was like a sister Evie. There was abolitionist groups, there was women's groups to end slavery, there were white groups that wanted to keep slavery! I couldn't stop reading this book to find out what happens to Charlotte, Evie, Nell, James, and Alex, along with James cook Darcell. The cleverness of Charlotte and Nell who kept their friend and themselves safe was nothing short of bravery! I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. This is my first book by Ashton Lattimore and I look forward to reading more of his books.

Stunningly written, this debut historical fiction is the debut novel of Ashton Lattimore. The depth and construct of her words brought the characters and the landscape of pre-civil war slavery to life from the very first page until the final word.

This is the story of three Black young women……Charlotte, a “free” runaway slave from Virginia living with her light skinned father who passes for white; Nell, a Black abolitionist who grew up free in an affluent family; and Evie, an enslaved girl who is desperately seeking freedom. Their lives converge in Philadelphia, as they put their lives at risk working in the name of freedom within the constraints of this time in history.

This is a powerful and important work of historical fiction that is superbly researched, providing this reader with many learning moments. I hope this is the first of many stories to come from Ms. Lattimore as hers is a voice that we need to hear more from.

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine Books and Ashton Lattimore for giving me the opportunity to read this exceptional novel in exchange for my honest review. Publication date: April 2, 2024

All We Were Promised, a debut novel by Aston Lattimore gives a different historical perspective on Philadelphia history. The book involves three young Black women in quite disparate levels of society. The main character, Charlotte, was named Carrie as a child and grew up in the antebellum south. A now-free escaped slave, she works as a maid in a nice home in Society Hill but feels as inhibited—if not as mistreated—as she’d been as a slave. Her father, Jack, forced her to escape with him to Philadelphia just before Carrie is to be sold off to help their owner pay off debts. The second character, Nell, is a member of the Black upper middle class and has never done a day’s work in her life. A budding abolitionist, she befriends Carrie/Charlotte. Part way through the story, the third girl emerges when Evie, a fellow slave and friend of Charlotte’s, arrives in Philadelphia and by chance encounters Charlotte. Evie asks Charlotte to help her escape as well.

Lattimore does a great job blending her fictional characters with real historical personages. As a former fifteen-year resident of Philadelphia, the setting feels authentic. All We Were Promised shows the plight of Blacks in one of the more progressive cities in America in the 1830s. Despite its progressiveness, Philadelphia was gradually eroding the rights of Blacks by decreasing how much their votes counted in elections, and “sojourner” laws allowed slaves to continue to be enslaved as long as they were not within the city more than six months. After that, they would be deemed free. Blacks could still be randomly picked up off the streets, even if free, and returned to the South. Race riots were common as the country was in an economic downturn, and Whites felt Blacks were taking away jobs. The climax shows the very real dangers Blacks faced in the City of Brotherly Love and the birthplace of American Liberty.

All We Were Promised was a novel told from the multiple perspectives of three young Black women, Charlotte, Nell, and Evie, in 1837 Philadelphia. They are in a place at odds with itself for the time period, where both enslaved and free Black people are in the city. The political turmoil surrounding abolition takes center stage in this story alongside the more personal struggle for freedom that several of the characters face.

I enjoyed this one and liked reading from the perspectives of the different women, as it added a different lens to the feelings and perspectives of events in the story. The storyline centers around Charlotte, who escaped slavery with her father and is living life in Philadelphia under a pseudonym. She befriends Nell, who works towards abolition, and eventually is working to try and help Evie, who is enslaved. It was interesting to see the larger plotline of the fight within the abolition movement of how much to do/what to do alongside the more personal stories of these three women.

This is the story of three women living in Philadelphia in the 1830s each seeking their “freedom”. Nell is the daughter of a prominent black family in Philadelphia. She dreams of personal independence and the freedom to choose her own path in life. A life without where is not tied down to a husband or children. Charlotte and her father are fugitives who built a new life in Philadelphia. While he built a life and reputation in Philadelphia by “passing” as a white man, Charlotte is living her life as his maid. She spends her days dreaming of a day when she experiences true freedom. She lives with one eye to the past (fearing that she may be caught and dragged back into enslavement) and one eye in the future (hoping to built a life outside of her father’s home and watchful eye). Unlike Charlotte and Nell, Evie is still enslaved and always dreaming of a day when she will be free. When fates brings all 3 women together, their definition of freedom gets challenged.

I love the fact that we have the perspective of 3 women who come from parts of society. I love that all 3 women are black - I think this was the most unique part of the story and my favorite part over all. All 3 women challenge the others’ idea of freedom. Great read!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the free advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ability to read this advanced proof of Ashton Lattimore's first novel, All We Were Promised. Once again I learned much about an area I was quite familiar with, Philadelphia, prior to the Civil War.

This work tells the harrowing store of a father and daughter who escaped from a plantation in MD to live in Philadelphia as a "passing" gentleman and his daughter - a housemaid. Charlotte, the daughter, is befriended by Nell and becomes entrenched in Philadelphia's Anti Slavery and Abolitionist movements.

I don't want to give away the plot, but this book was an excellent delve into the unflattering past of our country. I will encourage others to read this.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

I struggled to get into this book. It wasn’t until I was 2/3 of the way through that the plot picked up enough for me to want to keep reading. There was a lot of build up as we got to know the characters of Nell, Charlotte, and Evie, maybe too much. I got annoyed with the repetitiveness of the internal dialogues of all of these characters.

I did, however, appreciate all the research that went into this book! Lattimore really brought the city of Philadelphia to life… I felt like I was there. I could tell she worked hard to build the scene for the reader. It was a unique premise for a historical fiction novel and I learned about a specific part of Philadelphia history.

ALL WE WERE PROMISED
BY: ASHTON LATTIMORE

4.5 Stars!

This debut novel called, "All We Were Promised," written by Aston Lattimore is a uniquely different historical novel that I've never encountered before that tells an important piece of Philadelphia history. The Authors Note at the very end includes some eye opening insight into what actually took place there in Pre-Cival War history. Philadelphia was actually the hub where Black people fled their enslaved plantations that had various laws given to help runaway slaves gain their freedom if they resided there for more than six months. Wealthy upper class Black families also resided there for many generations. This made for a lot of political riots to those Whites who still opposed free Black citizens. This is a story that includes abolitionists that made it their way of life to help Black people who were fugitives that were escaping slavery and trying to make their way North. Just because the laws that were enacted to protect free black individuals didn't mean there weren't slave catchers that broke the law without impunity.

At the very beginning it is 1836 in Philadelphia where two very different young Black women named Nell and Charlotte witness a riot.

Charlotte'Walker is keeping secrets along with her father James who is living under false pretenses. Charlotte's name is really Carrie and her father's name is really Jack. At Jack's scheme he whisked his daughter Carrie away from a tobacco plantation called White Oaks from Maryland after the Master Murphy died and his widow Kate is left in debt and is planning to sell off some of her slaves. This spurs Jack to run to Philadelphia and change his name to James setting up a comfortable life as a successful furniture maker. James is able to pass as White and his daughter Carrie is now his Black maid named Charlotte. James is overprotective of both his daughter Charlotte, but also of their charade that only the two of them know out of safety.

Nell has been born a free Black young woman who has wealthy parents. Nell has taken Charlotte under her wing and the two of them form a close friendship and are active in the abolition movement. They are raising money at selling goods for the cause at the marketplace when Evie and Charlotte recognize each other in the crowded atmosphere. Charlotte is a highly skilled seamstress and she attends these abolitionist activities when she can sneak away from home while her father is away from their home.

When Charlotte and Evie have a conversation Charlotte promises to help Evie escape her Mistress slave owner named Kate. Charlotte feels a strong bond to a younger Evie because they both came from the same plantation at White Oaks. Charlotte enlists Nell to help her find safe passage for Evie to escape North. Nell has more connections in the Philadelphia society groups with important people who can make Evie's escape become a reality. Nell enlists a young man named Alex to help with Evie's escape. Nell and Alex pretend they're engaged to fool their wealthy parents who have been life long neighbors whose mothers are overjoyed that they are getting married. This is the subterfuge that gives Nell and Alex excuses of spending more time together to plan Evie's safe passage.

There is a problem that slows things down when Charlotte's father finds abolitionist pamphlets and out of caution to protect their secret he prohibits Charlotte from leaving the house. James instructs their cook who is a Haitian named Darcel to not let Charlotte leave his sight. This hampers these young peoples plans to help Evie escape. Evie thinks Charlotte forgot about helping her and Charlotte is the go-between with Evie who can no longer escape her home to put a plan in motion with Nell and Alex's help.

I thought that the pacing was slower than what I like and this novel seemed longer than it actually is. For those that are Literary fiction fans this might be perfect for you. It seemed to be more character driven and in that aspect it excels. There's quite a bit of real historical people who really existed that are interspersed as secondary characters that Nell turns to for help. There are also a lot of politics and social groups that are active in their quest to change the law to help protect Black people. I really could feel great empathy for these Black fugitives and enslaved peoples indignities and harsh treatment. As much as Philadelphia was a refuge and was supposed to offer Black people protection they weren't really all that safe. The author pulls the rug out from under these characters towards the end and does a great job at incorporating a menacing feeling as these characters are trying to serve the greater good but what they are doing is not without risk.

Publication Date: April 2, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Ashton Lattimore and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Ballantine Books for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#AllWeWerePromised #AshtonLattimore #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantineBallantineBooks #NetGalley