Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris is an amazing read. After their father dies, four siblings come together for the funeral, but each of them have their own secrets to hide. Will the lies, deceit and betrayal tear apart what remains of this family for good or will it bring them together? Will they realize that it is okay to remember where they come from and that they do not have to repeat the mistakes of their ancestors? It is always important to embrace the past, but it’s more important for you to find your own path on this journey in life to find out where you are going. You will definitely want to keep a box of tissues handy for this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I DNF'd this at 50%. It wasn't holding my attention and I didn't like any of the characters enough to keep going. It is disappointing because I loved Terah's last book! I was really looking forward to this one, but it fell so flat for me.

Long After We Are Gone is the fascinating story of estranged siblings who are burdened with the task of honoring their father’s dying wish by keeping two hundred acres of land from getting into the hands of the white man. That’s difficult to do when the land is heir property and no one has clear title or ownership. Especially when a rogue uncle is not motivated by familial bonds but greed. As the siblings are threatened with losing the property, secrets that held them bound are revealed and relationships are healed. Only then are they able to unite as one to fulfill the promise and free themselves from generational trauma. The story is captivating and kept me engaged from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

Hang onto your hat with this book. I can honestly say that I’ve never read a first chapter that has hooked me so quickly, touched me so deeply and made me hitch my breath so many times than this book did. Actually, it didn’t stop doing those things right up until the very last page. The Solomon siblings are each fighting their own battles when their father dies and they are thrown together for the first time in a long time. Drastically different, yet each holding onto the threads of their family for their own reasons, they band together to save The Kingdom, the only home they’ve ever known passed down from their ancestors. When a shady uncle and greedy outsiders try to steal their land out from under them, they fight back, but their many, many secrets come out in the process. This book is explosive. It is emotional. It is raw. It is real. It is shocking. It. Is. Everything. The best part? The incredible way the author cares for her readers. The book opens with a heartfelt trigger warning unlike anything I’ve ever read. I felt cared for even before the first page began. So, if you know there are certain things that are off limits in your reading life, read this first before you go on. But I highly recommend that you do.

A story of family, love, secrets and how they all impact individuals in a powerful family that must come together to save the land their father loved. This story unfolds with backstories for the children as they lose their patriarch and must grapple with what that means for their future.

I so loved One Summer in Savannah that I was delighted to get this ARC and was just as enamored with this bittersweet story of a family in crisis. As King dies, his last words are, "Don't let the white man take the house." And so begins the tale of siblings, each with their own secrets, failures, and inadequacies, as they attempt to reconcile in the face of adversity as their land is about to be taken away from them. It's a magnificent tale of the siblings' foibles, as well as blackmail, embezzlement, and above all: understanding. And as outsiders try to destroy what was once--and always will be--their property, Harris shows us that the only foundation that cannot be razed is family!

A powerful loss in a family leads to a lifetime of revelations and honesty. After their father died, aptly named the King, the family is forced to reveal the secrets in the closet that have haunted the family for decades. Each sibling had been hiding from their father a secret that they feared would destroy their family’s reputation and their own life in the process.

I loved One Summer in Savannah and so I appreciated the chance to read an ARC of this book (thanks very much, NetGalley!). I found it long and difficult to read and I couldn't find a character to like. Maybe Tokey.

Tragedy reunites four adult siblings in their hometown of Diggs, North Carolina. Each feels a deep connection and responsibility to their past while struggling to figure out who they are in their present and who they wish to be in the future. The attempt to fulfill perceived expectations and be the person they truly are is the heart of the story. Coping mechanisms serve their purpose in the moment, but have heavy consequences later on. This family is complex. They hurt themselves, each other, and those around them while wishing to be loved and feel like they are enough. "Are you still a family if you don't know the whole story?" There's no going back, but how do you move forward? The story unfolds with events in present time while examining the past. The characters are flawed, but the reader will cheer for each one of them and hope each will find their way. I absolutely loved this book! It would make for an interesting discussion at book club. You might find out quite a bit more about the members in your group and maybe, a liitle more about yourself.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title

I really enjoyed this book. The family was full of disfunction! I think there could have been a little bit more character development, especially with Tokey!

Junior - I would have liked him to finally be truly and honestly happy once he acklowledged who he was. I loved to see him grow a backbone though!
Mance - I hope that he was able to "bend" more often in life. I think having acknowleged his demons he was more likely to be able to overcome them.
Cece - oh lord I did not like her, she was not likable but she was definately fun to read. a little more background on CeCe would have been helpful What motivated her. in the beginning, was it greed? was it running away from her past? I think her final confrontation with Mark was too neatly tied up.
Tokey, The baby of the family. never felt she belonged. now she needed more development. I don't think she was intended as a truly major character but I certainly wanted to know more about her and her eating disorder. In the epilogue I would have like to know if she was able to fight the eating disorder, fight the demons that held her down.
All and all a great book. I thought the whole concept of heir property to be very interesting, and will seek more information.

Long After We Are Gone kept me reading through the entire book, curious about the outcome of the Solomon siblings.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I felt compelled by the individual stories as each character had issues and problems that threatened them in some way.. A couple of the characters felt much more real and well explained than the others so there did feel like a disconnect there.

By the end, I was satisfied for the Solomon children and enjoyed the book overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advance reader copy, all opinions are my own.

Long After We Are Gone is the story of the Solomon family, who have resided in the town of Diggs, North Carolina for many years and family generations. King Solomon, a carpenter/woodworker and father of four has passed away, bringing all four adult children back the family land, called The Kingdom, to say goodbye and make arrangements for how they will handle the land. Each sibling has their own serious life issues going on, creating much drama, and old family secrets are revealed as well. As the siblings come together to fight for the Kingdom, they find themselves learning to live and love all over again.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but the four POV, one from each of the four siblings this book is centered around, felt disparate. There did not seem to be enough cross over or interaction between them to make a singular story and on top of that, they were rather unlikeable, or lacked depth, or both. I DNF'd at 72% which I only pushed myself to because I felt obligated to really try and finish since this was an ARC. I was also not expecting nearly every character to have significant romances resulting in some fairly steamy scenes. That isn't necessarily a reason to like or dislike the book, of course, but few of them seemed to really add to the underlying story.

At the end of the day, I think this book was simply not for me. I will share that the moment I knew a DNF was inevitable was when the youngest sibling began to draw comparisons between her parents relationship (viewed through personal letters) and the relationship one of her siblings was having. 1) She did not seem to have any "ick" regarding reading about her mom getting hot for her dad and 2) her character was so shallow (she had a food addiction) she couldn't even relate it to herself but instead had to reach for the relationship she perceived her sibling to be having. I made it a good bit past that, but I knew that was it for me.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the digital ARC I received of this book.

I absolutely adored One Summer in Savannah, so I was really excited for Long After We Are Gone. While I didn't find it as compelling as One Summer, it was still an engaging read and I really appreciated learning about the complexities and inequities of land ownership.

While each sibling had their standout moments, I found Junior's story overall the most compelling and emotional for me. I enjoyed watching him grow and battle his inner demons and insecurities and finally accept who he is. I also loved Ellis, his character stood out the most and was the most likable. I found the conclusion of Tokey's story to be the least satisfying, there were some scenes/behaviours where I actively disliked the character(s) and I still had a few questions by the end but it didn't really hinder my enjoyment.

Overall, this story didn't touch me as much as One Summer, however, it is still a worthy read.

Thank you to NG and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Publishing for providing an early copy of Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris

Author Terah Shelton Harris has created a dark, meaningful and ultimately redemptive account of estranged siblings raised in small town Diggs, North Carolina as they struggle to accept each other and work together to save their land named The Kingdom.

When their strong and revered father, King Solomon, (a name that may have readers drawing comparisons to the Biblical ruler) dies without leaving a will, his children must seek the advice of local attorney and long-time friend, Ellis, Notice has been given that the Solomon family must vacate the premises within two weeks as the property has been sold through the actions of an uncle. This leads to a multitude of personal realizations such as sexual identity drama, embezzlement, jail time and an eating disorder that the siblings must share with each other in their quest to unite and save the land. Added to this is their ignorance regarding the death of their mother which unfolds from an unexpected source.

Within this framework is a love story that attempts to rekindle amidst all of the chaos, hardship and negative feelings brought on by circumstances the Solomon heirs never expected. The author's writing is such a strength as Junior, Mance, Cecily and Tokey evolve and move toward a common goal.

Tereh Shelton Harris has included an Author's Note at the beginning of the book which offers readers background information on the "heir property" rules of North Carolina and eloquently hints of the personal and public conflicts to come.

Long After We Are Gone is an important read as it never deviates from the many emotions that bring flawed characters to new realizations of family.

Ebook/Women's Fiction: This book was more powerful than the author's first book.
It was like a sexier, more diabolic episode of Dallas. The character I liked the most was Tokey because I'm on a diet and I was enjoying her binges vicariously.
On to more serious stuff, the book hits a lot of social issues that the Ms Harris addresses in author's notes. It can be a hard book to read at times. There is a parallel between losing power because of gender, losing power via mental health, and losing power because of race.
As a disclaimer, I got this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review and I have met the author several times.

the Solomons have lived at the kingdom in north Carolina for years, when their father dies, they return to fight for their land and home.

King Soloman—owner of 200 acres of choice North Carolina land- while dying utters his last words” don’t let the white man take the land”.
And so we meet his four children, each one of which is struggling with his own secrets and problems, and their attempt to carry out his wishes. Each child and their respective problems (violence, theft, hidden homosexuality, an eating disorder, are carefully drawn and well depicted, and I’m sure every reader will have his favorite. In addition the legal concept of heir property, apparently still a major problem among black families in the south, is well explained and plays a key role in the book. A good-very good read- with quite a dramatic ending.

I really enjoyed this family story that focussed on healing and not repeating generational traumas. It is a modern voice and the characters resonated

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is also posted on Goodreads. Man, kicking February off with a bang!

Powerful. Emotional. Impactful. This story pulls you in instantly into an intricate and intense story of four siblings and their family's history.

The Solomon family has lived at The Kingdom for hundreds of years; when the patriarch of their family dies unexpectedly, the 4 Solomon siblings are met with a harsh reality. King Solomon had no will, and their uncle has sold part of the land to a development company. They are at risk of losing the Kingdom due to heir property laws.

Each chapter is split into four POV's, following each sibling as their navigate the legal and personal battles they face after their father's death. Junior is coming to terms with who he is, Mance is terrified of failing the love of his life and newborn son again, CeCe is deep into legal trouble and is being blackmailed, and Tokey is struggling with taking care of herself and feeling like she has a place in the world.

Over the span of a few weeks, the Solomon siblings world as they know it begins to collapse and reconstruct. The one thing they learn? Let it be.

The family drama, deep family history, and found family themes in this book were captivating. The writing is phenomenal and takes you fully into each siblings story. This is one I'll be recommending to everyone and thinking about for a long time.