If you were to ask Google if the United States ever had a queen, inevitably it would say there was never an American monarchy, or it would reference Queen Elizabeth I from the time before independence. This novel tells a different story, the true story of Queen Luella who along with her husband, King William, ruled over the Kingdom of the Happy Land. This self-proclaimed kingdom was started in 1869 on 25 acres along the North and South Carolina border, purchased by a group of former slaves. The Kingdom lasted about 40 years and was based on a socialistic style of government. William and Louella were humble and very involved in the lives of their citizens. One touching scene in the book shows Louella's efforts to teach everyone to read.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes' and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Clara's eyes filled with wonder as Louella read the passage from the Bible. "I've never heard that before."

"And now you can read it for yourself." Louella handed Clara the Bible...

This verse must have meant so much to former slaves after all they endured. Louella wanted to make sure all her citizens could enjoy the freedom that knowing how to read can bring. Louella as a character takes quite an emotional journey from the hate she carries from her slavery days in Alabama to being a mother figure and Queen to the citizens of the Happy Land. Along the way, she suffers great personal loss and has to find the strength to carry on.

This is a slower book, but there are so many poignant and yet uplifting moments in the book. I found it to be an enjoyable read and I'm so glad to have learned about this lost chapter in history. I had to do a little more online reading after finishing this book. I'd love to look for the Happy Land next time I get near Henderson County, NC.

I liked the premise of the book and enjoyed it as an average reader. However, it didn’t quite work for me as a classroom teacher because of the amount of religion in the text. This type of text may work in a Catholic or other Christian school environment but not for a public school audience.

The American Queen is a captivating journey from the beginning to the very end, leaving me looking for more. This page turner was masterfully written with standout aspects including impeccable character development. Each character is meticulously crafted, with layers that unfold throughout the story. I loved eery part and quickly grew a love hate relationship with one character in particular.

Overall, the storyline itself is incredibly told with the information the author was given about facts,, drawing readers into a world that feels both familiar and captivating. With its captivating plot and relatable themes, it's a must-read for anyone looking for a deeply immersive historical fiction experience.

This is an important book. Before opening it, I had never heard of Louella Montgomery, an African American woman born into slavery in Mississippi, in the 1850s, and freed once slavery was abolished in 1865. The American Queen is a fictionalize story, based on what is known of Louella. Louella and her husband, Reverend William Montgomery have to leave Mississippi, as tensions grow following the recession and recovery of the Southern states after the Civil War. Together, they travel with other freed people through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and finally to the South Carolina/North Carolina border, where they find a place to settle. During their journey their group grows from almost 40 to over 200 people. As they settle, they name their settlement, The Happy Land.

Louella is a force to be reckoned with. She faces hardship from the time she is born, to the time she passes, but with each tragedy, she continues to fight for human rights and women's rights. Ms. Miller's book ensures not only will Louella not be forgotten, but she will sit in an honored place in American history.

I received a complimentary copied of this book in both audio and ebook formats. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Both formats are a delight. Every time I started up the audio, I felt comforted and excited to hear about the next chapter in Louella's life.

This is a beautiful story to read about. It is very different from what I am used to reading, but I think it it so important to read about this time period and about this topic of slavery and the "freedom" that came after. I have so much respect for those who have been through this, and it is honestly beautiful to read about how strong they are to find and protect their real freedom.

Simply beautiful!

the audiobook was really good. the narrators voice was very pleasant and perfect for louella.

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

I just finished listening to this book. I don't even know what to say. This book tackles so many tough subjects in addition to the tough topic of slavery--loss, grief, abuse, doubting. All of the characters in the book are flawed in very human ways, and there are beautiful moments of redemption. To say that I enjoyed this book isn't quite right, but I am so glad that I listened to it. I learned, I cried, and I thought about some of my own times of grief.

The narration was beautifully done, and the historical notes were very helpful. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this free audio-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The American Queen was as phenomenal as it was emotionally draining. An absolutely incredible, gut wrenching and awe inspiring book that had me shedding tears one chapter and giggling the next.
The narrator did a fantastic job with this one, with their stunning singing voice. I honestly don’t think I would’ve had the same experience actually reading this.
This my first book by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last.

Story: 4 Stars
Narration: 5 stars
Narrator: Angel Pean

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for providing me with the audiobook.

A piece of history I knew nothing about. This book was fascinating and taught me something new. I immediately went google searching to learn all I could about this community.

This book was difficult to start because it began with graphic and gritty descriptions of slavery and injustices. But I am glad I stuck with it. This beautifully written novel captures time in history about which I was unaware. Louella is easy to love and cheer for. I am thankful to have learned about the HappyLanders and their ability to live with and for one another and happiness after the abolition of slavery.

This audiobook was made available to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator has an absolutely stunning singing voice. In addition to her skills regarding narration, the singing really made this story feel like I was watching a movie. Exceptionally well done. I'm not sure if I've listened to an audiobook read by Angel Pean before, but I'll be sure to look for her work in the future.

This novel is a harrowing read in many ways as it's set during the end of chattel slavery in the US South. Louella Bobo is enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation in 1864 Mississippi at the opening of the novel. She's heard about the Emancipation Proclamation from her father and wants to leave. However, the Emancipation Proclamation has no power in the Confederate States as Louella soon discovered.
Shortly thereafter, she's married to Reverend William, the biracial son of the plantation owner, who has some privileges on the plantation. William has a brother, Robert, who is light enough to pass for white and is a slave owner on another plantation.
Eventually, Louella, William, Robert, and many of the formerly enslaved from the Montgomery and surrounding plantations set off in a series of wagons looking for greener pastures and greater opportunities.
The traveling is somewhat anxiety provoking, but eventually, the traveling group settles on land they've purchased as a group on the border of North & South Carolina. They call this land the 'Happy Land' and crown Louella & William their Queen & King. I don't want to give spoilers, but the kingdom of Happy Land is established about 40% into the book. I liked that because I was interested in the actual living situation in the Happy Land over the circumstances and journey that brought them to the Happy Land.

The Christian themes felt heavy. I wanted more discussion about the fractures that occur in Christianity that lead formerly enslaved Black folks to form their own churches. My great-grandfather was a Cogic Minister in Florida because of treatment in white churches. I wish this had explored more of the Black Agency that occurred under Reconstruction. I wanted to see the formerly enslaved men register to vote. I wanted to see the book talk about the first Black Senators voted into office in Mississippi. However, this focuses on the ruinous racism that characterized the fall of the Confederacy in Mississippi. Louella and her people leave before Reconstruction takes hold. Which is understandable given the Black Codes they are suffering under.
The other aspects I really wanted were period details about Black life that were based on superstition and folklore. There's no bottle trees or haint blue porches. No discussion of restless spirits, etc. This is just the historian in me as none of this detracts from the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read/listen to and review this novel. All views expressed in this review are my own.

The American Queen

The only Queen who ruled on American Soil!

Wow! You read it correctly. This was my first reaction to The American Queen.

Talk about Historical Fiction at its finest. This story informs, educates, and captivates your attention from the beginning to the end as you learn about Queen Louella and the people of the Happy Land.

This is truly a wow factor read with all the feels. I literally had to sit with my thoughts and let them simmer while savoring the moments.
The American Queen is totally book hangover-worthy and worth every bit of the hype. It is like Good Morning America quoted in their 15 New Books to Read for the New Year “This Powerful story must be told and retold,” indeed. This is definitely a favorite of 2024. It is a story that I want to tell everybody to read, and I have been doing just that.

It is such a bonus to listen to the audiobook of this amazing story and hear the words come alive from the pages. It is next-level reading creating a remarkable listening experience.

The audiobook is highly recommended.

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

I absolutely loved this book. It was a joyful experience to learn about the creation of the Happy Land and how freed, previously enslaved persons were able to come together to build such a beautiful community.

Vanessa Miller also did a masterful job of handling the character development for the Happy Landers. I loved watching Louella grow as an individual, and become the complete embodiment of a queen for her people - and likewise for William as the Happy Land's King. With Robert, on the other hand, we just had the tiniest plot hole left by the three children that Robert had in Spartanburg. I would have liked to get a little bit of additional backstory on their mother, the circumstances in which they were born, and their upbringing. There also seemed to be the unanswered (minor!) question of how their existence in Spartanburg seemed to impact Robert's debts. But this was at a point in the story where the conclusion was already approaching, and there were already some creative liberties taken with their characters, so it definitely didn't take away from the story.

Overall, this book was beautiful and uplifting and I would instantly recommend this book to anyone interested in wrongly overlooked chapters of American history. Fantastic read!

A moving historical fiction story based on little known true events about the bravery of one slave woman to embrace hope over hate and forge a unique community with her white Preacher husband where other Black Americans could find refuge in the south. Set in the late 19th century America, this is a story I'd never heard before and it was incredibly powerful and well-researched. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Sadeqa Johnson or Esi Edugyan. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Read if you like:
📚 Historical Fiction
⏳ Books that take time over several years
🖤 Black History
🇺🇸 American History
👑 America Royalty

This story is a fascinating story of American Black history that I’ve never heard of, and it was very interesting and eye opening to aspects of American History we have not heard of and haven’t had their stories uplifted.

I love that the author utilized the names of people she found in her research for the book and utilizing her research to write the story as accurately as she could.

I really enjoyed hearing about the story of the happy land kingdom that existed for about 40 years.

My one complaint is that I wish the writing had been reviewed a bit more as the style changed at times and took me a bit out of the story and the span of time covered made it difficult to know what was happening when and would have benefited from maybe focusing on one time period and flashbacks for the history that was being shared of the Happy Land and how it came to be for continuity of the story telling.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An incredibly fascinating, well-written, and extraordinary historical fiction. I was in awe of this book. What a fascinating series of events. I could not believe that this community existed during such tumultuous times. I hope this novel makes its way into Hollywood.

Thank you, Harper Collins and NetGalley for this ARC. #TheAmericanQueen #NetGalley

Just an amazing story about slavery during and after the Civil War.

This title caught my attention because I was not aware there had ever been an American Queen. I really liked the cover of this book as well. This is a story of a group of slaves and what they did after they became free. Freedom is great, but once you have it, you still have to have shelter and food. And the southern states were not in a great place after the war. They had large plantations and no one to work them. If the slaves stayed to work, the land owners had trouble paying them and in most cases probably did not. There was also a food shortage after the war was over.

Louella hated oak trees - where slaves were whipped or hung, including her and members of her family. I love the description of this group of slaves and how they worked together to build a better life. Their goal was to treat each other with dignity. This book made it sound like they created a good community founded on principles in the bible. This group of people had to take fear and build it into trust and hope in the Lord.

I really enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook - Angel Pean.

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan Fiction Audio for a free copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

**** 1/2 stars

Given the heavy topic, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would.
“The American Queen” has the perfect balance between, accurate historical portrayal and light language, which makes it very approachable, also for younger audiences.

The story is unique in its focus on Happy Land, a community built by the protagonists in South Carolina. It gives a unique perspective of the hardships and injustices that followed the ban on slavery, an era of history that is often cut off too prematurely in history lessons. As the majority of the book is narrated outside of captivity, it is not as gruesome or graphic as some people might expect.

Louella is such a strong and compassionate character. Although I was oftentimes infuriated on her behalf and even wished she would react more strongly, she had the grace that I would have lacked to deal with some situations. Given the context, Christianity and the belief in God is a topic, but I appreciated that Louella not only questioned the status quo but also her belief system.

I really appreciate the author's note explaining the treasure hunt she underwent to gain the information in order to write this book. It makes me want to explore this topic further.

I love fiction about lesser known stories that make me run to Google, spending hours doing my own research. And this happened for me in the first 20% of "The American Queen." The Happy Land was such a beautiful community and I'm so thankful to Vanessa Miller for uplifting this story!

Louella has my whole heart. Her determination to protect and nurture her people, the growth of her hope and faith in a world that scarred her emotionally and physically, and her love for her family were so clear in all of her actions.

Shoutout to the amazing narrator, Angel Pean. I was fully immersed in the story, especially during the songs, which were SUNG! Highly reccomend that this story should be digested through audio!

This book spans many decades and sometimes I didn't have a strong sense of timeline and it felt kind of rushed.

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan Fiction Audio for a free copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

Historical fiction that informs and inspires is so powerful. The American Queen is exactly that - a fictional retelling of actual events and locations inspired by important history that’s not very well known.

Louella and her husband William were slaves on a Mississippi plantation. With emancipation, they had the option of staying where they were or setting off on their own. They ended up on the border of North and South Carolina, building the “all for one, one for all” community of Happy Town based on a dream Louella had.

A deep look at the impacts of slavery followed by the terrors of the Jim Crow south, The American Queen focuses on the beauty of transformation while still being true to the horrors of our past.

The audiobook was beautifully narrated (& even more beautifully sung) by Angel Pean. Her storytelling and soulful singing made for an immersive listening experience.

The American Queen
by Vanessa Miller
The end of the civil war did not change the environment of the south. The resentment of the loss of fortune by the slave owners, of work for the overseers, and the violence causes untenable situations. The young house slave, married to the oldest mixed race son of the master has no protections from these violent times. The struggle north, although dangerous, with night riders, animals, and violence is the only solution. They found a place for themselves, they shared all they earned as a group. The Happy Land was born. It was a communist like community, with a king and queen who managed to help their people. They were people who once lived but not included in the history books.