Denny S. BryceRezensionen

In the Face of the Sun by Denny S Bryce
Diverse Historical fiction. Multiple time lines.
1928, Los Angeles: The Hotel Somerville is the hotspot for the city’s glittering African-American elite. Daisy Washington works at the hotel as a cleaning maid while secretly reporting behind the scene news and scandals to a newspaper reporter.
1968, Chicago: Frankie Saunders decides to leave her abusive husband finally since she’s pregnant. She asks her aunt to give her a ride to the bus station to go to Los Angeles. Complications end up with Frankie and Daisy driving Route 66 to LA.

Daisy will do whatever it takes to settle old scores and resolve the past. Frankie will face some hard choices as she learns about the past and current danger along the road to the future.
Two stories, one family, two different decades. Different race rules. Different times?

Poignant and real. Family tragedy over different decades but also showing the strength and resilience of women in difficult times.
I was routing for Frankie to be able to get away cleanly. Daisy was a surprise and made interesting reading. Overall it opened my eyes about a few things on the diversity scale and also reminded me of a few memories from my own childhood.

After her entire family is slaughtered, African Princess Aina is rescued from death by Captain Forbes and presented to Queen Victoria as a gift. Renamed Sarah and taught to be English, she initially lives with the loving Forbes family. She is introduced to Queen Victoria and begins a confusing journey between households. Living between two worlds, Sarah must decide who she is, and who she wants to become.

Overall this was a well written and engaging story. I enjoyed reading the passages about Africa, I've read very little about the continent. I felt for Sarah, at the same time seeing the advantages her connection with the royal family brought. Overall, well worth reading!

I first encountered Sarah Forbes Bonetta through Walter Dean Myers's brief biography, which I read as a child, and I was delighted to see this novelization of her life. Born into African royalty, she began life with the name Aina, but when her home and family were overrun in a war with a neighboring people, Aina was enslaved. She later came to the attention of a British captain, who asked for her as a "gift" for Queen Victoria. As Sarah Forbes Bonetta, she lived at the top of British society and received an excellence education. However, living like royalty had its drawbacks as well, as Sarah encountered a problem many princesses face: an arranged marriage. Overall, this novel made for a great read and I look forward to more novels from this author!

I really enjoyed reading this. The story and the spunkiness of Honoree grabbed me from the first few pages and never let me go. We got married too, by the way.

The history was rich and seamlessly weaved in. I thought the slang and 20's terminology was good though did they have the f-bomb back then, idk. In some stories, it can feel like they're infodumping the time-period's slang. I didn't feel that way here.

I also enjoyed all the main characters and their complexities. Even Trudy, who wasn't the typical mean girl. Eziekel annoyed me but had me rooting for him all at the same time.

If I have a nitpick, Sawyer's struggle with guilt and and depression seemed to magically disappear after a few talks with Honoree. But maybe he just needed to be true to himself. I don't know why Ms Kent liked him. I also always feel weird when the fictional characters meet real-life historical figures. How am I supposed to know if they're in character lol.

CW: colorist remarks, death, attempted sexual assault

I found Sarah's story involving, moving, and hard to put down. It was told in the first person and began at a critical moment when she was very young, so I was immediately sympathetic toward her. I felt her losses and disappointments as well as her frustration at being a pawn. Finally, I rejoiced in her personal growth and in her finding happiness.

I had heard about Sarah Forbes Bonetta's existence, but had no details, therefore I was very interested in this book. Book was wonderful and based on a true story. Kept my interest to the end. Author really brought Sarah to life. Historical aspects well-handled even though often very grim. Highly recommended.

FROM NETGALLEY: A stunning portrait of an African princess raised in Queen Victoria’s court and adapting to life in Victorian England—based on the real-life story of a recently rediscovered historical figure, Sarah Forbes Bonetta.

With a brilliant mind and a fierce will to survive, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a kidnapped African princess, is rescued from enslavement at seven years old and presented to Queen Victoria as a “gift.” To the Queen, the girl is an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court and to showcase Victoria’s magnanimity. Sarah charms most of the people she meets, even those who would cast her aside. Her keen intelligence and her aptitude for languages and musical composition helps Sarah navigate the Victorian era as an outsider given insider privileges.

But embedded in Sarah’s past is her destiny. Haunted by visions of destruction and decapitations, she desperately seeks a place, a home she will never run from, never fear, a refuge from nightmares and memories of death.

From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James's Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess.

Based on the real life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s story is a sweeping saga of an African princess in Victorian England and West Africa, as she searches for a home, family, love, and identity.

The Other Princess, an historical history novel, was an engrossing read that sent me searching for additional historical facts concerning the people and events portrayed. The title refers to a young African girl, the daughter of a tribal king, who saw her family brutally slaughtered by a rival chieftain when she was just five years old. Aina, the daughter, was taken prisoner and held for two years until she was rescued by an English man, who persuaded the chieftain to release her as a "gift" to Queen Victoria. Renamed Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the young girl revealed herself to be charming and keenly intelligent with a particular aptitude for music and languages. Queen Victoria acted as a guardian of Sarah and provided abundantly for her upkeep, and directed her studies. The novel follows Sarah's life shifting from Africa to England and veering back and forth several times.
This book was an absorbing read with detailed descriptions of life in tribal nations and cities in Africa, residential schools run by missionary groups, and the missionaries' influence in Africa at the time. The book provides thorough accounts of life in Queen Victoria's residences and in upper-class homes and discloses some of Queen Victoria's imposing wealth and power in the world during that period. This fictional account of historical events is a provocative tale of Black people in many situations, including wealthy businessmen and being "given as a gift" to a white person. Although Queen Victoria considered Sarah her guardian rather than an enslaved person, the young woman was subject to Queen Victoria's wishes. However, many people in that era were subject to Queen Victoria's or other powerful rulers' demands. Highly thought-provoking.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the ARC of this novel.

I received this e-book ARC through Net Galley from William Morrow, William Morrow Paperbacks in exchange for a truthful review.

Historical Fiction of the unique life of Aina (renamed Sarah Forbes Bonetta) an African princess who came to become the goddaughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

I was a bit familiar with the Kingdom of Dahomey (a rival kingdom of Aina's father's) from the recent 2022 movie The Woman King. In that movie, the Agojie, the all-female army unit of Dahomey, are feared and respected.
In this novel, we get to see a different viewpoint: the Agojie and the Kingdom of Dahomey are the terrified villains.

I enjoyed learning about Sarah Forbes Bonetta through this fictionalized account of her life, a life filled with such loses after every turn, it seemed. The Sarah Forbes Bonetta character seems a bit internally whiney, but I guess that could be expected with the losses she experienced and with her being at the whim of her benefactors.

I wished that this novel could have expanded a bit on what happened to the important people in her life, notably Freddie Schoen, after Sarah married and went back to live in Africa.

Loved this book! ❤

Wild Women and the Blues is a slow roll story, a little bit of a mystery but mostly just historical fiction. There's a dual storyline with multiple reveals, all of which are relatively interesting. I liked the book feel enough, but I really struggled with the pacing and ended up kicking the narration up to 2x. I think it was a mix - the slow pace of the book itself coupled with a slow narrator.

We have some interesting characters, though, and all of them have different sides that leave the reader interested in digging down and learning their truth. I was interested in all three of the principle characters in the past, and I grew to understand why we also had a present-time storyline. That one I didn't love, but it was fine. It served the final twist, and that was what mattered.

I'd recommend Wild Women and the Blues to the right kind of reader. They'd have to be an historical fiction fan, for one. It's got the edges of a lost love kind of love story, as well as many aspects that make books set in Prohibition really interesting. I appreciated having a different perspective telling the story - not a flapper, not a white girl, not a bootlegger, not a mobster. There's a formula to this story as well - the dual storyline - that makes it a tried-and-true format that many people enjoy.

If you enjoy adult historical fiction, historical fiction from Black perspectives, and the 20s, this is a great book to check out.

Sawyer Hayes needs to finish his PhD thesis after a year's absence from mourning the death of his sister. His hope lies in proving that his grandmother's old films are original Oscar Micheaux's. The last living link to the film is 110 year old Honoree Dalcour. Sawyer needs to interview her for his thesis, but Sawyer will have to prove his worth in her eyes in order to hear about Honoree's life among the legends of 1920's Chicago.

Wild Women and the Blues drops into jazz age Chicago, specifically Bronzeville representing the African American experience during this time period. Honoree's story is one of loss, heartbreak, and danger, but also one of hope and the promise of freedom. We are introduced to Sawyer first, however most of the story is from Honoree's point of view with several intermittent chapters that bring the point of view back to the present. I was completely wrapped up in Honoree's point of view from her youth. Her personality is rough and crude, but she knows what she wants and gets it done. The writing brought alive the Dreamland Cafe with glittering costumes, rowdy customers and free flowing bootleg whiskey. Honoree definitely lived a wild life as a dancer who cavorted with Louis Armstrong, Oscar Micheaux and Capone's gang. The mystery that ran through Honoree's story was enticing, her secrets run deep and were teased out slowly.

This book made me want to learn more about Lil Hardin Armstrong, and Oscar Micheaux.

I really loved this author's earlier novel (Wild Women and the Blues) and I found this book only slightly less compelling. This story is split between 1928 and 1968 and follows two generations of a family and themes which connect them. I enjoyed the 1968 pieces a little more, but overall this book was a great read and I look forward to more from this author!

“Why would I talk to you about my life? I don't know you, and even if I did, I don't tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed. You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while.” Honoree Dalcour
This is the story of Honoree, a sharecropper's daughter and dancer in Chicago's Dreamland Cafe in the 1920s. She’s now 110, not as strong as she used to be, but still sassy. The book transcends time going back and forth from 1925 to 2015. Sawyer a film student, goes to interview Honoree and the connection between them is fascinating.
Wild Women and the Blues was a great look into Chicago in the 20s, and the lives of Black women in the jazz scene. Their struggles to not only survive poverty but also improve their lives, all in the midst of prohibition and the mob captured my attention and held me captive throughout the book. I loved the way it went from early 20th century and early 21st century.
I absolutely loved reading this book, it reminded me of speaking with my grandmother, who told us fascinating stories about living in the 1920s. (Gramma was born in 1898 and lived to be 100, so you can imagine all the first-hand history lessons she gave us.) But, I digress.
Overall, I would say if you love historical fiction with a flair and interwoven story lines, Denny S. Bryce did a great job with making everything come full circle. The book flowed really nicely and the characters are relatable. I highly recommend Wild Women and the Blues and will definitely be on the lookout for more of her work.

Everything you think it’ll be based on the description. A little grittier than that gorgeous cover, but really interesting history and character-driven narrative.
Never felt like the slang or historical references were forced or overpowered the story. The 20’s were a time of immense cultural change and the Black nightlife community in Chicago is depicted here in vibrant detail.
The romance isn’t central, but it’s there.
Honoree is a prickly old woman with some massive secrets. Sawyer was not ready!

Content warnings: abuse, racism, racist violence (including mentions of firebombing, “athletic clubs”, lynching and more), misogyny, rape, assault, murder, unwanted pregnancy, misuse of prescription pills, alcohol abuse, mention of suicide attempt, grief, past car accident resulting in death, cancer, parental abandonment

Wild women is the truth. I loved the characters in this book. I loved reading about part of the history in our country with the best jazz from Louis Armstrong and so many others - and well, it goes with the the worst gangster: Capone with his followers during the Prohibition era.

It starts with a graduate student, Sawyer, who needs to finish his documentary thesis with the legendary Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux in 1925. He couldn't do it without the help of a 110 year old woman, Honoree, that seems perky at times yet hanging on the edge of life with all the answers within at a senior living facility. She's a stubborn old soul that makes you work for every ounce of information. I could hear her words in my head: "Don't you dare go to the end to find out what's going to happen. You must wait." And that's what she did to Sawyer. He researched what he could while she gave him pieces of clues.

The author brilliantly created the characters as if I was watching them in my head with the glamour, violence and the "good and bad" of life for Blacks in the Chicago clubs. I wish we had a chance to view the documentary films that were created of the times. At the end, she wrapped everything up making it more than a satisfying conclusion. I was close to guessing where everything was going but with the continued twist and turns, it kept my interest all the way.

I can't wait to read Denny S. Bryce's next historical romance: Blackbirds.

This book is set in Chicago in two time frames - near Christmas in 1925 and in the summer of 2015. The book's premise was good. The part of the book that is set in 1925 is firmly rooted in the time frame, and a good snapshot of what life was like in 1920's Chicago. We have a few of the big names like Al Capone, Louis Armstrong and his wife Lil. The Roaring 20's were in full swing in 1925, and the mobsters ruled the city. Two girls find themselves right in the middle of it all. Both are dancers in a black nightclub. From there a lot of the action is quite predictable - one girl finds herself in the family way, the other finds herself in the middle of a gang war. Where the book falls down in my opinion is in the 2015 segment. There are too many coincidences as to family connections. A young man in 2015 is interviewing a 110 year old woman. He is gathering information for a doctoral thesis on early black film makers, and is trying to assemble information from one of the girls. I found the pacing of this novel off a bit. The transition between the two time-frames was quite abrupt and it just didn't flow. The story is a good one, and I love the 1920's era, but the book didn't gel for me. It was worth a read for the Jazz Age culture though.

Don’t books have editors anymore, because this book really needed one. What should have been an interesting book about the blues clubs in Chicago in the 1920’s and the people who in habited them instead is a mess.

The plot is convoluted and hard to follow, and although the author is from Chicago and lists books she used in her research, there were several jarring historical errors. Plus, it uses my least favorite literary device: the modern character whose story is told in parallel to the historical plot. A big disappointment.

I thought I would like this novel more than I did. It was a well-researched dual timeline told from the years of 1925 and 2015, about a young woman named Honoree Dalcour who we meet as a dancer in one of Chicago's jazz clubs and who has high career aspirations. The story alternates between Honoree's past and the present of 2015, when she is 110 years old and film student Sawyer Hayes attempts to interview her for his final graduate school thesis. She has secrets she tries to keep from Sawyer, but slowly reveals them as she grudgingly shares her past.

Author Denny Bryce vividly describes the African American lifestyle of Jazz Age Chicago: the speakeasies and cabarets, the music, the clothes, the slang, the values. And in addition she paints the underside of this time period: the bootleg alcohol, gambling, and gangsters. She weaves real people such as Louis Armstrong and Al Capone into the story as well as depicting the economy, Chicago landmarks, and the arts.

With all this historical background and colorful drama, the story should have been a page-turner. But I had trouble connecting with the main characters from 1925 - Honoree, her boyfriend Ezekiel, and friends Bessie and Trudy. Sadly, I didn't care about these characters and didn't find them believable or likeable. Their behavior seemed two-dimensional. For instance Honoree would never listen to Ezekiel when he tried to protect her. Throughout the novel she would put herself in danger because she had a hunch (often incorrect) or thought she could manipulate a gangster. She was rudely outspoken, and often regretted what she said, yet her behavior never changed.

The Honoree of 2015 has a secret that is revealed at the conclusion of the novel. Most likely the reader will have guessed it before Sawyer figures it out. I actually liked Sawyer better than some other reviewers have, and felt that his story ended more satisfactorily than Honoree's.

This book is worth reading for the portrayal of African Americans during this time period, the authentic atmosphere, and the story of love and danger of Jazz Age Chicago.

Set in two timelines - one in 1920s Chicago and the other in 2015 - this novel makes for fascinating reading. Honoree Delacour is a dancer in 1920s Chicago nightclubs who dreams of making it big in New York City or Paris, but her life becomes more complicated after she witnesses the murder of a black bartender by a white man. In more recent times, a young filmmaker tracks a woman believed to be Honoree down in a nursing home with questions of his own. Old secrets are revealed, and a story of family and history emerges. Overall, I found this novel to be compelling and eye-opening to aspects of 1920s that I wasn't aware of. Historical fiction fans would love this novel and I highly recommend it.

Wild Woman and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce Is a two time line point of view novel. The first being film student Sawyer, in 2015 wanting an interview with 1920s dancer Honoree Dalcour, so he can finish his thesis. I did not find a connection with Sawyer and wanted more of Honoree's story and less of his.
Now Honoree, that is a story for sure. Set during 1925 Chicago, the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree comes from humble beginnings but has a chance to make it big as she dances her way to the top.
But Chicago is a dangerous place in the 20s with hard nose gangsters, illegal booze and gambling. Honoree stands to lose more than she gains. I would have loved to have spent more time with Honoree during this time period as it was fascinating.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Wild Women and the Blues written by Denny S Bryce, is a historical fiction novel that alternates between 1925 Chicago and the present-day life of film student Sawyer Hayes. Sawyer has discovered a small cache of photographs and some film in a box in his grandmother’s attic. If he can verify the names of the people in the photograph and confirm that the film is by filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, it will mean an important historical find and exactly what he needs to complete his thesis. Honoree Dalcour at 110 years old, is one of the people in the photograph. Sawyer sits by her bedside listening to her stories, and as she weaves her tale of 1925, Chicago Sawyer learns not only the answers to the questions he originally sought but also discovers that his family history is not what he thought it was at all. At the same time as I was reading this book, we were reading August Wilson’s play Ma Raineys Black Bottom at work, and so I was immersed in 1920’s Chicago both day and night. It’s a fascinating period of history, and I found both of these sources to complement each other and enjoyed this book very much. The twists and turns of the story will keep you engrossed in the book, and I highly recommend reading it. Publishing Date: March 30, 2021. #WildWomenAndTheBlues #DennySBryce #HistoricalFiction #KensingtonBooks #NetGalley #1920sChicago #BluesHistory #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

It’s finally here! I’ve been waiting for this book for awhile. I snagged an advance copy through NetGalley and now my own pre-ordered copy is here. I’m one happy reader.

If you love historical fiction, dual timelines, stories with a twist, strong female protagonists, and great writing, the you’ll love WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES.

Speakeasies, bootleg hooch, and mobsters. 1925 Chicago had it all. Honoree Dalcour was a dancer at the Dreamland Cafe, and rubbed elbows with Louis Armstrong, his wife Lil Hardin, and Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. Sawyer Hayes is hoping to interview her in 2015. Through a series of encounters, we learn the secrets each are keeping and how Honoree’s will impact Sawyer.

Bryce writes with an authentic voice, befitting the Jazz Age. She knows what she’s doing and it shows. I loved the characters, the story, the setting, everything.

I highly recommend this one!

I received a free advance copy through NetGalley but was not influenced to review it favorably.

The beautiful cover will draw you in, the story will keep you reading. Honoree Dalcour, the daughter of a sharecropper who went to Chicago in 1925. Honoree, a chorus girl at a speakeasy finds herself mixed up in a mob murder and must escape to live. Now reminiscing at age 101 in a she shares her story with a graduate student researching filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, Sawyer, the young researcher things Honoree can help him track down a missing film created by Micheaux. Along the way are clues suggesting another connection between the old lady and the researcher. This is an excellent debut novel.

3.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wild Women and the Blues is a historical fiction story that starts us in 2015 from the first person point-of-view of Sawyer Hayes as he tries to finish his thesis. He thinks he has discovered an Oscar Micheaux film in his grandmother's things and while the film is being restored, he travels to Chicago to interview Honoree Dalcour, a chorus girl he thinks is in the film going by other clues in his grandmother's box. When Sawyer meets the one hundred and ten year old Honoree, we then get chapters from her third person point-of-view during her life in 1925 Chicago. Honoree's chapters start off with some who's who of the people that lived at the time (Lil Hardin Armstrong, Josephine Baker, Capone) that felt a little name-dropping at first but ultimately evened off to create the atmosphere and shape a vibrant personality for the setting.

Something happened in Chicago in 1925. Something she doesn't want me to know. Doesn't want anyone to know.

Even though he starts us off, Sawyer's chapters are less than Honoree's and 1925 Chicago quickly becomes the star of the show. Honoree's first chapters set up the atmosphere but as they go on, they slowly meld with Sawyer's plot as relationships, friendships, and love bring together the story. Honoree is nineteen and alone in Chicago trying to move up in the dancing chorus line world, she gets a try-out at the Dreamland Cafe and from there good and bad plague her decisions and outcomes. Ezekiel, a childhood sweetheart, reappears in her life after disappearing three years ago, she witnesses a murder, and befriends a younger girl, Bessie Palmer, who eventually moves in with her.

Every time she had a shot at the good, the bad was on its heels.

Honestly, if Sawyer's point-of-views were left out and this was just told completely from Honoree's point-of-view and maybe just telling the story to her nurse Lula, I wouldn't have minded. Sawyer interrupted at times that I was getting into 1925 Chicago and I'm not sure I was ever fully immersed in his family issues. The death of his sister, him seeing her ghost felt out of place and unresolved, and his strained relationship with his dad eventually fit into the overall story but fairly minuscule as the star was clearly the events happening in Honoree's past.

Love was better the third time around.

This novel did have the ability to sweep you away and provided an atmosphere that brought Chicago in the 1920s alive. From the music, to Bronzeville, the Policy rackets, mobsters, and nightlife, Wild Women and the Blues brings it all to life through the people that lived it.