Mim Eichmann

Get comfortable, grab your favorite drink, a box of tissues, and buckle in for an emotional ride in this historical fiction novel. Tayvie’s life is full of loss and hardship, and the story is set in a volatile time in America’s history. There are moments that will tear at your heart, and others that will make you gasp, and a few that will make you smile. Eichmann masterfully paints scenes that you won’t soon forget, and the story moves along at a smooth pace. The characters are varied with plenty of depth, and could easily be people who really lived back then. If you enjoy historical fiction that takes you right into history, then you’ll want to grab this!… (mehr)

historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, discrimination, dishonest-business-practices, dishonest-people, jazz, NOLA, caste-system*****

In spite of the characters in the story and the main thread of it, I found it to be sad and depressing with regard to the situation of the time for females both Black and white. Yes, it was worse for the Black but the white with little or no money weren't mush better off. The insight into the vaudevillians was no better. And denying literacy to a group of people just because of their skin color is too reminiscent of the same being done to non-landed people by the Church as well as the murder of those who translated the Bible into multiple languages.
The story is briefly introduced by the publisher's blurb, but I feel that this book needs to be read by everyone. It is deeply moving.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Living Springs Publishers/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) via NetGalley. Thank you!… (mehr)

3.5

Book source ~ Tour

Set in the 1890s in Colorado, the tale follows 13-yr-old Hannah Owens and the horribly brutal life she leads because she had the misfortune of being born female into a family without money or privilege.

There’s Historical Romance that lets a reader peek in on the realities facing those who lived in the past while never really hammering them home and then there’s Historical Fiction that tosses you in the deep end and doesn’t care if you sink or swim. There’s no right or wrong to either, but be warned that this particular story is brutal in its portrayal of what life was like for women in this country when they had nothing and no one to protect them.

Some women were lucky. Even with everything Hannah goes through in this book, she’s one of the lucky ones. And I’m going to use that term loosely because her life is not easy. However compared to many women of the time she’s definitely been lucky in her acquaintances and circumstances. She makes the best of what comes her way and while the decisions she faces are unfathomable to most of us here in 2021, it’s chilling to realize that with sex trafficking running rampant we are still dealing with the same situations Hannah did in the 1890s.

Told from Hannah’s point of view she has a wonderful voice and it’s fascinating to watch her evolve from an ignorant girl to a world-weary woman. Her situation is enraging as well as heart breaking. My only complaint is how the story seems at times to drag and others to skip ahead. Plus, the ending is a bit rushed. Overall though, it’s a read that will definitely stick with you for a long time.… (mehr)