It has been a while since I read a book that kept me focused and was not full of profanity and sex. This was an excellent listen. Well, done, this could be any of our story. The narrator did a fine job of telling the story. I had decided that I was through reading/listening to books about slavery and the struggle of Black people tut this one was such an inspiring story of what can be done. Seems to be one of the stories that never gets told of how a former slave and an entire town over cam and flourished. Thumbs up!!!

One should never feel comfortable reading a story about slavery. The injustices and brutality just can't be weighed against the "benevolence" of a handful of slave owners. I finished this beautifully written and narrated story with heavy heart. As it should be.

I enjoyed the storytelling. The storyline of Felix, seeing his growth and his struggles intertwined with that of Addie and her family created a great listen.

Absolutely recommend this book. The story was true to life and riveting, characters real, and the narrator was amazing. A tough story because slavery and afterwards were so brutal and harrowing. Racism has never gone away.. Everyone, and especially all the white supremacist and anti-immigrant hateful people resurging now, should listen to this powerful book.

Really enjoyed this audiobook.

A well written and moving historical fiction that captured my attention to the point that I could not stop listening. A part of American history that cannot and should not be forgotten offering lessons for future generations.

Incredible book - thank you for sharing your family history. I will be adding this book to my collection for my own grandchildren to read one day. It is so important to know history and learn from it. Many blessings to Charles and family.

This book is epic. It is comparable to the novel Roots. I hope a movie will be made based on this book. Narrator was superb. It is hard to imagine that all of these voices especially the women could come out of one man.

A good historical yarn based on a true story. Narrator was very good at conveying Deep South accents.

I really enjoyed the flow and content of this story. It feels like my family’s story with some of the blanks filled in. Can’t wait to reread for the nuisances i may have missed during the 1st read.

I was so caught up in this book as the writing and narrator were so entertaining. Such a great story and I highly recommend it.

This book starts out slow, but builds are intriguing story! My mother, in her 70's, was really into the story. 5 hours into the book, my older brother joined in to listen during a visit. He downloaded the book to finish the story on his own.

Great

Beautiful story telling with a great narrator. emotional and real. The last few chapters had me on the end of my seat and in tears at times.

Fast paced. This was a very smooth read. The narrator was spot on.

A glimpse into the lives of black people facing huge prejudice and injustice around the abolishing of slavery. As non-American, this has thought me a lot about the social structure of the time and about how it still radiates today. I enjoyed the narration a lot - each character felt different and the story seemed calm and gripping with internal tensions. A good historical novel born out of stories held in the author’s family.

I kind of dreaded reading about slavery and reconstruction, but this was an excellent book! It was nice to see a little balance where the black characters had full lives and fought back when they could! It was also nice to see characters who acknowledged their wrongs and attempted to make amends. Overall beautiful story!

Great book

The narrator was the best part of this production. His characterizations and effusive style gave the book its best shot at charm, and engaging literature. As for the novel itself, it was enthralling, overall, and ant times engaging. However there exists an unevenness in the story’s flow, in characterization, and just seems to be all over the place with regard to the plot and the action. The obvious flaws may likely be weakness in the editing of what appears to have been a behemoth of story that was somehow mangled in the process of bringing it to the public’s attention. The author’s comments in the Afterword are helpful, and lend context that puts a bit of meat on the bones of a project that in many ways fails to satisfy.

Stories of family, honor, and family deceit. It’s great southern novel.

An incredible book. I was sad it ended

I enjoyed the characters. I enjoyed listening to this book.

Superb.

Amazing book

Wonderful listen.

Captivating story

One of the best audiobook narrations I've heard. Excellent story overall and informative of times, places and pov. Found some of the plotting devices distracting and occasional word choices anachronistic and distracting.

An engaging read with string character development. Not the genre I’d usually read, but am so glad I gave it a chance!

Very very good book and reader.

It was a wonderful listen. Sometimes I worry that books dealing with slavery will be difficult to listen to because of the violence. This book was different. I fast forwarded through 1 or 2 minutes but it was a really good listen!

A worthy read

I thought this was a fascinating book which was very atmospheric. The narrator was excellent.

Such a moving and wonderful book!

An incredible story with deeply developed characters providing insight into the complexity of relationships between slaves and plantation families, men and women, north and south. It also illustrated the immense challenges that slaves faced even after their liberation and the fears endured by blacks as whites lost their grip on power. The narrator was absolutely wonderful!

Well done and the voices were very authentic.

This was a good read.

Loved, loved this book and the narrator made it that much more enjoyable!

Wonderful look at the past. Store was excellent.

An amazing story, cleverly woven, filled with real emotion and very gripping. It brought me into the freed slaves life and helped me understand this terrible time of US history better. The style is beautiful, too. As for the narrator, he brings the story to life in a vivid way. I'm considering buying a copy of this book when it comes out..

Loved this journey the novel took me through! A must read, for sure!

Very good book!

A good, though difficult at times due to subject matter. It's an honest unflinching account of enslaved people coping with life transitions in a just post civil war south.

Love the story.

One of the best historical fictions books I’ve ever read. The narrator does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life.

Fascinating. History w an awesome story. Better than any history book to learn our awful past.

Beautifully written and narrated story of a horrible time in our nations history

Excellent read and the narrator was amazing. I didn’t want the book to end.

Great Story!!! Never a dull moment!

It was a great listen thanks to the excellent narrator.

Loved the narration and the story was compelling - the characters so real.

Loved the courage of the characters in the book and I don't mean the slave owners!

I enjoyed this selection very much and could not wait to find out what happened to Felix and Addie.

Excellent narrator, good yarn

Very good book.

Great story, well written. The narrator is one of the best I have ever heard. Have told many friends about this book

This book was fabulous! I didn’t want it to end. Loved all the characters and their stories. Definitely worth the read/listen!!!!!

My first book by this author from a free VIP monthly selection. I really enjoyed the story and appreciate all of the historical factual events and background woven around a well crafted story.

I really enjoyed this book! The narration kept my attention too!

Loved this book and the history lesson. Narrator did a great job .

Excellent storytelling based on historical fiction. Many sad truths about a time in America that is shameful, yet many preserved.

So richly written.

Absolutely LOVED this book! Beautiful & poignantly written & the awful incidents, that are part & parcel of ANY narrative about slavery, were delivered in a way that did not cause me to cringe, as I've often done with other books written about that shameful time in our nation's history. Appreciated the author's skill in "blunting those effects" of man's inhumanity to man. Wonderful story, would that the "happy ending" were true.

Excellent historical story. Very well done. One of many sad times in our history.

If you lived Kithchen House this is for you.

A beautiful listen !!

Fantastic book! Beautiful, sad story, extremely well written and narrated. Can't recommend enough!

Absolutely amazing and revealing

GREAT BOOK U WILL LOVE ITS VERY GOOD KEEPS U INTRESTED NOT BORING

Super talented narrator and captivating story, beautiful and evocative descriptions of nature and inner world of the characters

I really enjoyed this novel—the storyline held my interest throughout, and the characters were compelling. But the true standout was the narrator, who delivered a stellar performance. He brought each character to life with distinct, thoughtful vocal choices that made them feel fully realized.

This was a really good book. The storyline was interesting and easy to follow. The characters are well developed and relatable. I just liked everything about the book.

Beautifully written with captivating narration. I could not put it down. I hope there are more books to come.