Welcome to Litsy!

Read for #Jamaica for #ReadingTheAmericas2023 @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

This was a very intriguing, thought provoking but overall sad story. At times I feel it moved a little too slowly and was quite clunky. Overall because of this it was a soft pick, but pleased I read it.

6th book finished for #NovelNovember
21st book finished in November. #Rushathon @DieAReader @Ghabi4Roses

#2023Book74

Frannie is a house-girl at a Jamaican estate. She is transported to London by her master who gives her away as a gift to a friend. She becomes a maid in the house of a rich and influential man. But then one day she's woken up by police and accused of murder.
This book was a bit weird and unrealistic at times, but all in all good.
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
#hisfic #lgbt #adult #thriller

Frannie is enslaved in Jamaica, then brought to London and “given” to another family. She is eventually accused of murdering the couple. I liked that this showed us her life and both places and the events that led up to the deaths as well as the trial.

#ReadingAmericas2023 #CaymanIslands (author from)

I‘m wavering between a pick and a so-so for this. It was slow. Until the actual court case in the final 20% or so, which was page-turnery gripping. Then the resolution was 😐. So mixed feelings then!

Going with a pick because the content was quite compelling, even if the pacing was off. A maid and former slave is accused of killing her master and mistress. Through correspondence to her lawyer we learn of her early life, helping her master.

Current audiobook. The story of a servant and educated former slave accused of killing her mistress. It flicks between the trial, her life growing up on the plantation, helping her ‘master‘ with his ‘experiments‘,
and her life in London.

It‘s got a lot going for it, an interesting perspective, and is a very stark reminder of the impact of colonialism, and how it‘s fed into ongoing racism.

However, it‘s also really quite slow…

Didn't like this one, struggled to finish it I found it so boring. Boring for 2 reasons: 1 - I just found everything about it so unoriginal & predictable. The plot, characters, writing style... just seen it all before... and done better. 2 - The writing style is so awkward & clunky, disjointed in some parts to the point of being unintelligible, that reading became a chore. It seems a little laboured & self-conscious. It just didn't float my boat.

“No one knows the worst thing they're capable of until they do it.”

Reading this one this afternoon with a huge mug of coffee, patiently waiting for the weekend to start!

Another historical crime fiction story again in London this time 1826. Frannie Langton is on trial for the murder of Mr and Mrs Bengam. But did she do it? Her story starts on a plantation in Jamaica and ends in England. It was a gripping read, wondering if she did the deed or nor. It's been made into a TV show I believe.

I am currently reading this one and it's really good.

Book 76

The Confessions of Frannie Langton is an atypical novel about slavery. Frannie, the daughter of a white English master and a black Jamaican slave, is accused of murder and tells her story, a dark story that includes forced medical experimentation to prove faulty science about skin color--something that legitimately happened. It's complex and compelling, even without likable characters. 4 🌟s

Well darn, this one didn‘t really work for me. Found it to be overwritten and a bit clunky. The heavy use of simile was off-putting.

This book hurt me, and I‘d like to thank it for that. Not many things I read this year were 5 star reads, but I‘d consider this book as one. It‘s a tragedy, but I was allowed to forget that in the brief happiness Frances has, even surrounded by the horror she‘d endured. And the prose is beautiful. 10/10

#wintergames #mistletoemaniaca

I definitely felt a similarity to Alias Grace while reading this. Great writing, a haunting story. Overall I liked it with a couple caveats: Some of the scenes were brutal to read, both because of the physical and emotional violence, and I realize it‘s in the context of the time period, but the amount the N word was used made me cringe. I‘m interested to see what this author does next.

Lots of great historical fiction books if you're looking for a rec
https://bookriot.com/best-queer-historical-fiction-books/

This book got off to a slow start but the depth of the storyline and the delicacy of the writing won me over by midpoint. The story presents an all too plausible picture of slavery and the horrors faced by a fiercely independent woman forced to live under the tyranny of an unjust society. A great debut for this author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 #AxeTheStacksApril

Historical thriller about a servant and former slave who is put on trial for the murder of her employer and his wife. Frannie can‘t remember what happened that night and thus is unable to assist with her own defense. Arc of the story leads from her childhood as a slave on a sugar plantation in Jamaica to her life as the personal maid for a beloved and seriously troubled mistress in London.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this gothic novel. It‘s beautifully written and well paced. I liked the intermix of narrative and occasional courtroom transcripts. At times the author allows the reader to fill in the gaps (it makes me feel she doesn‘t doubt my intelligence!). This book gave me some Washington Black vibes which I loved. A solid read that‘s right in my wheelhouse. (Don‘t expect it to be happy!)
Another good #getTBR recommendation!

This was a great read & beautifully written - very heavy and emotional though. I highly recommend! 💕

Started off really intrigued and interested in the story. And expecting to be absorbed by it.
Unfortunately it didn't completely hold my attention.
The last third, in particular, just didn't flow for me.

Just starting this digital copy and that phrase rang very true.
Sometimes I feel.im narrating my life, mundane daily chores and all, other times I'm an observer of my coming and going.

#bookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

Hibernating for now, just not feeling it at the moment.

3.5 🌟 Dark Gothic and grim tail of murder and injustice. The best paced section of the book is the trial. I was not surprised to learn that the author had been a lawyer. If you want a gothic tale of slavery, murder and forbidden love you will like this book.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was really well done. Things I particularly liked:
*the dark gothic style elements
*the literary references
*the slow pace that added another layer of darkness
*views of female subjugation: wife vs slave vs prostitute
*the view of opium addiction
Overall, an interesting historical novel about a woman with little control over her own life because of her race, making her voice heard.

Post 1 of 5!

Here are my fiction choices for #bookspin and #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

I really liked the first half but then the obsessive, love story didn‘t ring true and the Evil Master and Mistress felt like caricatures! I kept reading to find out if she killed em and the ending was very predictable and I didn‘t really care! 🙄 disappointing!!! #scarathlon2020 #teamslaughter totally points 199.

"What would you want to be remembered for? If you had one last page and one last hour, what would you write? In the end, this is what I choose. My account of myself. The only thing I'll be able to leave behind. That there were two things I loved: those books I read, and all the people who wrote them. Because life boils down to nothing, in spite of all the fuss, yet novels make it possible to believe it is something, after all."

Dark. Having been caught up in circumstances beyond her control, the MC‘s story slowly unfolds in the form of a letter written to her attorney throughout her murder trial. Worth a read or listen. The audio was excellent.

My current read, and I'm really liking it. Very fitting that there's a Margaret Atwood blurb on the cover, as I'm getting some Alias Grace vibes. And some Sarah Waters vibes.

What do you think?

Loved the writing. ✍🏽

A masterfully written tale, told in flashbacks, of a Jamaican slave given away as a maid who is accused of killing her mistress with whom she had a love affair. With uncertain, laudanum-soaked memories, Frannie reveals the crimes she has committed to prove the ultimate one she didn't. A heartbreaking book written so well and unfolding so expertly, I was scarcely able to put it down.

Lots of potential triggers--I suggest looking up reviews.

Bath reading to take my mind off stress

1. The Confessions of Frannie Langton and Vampires Never Get Old

2. Take a Hint, Dani Brown

3. "When I'm not writing, my head's as empty as any gaol-birds." (The Confessions of Frannie Langton)

#weekendreads

I got this audio from hoopla and it‘s read by the author. The title character is a former enslaved woman in Jamaica, then servant in England accused of murder. Getting some Alias Grace vibes. #pride #pridemonth #lgbtq

Update:upon reflection, revising to a so-so. Although I loved the voice and real talk about race relations, the characters were kind of flat, and Frances herself seemed inconsistent in how she was portrayed. Not to mention the love arc had 0% chemistry. I‘m not sure how readers are expected to buy into that. I think the story was shaped around some points that Sara Collins wanted to make, which were great, but they didn‘t fit neatly with the plot.

It‘s been a surprisingly good month! I‘ve been to many worlds. I‘ve loved being in 19th century london with a woman to rival Sherlocks deducting ability & I‘ve smelt the salt air of 17th century Norway. I‘ve been humbled by the bravery of a female spy during WWII & been disappointed with a trip to Mars. I‘ve loved spending time musing in the Appalachia‘s & feeling the warmth of the Caribbean sun! #aprilwrapup

I am thinking ahead of books to read in May. It looks like the books will have a green theme. I have quite a few! #tbr

I really enjoyed this audiobook read by the author. The strongest aspect of this book was the voice of the main character. She was fierce, but pragmatic. Throughout there is a constrained condescension towards the slave owners and towards the people claiming to sympathize with the enslaved and wanting to eliminate slavery. A well-drawn portrait of a woman trying to get by in a time and place of rampant discrimination and ignorance. 4⭐️ #hoopla

Loved this - a gothic novel with teeth! Frannie Langton is bold and brave, drug addicted and violent. She is a surviver and a realist. There was nothing cliched or awkward with this novel-it was fresh, inventive and portrayed a side of nineteenth century life seldom given light. The pseudo science made me mad, at times shocked and left a very bitter taste in my mouth, as did the skewed conventions of Victorian men. and their society.

Starting this today - I usually love the first 50-100 pages of a book where your getting to grips with who‘s who and what‘s going on..... but current concentration means I want to get through that stage super quick and get to that ‘absorbed by the world‘ state ASAP!

“There are many ways to be mad. Love‘s the surest one.” An educated slave from Jamaica is the “mulatta murderess” at the centre of this nineteenth century courtroom drama. Frannie stands accused of killing two people in London, including her lesbian lover, but she cannot remember what happened that night. Her story goes back to the beginning, the sugar plantation, and the horrors of mad scientific research. #LGBTQ #audiobook