it getts good at end ( )

I wanted to like this book, the premise is interesting - a free black woman is murdered and a slave, Cassius, sets out to find her murderer and obtain some form of justice. The story itself is rich and engrossing, where it lost me was in Cassius's ability to slip off and on the plantation with the assistance of forged passes. Furthermore, Cassius is able to wander between Union and Confederate armies with little to no disruption (or notice, it seems) by the soldiers. While I realize this novel is historical fiction, this book forced me to move into the realm of total implausibility. ( )

You know a novel is worthwhile if the characters and story have stayed with you months after the first reading. 'Sweetsmoke' is a compelling, bittersweet tale of a plantation slave, Cassius Howard, struggling with his sense of identity and personal losses during the height of the Civil War.

This novel is meticulously well-researched, offering clear glimpses into the devastating effects of slavery while providing historically accurate and traumatic accounts of the war itself. The introduction of a love interest, and gradual unfolding of a murder mystery, add intrigue to the plot by driving the downtrodden Cassius into action.

Excellent and beautifully written. ( )

I can't really review this book because I couldn't get into it until page 63 and then I left it for a few months. I'm going to revisit it soon just so I can write a review and possibly snag some more ARCs. Looks like folks liked it a lot from the average rating so I guess I missed something. Will be back when I finish.

Sweetsmoke is the story of a Virginia tobacco plantation slave (Cassius) during the civil war. This particular slave is allowed more freedoms than the others on the plantation. When he learns that a friend (a free woman who taught Cassius to read) was murdered, he decides to solve the mystery underlying her murder.

This story is filled with details about the humiliating life of slaves on plantations and is intriguing regarding the use of former and current slaves in espionage during the American Civil War. The author clearly knows a great deal about the Civil War and as a result, the book (at times) gets bogged down in details about specific North-South encounters.

I am a huge fan of both historical fiction and the mid-19th century. However, I found this book to be a very tedious read. It did not suspend my disbelief, as a fictional piece should. Historical fiction, especially, needs to keep the reader engaged in a way that completely seems plausible. Aspects of this story, such as Cassius forging passes to come and go from the plantation and tracking down Lee’s army left me in want of believing the story. As a result, I struggled to get through this book. ( )