Reviews

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

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prettypious's review against another edition

2.0

I tried so many times. According to my library app I picked up the book 62 times and read for 17 hours 16 minutes but I’m going to finally have to call it and make it a DNF at 63% completed. It just wasn’t for me, and I’m trying to stop putting myself through unnecessary suffering when I could instead just move on.

caaleros's review against another edition

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4.0

Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, the real-life inspiration for this novel, is a woman of color who escaped from slavery and became one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the Caribbean during the colonial era. Riley brings Dorothy’s story to life, covering childhood to long after she’s established herself as a powerful landowner, in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or bogged by details.

Vanessa Riley normally writes romance novels and she’s brought that same level of readability to this book. The chapters were short and quick to get through which set a quick pace through a very long novel. I did start to lose steam towards the end so I could have done with 100 less pages, but Dorothy's life is full of events. I would have liked to see a little more of the day-to-day running of her business and how she trained the girls she employed, but (as I mentioned) it's already a long book and Riley chose to focus on Dorothy's family and relationships.

I had two small critiques that have to do with the historical setting. The first I noticed because a review of another historical novel mentioned it. The phrase “my truth” is a term that’s been popping up during the last few years and it does not have a place earlier than the 21st century. Every time that phrase comes up it pulls me out of the setting. There’s a lot of modern feminist ideas being explored, but given that Dorothy’s character is ahead of her time it never feels out of place, but I could do without the specifically modern feminist language. The second thing is nitpicky, but the term corset is used often and they didn't have corsets in the 18th century, they had stays. Some points I think the author means stays and others I think she means bodice since the character plays with her “corset strings” when she’s fully dressed. Yes, I have been watching historical costumers on youtube, how did you know?

Aside from those things I was delighted to finally get a historical novel set someplace other than Western Europe during the World Wars. There are so many places in history that would be interesting to explore and I’m glad Riley is introducing the world to Dorothy, whose story is so radical that if it was only a story one would call in unbelievable. But life is stranger than fiction and Dorothy’s life shows how true that is.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

themillennialjareads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

thepagelady's review against another edition

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4.0

Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.

Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.

From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.

This was an incredible and inspiring story based on the real life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas. And what a life it was!

Dolly was determined to make something of her life in a time that didn’t make it easy for women! Hearing how she achieves these goals is just as fascinating as her personal life! It wasn’t all gumballs and rainbows either. She had struggle and heartache. You can’t help but admire Doll for her strength, courage and the length she was willing to go for her family. Even if you don't always agree with how she does something.

Vanessa Riley did a fabulous job bringing Dorothy's story to life! It always amazes me when you can feel the time and dedication an author puts into a book, that alone can make a story come alive. Happy reading everyone!

alyssa_max's review against another edition

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3.0

I had high hopes for this book and ultimately thought it was just okay. I enjoyed learning about Dorothy Kirwan’s life and Caribbean history; however, I agree with other reviews that the book could have been much more tightly edited. It also seemed like an odd narrative choice to have a book about a strong, independent businesswoman focus so much on her lovers rather than her business empire.

Trigger warnings: rape, incest, abuse, loss of a child