Review & Giveaway: A Guardian of Slaves by Naomi Finley

A Guardian of Slaves by Naomi Finley

Publication Date: January 30, 2019

Huntson Press Inc.

eBook & Paperback

Genre: Historical Fiction

Willow Hendricks is now the Lady of Livingston. She manages this plantation with her father and best friend Whitney Barry. The two women continue her parents’ secret abolitionist mission. They use the family’s ships and estates to transport escaped slaves along the channels to freedom. Willow’s love for Bowden Armstrong is as strong as ever, but she is not ready to marry and have a family because of her attention to these noble pursuits. Torn by her love for him, can their bond survive his reluctance to support her efforts with the Underground Railroad?

Meanwhile, whispers among the quarters sing praises of a mysterious man in the swamps helping slaves escape. He is called the Guardian. They believe he will save them from brutal slave catchers and deliver them to the promised land. Masked bandits roam the countryside, but the Guardian and the criminals evade capture. A series of accidents and mysterious disappearances raise alarm throughout the region. Who can Willow and Whitney trust? One false move or slip could endanger the lives of everyone they love and bring ruin to the Livingston Plantation.

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My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can call me a Naomi Finley fangirl now, friends! I've been wanting to read her since she released A Slave of Shadows and I'm so glad that I finally did. A Guardian of Slaves was a fascinating read!

I hadn't had the chance to read the first book in the series, A Slave of Shadows, yet. But it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this follow up. In fact, I want to read the first book even more now to see what I missed!

Willow is now running the Livingston Plantation after her father Charles is killed, and she continues to help slaves escape to freedom with the help of her uncle and her friend, Whitney. Willow is a fierce abolitionist but forced to pretend otherwise so that the town people don't catch on to her real mission.

The story is told with multiple POVs, which I enjoyed. It was interesting to hear the story from their eyes, as well as Willow's.

There is plenty of mystery in this one to keep the reader guessing. Who is the Guardian and who is he working with? Who killed Charles Hendricks? What secrets are buried in Charles' journals? Who is the new mysterious neighbor?

As the subject matter deals with slavery, you know going in that it's going to be difficult to read about. I feel like Naomi did a great job with being true to the history of that time yet not overwhelming the reader. There were some tough scenes to read and sometimes some harsh language, but nothing that turned me off from the story.

While I adored Willow, it was Whitney that stole the scenes for me. She was funny and full of sass and I loved it!

Now, excuse me while I run off to start A Slave of Shadows!

About the Author

Naomi lives in Northern Alberta. Her love for travel means her suitcase is always on standby while she awaits her next plane ticket and adventure. Her love for history and the Deep South is driven by the several years she spent as a child living in a Tennessee plantation house. She comes from a family of six sisters. She married her high school sweetheart and has two teenage children and two dogs named Ginger and Snaps.

Creativity and passion are the focus of her life. Apart from writing fiction, her interests include interior design, cooking new recipes, throwing lavish dinner parties, movies, health, and fitness.

For more information, please visit Naomi Finley's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Friday, February 15
Review at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, February 19
Feature at Maiden of the Pages

Wednesday, February 20
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Feature at Christine's Book Corner

Thursday, February 21
Feature at Just One More Chapter

Friday, February 22
Excerpt at Random Things Through My Letterbox

Monday, February 25
Review at Macsbooks

Tuesday, February 26
Excerpt at Among the Reads

Wednesday, February 27
Feature at Cover To Cover Cafe

Thursday, February 28
Feature at The Caffeinated Bibliophile

Monday, March 4
Feature at The Book Junkie Reads

Wednesday, March 6
Feature at Old Timey Books

Thursday, March 7
Feature at What Is That Book About

Friday, March 8
Review at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving a paperback copy of A Guardian of Slaves! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 8th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

A Guardian of Slaves