Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen

by Sarah Bird

The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the first woman to ever serve in the US Army.

"Here's the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my Mama never let me forget it." Cathy Williams was born and lived a slave until the Union army came and destroyed the only world she had ever known. Separated from her family, she makes the impossible decision: to fight with the Buffalo Soldiers disguised as a man. With courage and wit, Cathy must not only fight for her survival and freedom in the ultimate man's world, but never give up on her mission to find her family, and the man she loves"--

• ISBN10: 1250193176
• ISBN13: 9781250193179
• Publish Date: 4 February 2020 (first published 4 September 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: St. Martin's Griffin
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 544
• Language: English

Reviews

[chymerra]

I don’t read historical fiction. I don’t like it. The few historical fiction novels that I have read bored me. I almost decided not to read Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen. But, seeing that it was about a woman who joins the Buffalo Soldiers, my interest was caught. I am glad that I decided to read this book because Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen was fantastic!!

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen starts with Cathy being taken from the plantation by the Union Army. Mistaken for a boy, Cathy is soon found out by the cook for General Philip Sheridan. After the Civil War, Cathy was ready to start a life with Solomon, the cook, when he was killed by ex-Confederates. Grief-stricken, she joins the Buffalo Soldiers as a man. But fate has a funny way of throwing wrenches into the best-laid plans. Cathy is confronted by a past love that she thought was long dead. What will happen if she is found out? Does her story end with the Buffalo Soldiers? Or does she get the happily ever after that she deserves?

I liked Cathy. She was able to adapt to any situation that was thrown at her. She deeply respected her mother and father. She took all the lessons that her mother taught her and used them during her time with Sheridan’s army and the Buffalo Soldiers. I did feel bad for her when she realized who Wager was. Even more so when she couldn’t tell him who she was because she was masquerading as a man.

I thought the way Cathy dealt with her enemies in the book was great. Except for Old Mister, she didn’t have to resort to violence to deal with them. Old Mister, though, was a special case. He was sexually abusing her younger sister. She did what she felt was right to protect her sister.

I loved reading about Cathy’s time with the Buffalo Soldiers. It was informative and eye-opening at how released slaves were treated after the war. The soldiers were used as free labor at the Army base. They were treated horribly. I also thought it was eye-opening at how long Cathy went without being discovered. It was a long time.

There was a twist at the end of the book that I wasn’t expecting. I did have to reread the last chapter a few times to get it through my head that what was being implied was true. That twist was something that I didn’t see coming and made me think about what happened after the book ended.

The author did include a historical note about General Sheridan and Cathy. Up until the note, I didn’t think she was real. Then I googled and oh, boy did I feel silly. I am not going to say much, google the name. There is a lot of information there.

What I liked about Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen:

A) well researched book

B) 3D characters

C) excellent world building.

What I disliked about Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen:

A) Cathy’s enemies. They just didn’t leave her alone

B) How the ex-slaves were treated after the end of the Civil War

C) Old Mister.

I would give Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen an Older Teen rating. There is sex but nothing graphic. There is violence. There is language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book. I will add that I went back and forth about the rating of this book. But, I feel that older teens should read this.

There are triggers in Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen. They would be war, attempted rape, child sexual abuse and racism. If you are triggered by any of those, than I recommend not reading the book.

I would reread Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen.

All opinions stated in this review of Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**