Skip to main content

Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander: A Book Review

Carolina Built
Author: Kianna Alexander
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Gallery
Release Date: February 22, 2022
Pages: 327
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Josephine N. Leary is determined to build a life of her own and a future for her family. When she moves to Edenton, North Carolina from the plantation where she was born, she is free, newly married, and ready to follow her dreams.

     As the demands of life pull Josephine’s attention away, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to pursue her real estate aspirations. She finds herself immersed in deepening her marriage, mothering her daughters, and being a dutiful daughter and granddaughter. Still, she manages to teach herself to be a businesswoman, to manage her finances, and to make smart investments in the local real estate market. But with each passing year, it grows more and more difficult to focus on building her legacy from the ground up.


       My Review: Carolina Built is a biographical novel of Josephine Napoleon Leary, who was born an African slave but became a successful real estate entrepreneur in North Carolina. Josephine dreams of building a future for her family. She and her husband move to Edenton, North Carolina where they own a barber shop. While being a wife and mother, Josephine wants to pursue her passion for real estate. However, she learns that it is difficult to pursue her dreams from the ground up.


     Josephine Napoleon Leary is a fascinating and hard working businesswoman. She was born from slavery but the emancipation freed her as a young woman. From an early age, she loved book learning and is very intellectual. She wants to build a legacy that her children and grandchildren will be proud of. She is very determined to pursue her dreams. Even when it's difficult, she never gives up. Josephine also learns business on her own. While she makes some mistakes, she is able to learn from them. Therefore, Josephine is an admirable woman who worked from the ground up and became a successful entrepreneur.


     Overall, this novel is about perseverance, family, and ambition. The message of the novel is to never give up on your dreams. Aside from Josephine, I felt the supporting characters were flat and seemed to blend in together. There were some parts of the novel that I thought were very rushed. Still, I thought this novel was very well-written! I found Josephine’s story to be inspirational and moving. Prior to reading Carolina Built, I had never heard of her, and I’m curious to know why she is largely forgotten. Josephine Napoleon Leary was a courageous woman who continued to work hard despite the adversity she faced. Thus, Carolina Built shines a light on an important but forgotten successful entrepreneur. I recommend this for fans of Island Queen, The Great Mrs. Elias, and A Betting Woman!


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

King Alfred's Daughter: The Remarkable Story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, the Heroine who Written out of History by David Stokes: A Book Review

King Alfred’s Daughter: The Remarkable Story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, the Heroine who was Written out of History Author: David Stokes Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: The Book Guild Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 348 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: King Alfred is dead and the achievements that made him great are in jeopardy. Rebels challenge the succession of his son Edward to the Wessex throne, and his old ally in Mercia is sick. The Vikings in the Danelaw sense the time has come to complete their conquest of England.       It falls on Alfred’s firstborn, his daughter, Æthelflæd, to unite the Anglo-Saxons. Reluctantly, she takes up the challenge. But can a woman rebuild ruined towns and lead men into battle against hardened Viking warriors? And can Æthelflæd fulfil her father’s dream of uniting England?       Based on contemporary sources and archaeological evidence, King...

King John's Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa De La Haye by Sharon Bennett Connolly: A Book Review

King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa De La Haye Author: Sharon Bennett Connolly Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Pen & Sword History  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 236 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’.      Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. Although recently widowed, and in her 60s, in 1217 Nicholaa endured a siege that lasted over three months, resisting the English rebel barons and their French allies. The siege ended in the battle known as the Lincoln Fair, when 70-year-old William Marshal, the Greatest Knight in Christendom, spurred on by the chivalrous need to rescue a lady in distress, came to Nicholaa’s aid. ...

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen by Jane Draycott: A Book Review

  Cleopatra’s Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen Author: Jane Draycott Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Liveright Release Date: 2023 Pages: 336 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first modern biography of one of the most influential yet long-neglected rulers of the ancient world: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra.      As the only daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, Cleopatra Selene was expected to uphold traditional feminine virtues; to marry well and bear sons; and to legitimize and strengthen her parents’ rule. Yet with their parents’ deaths by suicide, the princess and her brothers found themselves the inheritors of Egypt, a claim that placed them squarely in the warpath of the Roman emperor.      “Supported by a feast of visual and literary references” (Caroline Lawrence), Cleopatra’s Daughter reimagines t...