Hi! I am really sorry, but I don't have any interest in reading this book anymore. I am giving this book a 4 star rating because I don't want to reduce the rating of this book just because I don't have any interest in reading this book.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really love this series, didnt even know it was a series when i start it tbh but happy it is!

Golden Poppies is the third instalment in a series which has followed Mattie a plantation slave and the plantation owner’s daughter Lisbeth. This book is set in the early 1890’s and tells the story of a middle-aged Lisbeth and her complex relationships with the characters we have met before, Sadie, Jordan and Emily. Lisbeth is summoned from her home in California to Chicago by Jordan as Mattie is an elderly woman who is close to death, Lisbeth and her daughter Sadie travel over 2000 miles by train to be with Mattie in her final days. This is a wonderful book which tells the next part of the story which started over 50 years earlier. Times have changed dramatically, but attitudes towards different races and women still are vastly unequal. These women’s courage and loyalty to one another is tested as they fight for true acceptance and liberation. 

I adored this series, and this book, for me was the perfect way to continue the story with yet another generation of Mattie and Lisbeth’s family and to leave the future for the generations to come. I was outraged by the attitudes people had towards the mixing of races and the struggles each woman dealt with as they lived their lives but in awe of the bravery and strength each of these characters had. Overall, this book has a message of hope and freedom, friendships, family and the ties which bind us together for a lifetime.

Thank you Netgalley for a chance to read and review this book! It can be read as a stand alone but it is better understood if you read the other books first, Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed. It is a beautifully and well written novel that continues the story of two families...one black and one white. The book shows the incredible bond both families have with each other and I thought it was a great conclusion to the story.

This is the third book in an absolutely stunning series!  If you haven't read the other books, I highly recommend going back and starting with Yellow Wife. It was my favorite of the series, but it also provides so much insight into the characters and the story for this third book.  

Golden Poppies was another beautiful story, and I absolutely enjoyed it!  The way these characters' lives have been forever intertwined is beautiful to read about. I loved the continuation of the story through the children, and I really hope there is another book to continue this story further!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I enjoy Laila Ibrahim's stories and Golden Poppies does not disappoint. I thought it was really good. Four and a half stars.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going on this story. I look forward to more from the author.

I wish I would have known this was the third in a series I think that would have changed how I looked at this book. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book. I think it would have just added to it. This story is about two families one black and one white and the powerful ties that bind them two together. I loved how the author pulled you into the story of their lives and made it hard to put down. If you are a fan of historical fiction this book is one to look into.

I haven't read the other two books in the series, but Golden Poppies functions as a stand-alone novel as well. Laila Ibrahim is a strong writer with a dedicated following. And, if I had read this book a few years ago, I am sure I would have loved it. At this point, however, I think it is important for writers to carefully examine the role and historical accuracy of Black characters in their books. The story of the bond between the white plantation owner and the enslaved Black woman and their descendents is overplayed and not indicative of the lived experience of the majority of those who endured slavery. 

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Golden Poppies by Laila Ibrahim is the third in a series of books, which I did not know when I picked up my copy. It continues the story of two intertwined American families in the 1890's. One family is black, the other white, but their shared history links them despite the fact that they now live very separate lives in Chicago and Oakland respectively. Much of this history and back story is described in detail in the previous books , which I had not read, and while the author does give enough background to allow the reader to understand the basics of the relationships and shared history , I do feel that I would have engaged with and enjoyed the book much more had I read the earlier books. I struggled to connect with any of the characters in the first half of the book, thought this became less of an issue later. I enjoyed the sense of history and setting in the book, and I thought the author did a wonderful job of vividly bringing the past to life. 
I read a review copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher,all opinions are my own.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Laila Ibrahim for this e-copy in return for my honest review. Having loved Yellow Crocus and Mustard Seed, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read this book. Laila brings her characters to life in this fascinating book filled with sadness, hope and love and gives great insight into their plight. This book can be read either as a standalone or as part of this series.

I had to read the first two books before this one and so glad I did. Love the characters, so much feeling. Really glad I was able to read this series. I will definitely check out other work by Laila Ibrahim. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy!

Since I loved Yellow Crocus and then Mustard Seed, I was so looking forward to Golden Poppies and loved it as much as it’s predecessors.  Laila Ibrahim has a knack for bringing her characters to life.  Loved the continued saga of Jordan and Sadie, daughters of Mattie and Lisbeth.   I so admire all 4 of these women for their bravery and persistence in trying to achieve social justice. I was intrigued by  a reminder of the Pullman strike, seen through the eyes of porters and conductors instead of through the lens of high school history texts, gave me a new understanding.  Given the racial unrest so prevalent during the pandemic and rioting occurring throughout the US, it was disheartening to read that the gains made in the late 1800’s have not resolved the challenges African Americans still endure more than 100 years later.  Hopefully Laila is not finished with these very special characters.  Many many thanks to Laila Ibrahim, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasurable experience of reading Golden Poppies.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the main characters and was completely invested in their lives. I have come to discover that me feeling invested in at least one character is important to my feelings regarding a story.

I will say this was a hard book in regards to some abuse and eye opening about life after slaves were freed.

I learned quite a bit about the time period but more than that I learned how important it is to have a sisterhood. A sisterhood that exists regardless of race, class or age. We all need women in our lives who will support us, comfort us and stand up with us. We need mentors and need to mentor others. This was a wonderful book about strong women.

Another beautifully written emotionally moving novel by Lili Abraham.Book three in the series a book sen through the eyes of two women one black one white.This novel is seen through the eyes of their daughters.A novel that is perfect for today’s climate .#netgalley#lakeunionpublishing

"Golden Poppies returns to the Freedman and Johnson families. It was fascinating to bring them to California, to look at the suffrage movement, and to see how they could keep their connection strong in spite of the very different social worlds they occupied."
This was such a magnificent piece of writing that I couldn't stop reading it.
It will take you to a deeper train of thought, a time of great suffrage, a movement that is greater than itself.
The characters are so vivid, multi-dimensional, courageous, diverse, and tenacious with numerous injustices that conspire to hold them back in the Gilded Age testing the family bind.
Lake Union authors have always been a pleasure to read and a huge reason why I fell in love with reading in the first place.
Thank you for bringing such a unique and interesting perspective to the table for discussion.

If you're in the mood for a layered story with lots of equally valuable moving parts, a real page-turner that takes you far away from reality, grab this book and make room for the other books in this series of connected standalones. I see so many people asking for recommendations on really engaging books, and this is one that I would recommend every time. There is no fluff here, and it checks every box for captivating women's historical fiction. Loved it and will be on the lookout for more of this author's work.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Mattie’s daughter Jordan, and her granddaughter Naomi continued to monitor Mattie as she slipped closer to death. When she expressed a wish to see Lisbeth once more, Jordan sent a letter with her son Malcolm who was a porter on the Pullman train that crossed coast to coast. When Lisbeth learned of her beloved Mattie’s ill-health, she and her daughter Sadie bought tickets and boarded the Pullman train to Chicago. Four days later they arrived and while Mattie lingered longer than they’d thought, they all stayed by her side until the end.

It was the 1890s and Sadie lived in Oakland, California with her husband Heinrich. Jordan and her two children also headed for Oakland once Mattie had passed on, a dream they’d been going to follow while Mattie was alive. The trip on the Pullman train had been delayed because of strikes, but eventually they all arrived, with Sadie returning with more than she’d taken...

Mattie and Lisbeth had a long history, now Jordan and Sadie had the same ties that bound them together. With trouble on the horizon for the families, along with the racial divide and political agendas, Sadie and Lisbeth would need Jordan and her family more than ever before.

Golden Poppies is the 3rd in the Yellow Crocus series by Laila Ibrahim and once again I loved it. I’d only read #1, Yellow Crocus when I saw Golden Poppies was due out, so I bought and read #2 Mustard Seed before this one. A huge benefit I think, because without the years passing and the main characters growing from children through to middle and old age in this book, the benefit would not be achieved. The characters are so well defined with great depths – so much so that I feel I know them now. I’m really hoping there’ll be a book #4 as I’d love to continue reading about these people. Poignant and intriguing, I recommend the series highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first encounter with Laila Ibrahim's work - i didnt realise that this is a part of a trilogy: Yellow Crocus, Mustard Seed and Golden Poppies.
However, I read this as a stand alone book but felt that it would have been better if I had read the preceding books, just to link the characters and their relationships.

The writing was wonderfully rich, Laila writes with such conviction and the characters are highly believable. The story tells of Jordan (black) and Sadie (white) who have little in common except that Sadie's mother was nursed by Jordans mother. It is on Mattie (Jordans' mother) deathbed that we read about the reunion between the characters and their personal battles.

I really enjoyed Golden Poppies - but I will go away and read the first two novels and then Golden Poppies again.