This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

This story absolutely took my breath away, the incidents that this poor woman had to face to get her family back together were heartbreaking and so powerfully told.

Inspired by true historical events, this book is a family odyssey set in the Caribbean.
Rachel is a slave working on a sugar plantation in Barbados in the early 1800s.
All her five children were taken from her and sold during their childhood.
Rachel is on a mission to find her children, she breaks out of the plantation and runs afraid of being recaptured or killed by the armed overseer.
She is befriended by Mama B, who helps her in her search, which leads her to Demerara, British Guiana and finally Trinidad, always with the hope that she will eventually be reunited with her children.
Beautifully written showing the harrowing ordeal slaves had to face.
However it was also an uplifting novel showing the strength and courage of Rachel.
A thoughtful and powerful debut novel.
Thanks @eleanorshearer, @headlinepg & @netgalley for the eARC

River Sing Me Home, by Eleanor Shearer

A wonderfully written story that begins in Barbados, when the formal end of slavery is announced, giving hope of freedom to so many, only for it to be snatched away. One woman, Rachel, escaped and went in search of her five living children, from Barbados to British Guiana and then to Trinidad. This is her story, inspired by so many women like her, who would have walked to the ends of the earth to find their children and literally walked for weeks, surviving on the strength of their love.

The descriptions of the places, the people and the memories are so incredibly detailed and they really drew me in, I was so full of hope for Rachel.

As she eventually finds each of the children that were taken from her and sold, her heart is filled and then broken over and over again when she discovers the journey each of them have been on and how that has shaped the young adults they have become.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Eleanor Shearer and Headline for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A captivating story set in the 1800's, about a slave called Rachel and the lengths she goes to, to find her children who were taken from her at the plantation.
Her journey is long and arduous and as a runaway she is always on high alert.
The outcomes were sometimes not as expected, but her sheer determination propels her to keep going until she learns of all her children's stories. An incredibly resiliant woman.
I loved Mary Grace, (Rachel's daughter) whose gentle character shines through.
A lovely, touching story, emotionally charged at times, which brings to light the hardships endured on the plantations at those times in the Caribbean islands.
This is a book I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Fantastic book.Set in the not so distant past.Incredible to think people treated this way.Really fainted by the strength of one if the main characters ,a lady Inspiring her strength trying to locate her beloved children.I hope this author writes many more books

Gorgeous gorgeous book. I don't have the words to explain how much I loved it, but everything from the characters to the writing to the pacing was just PERFECT

A beautiful story of the invisible force that comes with the bond of motherhood, the supernatural powers that this gives you to move heaven and earth for your children.
I knew very little around slavery in the Caribbean and found the story both enlightening and interesting in opening my eyes to the situation in the late 1800s.
The characters in the story are wonderfully described and developed and I certainly formed strong images and opinions of them!
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the book and finished it quite quickly. Would definitely recommend!

It's 1834 and according to the law, on the Caribbean island of Barbados slavey has been abolished.

However, for Rachel, true freedom will only come when she has learnt what has happened to the five children who had been taken from her and sold.

This story was inspired by the women who, in the aftermath of slavery, went in search of their lost children and is such a powerful and compelling read.

It really is a beautiful story both inside and out, and can definitely see this debut being a huge success in 2023

As some of you may know, my fathers side of the family originate from Barbados 🇧🇧 and still have family there today. The second thing that drew me to this book, after the title/cover, was the connection to the Caribbean and the story of what happened AFTER the Emancipation Proclamation. Which some people do not realise did not automatically make slaves free and able to go about their lives as they wished. They still had to fight for that freedom.

This is the story of Rachel, who traveled far to learn the fates of the children who were stolen from her whilst in slavery and her discovery about how far a little hope can carry you.

The relationships forged on Rachel’s journey are heartfelt and show how a mothers love knows no bounds. She would travel to the ends of the earth for find her babies.

The writing whilst emotive and a visual dream was also well paced and captivating.

My favourite part from Eleanor’s authors note is this:

“People travel to the Caribbean because it seems like paradise - a place outside time, where they can cast off the relentless rhythms of their own life and relax on the beach with a cocktail in hand. But to me, the Caribbean is beautiful because of its history, not in spite of it. A place where the past is always close to the surface, and echoes of history are everywhere.”

This is a beautiful story, steeped in history and brings to life the beauty of the Caribbean nations. It should be on a classroom read for high schools, our children need to know and understand that the slaves fought hard for their freedom and not that it was willingly given by all.

What an astounding debut! I cannot wait to read what Eleanor writes next!

“A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path”.

-The Last Seance (from The Hound of Death and Other Stories, also Double Sin and Other Stories)”
― Agatha Christie, The Hound of Death.

Providence plantation, Barbados.
The King has decreed an end to slavery with the new Emancipation Act of 1834 coming into effect. However, the Master of Providence has told the supposedly free slaves that they will have to work as apprentices for him for the next six years, they weren’t allowed to leave until then - so freedom definitely didn’t mean freedom.

Rachel had suffered unbearable heartache over the years due to the cruelty of the Master, as one by one her children were snatched away from her and sold. She thought an end to slavery would allow her to search for her children, so Master or no Master she wasn’t having her dreams taken from her any longer. Rachel could stand it no more and acted on her sudden urge to flee.

‘River Sing me Home’ shines a spotlight on the sheer cruelty and oppression of slavery. But cruel and distressing as it is, there’s beauty in the words of these unspeakable events thanks to the literary talents of Eleanor Shearer.
Imagine having to suppress hope - sometimes hope is all we have, all that keeps us going, but to suppress hope because it hurts? That’s heartbreaking. However, Rachel’s hope to be reunited with her children, takes her and the reader on quite a journey.

A powerful and moving novel inspired by those courageous and determined women who walked all over their islands to find the children who had been snatched from them.

This is a story that is going to stay with me long after I’ve read it, which is something that has only happened to me a few times. Firstly with The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and the second was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Although that is where the similarities of these stories end. The author has combined such delicate topics into a spellbinding book, where the sensitivities of childbirth, child loss, motherhood and slavery are interwoven. Rachel’s hope, anger, despair, joy, and heartbreak were portrayed in a way that is often not found in a novel.

In River Sing Me Home Rachel’s story comes through punchy from the first page, where we meet her as she is running to freedom in dark. There are moments where her anger is tangible, however it is the heartbreak in her story which is felt the most strongly.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will keep my eyes out for other work by Eleanor Shearer.
The most minor critique I have is that there were moments where It was difficult to decipher the plot as thoughts seemed to be exchanged between characters without words. It also felt like the story ended really quickly whilst a couple of moments in the story felt a little wordy.
This having been said it is the descriptions of the islands, the terrain, the weather, and the bodies of the women that were the most impactful.
All round a wonderful novel!