20190309_165927.jpgWelcome to my stop on the Trouble the Water blog tour sponsored by Suzy Approved Book Tours! Thank you to Suzy for the invitation!

About the Book:

Abigail Milton was born into the British middle class, but her family has landed in unthinkable debt. To ease their burdens, Abby’s parents send her to America to live off the charity of their old friend, Douglas Elling. When she arrives in Charleston at the age of seventeen, Abigail discovers that the man her parents raved about is a disagreeable widower who wants little to do with her. To her relief, he relegates her care to a governess, leaving her to settle into his enormous estate with little interference. But just as she begins to grow comfortable in her new life, she overhears her benefactor planning the escape of a local slave—and suddenly, everything she thought she knew about Douglas Elling is turned on its head.

Abby’s attempts to learn more about Douglas and his involvement in abolition initiate a circuitous dance of secrets and trust. As Abby and Douglas each attempt to manage their complicated interior lives, readers can’t help but hope that their meandering will lead them straight to each other. Set against the vivid backdrop of Charleston twenty years before the Civil War, Trouble the Water is a captivating tale replete with authentic details about Charleston’s aristocratic planter class, American slavery, and the Underground Railroad.

My Thoughts:

Abigail Milton was living in England when her previously middle class family found itself in huge debt. To ameliorate things, they sent Abby to live in America. There, she’ll live with a family friend, Douglas Elling, in Charleston. 

Elling is a widower with a foul temperament, but luckily Abby is given to a governess where she is mostly left alone. One day, Abby finds out that Elling is going to assist in the escape of a local slave. 

Abby attempts to find out more about how Douglas has been involved in abolition. There’s a tension that builds as the two become closer. 

Ok, I loved this time period and the Charleston setting. What an important period in our nation’s history. The Underground Railroad always makes for an intriguing and hopefully redeeming story.

I also loved Abby, and I grew to love Douglas. The dynamic between them was palpable. Overall, Trouble the Water is a fascinating historical with the vivid backdrop of Charleston in the pre-Civil War time period. 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Jacqueline Friedland holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from NYU Law School. She practiced as an attorney in New York before returning to school to receive her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New York with her husband, four children, and a couple of crazy dogs.

Have you read Trouble the Water, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR