Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sara Bird

This has to be among my favorite top 3 reads of 2020! Have you ever read a book you enjoyed so much that the books that followed all seemed to fall flat? That’s what happened to me... nothing compared after finishing A Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen. I think I’ve started and stopped/did not finish 4 or 5 different books since finishing this novel. I’m guessing I’m going to have to find another audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin. She narrated this audiobook with expert precision. The prideful, sarcastic, and angry attitudes of the main character were delivered so expertly, I found myself cheering on the main character and responding to events in the book with a “You’ve got to be kidding me!!!”  The main character, Cathy Williams, is a real spitfire and I adore her courage, integrity, quick wit & temper. 

Cathy Williams is born on a tobacco plantation in Missouri who goes through so much in her life and she never surrenders to any challenge in front of her. Cathay Williams is the first black woman to enlist, and documented as the only known woman to enlist in the United States Army posing as a man. She enlisted as William “Bill” Cathay. She was Calvary of the 38th Infantry Regiment. She was the only woman to serve as a Buffalo Soldier. She reports to General Phillip Henry “Smash ‘em Up” Sheridan and holds the line in a fight that earns her the respect of the general for many years. 

This book is historical fiction, but both Private Williams and General Sheridan are both nonfictional characters. I can’t give this story & audiobook enough praise. Put this on your “next read” list.