The Tattered Book was a great story. Danny finds an old diary and asks her Aunt about the story. Charlotte and a Lenape Indian fall in love in the 1800’s. In those times it was unacceptable and Charlottes father does everything he can to stop this relationship.
The story takes place in 1883 but is told by the Aunt in 1951 to Danny and her mother, Diana . It has a lot of historical information and expresses the taboo of mixed marriage.
It was a good read but I found the author jumped back and forth in time t much and had some unnecessary filler.

Danny is only eight years old when she finds a tattered black diary and a wedding photo hidden at her Auntie’s house. Demanding to know the story, her Auntie settles in and tells her about Charlotte and Tey, two young people who were in love in the 1880s. Charlotte, the daughter of a prominent white attorney, and Tey, a Lenape Native American, decided that they would be together no matter the cost. What follows is the story of their relationship, love, and heartbreak.

This story is set up with dual timelines. The first is set in the 1950s and frames the primary plot with Auntie telling Danny the family history. The second plot takes place mostly in the 1880s and follows Charlotte and Tey’s story. This way of telling the story was used to set up a secret and reveal, but they were predictable from the first couple of chapters. There were also constant unnecessary interjections of the 1950s story into the telling of the 1880s story, which became quite frustrating.

While I liked the premise of this work, its execution fell short. The biggest issue I had with this book was the writing style and characters. The author relied on short, simplistic, and repetitive sentence structures that made the prose bland and ruined the flow of it. There was a lack of descriptions relating to the setting, which made it impossible to become immersed in the setting and places mentioned in this work. However, there were many places where an unnecessary amount of overdetail was included (e.g., describing every physical aspect of a character and their clothes). And the dialogue was painful to read – it was stilted, repetitive, and simplistic. There were also a couple of things in the book that were incorrect (one relating to how trials work), which made me wonder how much of the information the author included relating to Native American cultural practices was correct.

The characters were not written well. There was no development or depth to them. They didn’t have unique voices and never felt alive, which detracted from any interest or connection I wanted to have to them.

Aside from the premise, there wasn’t much to enjoy about this read and I can’t recommend it until it undergoes some serious editing. My thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A forbidden romance and the disastrous outcome of that romance. Charlotte and Tey fall in love in time when interracial romance was deemed wrong. A heartbreaking plot and an emotional rollercoaster ride. Beautifully written. This story makes me think of my ancestors, a Welsh man who fell in love with an Oglala Sioux woman. I am sure they endured a lot because they fell in love, but thankfully they kept going. Because of them, I am here.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

How I enjoyed this book! While there were parts that were confusing and/or just didn't add up, it was easy to skip past them. A young girl called Danny was excited to spend some time with her "auntie" where she found said tattered black book. She gets "Auntie" to tell her the story that is told in Charlotte's"diary". Before long, her mom is involved in the story, too, about a 'Caucasian girl who had fallen deeply in love with a nearby Indian. And, yes, Indian was an acceptable term back then in the 1800's.

Charlotte's father was obsessed with hatred with "red skins", so much so that he kept threatening to kill them, and even so much his daughter if he ever found her with one. Throughout the story, I was convinced that we'd learn of a relationship between Charlotte and someone in her family. It didn't come until the end of the book and was no revelation. It was interesting to me to learn of Indian customs, particularly the Lanapes. I have a little place in my heart for native Americans, as I have both a foster brother and foster sister from tribes in South Dakota and in Arizona.

Moving story of love threatened by prejudice😞

3.5-4 🌟stars
The core story about Charlotte and the Lenape boy she loves in late 1800's New Jersey was really powerful. I felt compelled to keep reading to see if love and compassion would triumph over hatred and prejudice. There's plenty of drama as Charlotte's father, the main villain of the piece, schemes and seeks to destroy his daughter's bid for happiness.

I found the structure and writing style a bit awkward. The 1951 storytelling by Auntie to a young child and the constant diversion to food preparation and snacking did not work for me. I think the multi generational story was gripping enough to skip most of the 1951 content.

The Native American culture and traditions were described well and informative. I noted some anachronisms but, on the whole, they were of minor import. The heart of the tale, with an ill-fated interracial couple having almost a Romeo and Juliet feel of impending doom was one I'm glad I read.

Maybe more appropriate for teen or young adult readers, but I ended enjoying it anyway.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

When Danny finds an old diary in her Aunty's house she uncovers a family secret,the forbidden love between a girl named Charlotte and her Native American lover.

Even when the secret is very predictable, the story was interesting, but the style, particularly the dialogues need polish. The story goes back to the present at the beginning of every chapter, these pauses don't contribute to the plot and are quite long, they just stop to eat; like on the Princess Bride but without the comic effect.

Some things in the story don't make sense, and although I was interested on the traditions of the Native Americans, I wondered how well researched were they when some general knowledge facts are wrong; for example, on trial the prosecution always goes first. It is one of those books that leave you wondering if the author has an editor.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC

This was a very interestingly written book. As my first book by this author, I am not sure if this is how she consistently writes, but I found it a little difficult to follow when I first started, but as the story gained momentum, it seemed easier to follow. The book has a lot of detail that lets you feel like you are in the story. I loved the characters and the historical details (although I am not a history buff, lol). I felt the character's struggles, triumphs and uncertainties. Overall, I enjoyed this book and will check out others by this author! I was sent a complimentary copy and I am choosing to leave my honest review.

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read this advance copy of The Tattered Black Book. There was a dual timeline in the book - late 1880's Camden, NJ and 1951 Camden, NJ. I am very familiar with the area having lived in NJ for 26 years outside of Camden and I taught at Camden High School. I was also very familiar with the Leni Lenape from Rancocas, NJ having attended some Lenape celebrations there.

The book was a page turner as to the outcome of Charlotte's life having married a Native American against her prejudiced father's threats. Unfortunately Tobias' threats came to fruition in the book.

I was able to identify Charlotte's true identity early on but was still eager to learn the rationale for the secrecy over many decades. The reason for the 4 stars was the predictability of the book. Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this read.