I started off very enthusiastic about this book. A story about slavery, but not set in the USA, it is a different sort of story, set in London in 1770. It is a subject I am very interested in and I knew very little about slaves brought to the UK and how their lives turned out. The story starts off strongly but then veers into the world of smugglers, same sex couples and a fantastic plot to blow up Parliament! (Which explains the books title!) It all sounds a little too incredible to be based on a true story but a little research shows that there was such a person as Vincent (the brother of the main character in the book). It seems he was based on James Somerset from St Lucia. However closely the story follows his real life I am not sure, but it is an interesting and unusual read.

Remember, Remember is a book of two halves, and I enjoyed each half greatly, even if it did eventually feel like reading two different books.

The first half is a semi-fictional legal drama, going through the legal proceedings that lead to the abolition of slavery. I found it incredibly absorbing and fascinating, and would get incredibly angry and frustrated alongside the characters as they were coming up against the full force and corruption of the empire. It was so moving and powerful, and I would have loved to know more about how much of the trial was based in the truth of what really happened.

The second half of the book is about rebellion, radical protest, and sometimes violent action. Again, it was a gripping read, although the pace did start to lag towards the end.

I really like the idea of having both sides of the activism coin in the same book. It laid out so clearly the connection between them, seeing how the main character Delphine lost all faith in peaceful activism – understandably so given what she goes through – and turns to violence. It just didn’t feel very cohesive. I think perhaps if the two threads had been written as dual timelines that might have worked better, but especially given how many new characters were introduced at the halfway point, I did feel like I’d read two books rather than one.

Nevertheless, this was still a great read, that prioritised the voices of Black enslaved people over the white abolitionists who are almost always put front and centre.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

This was a mixed read for me as there were loads of points i liked about this and some that just didn't work. I liked the characters Delphine and Vincent and thought they were very compelling main characters. The side characters were interesting but i feel like some of them could have been developed further as they felt crucial to the plot. The writing was good but some of it didn't work 100% for me. I liked this generally but it didn't give me what i wanted in the end.

Remember, Remember by Elle Machray

Thanks so much to Preye at Dark Matter and Harper for my gifted copy of the book.

I am LOVING this book! The title is what initially caught my eye but then a line in the synopsis “An incendiary alternative history of the gunpowder plot” and I knew I needed to read this book.

The bond between Delphine and Vincent as siblings is so beautiful to see unfold and the fact that Delphine is set on securing justice and his freedom.

This is such an explosive read! I loved it from start to finish. The level of research into the time period is incredible!

I really felt submerged within Delphine’s world and felt like in another life, we would have been friends! She is loyal and kind and just wants the best for her brother.

This is the first book I’ve read about the slave trade within England and honestly it was compelling! I cannot wait to see what Elle Machray writes next!

Congratulations! Your review for Remember, Remember, captioned
below, has been published. Visit
<https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=87173> to view your
published review.

Please share your review via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest,
Instagram and other social media venues. Include the #FFreview
hashtag or @FreshFiction in your posts.

I thought that this one had some great character moments and that the author did a great job fleshing out the various interactions. I loved Delphine as a protagonist and really enjoyed the arc of her character. My main issues were with the plot which felt quite episodic at times and quite rushed at others. Overall I did enjoy this but it isn't a new favourite.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the story of a young black woman in 1770s London who has escaped slavery and wants to help her brother do the same
Unfortunately, Vincent is killed by a group of white vigilantes after being acquitted of injuring his master during a during an escape attempt. His sister Delphine decides that she wants to avenge this and to raise the awareness of slavery both in the UK and in its colonies she decides to blow up the houses of Parliament and at attempt similar to that of Guy Fawke a few years earlier, which was foiled.

The novel has a Great first chapter, my interest is caught and maintained
I did however start to get a bit bored about 3/4 of the way in and wondered whether I could commit to finishing the novel
The gunpowder plot made me feel quite conflicted. I couldn’t see the conspirators point of view well but didn’t think what they were doing was justified and because of this I lost my understanding of the character Clearly the effect of slavery and the part that is British upper classes took in perpetuating this should not be lessened but the massive explosion that was planned and the deaths of innocent people were unlikely to bring about the desired outcome.
The book is highly visual and the setting exotic in time . it’s very little written about this period of history and in particular the experiences of the black population of the country

I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK the book was published on the 29th of February 2024 by HarperNorth
This will appear on NetGalley UK Goodreads and my book blog bionics SarahSbooks.wordpress.com
It will also appear on Amazon uk

I've always enjoyed an alternate history novel and in the spirit of discovering and reading new authors, I thought I'd give this a go (and I'm glad I did!).

While this book took me a minute to figure out, once I did, I was hooked. I'm not sure if it was the change in genre, but I was reaching for this at every possible moment. I loved the gradual character development and I really liked how they were written. There were plenty of twists and turns and one or two I wasn't expecting!

This is a book I know I'll keep thinking about - there were definitely moments that lingered long after I had finished the book.

The Gunpowder Plot is one of my favourite historical events I've ever learnt about so as soon as I heard about this book I knew I had to read this reimagining. I can't say I've heard of any other reimaging of this event which is what made me love this book so unique. It was different and refreshing and the story and characters were so well developed.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone attempted to replicate the 1605 Gunpowder Plot in all but its failure today? I mean, violence & mass murder are never the right answer, yet the idea is interesting, right?

In her recently published novel, "Remember Remember", author Elle Machray imagines just this but for 1770 London & her MC's desire to bring down the British Empire & its slave trade. Escaped slave Delphine opts for more explosive means when the traditional legal route fails to achieve justice for her brother Vincent &, fuelled by anger & grief, she demands minority voices are finally heard. It's ambitious but friends in both high & low places are willing to help.

Trying to compose my thoughts about this book has been almost as complex a task as Machray must have found trying to condense her multitude of sub-plots & detailed research into something slightly easier to consume. Comparisons such as "The Confessions of Frannie Langton" by Sara Collins, "Harlots" (2017-19), & recent BLM protests come to mind, alongside the obvious historical reference. And there are plenty of themes to dwell on once you've finished, from the ethics of such actions to the motivations behind them.

However, I can say I was left feeling a little confused about the story's pacing & how Delphine in particular reached her end point. It's split into three parts which have very different intentions. The first starts strong with a glimpse of the past & events that set things in motion from Delphine & Vincent's perspectives, before the second slows it all down dramatically to enter legal thriller territory & amps up again as plot related information is established/acted upon. Then the finale gradually builds on this, bringing a tension filled conclusion with secret tunnels & long-awaited confrontations. So, adding in the flashbacks & various locations/character relationships, a lot is going on which, to me, didn't flow perhaps as well as it could have because there was more tell than show at times to fill in the gaps. I also thought there was a bit of mere box ticking when it came to the LGBTQ+ element as it wasn't quite developed enough & was mostly in the background whilst other things rightly took precedence (e.g. Pearl & Delphine).

The characters & what they represent are good though. Delphine is a strong-willed survivor dealing with her limitations, betrayal, & moral dilemmas. Nick the "good" white man who still has his own prejudices & contradictions when being an ally, as well as a way to add a love of books to the narrative. And Lord Harvey is the detestable villain of the story that I believed would have been the more natural target of Delphine's plan & for whom the "redemption" styled explanation was unnecessary. There are a few side characters that support in a found family sense & occasionally lighten the mood too.

Plus, the accents & language use, including a handful of archaic terms, were a nice touch for the genre.

Thank you to @harpernorthuk & @netgalley for accepting my request to read this eARC.

Remember, Remember is a timely, moving, and compelling historical YA novel. For fans of Babel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, and Noughts and Crosses, escaped slave Delphine and her brother Vincent get caught up in a landmark lawsuit for the rights of Black citizens in 18th C. London. The situation pushes Delphie to see rebellion and resistance in a new way as she plots to reshape British society and the empire.

Somehow, this book is extremely modern in feel, including some excellent queer representation, without feeling out of step with its late 1700s setting. I cried, twice, at two very different point which is fairly unusual for me. There are also some elements of romance and of campness that won't appeal to everyone, but they balance some extremely difficult subject matter including racist violence and torture in among. I hope this will be come a new YA classic. My book of the year so far!

This book hit me in the heart HARD. I finished this in February ahead of its release and I am still thinking about it months later.

This is one of only two 5 star reads for me so far this year and it’s definitely set a high bar. Remember, Remember has made me think a lot and despite it being set many hundreds of years ago, it still raises myriad questions to consider today.

The writing was immersive and the character development was fantastic. I found myself loving my favourite characters and despising the antagonists in equal measure. It provoked strong emotional reactions towards characters on both ends of the scale which I think speaks to Machray’s skill.

Despite the hard hitting subject matter and some moments which were utterly heart breaking (I did have to stop at a couple of points) there was also a lovely element of hope through this book.

I really do think this will be one of my favourite books of my year and I will be reaching quickly for the next of Elle Machray’s novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperNorth for providing me with an ARC copy.

I really enjoyed this book, it wasn’t perfect but a great debut novel.

The book follows two ‘previously enslaved’ characters who seek revenge by enacting their own successful Gunpowder Plot.

The characters in this book made for a fantastic read.
The cast of characters was diverse and complex but loveable. The author wrote in a way that gave each of the relatively large cast a distinct personality and whilst many of them had reasons to hate the colonisers dealt with this hatered in different ways which made them more believable. Some of their actions were morally questionable they were still understandable.

The plot was propulsive with a few twists along the way. I had to keep reading to find out what happened next and the added side-plots were also great and didn’t detract from the main story. The final part of the book was exciting with great action scenes.

I thought that it could’ve been a little shorter as I felt that the was possibly a little too much setting the scene/backstory at the beginning of the book but it didn’t stop me reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperNorth for the advance readers copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

It took me a little while to get into this book - it's a bit of a slow burner - but once you get into the main plot you're all in. Delphine is a great character, and I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the character of Nick and the challenge Machray gives to his white privilege and liberal guilt. I thought Vincent was perhaps slightly underwritten but you don't get much time with him so perhaps that is the reason. Machray also portrays a wide variety of viewpoints with sensitivity and deftness. It's very interesting to imagine how different the world could have been in this alternative version of history.

Enjoyable read which crested a couple of audible gasps. I do wish there was less build up and more in the ending. There were also a couple of plot holes that were not addressed but overall a great take on a Well know event

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Harper North for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: racism, injury, violence, slavery, torture, colonialism

“Remember, Remember” is a powerful story based against the backdrop of 1770s England about two siblings trying to survive in a world where slavery is still legal and their right to exist is murky. Delphine and Vincent, who were brought to England by their master Lord Henry, have long sought their freedom- Delphine ran away four years ago and disappeared into hiding with an enormous personal cost while Vincent tries to earn enough money to pay off his contract through boxing. However, when Vincent finally does achieve his goal, Lord Henry refuses to free him and has Vincent captured on a ship to set sail back to the West Indies. Delphine is forced to work alongside her brother’s friend, Nicholas, as they battle through the incomprehensible English legal system around slavery and racism. After the courts and London fail to help Delphine in her quest to rescue Vincent, she decides that a tiny rebellion is no longer enough: she turns to history, and a long-believed lost ally, to create a plot as legendary as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, because that’s the only way anyone will listen.

This is a strong debut with a deeply moving and important story at the heart of it. I connected immediately with Delphine as she tries to free her brother Vincent, years after she fled from her master’s home and left behind the love of her life. Aspects of this book are incredibly hard to read, but they’re supposed to be and I was in awe to find out that this was a debut novel because it deals with so many difficult and overarching themes. Vincent’s battle in the courts is based upon a real case and I found the scenes set in the justice system to be the most gripping despite some slow pacing, especially knowing how many of the arguments made were real ones. However, as the story moved away from Vincent’s case and more towards Delphine’s reaction to the ongoing abuse, slavery and racism in the wider world, I found it harder to follow- especially when she decided to recreate the Gunpowder Plot, as it no longer felt like the same book but two separate ideas. I’m glad that I read this and I’m looking forward to what might come from this author next.

The year is 1770 and Delphine's world consists of slavery, brutality and abuse.
In retaliation she falls in with a group of smugglers and prostitutes, an underground gang that seek justice against the world's wrongs.
She escaped her own enslavement four years previously and is now intent on helping her brother Vincent too attain his liberty too.
But Britain's court services are of course at this time biased towards a person of colour so justice was never on the cards.
Small, petty acts of rebellion now just won't do.
Delphine is looking for something bigger.
Something to emulate the Guy Fawkes failed plot.
She wants to hit society where it hurts, the heart of the slave trade and thereby pave the way for other similar changes for those desperately oppressed.
But can one determined, ex slave and a rag tag band be enough to bring the houses of parliament this time and effect sweeping alterations in laws?
This was a fantastic debut novel, very hard hitting and a totally different take on the gunpowder plot told from the people's point of view giving an alternative slant to the well known story.
I love this, the tale was immersive, the whole plot engaging and the characters likeable, sometimes flawed and very honest.
A great read.

Spoiler alert! 🚨

DNF at 40%

This will probably be an unpopular review but I think the scope of this book was too great for this debut author’s writing ability. For such an emotional plot, I couldn’t bring myself to care about the main character. This is in no way saying that I don’t care about the subject matter, I just wasn’t compelled to pick up this book and continue reading, which was a shame as this plot-based novel could have been so exciting.

I think where it went bad for me was that I couldn’t believe the MC’s grief after Vincent’s death. I also didn’t understand that with so many well wishers surrounding him, the death of an experienced boxer at the hands of thugs couldn’t have been prevented. It was like something didn’t add up.

I understand the importance of writing about the book’s many themes (they drew me to this book in the first place) but I don’t think the author was experienced enough to take them all on at once. It was a good attempt but disappointing and I think the book has so much praise due to its themes rather than its execution (pardon the pun!).

Thank you to HarperNorth and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Remember, remember is a novel full of wonderful characters who are very well written, they seem like real people.

I don't know if enjoyed is the correct word for this book as there are some scenes that are hard to read, however I think the descriptions of violence etc could have been much more graphic. I think Elle Machray got the balance between not shying away from the brutality but not overdoing it either, perfectly.

I'm excited to see what books they release in the future.

Delphine is an escaped slave, eking a living in a brothel that caters for the exotic. Her brother has been promised his freedom if he succeeds as a boxer but this is denied him. His vicious master intends to send Vincent back to the West Indies so Delphine and a sympathetic MP decide to take the case to court. When justice does not prevail Delphine is set on a journey of revenge.
There are parts of this novel that are absolutely brilliant and I can forgive the 'alternative history' plot. However what spoils it is the the slight overemphasis on the LGBTQ aspect which just seemed a plot device too far. The research of 18th century politics is great, weaving real characters with fiction, and there is a passion in the writing that serves the novel well.