What readers think of This Here Is Love, plus links to write your own review.

This book will affect me for a very long time. The story of enslaved and indentured people and how their stories are similar yet so very different. Ms. Perry writes a poignant and deep perspective of people who are placed in horrible circumstances. We see how they cope with the atrocities of the time that people of color still are traumatized by. The character's lives intertwine in difficult and loving ways. How do you love someone that you know you could lose at any moment? How do you live when your child is certain to be taken from you? This Here Is Love will burrow into your soul and show you the pain of our historical past. It is at times heartwrenching and at other so very touching as each person deals with their plight. Everyone should read this book, surprisingly Ms. Perry's first.

Very few authors have the ability to write about such a difficult subject matter; yet capture the reader from page one and provide an extraordinary lesson in history. Princess Joy L. Perry was able to relay the horrific and unbelievable ways that humans can treat one another but also share the undeniable spirit of hope and love. The characters were well defined, the story line flowed seamlessly, and the style of writing was beautiful. This book would be a perfect choice for bookclubs wanting a discussion that delves into choices people make, moral issues, and the dark stain of slavery on American history. I am grateful I was able to receive this book and had a reminder of our past. Highly, Highly reccomend this book!

THIS HERE IS LOVE
By Princess Joy L. Perry

This Here Is Love is a powerful and moving debut novel that pulls you deep into the lives of three unforgettable characters living at the close of 17th century Virginia. Princess Joy L. Perry writes with heart and honesty, showing how love, family, and freedom are tested in the harshest of times. Conveying the grit and sorrow of slavery and indentured servitude.

Bless is taken from her mother to serve the slaveowner's daughter and must decide where she truly belongs. David, sold away from his family, keeps his feelings hidden while quietly longing for connection. Jack, an indentured servant, tries to change his future, but risks losing his sense of right and wrong in the process.

Their lives come together where they challenge each other and confront painful truths. As they struggle with their pasts and their choices, they each must decide what love and freedom really mean.

I really enjoyed this beautifully written, haunting, and captivating novel, filled with unforgettable characters. The emotional depth and historical detail pulled me in from the start, and I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished. It's hard to believe this riveting saga of love, betrayal, and resilience is the author's debut—I'm excited to see what she brings us next.

Thank you to BookBrowse for the ARC of this riveting read.

The mark of a great book for me is to be so riveted by the writing, the plot, and the characters that I can’t stop thinking about it. This Here Is Love is one of those books.
The author depicts the abject cruelty, brutality, and heartbreak experienced by enslaved people in Virginia in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It is a story of sorrow, loss, anguish, survival, and ultimately love told through the lives of two enslaved people, Bless and David, and their master, Jack, an indentured servant. The writing is beautiful—engrossing and lyrical, with vivid descriptions. The plot is so compelling that it’s hard to put the book down, and the characters (especially Bless and David) are unforgettable.
This Here is Love would be a perfect choice for book clubs interested in historical fiction. I’ve read many novels about enslaved people, but all have taken place in the 19th century. In This Here Is Love, many enslaved individuals remembered where they came from and who they left behind when they were taken. This time period is a new perspective for me and added to my knowledge base.

I received this ARC book, "This Here is Love", from BookBrowse. This is a vital book that every Caucasian should read. The author, Princess Joy L. Perry brings to life a world of slavery not written about in books. While this book is called a novel, it felt real to me, so much so that I had to regularly put the book down & walk away from it because of all the feelings it evoked in me. Is it disturbing? Yes. Might it trigger some people because it talks about rape and abuse? Also yes. But it is so beautifully written that I am so very glad I read it. This is NOT a book that leaves you after reading it.

We all have our own definition of love. It's personal. Sometimes we interpret love as just a selfish kindness shown. But if that is all we have...

This is a story about the awful things that human beings are capable of doing to other humans. But, it also the story of determination, resilience, and the power of love. It follows the lives of Bless, Cassie, and David who are all slaves. It is also the story of Jack, Jeffrey, and Ethan who were the white men that held all the power over Bless, Cassie, and David’s lives. One of these white men still has a little good left inside him, but the question is what will it take to open his eyes to the truth and if he does take responsibility for his actions, will he do anything about it?

Princess Joy L. Perry's first novel, This Here Is Love, is the work of an accomplished writer weaving the stories of colonizers, indentured servants, and slaves in colonial Virginia. As these individuals form families that grow and change over the span of less than two decades, Perry focuses on promises kept and broken, the risks of extending trust, and the meaning of love. Never a fan of historical fiction, I at first questioned if the relationships portrayed were authentic to the period. In the end, her depiction of the interplay of stark choices and emotions parents encountered in bearing and raising children and children faced in becoming young adults forming friendships and partnerships—both business and personal—won my unequivocal admiration. Masters/Mistresses, slave traders, servants, slaves, and freedmen all come to life as complex people, not stereotypes, showing us how life and love may have been and, indeed, continue.

THIS HERE IS LOVE will captivate you from the first page as you follow slaves and indentured servants seeking a path to freedom. The characters are authentic and SO earnest in their plan to seek their freedom as their selfish plantation owners think only of revenue while breeding and treating their captives as property for profit. Every character draws you into their story with dignity, hope, and acceptance to their plight.
At times this book is difficult to read and know what they endured by their masters. Realizing how their capture cemented them to this life in
1692 and beyond. was upsetting. As I read this novel, I was struck was by the masters'' perceptions that they were not bright, how the workers had to subjugate their needs and fawn over their owners who thought so little of them. This book is written with respect for each character and offers insight into the courage of these slaves as they coped with the owners lack of humanity.

I am amazed that this was Joy Perry's debut novel. This book seemed very important to her to share this shameful history with the reader. I look forward to her next project.

I am astounded that this is Joy Perry's first novel. Beautifully written with this history. I look forward to her next project.