Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander is a 2022 Gallery Books publication.

This book is a fictionalized account of the life of real estate magnate Josephine Leary, who was born into slavery, but freed at the age of nine.

The primary focus, though, is on Josephine’s personal life, beginning with her marriage to 'Sweety' Leary. The couple owned a barbershop together, but Josephine faced tough challenges because her ambition was not the expected behavior men were accustomed to in those days.

She endured a continuous back and forth with her husband, who couldn’t understand why Jo could not be content to just be his wife and a mother to their children.

Her work, money, and wisdom not only kept their business in shape, but also brought them much success they wouldn’t have enjoyed otherwise.

Still, she was expected to bear the brunt of the child rearing, and the household duties, while working to achieve her goals, and hold down a full-time job. Sound familiar?

While I liked the message Kianna Alexander sent by taking this approach, I would have enjoyed seeing more of Josephine’s business acumen at play.

The pacing was slow, and didn’t always keep my rapt attention- And...

Although I've long since given up on my continuous harping about authentic dialogue in historical fiction- it will be hard to ignore the modern vernacular in this novel.

I think this might have been quite an ambitious undertaking, and the approach,though well intentioned, missed the mark a little bit.

That said, the book should at least get an A for effort, as Josephine Leary certainly deserves to be remembered, and her legacy should be honored.

This book did prompt me to do a few Google searches and I was pleased to find that some wonderful material, photographs, and actual documents were available for public viewing on several websites. I’d be interested in checking out a complete non-fictional biography of Josephine’s life someday.

Overall, this is an interesting take on Leary’s life- a woman well ahead of her time, and an inspiration for the modern woman, who can certainly relate to the challenge’s Josephine faced, and take note of her strong will and determination to never allow her ambitions to be stifled.

3 stars ( )

Josephine N. Leary was born slave in 1800s North Carolina. A few years later, the newly married woman buys her first property. Determined to build a life of her own, care for her family and pursue her real estate aspirations, Josephine teaches herself everything about being a businesswoman, managing her finances, and making smart investments in the local market.

Inspired by the real life of Josephine N. Leary, an African American woman who lived in Edenton, North Carolina, in the 1800s, Carolina Built is an historical fiction with a very interesting plot and a strong main protagonist. I love how Kianna Alexander included photographs and documents that belonged to Josephine N. Leary at the end of her book. Josephine is definitely a strong and inspiring woman. With ideas far ahead of her time, the heroine follows her dreams, despises an insecure husband and an omnipresent racism.

The novel is written from her point of view, but also sometimes from the one of her husband, Sweety. We follow Josephine’s everyday life, from a young child to an accomplished woman. The author describes her success, but also every burden. Mother of two children, the lead character must navigate between a jealous husband, an intolerant society and her personal ambitions.

Carolina Built is overall an interesting well-written historical novel and I enjoyed learning about Josephine N. Leary, a forgotten historical local figure. ( )

Interesting and enjoyable historical fiction. Josephine was a strong and admirable woman who went after what she wanted despite the odds. ( )

I love historical fiction featuring figures I've not encountered before and that is definitely the case with this novel focused on Josephine Napoleon Leary. Born into slavery in North Carolina, she became a skilled investor in real estate and managed to create a small fortune for herself and her family. She struggled with the racism of late nineteenth-century America and tension with a husband who was less successful professionally than she. Overall, this novel makes for a compelling read and I hope to see more written about this remarkable woman. ( )

The Publisher Says: This “exuberant celebration of Black women’s joy as well as their achievements” (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author) novelizes the life of real estate magnate Josephine N. Leary in a previously untold story of passion, perseverance, and building a legacy after emancipation in North Carolina.

Josephine N. Leary is determined to build a life of her own and a future for her family. When she moves to Edenton, North Carolina from the plantation where she was born, she is free, newly married, and ready to follow her dreams.

As the demands of life pull Josephine’s attention away, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to pursue her real estate aspirations. She finds herself immersed in deepening her marriage, mothering her daughters, and being a dutiful daughter and granddaughter. Still, she manages to teach herself to be a businesswoman, to manage her finances, and to make smart investments in the local real estate market. But with each passing year, it grows more and more difficult to focus on building her legacy from the ground up.

“Filled with passion and perseverance, Josephine Leary is frankly a woman that everyone should know” (Sadeqa Johnson, author of Yellow Wife) and her story speaks to the part of us that dares to dream bigger, tear down whatever stands in our way, and build something better for the loved ones we leave behind.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: It's always been hard to be a woman. In the US, it's always been hard to be Black. Now put the two disadvantages together...that's what Josephine Leary is up against. She's equal to any task, though; the novel begins in 1870, during the last days of Reconstruction. Having lived her childhood as a slave, Josephine knows that every single act she takes in this life has to have as its aim the increase of freedom and the assurance of security for herself, her husband, and their two daughters, as each addition to her life is made.

Her slaveowner was also her father, and that piece of "good luck" played out in her favor. She was able to buy the barbershop she and her husband ran together from him. And from there forward, it was all Mrs. Leary and all the way up Sweety, her husband, backed her.

Until her success threatened his Manhood.

It's a testament to the author's ability to pace a story that I didn't just quietly close the book and ignore it at that point. I know it happened; I am told it still happens. But it makes for dull reading, the expected flaw in the expected place. But to her credit, Author Alexander dwells on it not...it's not like it's played down but it's not protracted either.

What made me so dad-blamed mad that I screamed at my Kindle (for which I apologize to my roommate, he was sleeping and was utterly terrified as I shouted "NO SHE DID NOT!!" into the dark) came close to the end of the book when there's a fire that deprives Mrs. Leary of her (uninsured, of course, she was a Black woman, who'd write that policy in the 1890s?!) hard-earned gains! But...and this is where I almost cheered but was too shy to wake the grouch up again...she still owned the land. And she chose to rebuild, to build back better.

Unlike certain scumbag politicians with "R"s after their names.

Well, that all sounds very five-starry, doesn't it? But there's a four up there...and I feel generous giving it. The fact is that this is a very dialogue-heavy novel and there's not much vigor in the dialogue. It's not awful but it doesn't lend itself to quoting the quotable quotes. There's not any.

"The only thing that truly frightens me is the idea that I might not take full advantage of the gift of freedom. I refuse to let that happen."

And that is as snappy as it gets. I'm in total agreement with the sentiment. I just wish it had more oomph behind it.

But in the end, this is an historical novel and it's a lot better served by thinking of it as a novelized biography. Josephine Leary very much deserves to be remembered for her indomitable will, her savvy, and her sheer cussèd determination to overcome every obstacle the world shoves in front of her. Reading the story is a good, and a worthy, way to honor the memory of such a remarkable person. ( )