The Governor's Sons [Kindle Edition]

Maria McKenzie (Author)

Book Description

"The Governor's Sons is tender and touching, and also quite terribly and frighteningly true. Maria McKenzie is definitely a young novelist to watch." Stephen Birmingham, New York Times Bestselling Novelist and Renowned Social Historian, author of the LeBaron Secret and Our Crowd

Readers worldwide are talking about The Governor's Sons. "This book is amazing. The story is well told with well developed characters that are easy to fall in love with in spite of, or because of their frailties...It is definitely a captivating and thought provoking tale, examining love and the destructiveness of hate, well worth reading." Mela, United Kingdom

Providing a different glimpse into the lives of "the (hired) help," The Governor’s Sons is a heart thumping account of forbidden love and political ambition in the deep South, a suspenseful tale of romance, deception, racial tension and ultimately, racial reconciliation within the powerful Kroth family.

During the summer of 1936, Ash Kroth, a young law student from a southern family of wealth and political prestige, falls in love with the help, beautiful "Negro" college girl Catherine Wilkes.

Nearly thirty years later, as a segregationist governor in the midst of civil rights turmoil, Ash is forced to confront the inevitable consequences of his love for her.

In 1965, Harland Hall, a black Civil Rights leader, moves to the capital city in an effort to quell the racial violence occurring not far from his mother's home. But what mysterious link does this young man have to the Governor’s past?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Realistic, multifaceted characters make for an especially engaging novel." - Kirkus Reviews

From the Author

Essie Mae Washington Williams's memoir Dear Senator provided the idea for The Governor's Sons.  Ms. Williams is the love child of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond by his family's African American maid.  After reading her story, I wondered what would have happened if a southern governor fathered a son by a black woman, and that son grew up to become a civil rights leader.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 592 KB
• Print Length: 372 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1466473002
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005WMLA6E
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,514 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #45 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > United States > African American > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Emotions about the book November 29, 2011

By LisaSB

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I will start out by saying that this is a well written book that spans over several decades starting in the 1930s. It is about a young white man who falls in love with the young African American (Don't expect to find politically correct language in the book - but that is okay because the language makes the book more realistic) girl that works in his home one summer. The romance between the two only lasts for about a year but the consequences of that romance lasts much longer. The young man eventually becomes Governor. Although a third of the book is an amazing love story, I would not call this a romance novel but more like historical fiction because of the unexpected turn that the book takes. I could not give it five stars because I like my romance novels to be true romance novels, have happy endings and be more predictable. I guess I never got over the tragedy that happened early in the book. However, I must say that this book had courage and maybe my failure to really embrace the book has more to do with my preferences than a failure on the part of the author. I would recommend this book but warn individuals that like light, happy, and predictable books that this may not be your cup of tea. Also, although I started out liking the main character very much, I started to be ambivalent about him near the end. However, it is a realistic portrayal of the time period.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible! Terrific read! November 20, 2011

By Tracey L. Goldenberg

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is labeled as a historical romance but it is so much more than that! It is an engrossing story about life, relationships, strife, and making choices. I found myself wrapped up in the characters, my heart following the emotions and thoughts of each person. Maria writes so the characters become very real to you. Such a well done story with excellent plot twists and I loved how it all came to together at the end. Sigh.. When is the next one coming out?

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story! October 19, 2011

By SRR1976

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a great story. I loved that is wasn't raunchy (not that I don't like erotica). It was good to read a story that incorporated faith and love. My only complaint was that I would have like to see more of the relationship between Ash and Harland. I would love to read a sequel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Page Turner!!! October 23, 2011

By Alexis Grace

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the first book I have read by this author and was not disappointed. The book was just great and filled with suspense. It was well written and I simply could not put it down. So, without giving anything away, go buy this book, its worth every cent!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning, mediocre ending January 18, 2012

By EKG Literary Magazine

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I began reading the preview of this book on Amazon.com one afternoon while charging my Kindle. I was hooked and decided to purchase the full book.

The story is well written and flows easily. It has likable and believable characters that I enjoyed getting to know. The first part of the story is an awesome story of forbidden love between a couple of different races in the 1930's in the South. I found the story interesting, and familiar at the same time. The character of Ash greatly resembled Senator Strom Thurmond in being a lawyer who was very concerned with his health living in the South and having an affair and a child with an African American woman. Also like Senator Thurmond Ash married a beauty queen and was a segregationist who hid the fact that he'd fathered a child with an African America. Because of some of the similarities the book was predictable in some areas but other things came as total surprises.

I enjoyed the book, but felt the ending was anti-climatic. There was no development of the relationship between Ash and his child and I felt it ended way too soon.I hope the author chooses to write a sequel with these characters. The relationship between a black civil rights leader who is the son of a segregationist would make a compelling story.

Overall this was a good read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing! January 1, 2012

By Michele R. Prell

Format:Kindle Edition

This book provides a masterful, exciting, and thought-provoking view of the historical evolution of racial relations from both the white and the the black perspectives. In my opinion, it is a virtually untouched subject matter for well-written historical romance novels. The author is extremely effective in utilizing dialogue and character development to evoke the reader's own emotional response without interjecting her own political or moral beliefs on the subject matter. It is a page-turner from beginning to end. I was not able to keep from thinking about the story during the day and even dreamed about it at night until I finished the book. I highly recommend this book and am eagerly awaiting to read more of Maria McKenzie's writing.

Michele Prell

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Love and Hate... December 16, 2011

By Curry

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read this book a total of 10 times. I gave this book four stars. I hurt for Kitty and hated Ash alot at times.
First I thought he didn't love Kitty but know now with the circumstances of their situation he did. Before the end
he was willing to put her happiness above his own because he loved her.I realize for blacks and whites who were really in
love back then they were limited with very few choices. I suppose his losing Kitty and his son created a fear so deep. You can tell
her didn't recover from that because he didn't think he would. Leading to the fear of losing his wife. Good read...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and Emotional Read! December 5, 2011

By danikat

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The reviews for this book are spot on! This author has woven an emotional and heart wrenching tale of young, forbidden love, and its consequences in the 1930's and 1960's South. The author herself has noted that this book is heavily influenced by Strom Thurmond and the revelation of his biracial daughter he conceived with his family's maid. While it is not a biographical account of that situation, the way in which she used that story as the shell of a fully fleshed out, fiction novel, is remarkable. Told in two parts, the author was able to use masterful storytelling to convey the levity of emotions felt by the characters, and how their choices were true offshoots of their personalities. The first half felt romantic and wistful. To be fair though, as others noted, I don't think this is truly a romance novel. As a lover of romance novels I really wanted Kitty and Ash to make it to their HEA, I wanted Ash to man up and follow through on his plans and run off with his son, alas none of that was to be. Despite my disappointment in Ash, his decisions felt real and authentic. The choices he made throughout felt like selfish cowardice to me, but I understood what he would have given up otherwise...it was a hard choice to make. Though I never got the feeling that he considered anyone but himself as he was making them, and that made me dislike him a great deal. The second half was more about secrets and their consequences. I could have stopped after the first part, as the second half only further solidified my dislike of Ash, but that did not diminish my apprecation of well told story. I would have given this book 5 stars, but there are some editing issues. Regardless of that I definently recommend this book.

More About the Author

Maria McKenzie lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two boys. She was a librarian for several years, before becoming a stay-at-home mom, small business owner and author.

She writes historical fiction in the form of forbidden love stories. Mixed race romance from the American past provides heart wrenching conflict as well as incredible pain, and those elements combined create amazing stories. Being in an interracial marriage herself, Maria enjoys exploring the topic. Her novels are inspired by true stories, as well as her imagination.

She loves to read romantic suspense, thrillers, historical fiction and nonfiction, true crime and biographies.

A foodie, Maria has a preference for spicy ethnic cuisines. She also likes to cook and bake, as long as the recipes aren't too time consuming, so she'll have more time to write and more time to read! In addition to libraries and book stores, Maria enjoys movies, museums, antiquing and flea markets.

An avid fitness fanatic, Maria runs/walks, does Pilates and weight training. If she's not listening to an audio book, her morning runs give her time to imagine story ideas!

Maria graduated from Wittenberg University with a Bachelor's in English, and then attended Atlanta University where she received a Master's in Library Science.

She is currently at work on her next release, Masquerade: Book Two of The Unchained Trilogy. You can visit Maria at www.mariamckenziewrites.com or send her an email at [e-mail]. She'd love to hear from you!