I enjoy historical fiction as a way to immerse myself into a time period and experiencing stories of the era. Hidden Cargo takes place in the years immediately following the Civil War during the tumultuous Reconstruction era. I didn't know about the continuing illegal slave trade of freedmen into Cuba so I was drawn into the overall story. Aspects of the story and character development were a bit simplistic for me (it seemed like the characters were either good or bad/evil without more nuance about what it meant to side with the Union or the Confederacy) and the main characters almost felt a bit too modern/contemporary in their beliefs. Despite a lot of action, this was a moderately-paced book for me. I'm glad to have learned something new and gain a better understanding of the larger scope of slavery in the west and through Reconstruction, but I'm not sure this will be a book I strongly recommend to others. Overall 3.75/5 for me.
Many thanks to Bookish First and Lyons Press for the ARC.
Many thanks to Bookish First and Lyons Press for the ARC.