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We Were Not Kings
From island life in the Caribbean to a new beginning in France, a young man comes of age in a sweeping and lyrical novel about family, loss, secrets, and finding freedom from the past.
Eighteen-year-old Salomon Destin graduates high school and anxiously trades life on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean for France to continue his studies.
Strasbourg is his new home. He’s carving out a promising new path for himself. And most of all, he’s left behind the disorder of so much family drama, including that of a dissolute father, a mother who turns a blind eye to the chaos, his troubled and aimless brother Junior, and Salomon’s inherited obligations as peacekeeper. Although one year away, in love for the first time, and an ocean safely separating his old life and new, Salomon is pulled back to the island by the news of a tragedy. As unexpectedly comforting as Guadeloupe is—the food, music, ocean, and sun stirring up beautiful island memories—the traumas of the past remain.
Years later, while facing the echoes of family demons in his own marriage and confronting the stunning secrets and revelations to come, Salomon, and everyone he loves, must find the strength to move forward once and for all. But will freedom come with a price?
Eighteen-year-old Salomon Destin graduates high school and anxiously trades life on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean for France to continue his studies.
Strasbourg is his new home. He’s carving out a promising new path for himself. And most of all, he’s left behind the disorder of so much family drama, including that of a dissolute father, a mother who turns a blind eye to the chaos, his troubled and aimless brother Junior, and Salomon’s inherited obligations as peacekeeper. Although one year away, in love for the first time, and an ocean safely separating his old life and new, Salomon is pulled back to the island by the news of a tragedy. As unexpectedly comforting as Guadeloupe is—the food, music, ocean, and sun stirring up beautiful island memories—the traumas of the past remain.
Years later, while facing the echoes of family demons in his own marriage and confronting the stunning secrets and revelations to come, Salomon, and everyone he loves, must find the strength to move forward once and for all. But will freedom come with a price?
223 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2025
62 people are currently reading
2754 people want to read
About the author
Robert de la Chevotiere
3 books35 followersRobert de la Chevotiere is a short story writer, novelist and award winning poet. He has been a public school teacher for nearly 20 years. Originally from the Caribbean Island of Dominica, he spent equal parts of his childhood in Guadeloupe and in Bermuda. He now resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 23, 2025
Overall, a strong debut, and I plan to read the author’s next book that comes out later this year.
What worked well:
-The cover is gorgeous!
-The unique setting.
-The themes, history, and political insights; I thoroughly enjoyed all of that content.
-The racial dynamics and commentary explored throughout the story.
-The plot was strong, and there was a lot that happened in a modest number of pages.
-The ending/tie to the title. Something to think about after reading.
-As a former Brazilian Zouk dancer, it was a delight to find the references to Zouk music (the Caribbean style music/dance is a bit different from what I was part of in the Brazilian Zouk dance scene in Texas, but it was still a fun connection I haven’t found in books before).
What didn’t quite work for me:
-Even though many tragic/dramatic things happened in the story, I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I expected to be for them to hit me. This might have been because something was missing in my connection to the main character that’s hard to define. It likely falls under the Believe/Care/Invest framework.
-The dialogue often felt clunky/unnatural.
But I don’t regret my time spent with this one. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC audiobook to try this one before publication!
What worked well:
-The cover is gorgeous!
-The unique setting.
-The themes, history, and political insights; I thoroughly enjoyed all of that content.
-The racial dynamics and commentary explored throughout the story.
-The plot was strong, and there was a lot that happened in a modest number of pages.
-The ending/tie to the title. Something to think about after reading.
-As a former Brazilian Zouk dancer, it was a delight to find the references to Zouk music (the Caribbean style music/dance is a bit different from what I was part of in the Brazilian Zouk dance scene in Texas, but it was still a fun connection I haven’t found in books before).
What didn’t quite work for me:
-Even though many tragic/dramatic things happened in the story, I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I expected to be for them to hit me. This might have been because something was missing in my connection to the main character that’s hard to define. It likely falls under the Believe/Care/Invest framework.
-The dialogue often felt clunky/unnatural.
But I don’t regret my time spent with this one. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC audiobook to try this one before publication!
September 11, 2025
likely the best book I have read this year. Short, touching, haunting, direct, and powerful. Many themes woven into an excellent tale. This one will stick with me. 4.5/5 rounded up.
August 22, 2025
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Salomon Destin is always just on the edge of something. The reader is introduced to him and his family just as he has passed his exams and is looking forward to pursuing college far away from his Caribbean home in France. He will finally have room to spread his wings beyond his insular daily grind in Guadalupe and the continual drama and spiritual drain caused by his alcoholic father.
Supported unconditionally by his religiously and familial devoted mother and sassy matriarch grandmother, he still wrestles with guilt. As the first born, a nickname he loathes for the cultural expectations, he can't reconcile his own desires with his obligation to be leader, peacemaker, and protector of his family. How can he peacefully explore a future when his mother continues to be disrespected? When his often dismissed wayward brother continues to bear the brunt of their father's ire?
Over the next two decades we follow Salomon's journey as he establishes his own life as an adult. Ever parallel is the family's struggles as a whole. Guadalupe and its people continually draw him back in. We witness other characters progress and old secrets be dug up along with their repercussions. All of this intermingles with bits of history and scattered pieces of social-political matters. Accumulating into an eruption of the pressure built along the way.
It cannot be denied that Robert de la Chevotiere has an amazing gift for spinning a phrase. There is a very vivid sway to his words. For the most part his characters feel fully formed, beautifully human in how messy they are. Readers who hunger for these things will eat up this book. As pleasant as those elements are, how important various themes are, and that I've so rarely heard Guadalupe even mentioned let alone put in a forefront, I ended this book frustrated.
Salomon feels very passive for the most part. Events seem to happen around and to him without him showing an engagement. Even when he intervenes he feels more like the chest piece than the player. In being a mediator for his family he becomes neutral to the world. This could be a reflection of how his own trauma manifested. Conceptually I find it clever. Intellectual appreciation of a technique doesn't always associate with an emotional resonance. Unfortunately for my personal tastes, this numbness created a dissonance that made it harder to really care about the things happening to the family.
In part I wonder if this was a deliberate choice to counter the constant and at times seemingly random insertion of new revelations, sudden regional or historical information, or a political or sociological aspects. All of these things, such as laying out the various complicated webs born from class and race along with living an intersection life, deserve to be discussed. There came a point that the continual ebb and flow of focus left me grasping at straws trying to latch onto what exactly the novel was trying to say.
Is his brothers lining up to the story Salomon keeps returning to supposed to connect with how people don't follow the narratives the world expects of them? Is it supposed to be a journey of enlightenment. not necessarily of accomplishment and healing. but of forgiveness? Is it about how generational trauma shapes the future? Is it about the concepts of family and its associated bonds? Salomon keeps getting called back to the island and feels nostalgic. Yes, I learned things about the region but ironically for how poetic the writing is, I never got a tight feeling of the place. I cannot for the life of me tell what the main take away was supposed to be. Nor do I feel like any of these things really were fully explored.
You can tell the author is bursting to put down all of the things left to the shadows and whispered about in families. I understand that urge and also was eager to listen. There are far more serious complaints than just wanting more. I can't help but wonder if the lack of guarantees in the publishing industry made the author feel like he had to get everything out just in case this was his one shot. I hope that the title is well received and that it will provide the security for him to focus in more for his next work.
There are some things I could fuss about when it comes to pacing and some sudden character developments that result from it. It's not enough to really influence my overall impression. Despite my mediocre rating, I did find this to be an accomplished work stylistically. There was so much potential. The bond Salomon had with his mother and grandmother was refreshing. His grandmother and guest characters like her brother really breathed life into the novel. They're quite unforgettable.
This book, if nothing else, has brought a very talented writer to my attention. Even if this didn't work quite as well for me as it seems to have for others on a subjective level, I fully expect that one of his future works will. Absolutely worth a try.
Salomon Destin is always just on the edge of something. The reader is introduced to him and his family just as he has passed his exams and is looking forward to pursuing college far away from his Caribbean home in France. He will finally have room to spread his wings beyond his insular daily grind in Guadalupe and the continual drama and spiritual drain caused by his alcoholic father.
Supported unconditionally by his religiously and familial devoted mother and sassy matriarch grandmother, he still wrestles with guilt. As the first born, a nickname he loathes for the cultural expectations, he can't reconcile his own desires with his obligation to be leader, peacemaker, and protector of his family. How can he peacefully explore a future when his mother continues to be disrespected? When his often dismissed wayward brother continues to bear the brunt of their father's ire?
Over the next two decades we follow Salomon's journey as he establishes his own life as an adult. Ever parallel is the family's struggles as a whole. Guadalupe and its people continually draw him back in. We witness other characters progress and old secrets be dug up along with their repercussions. All of this intermingles with bits of history and scattered pieces of social-political matters. Accumulating into an eruption of the pressure built along the way.
It cannot be denied that Robert de la Chevotiere has an amazing gift for spinning a phrase. There is a very vivid sway to his words. For the most part his characters feel fully formed, beautifully human in how messy they are. Readers who hunger for these things will eat up this book. As pleasant as those elements are, how important various themes are, and that I've so rarely heard Guadalupe even mentioned let alone put in a forefront, I ended this book frustrated.
Salomon feels very passive for the most part. Events seem to happen around and to him without him showing an engagement. Even when he intervenes he feels more like the chest piece than the player. In being a mediator for his family he becomes neutral to the world. This could be a reflection of how his own trauma manifested. Conceptually I find it clever. Intellectual appreciation of a technique doesn't always associate with an emotional resonance. Unfortunately for my personal tastes, this numbness created a dissonance that made it harder to really care about the things happening to the family.
In part I wonder if this was a deliberate choice to counter the constant and at times seemingly random insertion of new revelations, sudden regional or historical information, or a political or sociological aspects. All of these things, such as laying out the various complicated webs born from class and race along with living an intersection life, deserve to be discussed. There came a point that the continual ebb and flow of focus left me grasping at straws trying to latch onto what exactly the novel was trying to say.
Is his brothers lining up to the story Salomon keeps returning to supposed to connect with how people don't follow the narratives the world expects of them? Is it supposed to be a journey of enlightenment. not necessarily of accomplishment and healing. but of forgiveness? Is it about how generational trauma shapes the future? Is it about the concepts of family and its associated bonds? Salomon keeps getting called back to the island and feels nostalgic. Yes, I learned things about the region but ironically for how poetic the writing is, I never got a tight feeling of the place. I cannot for the life of me tell what the main take away was supposed to be. Nor do I feel like any of these things really were fully explored.
You can tell the author is bursting to put down all of the things left to the shadows and whispered about in families. I understand that urge and also was eager to listen. There are far more serious complaints than just wanting more. I can't help but wonder if the lack of guarantees in the publishing industry made the author feel like he had to get everything out just in case this was his one shot. I hope that the title is well received and that it will provide the security for him to focus in more for his next work.
There are some things I could fuss about when it comes to pacing and some sudden character developments that result from it. It's not enough to really influence my overall impression. Despite my mediocre rating, I did find this to be an accomplished work stylistically. There was so much potential. The bond Salomon had with his mother and grandmother was refreshing. His grandmother and guest characters like her brother really breathed life into the novel. They're quite unforgettable.
This book, if nothing else, has brought a very talented writer to my attention. Even if this didn't work quite as well for me as it seems to have for others on a subjective level, I fully expect that one of his future works will. Absolutely worth a try.
September 9, 2025
We Were Not Kings is a tender, lyrical debut that carries us from the sun-soaked shores of Guadeloupe to the cold distance of France, following Salomon Destin as he tries to carve out a future beyond the weight of family secrets and generational hurt.
Robert de la Chevotière writes with a poet’s touch, filling the pages with the beauty and ache of home, the pull of belonging, and the complicated ways love and grief shape us. The characters are messy, layered, and real; the kind of family you want to shake and hug all at once.
This is a story about identity, inheritance, and the impossible act of leaving home while still carrying it in your chest. If you’re drawn to books that move like memory and sit heavy in the heart, We Were Not Kings deserves a spot on your shelf
Robert de la Chevotière writes with a poet’s touch, filling the pages with the beauty and ache of home, the pull of belonging, and the complicated ways love and grief shape us. The characters are messy, layered, and real; the kind of family you want to shake and hug all at once.
This is a story about identity, inheritance, and the impossible act of leaving home while still carrying it in your chest. If you’re drawn to books that move like memory and sit heavy in the heart, We Were Not Kings deserves a spot on your shelf
August 5, 2025
Actual rating: 4.25
Robert de la Chevotière is an interesting discovery. With a straightforward and yet at times lyrical prose, he tells a story about family, loss, pain, redemption and love that is layered and touching.
The characters are complex, flawed and on a constant journey of self-discovery, which some times leads to a better self, a better life, while other times can't win against what life puts the characters through — and they just can't overcome the suffering. Moreover, the analysis and explanation of the Black diaspora, Blackness and all that might relates to it — like the condition of Black women even in Black communities — masterfully shows different aspects of a social issue that is still very much present.
The complexity of the characters and their evolution is influenced and influences the story: the events are the result or the source of the characters' behaviour and growth and viceversa. Moreover, the plot is rich and mirrors the complexity of characters, their interactions, and their experiences.
I read this book every moment I could because my investment in the story, the characters and their fare was immediate, but I didn't feel the emotional connection I was hoping for. This has everything to do with me and nothing with the author's writing, and I can see people getting attached to these characters. Still, despite the lack of a strong emotional involvement, the ending moved me on a level I didn't expect.
I'll definitely read more by Robert de la Chevotière and will recommend this book!
My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the possibility of reading the arc.
Robert de la Chevotière is an interesting discovery. With a straightforward and yet at times lyrical prose, he tells a story about family, loss, pain, redemption and love that is layered and touching.
The characters are complex, flawed and on a constant journey of self-discovery, which some times leads to a better self, a better life, while other times can't win against what life puts the characters through — and they just can't overcome the suffering. Moreover, the analysis and explanation of the Black diaspora, Blackness and all that might relates to it — like the condition of Black women even in Black communities — masterfully shows different aspects of a social issue that is still very much present.
The complexity of the characters and their evolution is influenced and influences the story: the events are the result or the source of the characters' behaviour and growth and viceversa. Moreover, the plot is rich and mirrors the complexity of characters, their interactions, and their experiences.
I read this book every moment I could because my investment in the story, the characters and their fare was immediate, but I didn't feel the emotional connection I was hoping for. This has everything to do with me and nothing with the author's writing, and I can see people getting attached to these characters. Still, despite the lack of a strong emotional involvement, the ending moved me on a level I didn't expect.
I'll definitely read more by Robert de la Chevotière and will recommend this book!
My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the possibility of reading the arc.
August 18, 2025
WE WERE NOT KINGS - 4.75 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley & Little A for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was an incredible journey. I had no idea what to expect going into this novel, and I think that helped me appreciate the story even more.
WE WERE NOT KINGS follows Salomon Destin as he navigates life on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and the life he trades with his family for one in France. The novel challenges his relationships with his mother, grandmother, younger brother, father, and love interests, all while surreptitiously shaping Salomon’s own destiny stretched out later in the novel.
Robert de la Chevotière has an incredible command of language that does not stunt or delay the readers; rather, it compels your full attention, at what feels like no effort of the writer. It is the kind of language that comes so naturally from a poet that you must sit and listen to the story, for it is one that could follow you the rest of your life.
That is what I loved most about this book. I knew so little about this world and what life as a young person growing up in the Caribbean would be like, but I was not left confused or hanging about where Salomon existed in this world. We were thrust right into the story, which is my favorite kind of writing, but the catch-up required was not laborious. It was easy, encouraging, and devoted. I had great care for these characters almost immediately, which is why when the ending came, I wept for them—and for the last line, which I think is still one of the most brilliant lines I’ve read in literature as of late.
Books like these are so incredibly important because I learned so much about Guadeloupe just from this singular novel. Fiction has a propulsive and tender manner of divulging emotional truths and stories that nonfiction can sometimes not replicate. I was transported internally by this story, but also physically, for the island of Guadeloupe was so rich and full amidst these pages, and for that, I thank Robert de la Chevotière greatly. WE WERE NOT KINGS is a testament to strong, powerful writing—and living proof that all reading is political, whether the politics be local or migratory.
Thank you again for letting me read this. WE WERE NOT KINGS comes out next week on August 26, so be sure to check it out!
Thank you to NetGalley & Little A for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was an incredible journey. I had no idea what to expect going into this novel, and I think that helped me appreciate the story even more.
WE WERE NOT KINGS follows Salomon Destin as he navigates life on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and the life he trades with his family for one in France. The novel challenges his relationships with his mother, grandmother, younger brother, father, and love interests, all while surreptitiously shaping Salomon’s own destiny stretched out later in the novel.
Robert de la Chevotière has an incredible command of language that does not stunt or delay the readers; rather, it compels your full attention, at what feels like no effort of the writer. It is the kind of language that comes so naturally from a poet that you must sit and listen to the story, for it is one that could follow you the rest of your life.
That is what I loved most about this book. I knew so little about this world and what life as a young person growing up in the Caribbean would be like, but I was not left confused or hanging about where Salomon existed in this world. We were thrust right into the story, which is my favorite kind of writing, but the catch-up required was not laborious. It was easy, encouraging, and devoted. I had great care for these characters almost immediately, which is why when the ending came, I wept for them—and for the last line, which I think is still one of the most brilliant lines I’ve read in literature as of late.
Books like these are so incredibly important because I learned so much about Guadeloupe just from this singular novel. Fiction has a propulsive and tender manner of divulging emotional truths and stories that nonfiction can sometimes not replicate. I was transported internally by this story, but also physically, for the island of Guadeloupe was so rich and full amidst these pages, and for that, I thank Robert de la Chevotière greatly. WE WERE NOT KINGS is a testament to strong, powerful writing—and living proof that all reading is political, whether the politics be local or migratory.
Thank you again for letting me read this. WE WERE NOT KINGS comes out next week on August 26, so be sure to check it out!
July 4, 2025
This was excellent. I read it one sitting. This is about family, grief, forgiveness. The writing is poetic. Excellent world building. I loved the all of the characters. They are completely realized and you really get to understand their motivations.
Sauloman leaves home to attend college in France but is still dealing with the chaos his father has caused at home. His father is an alcoholic and an adulterer. His mother keeps for forgiving him for his sins but his sons and mil cannot do the same. Saloman is trying to improve the lives of everyone around him. He is pulled between France and Guadeloupe. His brother leaves home after his father attacks him. He doesn’t return until his mother has a heart attack. His father goes to live with the other woman. She is 8 months pregnant. Sauloman returns to school but returns home when his brother is in a car accident that kills his ex girlfriend and her brother. In this family saga we follow Sauloman as he goes back and forth to France and Guadeloupe to handle family affairs throughout the years.
This is beautifully written. The author has alot to say about being black, and how colonialism still affects people today. There was so much to love about this book. I especially loved the out spoken grandmother. I think it’s an important read and I’m gonna share it with everyone I know. I truly hope this book gets the recognition it deserves.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
October 27, 2025
Thank you, Netgalley for an advanced copy of this audiobook ALC
It toke a while for me to get into this book A debut novel that is about a teenager called Salomon Destin who comes from a Broken home, the resent me in the family environment can be felt for the father by both of the sons, but Solamon has just finished his exams and has ideas to go to college in France but also ideas of other things.
going to France will give him chance to be himself and experience life with a sense of freedom but always with the reminder of home, wrestling with guilt of being the forst born son because by his culture he has responsibilities to uphold. We see his distain for the cultural expectations that wait for him when he goes back home, head of the family, peacemaker between parents, trying to make sure his brother doesn't follow a familiar path to his father etc.
for two decades we follow Salomon though his life and the decisions that mold him into the man he becomes, different from his family but ever attacked & Guadalupe ever drawing him back in. we get a look into other chatacters too and we see secrets being discovered mixed with political matters.
The way this book was written kept me engaged & the authors way of building a chatacter to be more then just the words on the page sticks with you, making you feel that his talking about something so personal to him. He shows how humans are not perfect and that we all have our own messes in life that form us, mold us and create who we see, & if your a reader who enjoys this then I highly recommend this book
The cover of this book is lovely & drew me in & also the book has a strong plot in a place that I have never heard put into a book before.
It toke a while for me to get into this book A debut novel that is about a teenager called Salomon Destin who comes from a Broken home, the resent me in the family environment can be felt for the father by both of the sons, but Solamon has just finished his exams and has ideas to go to college in France but also ideas of other things.
going to France will give him chance to be himself and experience life with a sense of freedom but always with the reminder of home, wrestling with guilt of being the forst born son because by his culture he has responsibilities to uphold. We see his distain for the cultural expectations that wait for him when he goes back home, head of the family, peacemaker between parents, trying to make sure his brother doesn't follow a familiar path to his father etc.
for two decades we follow Salomon though his life and the decisions that mold him into the man he becomes, different from his family but ever attacked & Guadalupe ever drawing him back in. we get a look into other chatacters too and we see secrets being discovered mixed with political matters.
The way this book was written kept me engaged & the authors way of building a chatacter to be more then just the words on the page sticks with you, making you feel that his talking about something so personal to him. He shows how humans are not perfect and that we all have our own messes in life that form us, mold us and create who we see, & if your a reader who enjoys this then I highly recommend this book
The cover of this book is lovely & drew me in & also the book has a strong plot in a place that I have never heard put into a book before.
August 20, 2025
ARC/ALC Review
📚 Book Title: We Were Not Kings
✍🏽Author: Robert de la Chevotière
📕 Format: 🎧 & 📱
🎙️Narrator: Josh Wallace
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🕑Quick Take:
Salomon Destin is a Haitian from Guadeloupe whose plans to attend university are thwarted by a family tragedy back home. The novel explores the deep complexities of family dysfunction, the historical trauma of colonialism, and self-discovery.
💕What I Loved:
I found this story was beautifully and lyrically written. It was extremely enlightening on multiple levels. I appreciated how de la Chevotière showed how history can significantly influence family life, how family systems can be individually experienced and expressed, and how it can break and tear families apart! Overall, it reminded of the Biblical passages in Exodus 20:5, the notes that God will "visit the sin of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.”
Tropes:
- Coming of Age
- Family Secrets
- Grief & Tragedy
- Historical Lens on Colonialism in the Caribbean
🎭 Narration:
Josh Wallace provided solid narration of the novel.
⚠️ Heads Up (Trigger/content warnings):
- Infidelity
- Miscarriage
- Family Dysfunction/Strained Parental Relationships
- Chronic Health Conditions/Health Crisis
💭Final Thoughts:
As I’ve shared, this was an enlightening read. It was deeply emotional and thought-provoking. Overall, I recommend this novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for this advanced reader’s copy.
📚 Book Title: We Were Not Kings
✍🏽Author: Robert de la Chevotière
📕 Format: 🎧 & 📱
🎙️Narrator: Josh Wallace
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🕑Quick Take:
Salomon Destin is a Haitian from Guadeloupe whose plans to attend university are thwarted by a family tragedy back home. The novel explores the deep complexities of family dysfunction, the historical trauma of colonialism, and self-discovery.
💕What I Loved:
I found this story was beautifully and lyrically written. It was extremely enlightening on multiple levels. I appreciated how de la Chevotière showed how history can significantly influence family life, how family systems can be individually experienced and expressed, and how it can break and tear families apart! Overall, it reminded of the Biblical passages in Exodus 20:5, the notes that God will "visit the sin of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.”
Tropes:
- Coming of Age
- Family Secrets
- Grief & Tragedy
- Historical Lens on Colonialism in the Caribbean
🎭 Narration:
Josh Wallace provided solid narration of the novel.
⚠️ Heads Up (Trigger/content warnings):
- Infidelity
- Miscarriage
- Family Dysfunction/Strained Parental Relationships
- Chronic Health Conditions/Health Crisis
💭Final Thoughts:
As I’ve shared, this was an enlightening read. It was deeply emotional and thought-provoking. Overall, I recommend this novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for this advanced reader’s copy.
August 29, 2025
This will definitely be among my top reads of the year! It is a real and beautifully honest exploration of how trauma can impact through generations.
I will try to present this review in an easy to digest way because I want everyone to read it!
Plot:
We follow Salomon from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean to Strasbourg in France, where he starts a new life for himself at 18 years old. Throughout the years, Salomon is pulled back to the conflict within his family in Guadeloupe.
Themes:
Family, Intergenerational Trauma, Race, Colourism, Cultural Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Love, Violence.
Setting/World building:
The writing created such a vivid picture of the setting; I was completely absorbed into the culture of Guadeloupe.
Characters:
I was captivated by the depth and motivations of the characters. In a way that reflects human nature, the morality of their actions is explored from all angles and left up to our interpretation, which I loved.
Writing Style:
Robert de la Chevotière's writing is poetic and compassionate. It encourages you to become completely immersed in the rich history and tragedy that unfolds and reflect upon its many messages.
I will be recommending We Were Not Kings to everyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC!
I will try to present this review in an easy to digest way because I want everyone to read it!
Plot:
We follow Salomon from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean to Strasbourg in France, where he starts a new life for himself at 18 years old. Throughout the years, Salomon is pulled back to the conflict within his family in Guadeloupe.
Themes:
Family, Intergenerational Trauma, Race, Colourism, Cultural Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Love, Violence.
Setting/World building:
The writing created such a vivid picture of the setting; I was completely absorbed into the culture of Guadeloupe.
Characters:
I was captivated by the depth and motivations of the characters. In a way that reflects human nature, the morality of their actions is explored from all angles and left up to our interpretation, which I loved.
Writing Style:
Robert de la Chevotière's writing is poetic and compassionate. It encourages you to become completely immersed in the rich history and tragedy that unfolds and reflect upon its many messages.
I will be recommending We Were Not Kings to everyone.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC!
August 28, 2025
3.4 stars. A sweeping look at the life of a first-born son born in Guadeloupe who escapes his dissolute father and religious mother (and feisty grandmother) to build a life in Strasbourg, France. Family drama keeps pulling him back to the island where he briefly enjoys the food and music before returning to France.
For all the dramas and tragedies, this is a puzzlingly dispassionate novel. Or at least the main character’s almost stoic persona kept me at a distance, and I was not emotionally involved in the novel.
I found much of it interesting, especially the occasional discussions of race and gender, and found the audiobook to be well narrated. As a debut novel, it is quite an accomplishment with complex characters and multiple generations. The author has a promising future ahead as a novelist.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BrillianceAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. It is now available.
For all the dramas and tragedies, this is a puzzlingly dispassionate novel. Or at least the main character’s almost stoic persona kept me at a distance, and I was not emotionally involved in the novel.
I found much of it interesting, especially the occasional discussions of race and gender, and found the audiobook to be well narrated. As a debut novel, it is quite an accomplishment with complex characters and multiple generations. The author has a promising future ahead as a novelist.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @BrillianceAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. It is now available.
May 13, 2025
In We Were Not Kings, every word is warmed by the Caribbean sun. Robert de la Chevotière has a gift for language, poetry shining through prose that immerses you in Salomon’s parallel lives in Guadeloupe and France as well as his struggles with family drama, drive to escape the messiness, and complex connection with home regardless.
This sweeping family saga features a cast of characters that either welcome you into their kitchen or set you on edge, but no matter their camp, they all feel so real that the ultimate events of the story are heart-wrenching.
I also appreciated the opportunity to learn about Gwada history and culture and to be reminded how racism and colonialism follow the Black community no matter their origin or destination. I’ll be thinking about the richly drawn characters and setting for a long time.
This sweeping family saga features a cast of characters that either welcome you into their kitchen or set you on edge, but no matter their camp, they all feel so real that the ultimate events of the story are heart-wrenching.
I also appreciated the opportunity to learn about Gwada history and culture and to be reminded how racism and colonialism follow the Black community no matter their origin or destination. I’ll be thinking about the richly drawn characters and setting for a long time.
July 10, 2025
We Were Not Kings is set in Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Strasbourg, France. It follows a family that originally came to Guadeloupe seeking asylum from the Haitian dictatorship. Seeing the story through the eyes of the eldest son, Salomon Destin, and how the past shaped his and his family’s future really pulled me in. Debut author Robert de la Chevotiere, who is Dominican Canadian and grew up in Guadeloupe and Bermuda, immerses the reader in small Caribbean island life, and you learn a lot about Gwada culture. His writing is beautiful and evocative.
After graduation, Salomon moves to Strasbourg, and his journey into adulthood—navigating identity and racism in France—is compelling. We Were Not Kings is about family trauma, forgiveness, displacement, and home. I highly recommend it; it comes out on August 26. Amazingly, Robert de la Chevotiere has another book coming out in 2025! Tall is Her Body is set to release in November, and I will definitely be reading it.
After graduation, Salomon moves to Strasbourg, and his journey into adulthood—navigating identity and racism in France—is compelling. We Were Not Kings is about family trauma, forgiveness, displacement, and home. I highly recommend it; it comes out on August 26. Amazingly, Robert de la Chevotiere has another book coming out in 2025! Tall is Her Body is set to release in November, and I will definitely be reading it.
August 23, 2025
4.5 stars. We Were Not Kings is a powerful story about how grief and forgiveness shape us. The characters are layered and complex—flawed, deeply human, and unforgettable. The novel captures the heaviness of loss while also showing how forgiveness—both of others and of oneself—can be a hard but healing path. It’s not an easy read emotionally, but it’s a moving and thoughtful one.
September 18, 2025
It’s a coming-of-age novel that follows Salomon Destin from the Caribbean to France, as he struggles with family secrets, past trauma, identity, grief, loss, inherited obligations, and what home really means.
We Were Not Kings is a tender, heartbreaking, and hopeful story. If you like character-driven novels that linger long after you finish, this is one to read.
We Were Not Kings is a tender, heartbreaking, and hopeful story. If you like character-driven novels that linger long after you finish, this is one to read.
November 25, 2025
Great pace and characters. The writer takes you to all the places and emotions of each character. A dynamic family story, rich in cultural nuances. Heavy but not depressing. And somewhat poetic yet predictable tragic for some of the characters. A story worth telling and reading.
December 17, 2025
This was a book that I won from a Goodreads giveaway...so glad I did! Growing up as a person of color in America, this book was an eye opener. It tells the story, from a male character's perspective, of his experience growing up as a person of color in the Caribbean and moving to Europe. There is a deeper theme running through the story as well: the impact of the middle passage, enslavement, and liberation on generations of successors, regardless of where they landed. A must read!
August 21, 2025
Robert is a brilliant writer! Can’t wait to read whatever he writes next!
August 28, 2025
⭐️Actual Rating: 4.25
We Were Not Kings is a raw, layered look at family, betrayal, and the weight of generational trauma. What struck me early in the book was the way Robert de la Chevotière explores different expressions of Blackness — from colorism within families, to how Black women are treated, and the responsibility men have to support them, to the larger question of what we owe our communities and our ancestry.
My favorite character/arc was Junior! His story left the deepest impression on me. Stuck in his hometown and bearing the brunt of his father’s abandonment and betrayal, his pain felt the most immediate. Watching him spiral after tragedy, yet still searching for belonging and connection, was heartbreaking but powerful.
My only heartburn is that I wanted a deeper emotional connection with some of the characters and more time to sit in some of the resolutions. The scope of the story is so big that at times it felt like it could’ve been a series, giving more space for certain relationships and revelations to breathe.
Still, this novel is heavy, thought-provoking, and unforgettable. A story of survival, family bonds, and the scars we inherit. I look forward to reading more from Robert de la Chevotière.
The audiobook narrator was outstanding! His voice captured exactly how I imagined Salomon would sound. He especially excelled in the reflective and introspective passages, adding even more weight to the story’s emotional depth.
Thank you Robert de la Chevotière & Brilliance Publishing for offering an ALC via Netgalley!
We Were Not Kings is a raw, layered look at family, betrayal, and the weight of generational trauma. What struck me early in the book was the way Robert de la Chevotière explores different expressions of Blackness — from colorism within families, to how Black women are treated, and the responsibility men have to support them, to the larger question of what we owe our communities and our ancestry.
My favorite character/arc was Junior! His story left the deepest impression on me. Stuck in his hometown and bearing the brunt of his father’s abandonment and betrayal, his pain felt the most immediate. Watching him spiral after tragedy, yet still searching for belonging and connection, was heartbreaking but powerful.
My only heartburn is that I wanted a deeper emotional connection with some of the characters and more time to sit in some of the resolutions. The scope of the story is so big that at times it felt like it could’ve been a series, giving more space for certain relationships and revelations to breathe.
Still, this novel is heavy, thought-provoking, and unforgettable. A story of survival, family bonds, and the scars we inherit. I look forward to reading more from Robert de la Chevotière.
The audiobook narrator was outstanding! His voice captured exactly how I imagined Salomon would sound. He especially excelled in the reflective and introspective passages, adding even more weight to the story’s emotional depth.
Thank you Robert de la Chevotière & Brilliance Publishing for offering an ALC via Netgalley!
Want to read
June 27, 2025A heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting story about an individual's struggle to find his own way in life by leaving home and family and building a new life with a new love in a country far away. But, no matter how long he is away and how many opportunities and challenges his new life brings, he finds that in order to move forward he must come to grips with his past. In this superbly written story we, the readers, are welcomed along on this journey and, yes, we suffer the heartbreak, but we also experience the pleasures and the richness of this marvellous and all-too-human tale. A writer worth watching!
August 4, 2025
Salomon Destin thought he was out. He graduated, moved from his messy family life in Guadeloupe to Strasbourg, and was finally living his best life, new city, new dreams, first love, no more playing family therapist for his drama-filled home!
But of course just when things are good, life rings you up with a plot twist! A tragedy back home drags Salomon back to the island, and suddenly he’s face-to-face with all the things he thought he’d left behind, complicated grief, generational trauma, and a brother who’s still spinning in chaos.
✨This book is like a slow-burning playlist of memory, identity, and heartbreak with island sun, family secrets, and some moments that hit hard!
There’s so much tenderness in how Salomon navigates his past and future, especially as he grows up and starts seeing the patterns in his own life. And the writing? Poetic without trying too hard. You’ll smell the salt air, feel the ache of unspoken words, and maybe call your sibling after!
If you like family sagas with heart, culture, and healing that’s messy but real then you should add We Were Not Kings to your TBR!
⚡️Thank you Amazon Publishing and Robert de la Chevotiere for sharing this book with me!
But of course just when things are good, life rings you up with a plot twist! A tragedy back home drags Salomon back to the island, and suddenly he’s face-to-face with all the things he thought he’d left behind, complicated grief, generational trauma, and a brother who’s still spinning in chaos.
✨This book is like a slow-burning playlist of memory, identity, and heartbreak with island sun, family secrets, and some moments that hit hard!
There’s so much tenderness in how Salomon navigates his past and future, especially as he grows up and starts seeing the patterns in his own life. And the writing? Poetic without trying too hard. You’ll smell the salt air, feel the ache of unspoken words, and maybe call your sibling after!
If you like family sagas with heart, culture, and healing that’s messy but real then you should add We Were Not Kings to your TBR!
⚡️Thank you Amazon Publishing and Robert de la Chevotiere for sharing this book with me!
August 1, 2025
Strong 4.5
We Were Not Kings captured the essence of a superior story, well-written characters, and a near-perfect example of why I love literary fiction. In certain parts, events feel glossed over which creates enough of an imbalance that I removed just half a star from my rating. I want to be clear that his novel is amazing and I encourage you to read it.
Our main character Salomon is working on his own life while taking care of his family. He's committed to the nearly impossible task of ensuring that those around him live well even in the aftermath of his father's chaos. Salomon's family is fraught with the fallout of a careless, alcoholic patriarch who seems hellbent on taking down everyone in his path.
This story is incredible - a family saga intertwined with historical fiction and social commentary that imbues a well-worn human experience with the flavors of the Caribbean.
While I did love this book, there were moments when it felt like the action was happening to the main character, even when it involved him or impacted him. The last quarter of the book (second half of part 2) was moving and so incredibly well-written. If that energy and craftsmanship had been carried throughout the first 3/4, I'd gladly give this book 5 stars. That being said, you should read it and enjoy the heartbreak that is this amazing novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. This review is not influenced by the early access.
We Were Not Kings captured the essence of a superior story, well-written characters, and a near-perfect example of why I love literary fiction. In certain parts, events feel glossed over which creates enough of an imbalance that I removed just half a star from my rating. I want to be clear that his novel is amazing and I encourage you to read it.
Our main character Salomon is working on his own life while taking care of his family. He's committed to the nearly impossible task of ensuring that those around him live well even in the aftermath of his father's chaos. Salomon's family is fraught with the fallout of a careless, alcoholic patriarch who seems hellbent on taking down everyone in his path.
This story is incredible - a family saga intertwined with historical fiction and social commentary that imbues a well-worn human experience with the flavors of the Caribbean.
While I did love this book, there were moments when it felt like the action was happening to the main character, even when it involved him or impacted him. The last quarter of the book (second half of part 2) was moving and so incredibly well-written. If that energy and craftsmanship had been carried throughout the first 3/4, I'd gladly give this book 5 stars. That being said, you should read it and enjoy the heartbreak that is this amazing novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. This review is not influenced by the early access.
June 3, 2025
I really enjoyed reading this book as it was a great work of literary fiction. The family conflict was set against the backdrop of the Haitian dictatorship in the 1960s and the family’s immigration to Guadalupe which made this an interesting read. The tensions that arose due to events happening in this time period really helped explain a lot of the family conflicts at play in this book. I thought that the viewpoint of this conflict coming from the son Salomon, and how it impacted his future in Part 2 provided a compelling storyline. I also enjoyed learning about Gwada culture and how the characters navigated this identity while moving to France. I thought the plot line surrounding colorism and identity added a interesting and necessary element to the story.
I do wish however, that we would’ve gotten to see more of the immediate fallout after the Junior’s car crash as I felt that was an important part of the storyline. Often, I felt like the impacts of the tragedies that took place in this book on the character were not always fully described, and kept me wishing for a more detailed account. Overall this was a really captivating and unique read, and that author is clearly a remarkable storyteller.
I do wish however, that we would’ve gotten to see more of the immediate fallout after the Junior’s car crash as I felt that was an important part of the storyline. Often, I felt like the impacts of the tragedies that took place in this book on the character were not always fully described, and kept me wishing for a more detailed account. Overall this was a really captivating and unique read, and that author is clearly a remarkable storyteller.
May 12, 2025
Book Review: We Were Not Kings by Robert de la Chevotière
Robert de la Chevotière’s We Were Not Kings is a sweeping historical novel that masterfully intertwines personal and political narratives against the backdrop of a turbulent 20th-century monarchy. With richly drawn characters and a meticulously researched setting, the novel explores themes of power, legacy, and the often-blurred line between duty and desire. Chevotière’s prose is both elegant and incisive, crafting a narrative that is as intellectually engaging as it is emotionally compelling.
Content and Themes
Set in a fictional European kingdom during the interwar period, We Were Not Kings follows the lives of the royal Valois family as they navigate political upheaval, personal betrayals, and the weight of dynastic expectations. The novel’s central conflict arises when the crown prince, Augustin, must choose between his love for a commoner and his obligations to the throne. Key themes include:
Power and Responsibility: The novel interrogates the burdens of leadership and the moral compromises required to maintain power.
Love and Duty: Augustin’s struggle epitomizes the tension between personal happiness and public duty, a conflict echoed in the lives of other characters.
Historical Legacy: Chevotière examines how history is shaped by individual choices, particularly in moments of national crisis.
Class and Inequality: The rigid social hierarchies of the era are scrutinized, revealing the injustices that fester beneath the veneer of royal grandeur.
Strengths
Immersive Worldbuilding: The fictional kingdom of Valois is rendered with vivid detail, blending historical authenticity with imaginative flair.
Complex Characterization: Each member of the Valois family is meticulously developed, their motivations and flaws making them feel achingly human.
Political Intrigue: The novel’s plot is driven by deftly woven political machinations that keep the reader engaged without sacrificing depth.
Lyrical Prose: Chevotière’s writing is both poetic and precise, elevating the novel beyond typical historical fiction.
Areas for Improvement
Pacing: The novel’s expansive scope occasionally slows the narrative momentum, particularly in the middle sections.
Perspective Shifts: While the multi-perspective approach enriches the story, some transitions between viewpoints feel abrupt.
Ambiguity: Certain subplots are resolved too ambiguously, leaving some readers wanting more closure.
Score Breakdown (Out of 5)
Historical Authenticity: 4.8/5 (Meticulously researched, with minor creative liberties)
Character Depth: 4.7/5 (Nuanced protagonists, though some secondary roles lack development)
Plot Complexity: 4.6/5 (Engaging but occasionally convoluted)
Prose and Style: 4.9/5 (Elegant and evocative)
Emotional Resonance: 4.5/5 (Powerful, though pacing occasionally dilutes impact)
Overall Rating: 4.7/5
We Were Not Kings is a triumph of historical fiction, offering a poignant exploration of power, love, and the inexorable march of history. Chevotière’s ability to blend intimate character drama with grand historical stakes makes this novel a standout in its genre. While its pacing and structural choices may not suit every reader, those who appreciate richly textured narratives will find much to admire. This is a novel that lingers, its themes and characters resonating long after the final page.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to NetGalley and Robert de la Chevotière for providing an advance copy of We Were Not Kings. This review reflects my sincere engagement with the novel’s profound historical vision and its contribution to contemporary literary fiction.
Robert de la Chevotière’s We Were Not Kings is a sweeping historical novel that masterfully intertwines personal and political narratives against the backdrop of a turbulent 20th-century monarchy. With richly drawn characters and a meticulously researched setting, the novel explores themes of power, legacy, and the often-blurred line between duty and desire. Chevotière’s prose is both elegant and incisive, crafting a narrative that is as intellectually engaging as it is emotionally compelling.
Content and Themes
Set in a fictional European kingdom during the interwar period, We Were Not Kings follows the lives of the royal Valois family as they navigate political upheaval, personal betrayals, and the weight of dynastic expectations. The novel’s central conflict arises when the crown prince, Augustin, must choose between his love for a commoner and his obligations to the throne. Key themes include:
Power and Responsibility: The novel interrogates the burdens of leadership and the moral compromises required to maintain power.
Love and Duty: Augustin’s struggle epitomizes the tension between personal happiness and public duty, a conflict echoed in the lives of other characters.
Historical Legacy: Chevotière examines how history is shaped by individual choices, particularly in moments of national crisis.
Class and Inequality: The rigid social hierarchies of the era are scrutinized, revealing the injustices that fester beneath the veneer of royal grandeur.
Strengths
Immersive Worldbuilding: The fictional kingdom of Valois is rendered with vivid detail, blending historical authenticity with imaginative flair.
Complex Characterization: Each member of the Valois family is meticulously developed, their motivations and flaws making them feel achingly human.
Political Intrigue: The novel’s plot is driven by deftly woven political machinations that keep the reader engaged without sacrificing depth.
Lyrical Prose: Chevotière’s writing is both poetic and precise, elevating the novel beyond typical historical fiction.
Areas for Improvement
Pacing: The novel’s expansive scope occasionally slows the narrative momentum, particularly in the middle sections.
Perspective Shifts: While the multi-perspective approach enriches the story, some transitions between viewpoints feel abrupt.
Ambiguity: Certain subplots are resolved too ambiguously, leaving some readers wanting more closure.
Score Breakdown (Out of 5)
Historical Authenticity: 4.8/5 (Meticulously researched, with minor creative liberties)
Character Depth: 4.7/5 (Nuanced protagonists, though some secondary roles lack development)
Plot Complexity: 4.6/5 (Engaging but occasionally convoluted)
Prose and Style: 4.9/5 (Elegant and evocative)
Emotional Resonance: 4.5/5 (Powerful, though pacing occasionally dilutes impact)
Overall Rating: 4.7/5
We Were Not Kings is a triumph of historical fiction, offering a poignant exploration of power, love, and the inexorable march of history. Chevotière’s ability to blend intimate character drama with grand historical stakes makes this novel a standout in its genre. While its pacing and structural choices may not suit every reader, those who appreciate richly textured narratives will find much to admire. This is a novel that lingers, its themes and characters resonating long after the final page.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to NetGalley and Robert de la Chevotière for providing an advance copy of We Were Not Kings. This review reflects my sincere engagement with the novel’s profound historical vision and its contribution to contemporary literary fiction.
August 24, 2025
A solid debut that draws you in, stumbling.
I don't just mean the rum that saturates the colonial backdrop and rocky family history of this novel. We're taken through the life of Guadeloupian Salomon Desti, from the late teenage years to middle age. Colonialism and racism pepper what is more-or-less a dysfunctional family plot. I must admit, it felt rather aimless, even if the overall narrative arc was masterfully crafted. I wasn't really sure what I was meant to experience or learn here, aside from an inaccessible and overshadowed form of modern human life. Salomon mostly observes, or does things without purpose. The whole affair sideplot was a googly-eye moment. I felt that certain points about family legacies and an inability to escape the past were being wedged in from all points. The dialogue was often clunky, as well. By the end, I was wondering where all these promised secrets and shockers were. We're just repeatedly exposed to the same ideas over and over, which is a rather sad message about fate, if it was meant to be one.
I did enjoy several elements of the book, especially the grandmother and various strong, Black women who send non-too-subtle messages about their value despite society's racism and sexism. Again, these points felt a little too obvious.
I feel that the author is just coming into his own here, and has a lot of interesting ideas to play with, but the cohesion achieved here wasn't quite as expected or even desired. I'd love to listen to an author interview just to get a sense of what the point really was. I'm sure that the next book penned will be more refined and hopefully clearer in its objectives.
Josh Wallace provides admirable narration and, as far as I know, spot-on pronunciation.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the advance copy of the audiobook.
I don't just mean the rum that saturates the colonial backdrop and rocky family history of this novel. We're taken through the life of Guadeloupian Salomon Desti, from the late teenage years to middle age. Colonialism and racism pepper what is more-or-less a dysfunctional family plot. I must admit, it felt rather aimless, even if the overall narrative arc was masterfully crafted. I wasn't really sure what I was meant to experience or learn here, aside from an inaccessible and overshadowed form of modern human life. Salomon mostly observes, or does things without purpose. The whole affair sideplot was a googly-eye moment. I felt that certain points about family legacies and an inability to escape the past were being wedged in from all points. The dialogue was often clunky, as well. By the end, I was wondering where all these promised secrets and shockers were. We're just repeatedly exposed to the same ideas over and over, which is a rather sad message about fate, if it was meant to be one.
I did enjoy several elements of the book, especially the grandmother and various strong, Black women who send non-too-subtle messages about their value despite society's racism and sexism. Again, these points felt a little too obvious.
I feel that the author is just coming into his own here, and has a lot of interesting ideas to play with, but the cohesion achieved here wasn't quite as expected or even desired. I'd love to listen to an author interview just to get a sense of what the point really was. I'm sure that the next book penned will be more refined and hopefully clearer in its objectives.
Josh Wallace provides admirable narration and, as far as I know, spot-on pronunciation.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the advance copy of the audiobook.
June 18, 2025
Confession: When I started reading this book, I did not know where Guadalupe is. You don't need to know exactly to understand the book; context makes it clear that it's in the Caribbean and there is a Haiti (which I do know) storyline. About half the book takes place in Strasbourg, France, as well.
I start with this because I love immersing into new places, cultures, and ideas via reading. I looked up Guadalupe on the map and could imagine the movement of current characters, as well as the slave trade that brought their ancestors there and continues to inform their lives. I could see both ends of the phone lines on the international calls from France, and feel the loneliness of the characters with all that ocean between them. I could grasp the isolation and hopelessness that many of the characters felt on a small island surrounded by huge water.
A lot of big topics are explored in this novel, but it's through the small moments of connection, conversation, choices, and revelations that the emotions and characters sunk into my heart. I'm glad to have met Salomon and his family and their stories will remain with me for a long time.
I start with this because I love immersing into new places, cultures, and ideas via reading. I looked up Guadalupe on the map and could imagine the movement of current characters, as well as the slave trade that brought their ancestors there and continues to inform their lives. I could see both ends of the phone lines on the international calls from France, and feel the loneliness of the characters with all that ocean between them. I could grasp the isolation and hopelessness that many of the characters felt on a small island surrounded by huge water.
A lot of big topics are explored in this novel, but it's through the small moments of connection, conversation, choices, and revelations that the emotions and characters sunk into my heart. I'm glad to have met Salomon and his family and their stories will remain with me for a long time.
May 13, 2025
Reading this book once will not be enough because the way Robert puts together words on a page makes you want to read them over and over to savour and digest them.
I love the grittiness and realism of these characters and the complicated family relationships. Told from the point of view of Solomon starting when he was 18, it follows him through adulthood. We follow his romantic entanglements, his journey though school, and to another country, into adulthood and finding true love; we follow tragedies he must face, and the trauma he must survive.
We hate the character of Solomon’s father, and we both pity and root for his brother Junior, at the same time. The story of Mehdi is just heartbreaking.
I read voraciously and I couldn’t stop reading this novel. I don’t re-read books but I am about to re-read this one. I just need to once again smile at the beauty of the words on the page and re absorb the complicated nuances of the relationships.
This is a must read for sure and I can’t wait for novel #3.
I love the grittiness and realism of these characters and the complicated family relationships. Told from the point of view of Solomon starting when he was 18, it follows him through adulthood. We follow his romantic entanglements, his journey though school, and to another country, into adulthood and finding true love; we follow tragedies he must face, and the trauma he must survive.
We hate the character of Solomon’s father, and we both pity and root for his brother Junior, at the same time. The story of Mehdi is just heartbreaking.
I read voraciously and I couldn’t stop reading this novel. I don’t re-read books but I am about to re-read this one. I just need to once again smile at the beauty of the words on the page and re absorb the complicated nuances of the relationships.
This is a must read for sure and I can’t wait for novel #3.
April 21, 2025
Dear Robert,
Congratulations on this book. I have to agree with the quote from Mai Nguyen- she has nailed it , you are all those things, and have all those qualities.
This was a powerful story, with so many layers- colonialism, slavery, racism, role of family, poverty, feminism, globalization, immigration, education, love, hatred, violence…
I loved the literary references, esp. the Camus multiple shots topic. I also loved the Gwada references- I bet that there would be great interest inside Guadeloupe for this book.
And your main character has such a great moral compass, it’s heartwarming to read , and crosses into prize-winning category.
I am so very impressed! Well done!!
Patrice
“Our age fears books. … they risk disrupting the official narrative, make those whom we have decided are fundamentally different from ourselves vivid, present and equal.”
Hisham Matar
Congratulations on this book. I have to agree with the quote from Mai Nguyen- she has nailed it , you are all those things, and have all those qualities.
This was a powerful story, with so many layers- colonialism, slavery, racism, role of family, poverty, feminism, globalization, immigration, education, love, hatred, violence…
I loved the literary references, esp. the Camus multiple shots topic. I also loved the Gwada references- I bet that there would be great interest inside Guadeloupe for this book.
And your main character has such a great moral compass, it’s heartwarming to read , and crosses into prize-winning category.
I am so very impressed! Well done!!
Patrice
“Our age fears books. … they risk disrupting the official narrative, make those whom we have decided are fundamentally different from ourselves vivid, present and equal.”
Hisham Matar
August 24, 2025
Expected publication: August 26, 2025
About the book:
"From island life in the Caribbean to a new beginning in France, a young man comes of age in a sweeping and lyrical novel about family, loss, secrets, and finding freedom from the past."
We Were Not Kings is a compelling story with rich, unforgettable characters. Some plotlines could have been more fully developed, but that speaks more to how deeply I wanted to remain in their world. The emotional weight and beauty of the writing far outweigh any small critiques.
I listened to the audiobook, and while I sped it up for pacing, the narrator’s performance was EXCELLENT! Emotionally powerful and perfectly suited to the novel.
⚠️ Content warnings (not an exhaustive list):
Murder
Suicide
Miscarriage
Overall, a moving, atmospheric novel that is both heartbreaking and breathtaking. I can't recommend it enough.
Thank you to Little A, Brilliance Publishing, and NetGalley for the digital ARC and audiobook copy.
About the book:
"From island life in the Caribbean to a new beginning in France, a young man comes of age in a sweeping and lyrical novel about family, loss, secrets, and finding freedom from the past."
We Were Not Kings is a compelling story with rich, unforgettable characters. Some plotlines could have been more fully developed, but that speaks more to how deeply I wanted to remain in their world. The emotional weight and beauty of the writing far outweigh any small critiques.
I listened to the audiobook, and while I sped it up for pacing, the narrator’s performance was EXCELLENT! Emotionally powerful and perfectly suited to the novel.
⚠️ Content warnings (not an exhaustive list):
Murder
Suicide
Miscarriage
Overall, a moving, atmospheric novel that is both heartbreaking and breathtaking. I can't recommend it enough.
Thank you to Little A, Brilliance Publishing, and NetGalley for the digital ARC and audiobook copy.
July 14, 2025
Another great story by Robert de la Chevotière. He has a real talent for getting you into the characters right away—you just want to keep reading to see what happens next. Looking forward to more stories by him!
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