Why You'll Love This
A formerly enslaved woman who became a queen — and the buried secrets her descendants are still paying for.
- Great if you want: historical family secrets rooted in a forgotten real American community
- The experience: layered and absorbing, past and present pulling against each other
- The writing: Perkins-Valdez moves between timelines with quiet precision and emotional weight
- Skip if: you want a fast-paced thriller — this one lingers and breathes
About This Book
Set in the misty hills of North Carolina, Happy Land follows Nikki Berry, who is summoned back to her estranged grandmother after years of silence — only to discover that her family's roots reach into something almost unimaginable: a real, self-governing Black kingdom that flourished in the aftermath of the Civil War. Her ancestor Luella was its queen. The kingdom has since vanished, but its secrets haven't, and Nikki soon realizes that her family's legacy is fragile, contested, and very much in danger. The stakes are both intimate and historical — one woman's search for belonging tangled up with a story America largely forgot to tell.
Perkins-Valdez brings a dual timeline to life with remarkable control, moving between past and present without losing tension or emotional clarity. Her prose is precise yet generous, and she has a rare ability to make history feel urgent rather than instructional. What distinguishes this novel is how personal it stays even as its scope expands — the mystery at its center is as much about identity and inheritance as it is about uncovering buried facts. Readers who love fiction that reshapes how they see the past will find this one difficult to put down.