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I read Laila Ibrahim's 'Yellow Crocus' several years ago and found it really enjoyable. When I spotted that one of this month's Amazon Prime First Reads was another of her books, I grabbed it without hesitation. When I realised it was a continuation of the 'Yellow Crocus' characters, I was even happier with my choice - although I have to admit I did read the whole thing without realising I'd missed the volume that goes between 'Yellow Crocus' and 'Golden Poppies'. The great thing is that I didn't need to have read 'Mustard Seed' (the middle book) or to have any detailed memory of 'Yellow Crocus' in order to enjoy this one.

If you ask me "Can I read this without reading the others?" I'd say you can, but you might get a bit more context if you've read at least one of the previous books.

In 'Yellow Crocus' Ibrahim took on the issues of slavery and the ownership and abuse of other human beings. Time has passed and 'Golden Poppies' is set in the late 1800s, at a time when slavery is no more, but prejudice is still rife. It focuses on the cross-racial relationships and friendships of the two families descended from Mattie the black slave-woman who was wet nurse to Lisbeth, the slave-owner's daughter. Younger generations come to the fore in this book and themes include the campaign for women's rights, and the campaign to prevent the lynching of black men. We're also introduced to wage inequality between the races, 'passing off', and domestic abuse between experienced by the characters.

As a Brit reading about the campaign for Universal Sufferage in the USA, I'm at a disadvantage because the historical characters are not so familiar to me as they would be if the book were set in my home country. I may, therefore, miss some of the significance of the famous characters introduced, but that didn't stop my enjoyment. I really like Laila Ibrahim's style of writing and her willingness to take on controversial story-lines and put her characters through the wringer in sometimes extreme ways.

I now REALLY need to go back and read Mustard Seed.