Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Wow, steamy and I learned a lot! As an American, we are taught next to nothing about… well anything from the Black perspective, so this story set in reconstruction definitely gave a new point of entry. I had never heard of a Freedman school before and hadn’t *really* stopped to think what life post slavery was like with no resources, plans, or, seemingly, interest from the government for integration.
Can Shondaland please do for this series what they’ve done for Bridgerton?? I would LOVE it
Can Shondaland please do for this series what they’ve done for Bridgerton?? I would LOVE it
I hate to DNF this right now, especially as it is the MOST important time to support black authors, but to be entirely honest, the racism and misogyny and injustice were already making me angry (as they were meant to) prior to Tuesday. After Tuesday… I can’t also be that angry at my book right now. On a much smaller (but easier to talk about) note, this was also clearly the wrong Jenkins book to start with. Val is a great FMC, but not knowing the Le Veqs at all, they give a stunning amount of Previous Main Character Energy, without having the context for it. Like… no one talks about how their great-grandparents got together that much. Not even me, & it’s a good story!
hopeful
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Taught me about a historical period I don’t know much about.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was my first book by Beverly Jenkins, and I plan to read more. It was fun to get to know the LeVeq family, with their kind and protective matriarch and her gaggle of suave adult sons she keeps in line.
Jenkins does a good job of creating a romantic and satisfying storyline within post-Emancipation New Orleans, despite the problems that African Americans faced in the period. I appreciate that Jenkins navigated this challenge well. The threats of racial and sexual violence are real, but threats don’t translate to on-page graphic violence and our heroes remain safe. If you want a historical romance with no mentions of slavery, racial violence, or sexual violence, then this is not the book for you. BUT if you want an actual historical romance about 19th century Black Americans, this is for you. Jenkins has done her research on the Reconstruction era, including it’s limits and failures on the federal and local level. She sprinkles these historical bits throughout her narrative in relevant places.
Jenkins does a good job of creating a romantic and satisfying storyline within post-Emancipation New Orleans, despite the problems that African Americans faced in the period. I appreciate that Jenkins navigated this challenge well. The threats of racial and sexual violence are real, but threats don’t translate to on-page graphic violence and our heroes remain safe. If you want a historical romance with no mentions of slavery, racial violence, or sexual violence, then this is not the book for you. BUT if you want an actual historical romance about 19th century Black Americans, this is for you. Jenkins has done her research on the Reconstruction era, including it’s limits and failures on the federal and local level. She sprinkles these historical bits throughout her narrative in relevant places.
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was not my fav Beverly Jenkins. No real tension, the conflicts came up in strange bursts. The writing felt a little stiff. Not her best.
Valinda Lacy's mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean danger. When thugs destroy the school she has set up and then target her, Valinda runs for her life-and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq.
Since residing in the south, I learned that kitchens were not part of the main residence of a home, but a separate building perhaps connected by a breezeway. This was an unknown fact for me.
A ragtag supremacist group called Protectors of the South made up of illiterate poor White men, determined to turn back time, and terrorizes Drake Le Veq. I was so moved by the forty plus men, mounted and on foot, who put themselves in danger to protect and aid the Le Veq’s in the stance against Supremacists.
The novel touches on several subjects, such as miscegenation (the interbreeding of people considered to be of different racial types), Freedmen’s Bureau, Black Civil War veterans, familiar issues, and passing.
The Le Veq Family is introduced in previous novels by Jenkins in Through the Storm (the first book in the Le Veq Family series), Winds of the Storm (the second boon in the series), and Captured (the third book in the series). Again, Beverly Jenkins keeps me captivated, entertained and learning. The next read in the Women Who Dare series is Wild Rain.
Since residing in the south, I learned that kitchens were not part of the main residence of a home, but a separate building perhaps connected by a breezeway. This was an unknown fact for me.
A ragtag supremacist group called Protectors of the South made up of illiterate poor White men, determined to turn back time, and terrorizes Drake Le Veq. I was so moved by the forty plus men, mounted and on foot, who put themselves in danger to protect and aid the Le Veq’s in the stance against Supremacists.
The novel touches on several subjects, such as miscegenation (the interbreeding of people considered to be of different racial types), Freedmen’s Bureau, Black Civil War veterans, familiar issues, and passing.
The Le Veq Family is introduced in previous novels by Jenkins in Through the Storm (the first book in the Le Veq Family series), Winds of the Storm (the second boon in the series), and Captured (the third book in the series). Again, Beverly Jenkins keeps me captivated, entertained and learning. The next read in the Women Who Dare series is Wild Rain.