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katie_helf96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Racism
readingwithtrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The Davenports is inspired by the real life story of C.R. Patterson and his family and follows the wealthy and prestigious Davenport family in 1910 Chicago. The story is told from 4 point of views: Olivia, Helen, Amy-Rose, and Ruby. Each of the women are coming of age with their own struggles, desires, and goals while navigating familial and societal expectations. When we're first introduced to Olivia, we see that she is preparing to be married out of duty to her family. When she meets Washington DeWight, a civil rights leader, she begins to think that maybe her own desires for her life are different than what is expected of her. Helen, Olivia's sister, has never had much interest in marriage. Instead, she'd rather spend her time working on carriages and automobiles in her brother's shop. Amy-Rose works as a maid for the Davenport family but dreams of opening her own hair shop to showcase her natural hair products. And then we have Ruby whose father is running for mayor and has turned her life upside down.
I enjoyed every story line, but I have to say my favorites were Olivia and Amy-Rose. I loved how once Olivia was made away of the civil rights movement, she felt led to do more to help. And Amy-Rose's story was incredibly inspiring. I was rooting for her the entire time. I won't say who it involved to not spoil anything, but the budding romance between Amy-Rose and her love interest was also so sweet.
I will say, I had no idea this ended on a major cliffhanger. I will definitely be counting down the days until November when the next book is released. This time I won't wait a year to read it!
Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Classism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Police brutality
juvball3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Police brutality and Violence
amberinpieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Police brutality, Racism, Blood, Classism, Slavery, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Violence
foxreadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Why 3 stars then? To be fair, this wasn't written for an adult white woman, so take the following with a grain of salt. I often have difficulty with novels written through multiple POVs, and 4 characters, who were all interesting in their own right, were too many. Coupled with the parallelism in their stories, it felt like the ups and downs were a little one note, especially as early on, these conflicts centred around men. As this appears to be a series, I would have loved a novel about each woman individually rather than jumping back and forth.
Would I put this in a high school library and encourage kids to read it? Yes. Would I recommend it to a friend... probably not.
Minor: Violence, Slavery, and Racism
gracescanlon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, and Slavery
Minor: Colonisation and Violence
filmnoirz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Racism
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Classism, and Sexism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Violence
Minor: Slavery
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
If you like historical romance dramas, then this is absolutely going to be your jam. It is loosely based on an actual family in Chicago in the early 1900s, but it really focuses on the romance of the four girls. Even though there are four narrators, the characters mostly felt like they had distinct voices and for the most part, the different threads of the relationships were pretty easy to follow.
The writing itself is easy to get into, and it doesn't get too bogged down by historical facts or world building. The historical romance drama isn't always my jam, but if you like that kind of thing, I'd definitely recommend checking this one out!
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Death, Violence, and Police brutality
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The romance of this book drew me in, and the historical events and tension kept me enraptured till the very last page. While it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger for some of the characters, and their love interests, I know their strong family ties that bind them to each other will help them get through anything. In the meantime I will eagerly anticipate the sequel!
The Cover
I adore this bold and bright cover. In the first chapter of the book Olivia is treated horribly at a shop, the store employee assumes she can't afford any of the items. In response she goes on a little spending spree (as she should) and purchases several items including bright yellow fabric. The symbolism of using that same yellow hue on the cover that Oliva purchased in response to the racist worker is just *chefs kiss*. I love how Olivia is directly looking at the viewer, a small smile on her face that reads almost as smirk. Her male suitor next to her can't take her eyes off of her, and is more focused on her face then anything else. The other three female leads are in the background huddled together, a tight knit group that looks to be gossiping. The title font works perfectly with the cover and the theme of the book, and I love how there is a little blurb on the front that reads "Fortune favors the bold". The Chicago skyline looms in the background adding depth to the overall composition.
Cover Illustration: Deanna Halsall
Cover Design: Theresa Evangelista
Graphic: Racism and Hate crime
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, and Slavery
Minor: Death