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dreezy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Slavery
rickireadss's review against another edition
4.25
a phenomenal addition to the women who dare series!! i loved raven and braxton and was KICKING MY FEET at the fact that they had to fake being a married couple. the tension between them was STEAMY and when they finally came together, i was giggling and swooning. braxton is that man!!!
representation: Black MCs
content warnings:racism, classism, war, slavery, violence, murder, pregnancy, kidnapping, racial slurs, hate crime, trafficking, pandemic/epidemic, forced institutionalization, death of parent
representation: Black MCs
content warnings:
khrb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
alikenzie's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.0
elenaberrino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Very mixed feeling about this one to be honest - it's my first Beverly Jenkins book and I have to admit I'm not overly in love with the pace or the writing. There are large sections of expository dialogue that I found hard to get through, all the while thinking 'that's just not how people talk'? Some of this background clould have been prose.
I felt like we moved along an inch at a time, unconcerned by the plot, as all the focus turned into the characters and their attraction to each other. And then suddenly, the plot was there and we were moving at a clip, as if the book remembered abruptly there was a plot to get through - and get through it we did, too quick for my liking given how long we'd spent lingering on domestic life.
This is petty, but the nicknames - I always cringe a little at nicknames in books, and especially when they're used in sex scenes, so... this didn't quite work for me.
But the setting is incredible fleshed out, it realistically deals with racism in the South in the time setting in a way that makes the horror of the KKK real and visceral and horrifying, it's fascinating to see the historical world-building, and I love the concept of a powerful Black criminal family in the South.
I felt like we moved along an inch at a time, unconcerned by the plot, as all the focus turned into the characters and their attraction to each other. And then suddenly, the plot was there and we were moving at a clip, as if the book remembered abruptly there was a plot to get through - and get through it we did, too quick for my liking given how long we'd spent lingering on domestic life.
This is petty, but the nicknames - I always cringe a little at nicknames in books, and especially when they're used in sex scenes, so... this didn't quite work for me.
But the setting is incredible fleshed out, it realistically deals with racism in the South in the time setting in a way that makes the horror of the KKK real and visceral and horrifying, it's fascinating to see the historical world-building, and I love the concept of a powerful Black criminal family in the South.
anachronistique's review against another edition
I saw Beverly Jenkins speak at an event recently and I knew of her legendary status in the romance community. But there's something about her writing that doesn't quite work for me - a little too much telling and over-explaining of things in the characters' inner narration? But the two leads are charming as hell, and I did enjoy reading it. I'll keep trying and see if other works by Jenkins work better for me.
booksandsnacks31's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Honestly this was everything a romance book should be and more. Loved that the characters were in their 30s, loved that there was no sign of ANY toxic behavior, the chemistry and spice was gorgeous, the story was fun, and the snippets of lesser known black history was so interesting!