Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The Davenports

A fine historical romance read with a local setting. I enjoyed the cast of characters, and, although it took me a little bit to sort out who was who with the audiobook, I did like the multiple POVs at each chapter change. It was fun to bounce between the four main characters and glimpse different aspects of their lives as the overarching plot moved forward. This was a fun and unique way to take a brief dive into a piece of African-American history that we don't often learn about.

I appreciated the note at the end of the audiobook that shared more about the inspiration for this story.

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm being a little generous with my rating because I really like the idea of this book, and the execution isn't bad. The prose is a little cliche at times, but overall this delivers a nice young adult historical romance from the perspective of a black family. There are several characters and romances to follow, and they aren't all resolved in this book. I'll be grabbing the sequel to see how those loose threads get tied. I will also caution that if you don't like 3rd Act break ups, you will probably dislike this story, because there are multiple. But if you are looking for something like Bridgerton and Downton Abbey but aimed at a younger audience and a focus on black characters, this is a good pick and a fun read.

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readingwithtrey's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

WOW!! I saw this book being raved about all over bookstagram when it was first released last year, and I immediately added it to my TBR shelf. I put off reading it for the longest time, but when I had the chance to sign up for a tour stop with Hear Our Voices, I had to take it. I'm so glad I finally read it, and I could kick myself for waiting so long. It was amazing!

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!

Content Warnings

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

Content Warnings

danicoretrashhh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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juvball3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad 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? Yes

4.0

Slow to start and took a while to get into but once I did it was a breeze

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jadorereadss's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is more a 2 star rating for me, but it kept me intrigued enough that I wanted to finish the book to see what would happen. Overall, this book just wasn't for me and I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel. None of the male love interests were intriguing, there was so much going on with the plot following four girls, I wish that we saw the Davenport siblings confide in each other more. The plot also felt very repetitive and unnecessarily long, and the ending was terrible.

Content Warnings

amberinpieces's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.0

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