Beverly Jenkins took over January for me! One thing I know I can count on when I pick up her books is that the happy endings will include main characters who have the privilege of being thoroughly loved & respected by one another.
Midnight is a beautiful Black Romance taking place in & around Boston, MA at the start of the Revolutionary War.
I think I’ve only seen one other Black Romance set in this timeframe, so I was really excited about this one. It was cool that she included interactions w/ historical figures like Prince Hall. Faith Kingston is a strong-willed, intelligent woman who has experienced a lot of hardship at the hands of her father. Naturally, I felt a sense of justice & warmth from seeing her experience love for the first time! Despite Nicholas Grey's past, he has a heart of gold & a tenderness for loved ones. Their interactions were very swoon-worthy.
Forbidden is a Black Romance set in the Old West.
Rhine Fontaine, the son of a plantation owner and one of his slaves, is passing for white in town when the he meets the beautiful Eddy [Ee-dee] Carmichael on her way to California. Since everyone believes that Rhine is white, Eddy knows she can’t risk getting involved with him, but their tension is undeniable. Eddy is resourceful, passionate, playful, and earnest while Rhine is patient, observant, gracious, & industrious. I love the emphasis on building strong connections w/ their community & what that support of one another could have looked like.
Breathless follows Portia Carmichael, Eddy’s niece about 10-15 years later.
She had a terribly rough life at a young age so I was very happy to see her life as an adult w/ her aunt & uncle. I loved exploring her community in New Mexico during the late 1800s through this story. It's not common knowledge that Black folks had communities out there. It was really cool to get a glimpse into Black feminism at the time, too! Portia & Kent are very sweet together & their sexual tension is immediately explored. The only parts of the book I wasn't enthused by were when the author repeatedly described Portia as "aware of his maleness" & that he "made her feel female." I'm always turned off when folks use those terms to describe people because those are scientific terms that are usually followed by a species name like, "she saw a female bear." I feel like that made some of the scenes less romantic to me.
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