Book Review: The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

 


The Davenports by Krystal Marquis - 3.5 Stars rounding up to 4 Goodreads
(Book 1 in The Davenport Series) 

Set in 1910, we have the Davenports, one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States. Their fortune made through William Davenport's entrepreneurship, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. The Davenports live rich, lavish lives and we follow their journey with servants, chandeliers, parties and finding their way and finding love. 

I really enjoyed this book! I read this as one of my friends, Chrissie's, favorite books for her birthday month and I am so glad I did! Filled with drama, a great atmosphere, many characters, romance and themes of racism that went on during the early 1900s, you have a story bound to keep you invested! +

I listened to the audiobook and really liked the narrator. We have several characters, many have compared the set up to American Royals, though I don't know much about that. 

Characters:
Helen - The younger Davenport sister. She isn't interested in love until she meets her sister's suitor -- uh oh! 
Olivia - the oldest Davenport sister who has a lot of pressure to marry ASAP a man named Jacob Laurence. You know the drill - Olivia doesn't want to marry him, she loves another....
Amy Rose - a servant to Davenports and friends with the siblings. She wants to open a Black salon but also has feelings for John Davenport....how is this going to go?
Ruby -- she is from the Tremaine family. (Another wealthy Black family.) Her father is running for office, money is tight..... She was supposed to marry John Davenport but she falls for another also....

SO there you have if folks - the set up for the TEA in this YA series right there. So much was going on in this! Anndddd that is why its 3.5 for me. I really love that this is a clean YA book (maybe 1-2 curse words but I don't recall many), but the sexual content is clean with kisses only. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the drama - it was all engaging. My problem was there were to many characters - as my friend Tammy says, "That is a very BookLoverAmanda thing. Too many characters." - She is right! I reallllly struggle, especially in audio format, when we have too many POVs. 2-3 is about all I can work with usually. Once we get 4+, I just really struggle with maintaining interest and keeping up with all of the characters. So that is just a ME thing ya'll. BUT I see why so many have enjoyed this book and I would love to continue on in the series because I kinda NEED to know what happens next! 

So overall, a good YA book  that tackles important topics, has great characters and lots of family dynamic and romance that I think a lot of yall would enjoy!

Check it out.


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