The Davenports by. Krystal Marquis | Book Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Davenports (#1)

Author: Krystal Marquis

Format: hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 1/31/23

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction

In 1910, the Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love—even where they’re not supposed to.

There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married. . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love—unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business—and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.

The first book in a breathless new series, The Davenports offers a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked, while delivering a totally escapist, swoon-worthy read. Inspired by the real-life story of C.R. Patterson and his family, it’s the tale of four determined and passionate young Black women discovering the courage to steer their own path in life—and love.

Content Warning: racism

The synopsis for this book sounded intriguing because my first love is historical romance and being a reader of the genre for many years (not so much now), it always came with a Caucasian cast of characters. So I love that the Davenports are a wealthy Black family in America. This book is set in the 1910 so I could imagine all the outfits and the lavish parties of that time period and the author did a great job at that. The author also did a great job of showing us what Black people were experiencing at that time, in the early 1900’s when there was a community of successful and wealthy Black people. There is more about her inspiration for her story in the author’s notes at the end of the book.

As for the story, I was into it until 25% in and then it wasn’t holding my attention I think because it was told with four POVs and I was bored even though 4 POVs should at least have given me one POV to really root for. The chapters are quick but I felt like I’d have been more engaged if maybe it was Olivia and Helen’s POV since the book focuses a lot on their family. All four young women have relationship dramas to deal with. Olivia and Ruby are best friends and the eldest daughters, so their role is to marry a man with wealth, and status. Helen is the younger sister to Olivia and she has dreams of running her father’s company but according to him, that’s not happening. And Amy-Rose is a servant and daughter of a slave owner, so her romance with John (Olivia’s brother) is almost doomed from the start. She has no wealth or status. And things play out predictably with everyone falling for who they shouldn’t and not everyone having who they wanted.

The story being predictable is not a problem since I love that about romance. But this one was missing something. Nothing was standing out for me. I liked Helen and Ruby the most because they had vibrant personalities, but I do think it was just too many POVs for me. And they were all going through similar romance drama. It took me 3 weeks to read this book, and usually I DNF after one week but I pushed through. I had to skim some parts though. If each girl had gotten their own book, maybe it would have worked out better for me.

Why you should read it:

affluent, wealthy Black families in the 1900’s set in Chicago, American history
4 romances taking place

Why you might not want to read it:

4 romances taking place – for me it was a bit too much
this was almost a DNF for me because it wasn’t holding my attention

My Thoughts:

I wish I had connected to this one more but I honestly can’t say if it’s the story that didn’t hold my attention or the fact that I seldom read historical romances anymore and just wasn’t in the mood. What I did enjoy was learning about prominent Black families in the early 1900’s and seeing them thrive and have success in politics and business. As for the romances, I wish there were less POVs. I don’t think I’ll be reading the sequel but I think if you like historical romances you will enjoy this one.