This book was so beautifully done and it truly transported me to the time period. I cant wait to find out what happens with these characters because they all have so much potential!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this DRC.
A fun and romantic novel about a family making it 1910. Changing women’s roles and civil rights greatly effect this family in interesting and intense ways.


#TheDavenports #NetGalley

*Thank you Penguin Randomhouse for sending an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Davenports are one of the rare Black families that have made a very successful family car enterprise in horse carriages. Following the POVs of four young women in and around the family, we have a funny historical romance all while taking a look at the post slavery experience of Black Americans.

I loved this story even more than I thought I would. Krystal Marquis did a great job of showing varied perspectives of the Black identity within the historical time frame she placed the book. The romances were interesting and felt real, not just easy insta love connections. I loved reading the author's note that gave more detail on the real histories Marquis brought into the store of Black Americans who did find success in post slavery America.

I will definitely be picking up the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book. I was excited to read this book, but unfortunately, for me at this time, it was a book I started, but did not finish. I do not typically give feedback on books I have not read in their entirety, but in this case, I feel like I read enough to know how my teen students would react to the book.

In the case of The Davenports, the premise is awesome, but the start is so slow that I do not think many teen readers will stick with it. I read about the first 1/3 and was bored and not really interested enough to keep going. I may go back to it later, but for now this is not a book I will be purchasing for my classroom.

OMG, this was such an enjoyable and amazing read. I could not and did not want to put it down. The historicals have been hitting and this one was no exception. And of course being a romance girlie, the romance was very enjoyable. I could see this as a tv series. I absolutely loved the characters (most of them that is), as well as their growth from beginning to end. I finished this book in one sitting. Although I'm not a fan of cliffhangers, I really didn't mind it in this one, assuming that there will be a book 2. I am so excited for the next book and I can't wait.

I don’t usually read historical romance but I figured I could start with YA.

This book is set during the Gilded Age in Chicago which is honestly not talked about enough.
We follow The Davenports, a wealthy Black family. The are four main characters in this story. Olivia, Helen, Amy-Rose and Ruby.

I actually really enjoyed it! I loved all the characters and the various relationships.
I listened to the audiobook and I never once got confused.
I absolutely loved the book and I need the second one!

If you enjoy historical romance and shows like Bridgerton then I recommend this.

This was a fun historical romance! I enjoyed the characters and the various relationships. This was a romance, but there were similar issues with all the romances. Overall a solid read.

The plot was hard to get into and I wasn't particularly invested in any of the relationships. Overall, I'd recommend to fans of historical romance or people looking for diverse historical fiction, but it won't be a go-to recommendation.

First of all, it was so exciting to read a historical fiction book on a wealthy black family with as much drama as a white family, but the black family’s drama, was of course, worse, with Jim Crow, the great migration and post reconstruction. It is an important part of the book, but the relationships between the children and their romance partners, some show passion, some need to marry because he is broke, and some are used. Either way the plot makes way for a book 2 and I cannot wait to see what happens after all of the drama in the romance department and maybe a little bit of civil rights added to the mix

Krystal Marquis’ The Davenports reads like The Haves and the Have Nots meet Bridgerton
Genre: Historical Fiction

The Davenports are the wealthiest and most influential black family in the early 1910s Chicago. The plot revolves around the Davenport children, Olivia, John, and Helen who are all “out” in society and are ripe for the marrying. It is no surprise that the matches and career paths that are the most beneficial to the adults are out of sync with what Olivia, John, and Helen desire. Olivia’s best friend Ruby also finds herself being used as a pawn for her family’s social and economic gain, to near disastrous results. Will the young Davenports and Ruby follow their hearts or the money? Find out, literally in the next book because this one ends with a hell of a cliffhanger. 😫
Krystal, I know you lying with this ending. Please tell me there’s already a sequel in the works.

This book tackles class, race, and sexism while also acknowledging the painful legacy of slavery and its consequences. Marquis doesn’t, however, spend much page space lamenting the dehumanizing institution. Rather, the book showcases the black experience from a variety of angles during this time period. Whether you are wealthy and well-connected, well-connected and broke, poor with a dream, or an activist willing to risk it all, there’s a diverse casting of blackness across social and economic divides. One of the things this book does well is allow the women to grow and evolve in ways that are refreshing, even if it happens slowly.

One of the most frustrating parts of this book is that none of the Davenports get a resolution to their problems. A supporting character kind of gets some resolution, but not much. Another frustrating aspect of the book is seeing the black parents become the “oppressive” element. Parents care about their children but sometimes do them a disservice by being overly controlling, even if they have good intentions. I’d love to read a sequel where the children continue to work through these tensions as they find a life for themselves. Very good book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

This was gorgeous. I don't really know how else to describe it. I absolutely adored every single character. So many of them had the chance to be one dimensional, but because it was formatted to give every woman their own space and time, I never felt like one character was given more attention or care than another. Some of the transitions between chapters were a little abrupt but not enough to take away from each individual. I love love love how much historical nuance there was in this. In the author's note at the end, Krystal emphasizes how little of this was taught in schools and that the only literature that we often get exposed to is a cycle of the same. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience Black high society during a time that we often were taught didn't exist or just blatantly ignored in favor of other "more important" events. I look forward to exploring this more in the sequels.

Speaking of sequels, I am very very glad I went into this knowing it was a series because I would have felt so betrayed by the end if it was. Speaking of, that ending hurt so much. So much tension for the last hour but I am soothed knowing there is more to happen. I am genuinely looking forward to the next one!

Thank you Penguin Teen for my advanced eCopy.

I need the next book asap!!! This was so great and I loved every single character and their struggles. I found it really interesting to read about about this time period from a different perspective, one we don’t normally see. It was very interesting to learn how the different classes acted and intersected when you add race into the mix.

Also: this book ended with everything going to hell and I need to know what happens next for all of them! Helen was a surprise favourite character and she needs to get a happily ever after!

If you like The Gilded Age and Downton Abbey, this is the book for you! While I enjoyed reading about a wealthy Black family navigating Chicago society, I did feel like it could have gone a bit deeper into that aspect and not quite as much on the various romances. But this is definitely about the romances. Four couples meet, fall in love, face challenges, and decide whether they can stand up for what they want. This issue is, they all do these things at the same time. So it feels very repetitive.

This is going to be a series, and ends unresolved. I think a better way to write the series would have been to focus on a different couple in each book, resolving their story and thereby leaving room for deeper exploration into the societal and racial challenges faced by the Davenport and Tremaine families.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advanced ebook.

I loved The Davenports!! It’s perfect for fans of Bridgerton and way more entertaining than the Bridgerton series.

Oh the drama in this one. Each of these characters are strong young women who have dreams beyond the expectations of family and culture. They want to blaze their own trails and nothing is going to stop them. Parts of the story were slower than others, probably because I related more to some characters than others.

I alternated listening to this on audio and reading it. I think by listening, I lost some of the character stories due to the multiple POVs. Switching to reading helped me solidify who was who and overall enjoy the story more.

There was a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, so I’m anticipating a second book in the series.

I loved this book so much! It scratched that itch that the Bridgerton TV series has created for historical romance with characters of color as the stars, but this had a little more historical reality without being dark or bleak. I also loved the ensemble cast. There were several love stories in one book that was done well. Highly recommend for teens and adults alike.

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis is such a unique addition to the young adult genre. First, it’s historical fiction which doesn’t seem to be as trendy at the moment. But wait! It’s historical fiction about Black people that isn’t set during the antebellum south or the civil rights era! That’s right, this book is set during the Gilded Age in Chicago. It centers around a family who made their fortunes after being freed from running a carriage company. And so, the book is about The Davenports, a Black family who are quite wealthy. There are four main characters – two Davenport sisters, one girl who essentially is a maid to the Davenports and one girl who is the best friend of one of the Davenport girls. There’s romance and stories of Black girls blazing their own trails.

Marquis’s The Davenports keeps getting compared to Bridgerton, which I kind of get on the one hand. But on the other, if we’re really going to compare to adult romance, why are we leaving out Beverly Jenkins? Like, this book is about Black people doing well for themselves during history having love stories — that absolutely screams a Jenkins comparison to me. And I LOVE IT. This book was captivating and I cannot wait for more from the series. My favorite was Helen Davenport who just wanted to fix cars but also had a thing for the boy who is intended for her sister. There’s drama and it’s juicy. Oh and I also listened to the audiobook which was well done. It’s narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt and is 12 hours and 2 minutes long. I would recommend if you want an absorbing story.

Slow paced. Important conversations on race and social responsibility. I can’t say it was for me though. I found the characters all really one dimensional, and there was no clear ending.

A YA historical fiction book that’s perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, American Royals and Bridgerton.
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Meet the four young women of The Davenports:
Olivia: As the eldest daughter of the wealthy Davenport family, she’s happy planning events and searching for her husband, as this is her second season after her debut and she’s been unsuccessful thus far. When she meets a charming British man she thinks her search is over…until she attends a civil rights rally and falls for a southern lawyer.
Helen: the youngest of the Davenport children, she’s better suited in the garage than in the drawing room, preferring to work with Model Ts than parade herself in front of suitors, but her sister’s prospective husband does make her look twice.
Amy-Rose: Raised in the household with the Davenport siblings, she feels like one of them, but is still considered the hired help. She dreams of opening her own hair salon for Black women’s hair, but when she starts a romance with the eldest Davenport, John, her future may alter.
Ruby: She’s always been the best friend of Olivia Davenport—a name that means something in this town, but when her father begins running to be the first Black mayor of Chicago, their family starts losing the wealth they’ve always had. Ruby’s parents want her marrying John Davenport—that’s always been the plan, but now another has turned her head.
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What an amazing book to finish off #blackhistorymonth with and start #womenshistorymonth This family had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the multiple POVs, the historically accurate storyline, the #romance and the cliffhanger ending that has me so happy this is just book 1! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about The Davenports since I finished it earlier today, especially the Author’s Note at the end. I wish we had learned about families like this in school. I can’t wait to moderate @krystabelle_reads romance panel tomorrow at @nttbfest! 5⭐️

CW: racism, alcohol, parental death (off page), grief