Plot: I will admit that at times, I was more intrigued in the background happenings (Civil Rights discussions and character ambitions) than the romance. I love when romance novels have a strong plot to go along with the will/they wont/they narratives. I'd like to see more of it in book 2.

Romance: I loved Helen's story the most. She was my favorite character and deserves the world. I did feel that there could have been a greater diversity of romantic tropes. All 4 main characters basically had the same romantic storyline. It got to be a little monotonous at times. But also I get the idea - 4 characters from different backgrounds & with different ambitions struggling with the same types of feelings/choices.

I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and seeing how Marquis chooses to wrap up the core 4's stories.

I really enjoyed this debut from Krystal Marquis. There still isn’t a lot of historical romance that meters the experiences of Black Americans, and that’s even more true among YA histrom. I loved seeing characters and experiences from the Black upper class.

As other reviewers have noted, there is A LOT going on in this book, as the author is trying to set up a series. Most storylines are not resolved, because that’s coming in future books. But what I really appreciated about this book is that there are real stakes for the characters. This is a light read for younger readers, yes, but these characters have things to figure out. How can they be true to who they are and what they value while managing their parents’ expectations and the very real forces of sexism and racism? These are big questions the characters are trying to figure out, and the author wrests with them in ways that will interest younger readers—but not only younger readers. As the middle-aged parent of teens, I was completely engrossed while reading.