Tag: Beverly Jenkins

Posted in audio books, Book Review

On The Corner of Hope and Main

Posted on by Sherri

by Beverly Jenkins Narrated by Lynnette Freeman

Citizens of Henry Adams, Kansas are in the midst of a mayoral election. Trent July has been mayor for the past four years since Bernadine Brown purchased the town online and brought about much change for the small, historically black town built by freedmen. They are once again fighting those who would betray their trust and steal their homes and land. In this awesome, Blessings tale, Beverly Jenkins shows us that might does not make right, and often it is the humble and meek who bring about change and who are the true heroes of the day.

I loved this story with it’s mix of older and younger characters. Ms. Jenkins gives us romance, intrigue, suspense, friendship, and inspiration. In Henry Adams we see what a small town could be like if everyone works together for the greater good. She also shows us the mistakes we make as humans, are failings and shortcomings but how we can overcome these to be better and stronger. Her positive female characters with their strength and courage

As I listened to this story, I dreamed of what I could do in my own small town if only I had the money and opportunity. Like Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, I too have a dream of saving my hometown and making it a place where all children, all people live together in harmony.

Ms. Jenkins gives us a map of what it could be like if we could create our town and give its inhabitants safe places to live, share and seek solace. Henry Adams, Kansas is as close to paradise as we on earth can hope for and I’d love to live there.

Posted in audio books, Book Review

Destiny’s Captive

Posted on by Sherri

by Beverly Jenkins, Narrated by Thomas Penny (Audiobook)

Nightmares still haunt the handsome captain, Noah Yates, years after his enforced servitude as a sailor onboard a ship. Two good things came out of that time, his friendship with his partner who was Shanghied that same night and his love of the sea. 

While his brothers and now, his mother are basking in new-found love and matrimony, Noah knows he’ll never find a woman he’d be able to marry. He could never trust a woman with the darkness that haunts his soul. He’s never told anyone about those first weeks after being captured. He couldn’t stand to see their pity or worse, let them see the monster he was capable of becoming.

But Noah never expected to meet the granddaughter of a pirate and be challenged by her in every way. Pilar steals not only his ship, but his heart.

Beverly Jenkins brings to life characters who make you swoon. Not only are the men heroic but so are the women. This is one of the best stories of enemies to lovers, and feminism in romance. If you like your romances with adventure and the spirit of adventurous characters, then this is a perfect story for you.

The richness of Thomas Penny’s voice is a delicious addition to this story. It’s like chocolate ganache on a dark chocolate cake. It’s textured and smooth, a great asset to an already wonderful story. As an audiobook listener, the narrator is an important part of the experience. Thomas Penny is a narrator I will look for in the future.    

Posted in Book Review

Review: Breathless

Posted on by Sherri

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins

My friend and mentor shared this book with me.

Portia doesn’t wish to risk the freedom she has by marrying a man who treats her like a belonging. Although her aunt and uncle have an amazing relationship, the men her mother entertained where brutes. Portia has no desire to give up the work she enjoys as bookkeeper and manager for one of the largest hotels in the Arizona Territory. She is content with her life, that is, until Kent Randolph comes to visit.

A friend of the family, Kent Randolph is not the same man who worked for her uncle years ago. Life and bad choices have honed him into a man of strength and honor. Not expecting Portia to be all grown up and beautiful, Kent is as surprised as she is over the power of their attraction. Ready to put down roots after living the life of a vagabond cowboy, Kent starts to imagine that life with Portia. Can he convince Portia he is the man for her, that she can continue to do what she loves with his blessing and support?

Portia can’t resist the lure of her attraction for the cowboy, but it is the little things he does that makes her realize he is nothing like the men who frequented their house when she was a child. Though she no longer leaves the room or puts furniture between herself and men, she is still apprehensive about trusting them. Kent proves to be someone she can trust, he also gives her the courage to go forward with her dream.

True romance isn’t needing someone to make you whole but wanting something to make your life more complete. Finding that person who knows what we need and is happy to give it to us or help us get it on our own. The person that puts your needs and desires above their own.

If you love strong characters, historical settings and interesting plots, Beverly Jenkins’ Breathless is a great choice.

Posted in Book Review

Rebel

Posted on by Sherri

Rebel: Women Who Dare by Beverly Jenkins, Narrated by Kim Staunton

Women of strength and courage make history, forge nations and make a difference. Ms. Beverly Jenkins is a genius at building characters and setting them in familiar places and times, and showing what true courage looks like.

Reconstruction in New Orleans, or any place in the south, was hardly a romantic time period for people of color. Supposedly free, they still faced the hate and bigotry of being people of color. Still, life did not end, people still loved, lived and survived, to spite the cruelties others inflicted.

Valinda Lacey is representative of the strong, determined young women who came south to teach former slaves. When she meets Drake LeVeq, he brings out that spirit in her she’d tried hard to suppress as a young lady of the time period. Together, this amazing couple will build a better world one generation at a time.

If you love historical romances, strong characters and a blend of family and friends with a New Orleans setting, this is the story you have to read. Fabulous romance and wonderfully picturesque setting.