I think that this was one of the best things I’ve ever read, I absolutely love Beverly Jenkins writing. It’s always amazing and so well thoughtful. I always feel like I can immerse myself into the world and it feels like I am actually seeing/feeling what the protagonist is.

This book lives up to the anticipation. Valinda and Drake are two exceptional people who live their lives out loud. The history, romance, and chemistry in this book, can not denied.

I was delighted when the publisher granted my wish for a galley of this on NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read more Beverly Jenkins- she has a unique voice and I loved reading about a time in history and group of people under-represented in romance. Although very dark things happen in the book, there is always great hope and the characters are true to themselves and always willing to step up even in difficult situations. I can't wait to read other books about the LeVeq family. Relevant to my interests as a French teacher, and as someone always interested in reading about a part of history I know little about- in this case, Reconstruction in New Orleans from a distinctly Southern and non-white perspective. Fascinating and never depressing, despite the dire circumstances.

Rebel is a beautiful historical romance novel set during Reconstruction and located in New Orleans.

When Captain Drake LeVeq rescues Valinda Lacy, schoolmistress from New York, from attackers, she becomes the object of his affection, and a beautiful romance begins. Along the way, there is a lot of drama and historical information that I loved reading.

The thing I love about a Beverly Jenkins book is her ability to flesh out all the characters and the historical background of each story. Her writing is always tight and leaves you wanting to read the next installment of whatever series it happens to be.

I highly recommend this book and all others that Beverly Jenkins writes. You will not be disappointed.

If you've been part of the romance book community for any amount of time, you know who Beverly Jenkins is. She's a prolific historical romance author, and I am low-key embarrassed that it's taken me so long to read one of her books. I'm excited however that my first read of 2020 was such a great book, and that I have so many others to go back to and read now!

I feel that in a lot of historical romance that I've read, there's more emphasis on the romance than the historical aspect of the story. The romance in this novel was obviously very prominent, but so is what is going on around the characters. Obviously this is the case because so much of what is going on around the characters are things they have to deal with because of who they are and the time period.

Rebel is the first book in a new series called Women Who Dare, and honestly with a title like that, who doesn't want to read this series? Book one follows Valinda, a northern black woman who travels to New Orleans post Civil War to help the newly freed by starting a school. Valinda meets Drake when he saves her from a dangerous situation, and offers her help. I loved both of these characters so much. I love how brave and independent Val was, her family doesn't want her working, especially not in the South, but she finds a way to convince them to let her go before she's supposed to get married. Drake was such a charming guy, who cared about his family, and cared about helping others and the city he loves. The two characters together were amazing, their chemistry was off the charts, and I had to keep reading so I could see them finally admit their feelings for each other.

I do want to give a trigger warning for attempted sexual assault that happens near the beginning of the book.

I'm so glad I finally read Rebel because it was a great book, and introduced me to an author I can't wait to read more from!

Beverly Jenkins does an amazing job of bringing to life Reconstruction Era New Orleans and making us fall in love with the characters. Can't wait for the next installment in this family saga.

Let's start with the most important thing -- that cover is gorgeous and I want to see more covers like this, with characters of color front and center.

Beverly Jenkins is a gift to the romance genre and community, and especially to black readers and authors. Her books are always lovely, her writing amazing.

And the writing was certainly just as great in Rebel. But there was something missing for me in the story itself. I wasn't as invested in the couple as I wanted to be, and it's hard to pinpoint what the issue was, what was missing for me.

However, even when the book turns out "meh" -- for me, at least! -- it's still a Beverly Jenkins romance. It's nice. Just not my favorite.

Beverly Jenkins is unmatched in the research and insight she brings to historical romance. I loved all of the characters in Rebel (particularly Valinda), and the way Jenkins builds and represents community and family is one of the essential things that set her books apart.

Valinda leaves her home and fiance in New York on a trip to New Orleans to teach newly emancipated slaves to read and write. When her schoolhouse is vandalized and her life threatened, she's saved by the dashing Captain Drake LeVeq. And after meeting Drake and his charming family, she sees a different future for herself in New Orleans. She didn't believe in love before, but could she now?

Valinda and Drake are fantastic romantic leads in this new series. I love their chemistry and their can-do attitudes in the often impossible post-Civil War circumstances. New Orleans also makes a great backdrop for their story. Historical romance isn't a favorite genre of mine, and some of the dialogue and details pulled me out of the historical setting. But overall, fans of historical romance will definitely love this book. Beverly Jenkins is the queen of the genre for a reason!

I didn’t finish this book, because I felt ultimately it wasn’t really for me in terms of genre and time period. However, what I read was well-written and I liked what Jenkins was attempting in exploring race plus romance during reconstruction. Just not really for me.

I really wanted to love this book, but it's taken me months to read it. I know this book will be great for so many people, but I'm apparently just not one of them.

Rebel is a beautifully written book set in New Orleans during Reconstruction. This is the first book I've read by Jenkins, and she writes amazing historical fiction - I didn't know much about this period, and I felt immersed in it. She is able to impart tons of information without it ever feeling like exposition. Rebel is about Valinda Lacy, who has come from New York to teach newly freed slaves, and Drake LeVeq, a member of a wealthy New Orleans family who is fighting the injustices all around him. I really enjoyed this book - Val and Drake are fully drawn characters, and they both felt realistic to the period. (So many historical romances - especially regencies - have characters with such modern sensibilities that they don't make sense.) I raced through this book and am looking forward to the next in the series.

4.5 Stars / 3 Steam Fans

Despite this story being very heavy on the historical themes for a majority of the book in the end I really enjoyed it. I crave the historical aspects that Beverly Jenkins brings to her storytelling because she does an amazing job of setting the scene without being super heavy. However, this story is very heavy in the historical aspects of slavery, white supremacy, and arranged marriage for most of the books so I almost DNFed this book. I am happy that I finished it.

This specific video review will be included in the June 2019 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

Prolific writer, Beverly Jenkins launches a new series with REBEL. What a treat for her followers (me included) to discover that the story is set in New Orleans, home of the LeVeq family. The woman who dares is Valinda Lacy, a school teacher in the post-Civil War period known as Reconstruction. Valinda , a New York native, realizes that teaching the newly freed slaves to read and write will greatly benefit them as they strive to become financially independent and productive citizens. To assist her in her efforts to educate her people is none other than Drake LeVeq, the third oldest son of Julianna LeVeq Vincent, brother to Raimond Leveq, the “Brats”, and brother-in-law to Sable Fontaine LeVeq. Now that’s some Beverly Jenkins’ lineage facts for you. If it does not resonate with you, then I suggest you become acquainted with the dynamic African American Historical Romance novels of Ms. Jenkins, the slayer of words.
REBEL is an enjoyable and at the same time educational read. Ms. Jenkins is a genius at blending facts and fiction that equal an entertaining and enduring story. I highly recommend it.

This book...


Y'all...


Drake LeVeq...


I have honestly been sitting on this for several days. I finished the book and was in awe. I seriously considered heading to New Orleans to find this man's ancestors. 


Beverly Jenkins did an amazing job on this story. She slayed all the words. ALL OF THEM!


I am embarrassed to say this is the first book by her that I have read.

Trust me, it won't be the last. 


The love story was not at all predictable. Drake and Val kept me on my toes the entire ride. The historical content didn't bother me either. I tend not to like too much on the negative side of things that happened to African American's in history (or the present to be honest). This was just the right amount of reality. 



If you like sweet and spicy love stories then you should definitely check this one out. 



Drake LeVeq most certainly earned the Sexual Chocolate Award.

Fabulous! How has it taken me this long to discover Beverly Jenkins?

Valinda leaves her New York home and strict family and experiences freedom for the first time when she goes to New Orleans to teach newly freed slaves and their children now that the Civil War is over. She quickly learns that the South is still a dangerous place to be a person of color and is attacked when thankfully Drake LeVeq and his sister-in-law descend like avenging angels and rescue her. The entire LeVeq family takes Valinda under their wing and Drake starts to find his way into her heart. Can she stay in New Orleans and pursue the life and love that she never thought possible or will she return to her controlling father and to a marriage with her intended who is set to return from his business travels soon?

This book was a double winner of top-notch historical fiction and top-notch romance. I loved every character and want every single LeVeq brother to have his own book. I also was fascinated by the history of the post-civil war era and learned so much, especially because of Valinda's unique perspective. I highly recommend "Rebel" by Beverly Jenkins

Beverly Jenkins’s Rebel is first in her Women Who Dare series and Jenkins, a new-to-me author. I was keen to try a new historical romance author. In truth, though, I slogged through it, taking two weeks to reach the end. Though its opening was compelling, I never warmed to its protagonists and found the persistently declarative prose, flat.

It opens in 1867 New Orleans as New-Yorker Valinda Lacy teaches her recently freedmen, women, and their children. We get a sense of a society, barely out of war, trying to adjust to new historical realities, some well, and others, clinging to their place as the dominant class and race. They pose a threat to the characters and Jenkins does a excellent job of conveying what it feels like to live under a constant edge of what ought to be a safe, going-about-business existence. For example, Valinda’s school is soon destroyed. Her path crosses with a powerful, wealthy family, the LeVeqs, who give her a home and protection and help her re-establish the school.

In particular, Drake LeVeq, big, powerful, Civil War veteran, wealthy, charming, and fearless. He’s protector and charmer all in one. Valinda, however, is affiancéd to her childhood friend, Cole, and doesn’t believe, after watching her mother and older sister be miserable in their marriages, that a happy marriage is possible. She and Cole are friends and they’ve agreed, both for their own non-HEA-with-each-other reasons, to offer each other shelter in a marriage-of-convenience. Valinda’s overbearing father allowed her to travel to New Orleans to do her part only as long as Cole remains in Paris with his business partner, seeking a sponsor for his newspaper venture.

After the initial set-up and encounter between the dashingly handsome Drake and petite beauty Valinda, the narrative lurches along in a desultory fashion. Jenkins’s handling of post-bellum New Orleans tensions and the fascinating, though tragic, history surrounding American slavery and Civil War, were the narrative’s strongest elements. New Orleans street scenes and historical background were my favourite parts. Drake and Valinda, however, never come alive; there wasn’t much reason for them to stay apart, especially after Valinda and Cole’s amicable dissolution, so their mini-conflicts to the HEA feel contrived. The character I most enjoyed was Drake’s mother, Julianna, so fleshy, witty, and interesting. One lovely scene where she recounts Drake’s childhood vulnerabilities to Valinda was lovely. Valinda and Drake fall flat. I thought Valinda and Drake were one-dimensional, one-note voices and their dialogue, stilted. I’m glad I pushed through to the end (but I much prefer Alyssa Cole’s An Unconditional Freedom, with its similar ethos and historical background. Cole’s characters are conflicted and interesting and their relationship, complex.) With Miss Austen, we say that Rebel is “tolerable comfort,” Mansfield Park.

Beverly Jenkins’s Rebel is published by Avon Books. It was released on May 28th and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-ARC from Avon Books, via Netgalley/Edelweiss+.

I found the overall experience of reading this book to be enjoyable, with both plot and character elements that unfolded nicely and with forward momentum. While not the best book I have ever read, I would pass this title along to other readers and librarians.

I liked this book and while I typically don’t like historical fiction. This one was a good read, sometimes it was a little too much post civil war history lesson, but I did enjoy the chemistry between the hero and the heroine. This wasn’t my favorite book by this author but it was enjoyable. * Review also on my goodreads page*.

To me Ms. Jenkins has another amazing read on her hands. A wonderful story with history and romance intertwined into one phenomenal story. Not only were there surprises throughout, I could feel the love and desire between Drake and Valinda. This was such a good read and so far I am enjoying this new well written series. Can't wait for the next book to be released.