This was a lovely book with great characters especially Garret and Spring. Some of the things Spring had to do to survive seemed harsh, but was entirely realistic and were an important part of her character in the story. I am going to have to go back and read Reagan and Colt’s story now.

I’ve been looking forward to this book since Forbidden, and it’s finally here! Beverly Jenkins’ prose flows sweet and clear as cool water, and her detail is unmatched.

I'm not going to write too much about this book because I feel like I wasn't in the right mindset when I read this and therefore my opinion of the book was tainted. I was definitely in the mood for something darker and so having these two characters that felt very light didn't quite work for me. Something was off for me and I'm disappointed. I ended up skimming most of the book because of my dislike of the characters so I am not in a position to properly review this book and give feedback taking that into consideration. I'm definitely going to give this book another go when I'm in a better headspace, so for now I'm just going to be leaving this little review here and I'm going to be rating it 3 stars. I'll update on goodreads when I re-read it, as I really think I would have enjoyed this book any other time than now.

The plot of the story was Spring who is a female rancher, and Garrett McCray come from the East to conduct an interview on Spring's brother for his newspaper. Their is an immediate attraction between Garrett and Spring, but Spring past is about to reveal itself in the book.
For me, this book was fine. The good points about this story is the accuracy of the time setting, and the attraction between Garrett and Spring. I think the main character started to overshadow the love interest. at times, and the ending was a little rushed when Garrett was not sure if was going to marry Spring.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you.

Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins is a solid, enjoyable Black historical romance between a tall handsome cinnamon roll reporter/ lawyer/ carpenter from DC and a biracial Black and Shoshone woman rancher from Wyoming who refuses to conform to social norms to make him or anyone else comfortable. Spring Lee is a survivor of sexual abuse, loss, and abandonment who has made her own way in the world, earning the money for land of her own and taking orders–or intimacy–from no one. But the quietly, calmly inquisitive Garrett McCray, a former slave and Union sailor, as well as a trained lawyer and practicing reporter and carpenter, wins her heart with his patience and gentleness and respect and acceptance of her for who she is. This wasn’t a super exciting story for me, despite the shooting, the attempted murder, and the attempted financial swindles. Instead, it felt more like Garrett himself–stable and supportive and encouraging and hopeful, full of interesting snippets of Black history and depictions of strong, successful Black men and women building relationships and community together.

Despite Wild Rain being the second in the Women Who Dare series by Jenkins, it is definitely also a follow up to Jenkin’s Tempest, from her Old West trilogy. I do think you’ll understand this story better if you’ve read Tempest before, although I honestly prefered this story more. I thought Spring was a much more nuanced and realistic character than the too-perfect Regan from Tempest, who makes an excellent supporting character this time around, along with her husband Colton Lee and their children and their extended town and family.

The diversity, as I would expect from Jenkins, is good. There are strong independent female characters as well as a primarily Black cast of characters, with some Native representation as well. No LGBTQ+ representation, and most if not all characters are able-bodied, but there’s definitely some #MeToo type themes of sexual abuse and violence in Spring’s past. The snippets of history that Jenkins includes throughout the book enrich our understanding of underrepresented history, from the role of Black sailors in Union naval efforts during the American Civil War to the public perception and outright bias against Natives from white and Black Americans, especially back on the East Coast, to women in Wyoming having the vote so much earlier than in the rest of the United States. There’s even mentions of Black newspapers and Black authors of the time, due to Garrett’s career, but also to his bookworm tendencies. I cheered a little when he mentioned reading Frederick Douglass’s third autobiography, a book that still resonates powerfully today. Jenkins strikes the delicate balance of acknowledging issues of race and bigotry and violence without weighing down this gentle love story.

So if you want a historical Western romance that avoids white supremacist tropes and acknowledges at least some issues of colonization, and if you want a sweet romance between two unconventional Black leads, this is the book for you. While there is violence, both past and present, within the plot, the focus is more on human relationships, between the two romantic leads, but also with the community around them.

Jenkins has said that she doesn’t know what character the third book in the Women Who Dare trilogy will feature. I’m personally rooting for Garrett’s friendly, confident sister. Either way, I look forward to reading what Ms Beverly writes next. Thank you to #NetGalley and Avon/ Harper for sharing a digital #advancedcopy of #WildRain with me in exchange for an honest review.

When rancher Spring saves newcomer Garrett during a Wyoming blizzard, they're forced to spend a few days alone together in her cabin. Garrett is fascinated by this fearless woman who's unlike anyone he's ever known. Spring likes her independence and isn't about to give up her chosen lifestyle for a man. But when Garrett stands up for her against a man who brutalized her in the past, Spring begins to imagine how the comfort of a partner might bring joy to her life. Can Garrett thaw Spring's frozen heart?

Ms. Bev's masterful storytelling made this book a pleasure to read. Right from the beginning, you know you're in the hands of a consummate professional. You can simply relax and go where the story takes you, like floating on a lazy river on a warm summer day. It doesn't even make sense to analyze things like character and setting and plot and pacing—it's a holistic experience, and it all just works. If you like a good story, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I highly recommend reading Beverly Jenkins books in order because the characters are connected to each other and often make appearances in subsequent installments of a series.
In this book, the heroine Spring Lee is the sister of Dr. Colton Lee from book 3 of the Old West series. His story was just as good as this one.

The story begins with writer Garrett McCray traveling to the Wyoming to interview Spring's brother Colton for his newspaper. On his travel, Garrett was thrown from his horse and got hurt. Spring reluctantly gives aid and then Garrett slowly draws Spring out of her prickly shell.

What I love about Beverly Jenkins is that she never gives me a heroine that I can't relate to and admire. The woman are strong, independent, hardworking, loyal, just good people. In addition, the black family dynamics always makes me feel whole. There is a sense of community that she conveys with the freed blacks that educates the reader as to accomplishments and achievements. So this is more than a love story, its just a feel good historical fiction. This was one as another winner for me.

Spring is such a valuable heroine to me. I found Spring's resilience in not wanting to change for Garret's wishes to be extremely powerful.
Also this is just a very heart warming love overall. We find that Spring is a take no shit kind of woman and not going to bow down to anyone's expectations of her.

Garret was very sweet and a great match to Spring, but Spring is everything.

I’m always ready to read a historical romance with a heroine who has a strong sense of self and a healthy disregard for gender norms, but make her a maverick rancher and put her in the hands of a storyteller like Beverly Jenkins, and you’ve got a book I’ll come back to again & again.

Spring Rain, the fierce, beating heart of the book, is a sharp edged, strong willed horse rancher living alone in the mountains of 1880s Wyoming. Her grit and competence are on display from the moment we meet her, denim clad and bone tired, battling a blizzard to rescue the lost and injured hero. It’s a fitting introduction for a character who has fought her way through chilling adversity to build a home and business she loves. A marvel of self-determination, she moves through the world her own terms. Whether boldly occupying spaces and performing labor typically reserved for men, eviscerating those who attempt to slut shame her, or eschewing expectations that she marry or have children, Spring is gloriously and defiantly herself.

Garrett McCray is a departure from Jenkins’ usual alpha heroes. An East Coast reporter (carpenter, former lawyer & Union Navy man) who’s come west to profile her brother, he’s a true nurturer with a strength that’s grounded in his patient, empathetic nature. Though surprised by Spring and her unconventional behavior, he’s never judgemental or defensive. He finds ways to support her from the moment she brings him home, cooking and doing dishes at his own initiative. Where others are are eager to condemn Spring’s past, Garrett gives her the benefit of the doubt and strives to earn the right to be trusted with her truth.

His calm, direct approach compliments Spring’s not to be trifled with attitude. Content to stand behind her, Garrett is never diminished by Spring’s strength. He’s willing and able to defend her, but always aware of her ability to take care of herself. With him Spring feels both respected and worthy of tenderness; it changes how she thinks about passion and vulnerability, just as her defiance of societal expectations shapes Garrett’s notions of how he can live in the world true to his own desires not the expectations of his family or former self.

Wild Rain is another Jenkins classic!

Wild Rain is book 2 of Beverly Jenkins' Women Who Dare series. Ms. Jenkins always delivers, and this book is no different. I featured Wild Rain as Book of the Day across all of my Black Fiction Addiction social media platforms.

Beverly Jenkins delivers another amazing historical romance with her latest release, Wild Rain. This story features Spring Lee and Garrett McCray. Spring is a no nonsense, fiercely independent heroine who isn't looking for love. Garrett is a journalist. He is a sweet and strong man. One of my favorite scenes from him were when he stood up for Spring after she endured a vicious verbal attack. To me, this moment made him superb hero material, and it also showed that, although Spring is a strong woman, she is not immune to being emotionally hurt. I love the three dimensionality of both characters. Beverly Jenkins did a great job with their characterization.

I always love the way Beverly Jenkins wraps little-known history in an entertaining read. She did so again in Wild Rain. The love scenes were also engaging, and they start around the 40% mark of the book. Beverly Jenkins masterfully develops their intimate moments with the growing emotional bond between the two.

I really liked this story, and I am looking forward to the next one in the series!

I enjoyed this story a lot. It contains many of the elements that feel like a traditional Western to me - scenes of blizzards and horse-breaking, confrontations in the local saloon, slick shysters from out East come to take advantage of the locals - but the central characters buck the stereotypes in numerous ways. It's Garrett who is the gentle, softly-spoken one, the good listener, the fish out of water – and Spring who is the hot-tempered cowboy with the rakehell past, who carries a gun and tames wild horses. I liked that Garrett is not portrayed as weak, even though Spring is more physically competent than he is, and that in fact, his respect for and acceptance of Spring is a sign of his strength and confidence in himself.

With her long body of impressive work, historic detail and extraordinary heroines, Beverly Jenkins is an auto-buy for our collection. The Women Who Dare Series started off with a bang amid tensions in New Orleans, and this installment takes you to the ranches of Wyoming and we reunite with some of the characters we met in Tempest!

As always, Ms. Jenkins does an amazing job! Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is a perfect example of why Ms. Bev is a legend of romance writing. She effortlessly draws you into the setting, sets up believable, wonderful characters that develop throughout the book, and includes just the right amount of sensuality. I have not read the first book in this series, but after finishing Wild Rain I know I need to go back and read Regan's story.
Spring and Garrett are wonderful MCs. I love that this is the first cinnamon roll character that Ms. Bev has written. He was just so sweet and I love that he was able to allow Spring to be the independent woman she was, and just wanted to be there in whatever capacity she would allow. He was still able to show her a ton of respect, and also teach her how good sex can be..
Spring was wonderfully unexpected. She was kicking ass and taking names throughout the whole book. Her retorts were top notch, but she still had a soft side, especially for her horses and the people in the book who showed her they cared.
I need to add that I loved the conversation that Garrett had with his mother toward the end of the book. The fact that she wouldn't want or expect him to pressure Spring for children was unexpected, but appreciated. It was a really great twist to their HEA.
Overall, an amazing book. I can't wait to keep working my way through all of Beverly Jenkins catalog!

It could be my love of historical fiction, but nowhere is Beverly Jenkins’ writing more potent than in her historical romances. Wild Rain delivers on this high praise with its vivid setting, compelling character arcs, and masterful entwining of Black history into an original narrative.

Wild Rain is book two in the Women Who Dare series yet it’s heroine, Spring Rain Lee, is actually the sister-in-law of Regan Carmichael Lee, heroine of Tempest in another series by the author. Set in Reconstruction-era Wyoming territory, we follow Spring and her beau, Garrett McCrary, as he comes into her smalltown of Paradise to interview her brother, a doctor educated at Howard Medical School, from Washington, D.C. Any initial attraction is deterred by the poor state that Spring finds Garrett under, as he is injured by being thrown off his horse while making his way to town during a snowstorm. Never one to waste time with niceties and decorum, Spring hastens to save him by taking him and his horse back to the home where she lives alone and patching him up. As he starts to recover under her care, the two get to know what makes the other tick — his chivalry and penchant for asking loads of questions and her reservedness — and the differences between his city and her rustic lifestyles. Over the few days — scandalous in this time period — that Garrett spends at Spring’s house, the two fall into a rhythm where he supports her self-sufficiency and she comes to appreciate his care.

Once the snow melts, they go into town where we meet more of the colorful townsfolk who make up the hard yet communal populace of Paradise, Wyoming, including Spring’s aforementioned sister-in-law Regan Carmichael Lee. Regan picks up on Spring’s conflicting feelings of being happy as a Black woman living alone on her own terms yet also having a strong attraction to the care that Garrett offers. I loved that even this early on in the book we gain insight into what is really going on under Spring’s aloof demeanor by the gentle probing and general thoughtfulness of Regan. In fact, most of the people that Spring regularly interacts with show her a deal of respect and seem to have maintained good relationships with her as her whole life has unfolded in Paradise — her father being freeborn and raised there. It is through these interactions that we come to understand that the societal snubbing and outright violence that Spring faces from the primary villains of the novel are particular cruelties by awful people. Matt Keachem and his father abused Spring when she was turned out of her home at eighteen by her still living and judgemental grandfather, Ben. Throughout the greater romance of this story, the interactions with these antagonists and their schemes hint towards what Jim Crow justice looked like in the ‘Old West’ and supply Spring and Garrett with real obstacles to work through together instead of relying on tired romantic tropes that would take one open conversation to overcome.

I genuinely appreciate the levels to this story. It takes an author dedicated to their craft and the shape of the history they want to integrate into their story to bring the urgency and intimacy of history to life successfully in present-day releases. Jenkins’ longevity not only in writing or romance, but in bringing history to the page compellingly makes Wild Rain a story to treasure. I look forward to adding a physical version of it and more of Jenkins’ historical romances to my collection!

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Beverly herself calls Garrett her first cinnamon roll character and she is so right. Garrett was such a sweet, bookish hero and I loved that our heroine saved him in the beginning of the book. I adored seeing Garrett and Spring fall for each other. I loved seeing them start to reimagine their futures together as they started to realize how much they cared for the other one.

I read this book in a day because I just wanted to see Spring get such a deserved happy ending. Also, Spring is just a cool character who is so passionate about her interests and unapologetic for who she is. This story is set after the Civil War in Wyoming and Spring is from the area but Garrett is from DC and was enslaved as a child. Beverly Jenkins included a wealth of information about daily life and challenges that Black people were facing after the war. Spring and Garrett learn to navigate their lives together after sharing their pasts.

It's a must read for any historical romance fans!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly January New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

Nothing makes me more emotional than a prickly, confident woman being cherished by a partner who encourages a streak of vulnerability shine through. I really hope Ms. Bev returns to Paradise, Wyoming for another book (maybe with Garrett’s sister Melody?).

Wild Rain is another historical western romance from Beverly Jenkins that immersed me in the story from the get-go and kept me eagerly turning pages until the end.

Spring Rain Lee is such a complex, compelling woman and I absolutely adored her. Growing up in Wyoming Territory, she was taught all the feminine skills of women of the time but following her mother's death, and her grandfather's betrayal, she was forced to confront the difficult lessons no woman, let alone an eighteen-year-old girl, should ever have to experience. It changed her, hardened her, and cemented the vow that she would never need a man in her life. This tough rancher can do it all on her own, and as good as any man, thank you very much. Which is why she's not prepared for her reactions to the polite, soft-spoken, Eastern gentleman who keeps doing things for her like opening doors, refusing to sit at the dinner table until she does, cooking her breakfast while she's out doing morning ranch chores, and, shockingly, is more concerned for her pleasure than his own. She doesn't need any of that. But what if she discovers that she wants it?

Garrett McCray is a fascinating hero, a total fish out of water when he arrives in Wyoming on horseback during a blizzard for which he is not prepared. I admit, I'm usually partial to alphas but I fell for this "cinnamon roll" hard. He may be gentle, and kind, and harbor a love for the written word, but there's fire inside him too. He's a nurturer and a protector, but also a defender. He's a former slave, now an educated man, a lawyer, but with an artist's soul. He's a man who knows his way around a woman's body but travels the path only with her consent. He's not perfect, but he's perfect for Spring...if he can fully accept her for who she is, love her unconditionally...and keep her alive long enough to reveal his heart.

Jenkins brings these characters, and the majesty of Wyoming, to life in this heart-tugging, compelling story that was hard to put down. Her descriptions of the rugged landscape and starkly beautiful mountains are like vivid paintings where words are the brush strokes and it all comes to life in your mind's eye. Her characters offer insight into the lives of people of color in the years following the Civil War and the variances in treatment, acceptance, and tolerance experienced in different parts of the country. I love how she seamlessly slips historical tidbits into her stories. They never feel like lessons but I always come away from her books learning something new about Black history in America. They add a richness to her characters, her own heritage, and the historical fabric of our country that are incalculable.

Many of the secondary characters in this book are multi-layered and fascinating in their own right while also offering insights into Spring and Garrett. Spring's godfather, Odell was my favorite grumpy teddy bear with a heart of gold while sister-in-law Regan was frequently the voice of reason who reminded Spring of her worth and the validity of her life choices without presuming to tell her what to do. The villains also were fully developed and chilling in their hatred, creating more than a few tension-filled, heart-in-my-throat moments.

I don't know if Jenkins has any plans to return to Paradise, Wyoming but there are secondary characters I'd sure love to see more of, especially Ed Prescott: Native American, engineer, successful businessman, and Spring's horse-training, business partner. What a fascinating man. I want to know more!

Fans of Tempest (Spring's brother's book where Spring is introduced) will enjoy catching up with Colton and Regan but readers new to Paradise can absolutely read Wild Rain as a standalone. I enthusiastically recommend both.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review