Recommended for fans of Bridgerton, Krystal Marquis’ The Davenports follows four girls: Olivia and Helen Davenport, Amy-Rose, as well as Ruby, I found this book to be incredibly charming, and an insightful exploration of class, race and gender in 1910 Chicago, and I was shocked at how the book ended.

THE DAVENPORTS was fun, flirty, and full of drama, which I absolutely loved. I was initially hesitant about the four POVs because that can be difficult to pull off, but I felt equally invested in each of the women the book focused on. From Olivia's journey to doing more than she had thought was possible to Amy-Rose breaking away from her path, the book was pacy and had a wonderful cast of characters. Things moved on pretty fast, and I do wish the dialogue was a bit tighter, but overall this book was great. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished copy on shelves! I recommend this for people who love the drama of the Bridgertons and are looking for characters who are breaking away from the mold.

I loved this book! The setting, the historical accuracy while maintaining diversity, the writing, the EVERYTHING about this book was just stunning. I loved all the narrators and was deeply invested in all their stories. A stunning book!

*Thank you Penguin Teen for my gifted arc.

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis follows 4 young Black woman as they brake societies expectations for them as they search for love and opportunity. Join Olivia, Helen, Amy-rose, and Ruby as they enjoy carriage rides, dress fittings, courtship, and balls in this swoon-worthy romance.

Read if you like:
🌻 Bridgertons
🌻 Love triangles
🌻 Black entrepreneurship
🌻 Activism
🌻 Multiple POVs
🌻 Star-crossed lovers trope

Likes:

I’m a hopeless romantic who believes in soulmates so I’m glad everyone finds there match and each couple is left with hope for reconciliation at the end.

Dislikes:

Even though I enjoyed the predictable storyline, the writing was just boring. It quite literally put me to sleep every night, which isn’t a bad thing because I suffer from insomnia. I would like to see this story brought to life on screen by Shondra Rhimes.

If you loved the Bridgerton series, you'll fall in love with the Davenports. You follow 4 different POV's: Helen, Olive, and John (the Davenport siblings), Amy-rose (the maid), and Ruby (Olive's BFF). Their love lives overlap with one another while each of them are also experiencing their own personal growth. The book also goes over racial injustices with the black community in the 1910's which unfortunately mirrors what's going on now.​​​​​​​​
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This book has officially taken a place in my top 10 favourite books read this year! Highly recommend!!

Loved this! It did give Bridgerton vibes and I am here for it. I honestly just loved everything about this. Can't wait to recommend it to everyone.

Oh man did i love this! It's rare to see stories from Black families during this time period, and it was such an interesting look at a part of history that no one really talks about. The only reference I've had to wealthy families like this was Bridgerton and The Gilded Age (both the tv shows), but reading it takes on a whole new level. I loved the challenges the characters faced, the multiple POVs, the swoony romances. It was all wrapped up in a very charming, glamorous, glittering package that dealt with classism, racism, and conforming to society's gender norms so effortlessly. I really enjoyed learning about this point in history in a YA way and thought it was a unique perspective, as well as a great introduction to this part of society. I loved all the girls' perspectives and can't possibly pick a favorite, but hard-pressed, i'd have to go with Ruby's. I also can't believe it ended this way, and I need the sequel asap! You can't break me like that and not expect me to come back for more. Don't skip this book, regardless of if you're a historical fiction fan or not.

Check out the video I made for this book on TikTok @katherinebichler. Here is the link:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRxEeApu/

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 STARS

This is a YA historical romance. Think the black Bridgertons but instead of the UK, it is set in Chicago in 1910 and the characters are wealthy black people. It follows the story of four girls and their romantic interests.

If you love the Bridgerton series, then you will love this book. It is filled with all the balls, dresses, etiquette, courting, & romance you could want. I found some of the characters to have the same story line as those in the Bridgerton series, but I did not mind one bit. I enjoyed the black history aspect of the book. It touches on segregation and rioting in Chicago. I liked that it brought light to the rarity of black wealthy families and their stories. The ending leaves room for a sequel which I hope happens!

Thank you Penguin Teen for the advance reader copy! 💛

Thank you to PenguinTeen for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Davenports was a good story. History fiction/romance is not my normal to go to genre. I wanted to give this book a try. Set in the early 1900s navigating family expectations, race, love and gender norms. We follow 4 young ladies, having different povs confused me a bit but at the end I understood who was with who and what happened.

This made me think of the TV show The Gilded Age, but set in Chicago, with young affluent Black women in the center of the story. The story itself is innocuous and the relationships are cute- you know how everything will end up, but the characters are likable so I did not mind the predictability too much

This was such a charming read! I loved this YA historical romance set in the backdrop of Chicago in 1910. I really enjoyed following Olivia, Helen, Ruby, and Amy-Rose as they navigated familial expectations, love, gender norms, classism, race, and more, It was super cool to see each of their romances be so intertwined. I can't even say that I enjoyed following one girl over the other because each girl brought so much heart to their individual chapters.

I also love the premise of this novel and how it explores the Black community in Chicago and how Black people started and contributed to so many entrepreneurial and political endeavors during the time. The discussions between our four main characters and their love interests about their identities as Black women and men from different walks of life was really engaging as well.

I think all fans of Bridgerton and other diverse historical romances will love The Davenports. After the (four) cliffhanger(s) at the end of the novel (that practically ripped my heart out), I'm super excited to read the next book in this series.

Set in Chicago in 1910, this delightful YA romance novel is inspired by a real family. C.R. Patterson was a former slave who founded a successful carriage company that later produced automobiles. This fictional story focuses on the two daughters of the wealthy and socially prominent Black family, Olivia and Helen, as well as their friend Ruby and their maid, Amy Rose.

Nineteen-year-old Olivia is beautiful and well-versed in the social graces. She is expected to find a suitable husband, and has found a promising prospect in Jacob Lawrence. But, when she finds herself attracted to a civil rights activist, she begins to questions what she really wants in life.

Helen isn't interested in the social graces or finding a husband. A talented mechanic in her own right, she wants to work for her father's company, but he won't hear of it. So why is she suddenly attracted to her sister's suitor, Jacob Lawrence?

Ruby Tremaine also comes from a socially prominent Black family, In fact, her father is running for mayor of Chicago, a campaign that has caused financial hardship for her family. Ruby's parents want her to marry Olivia and Helen's brother, John Davenport. Ruby wants that too, but making John fall in love with her isn't as easy as she would like. So, when a young lawyer named Mr. Barton shows an interest in her, she decides to use him to make John Davenport jealous.

Amy Rose has grown up with Davenport girls. Her deceased mother was a maid in the Davenport house, and now Amy Rose serves as a maid to her two childhood friends. But Amy Rose has bigger plans -- she wants to open her own beauty salon catering to Black women. She won't let anything get in the way of her dream, including her attraction to John Davenport.

While comparisons to Downton Abbey and Bridgerton are inevitable, this is a uniquely American story featuring characters who are severely underrepresented in literature. Krystal Marquis blends strong characters, romantic entanglements, and the history of the early 20th century civil rights movement to create a page-turner that romance readers will love.

Set in early 20th century Chicago, The Davenports follows Olivia and Helen, the two daughters of an escaped slave who began the successful Davenport Carriage Company, as well as their friend, Ruby, and maid, Amy-Rose. Olivia, expected to marry the suitor Jacob Lawrence, finds new purpose through activism, introduced to her by the lawyer Washington DeWight. Helen seems hardly fit for marriage, spending her days sneaking off to work in car repairs, but she finds herself drawn to her sister's intended match. Ruby struggles with her father's campaign dominating her life, and in an effort to please her parents, fakes a relationship to capture the attention of John, the Davenports' son. John, however, has fallen for the family maid, Amy-Rose, while she has her own plans to set off as an entrepreneur. Between forbidden love and faked relationships, as well as navigating early-20th century America as an African American woman, the Davenport girls and their friends won't have it easy making their way through the world.

We overall enjoyed this book and appreciated how it focused on a successful African American family at a time when systemic injustice was only continuing to increase. Some outside research on C.R. Patterson and Sons, the business/family the book was influenced by, was very interesting as well. It's great to have a historical fiction romance centered on an entirely Black cast of main characters, providing some great representation for so many readers!

We did think the chapters and the four romances were somewhat similar/repetitive. The chapters typically followed each of the girls going about their days, and then running into their respective love interest. This repetition made the book feel like it wasn't advancing towards a climax - it was pretty steady in intensity throughout. The romances progressed at similar paces, and we found that while the four main girls had variety in their personalities, the men were incredibly similar and sometimes hard to distinguish. We did like the variety of interests for Olivia, Amy-Rose, Helen, and Ruby, from Amy-Rose wanting to open her own salon to Olivia's interest in activism.

Even though this is set t0 be a duology, the ending was definitely a little unsatisfying for us. Ruby, who we found to be the most shallow of the characters, was the only one with any success in her relationship. We were surprised to find that Helen had not made any progress swaying her father to work as a mechanic, Olivia did not set off pursuing activism, and Amy-Rose did not purchase or open her business. We wished we could have seen some of their individual endeavors end in some success or progress, as it would have also provided some rising action for the book.

Overall, this book is something refreshingly different for YA romance, and definitely worth a read for any romance fans.

The Davenports follow the romantic lives of four Black women in turn of the century Chicago. Two, Helen and Olivia Davenport, are rich Black heiresses. Ruby, the third woman, is the daughter of a man running to mayor of Chicago, even as it financially devastates their family. Amy-Rose is a former friend turned maid to Olivia and Helen and she has a thing for their brother John...

Anyway, it's definitely a fun "season-y" rich people parties kind of book. It's being billed as Bridgerton for teens (and it absolutely is that down to the sexy parts just being kissing), but I also feel like there are shades of The Gilded Age in there. I really appreciated the fact that the protagonists were Black, because I didn't realize there was a Black upper-class as portrayed in the book and it was a really neat perspective to see even though I got mental whiplash from thinking about Mr. Davenport going from being a slave to having "help". I really wish the book had focused just on the Davenports or just on the people in their aura - four protagonists is too many. The only one I really cared about at the beginning was Helen (and her chapters felt so short) just because there are so many characters that you don't really get to know them until about 2/3 of the way through the book. It would've been much stronger had it told Olivia and Helen's complete story and then the second book focused solely on Amy-Rose and Ruby (or vice versa).

Overall, though, I think the right teens are going to love this one, and I'll be recommending it! 2.5 stars.

Amazing book. Reminds me of Bridgerton, meets Emily in Paris. Full of great characters and even greater romance. Wealthy Black people in early America, along with their maids navigating changing times

The Davenports centers on the family and innercircle of Black entrepreneur William Davenport, a formerly enslaved person who founded the Davenport Carriage Company (based on the real-life Black-owned CR Patterson Company). The book, set in 1910 Chicago, offers a peek into upper class Black society, as seen through the lives of four young Black women. The women, whose stories resemble reall-life history makers such as Madam CJ Walker, navigate romances as well as family and societal expectations. All of the women push against what is expected of them. Romance, parties, and most importantly, courage to pursue new ideas make this a great-compliment to US history curriculum. Historical fiction focusing on Black entrepreneurs will be welcome in YA collections and will make young people want to research Black economic life in places like Chicago and Pittsburgh.

I was really excited to receive a copy of this book. It felt so fresh and energizing to see not only new YA historical fiction, but historical fiction centered around a time period and a family that we don't often hear about in America. It highlights some really key moments in black culture and civil rights in the Reconstruction and turn-of-the-century eras that are so important for everyone to know about, but especially young adults. I think the way the romances were handled were beautiful, too; Marquis keeps you rooting for the couples to work out, but she also lets her heroines keep their independence and stick up for themselves, too. My only quibble (apart from some missing words that I'm sure will be sorted out before the final edition) is that it ended on a cliffhanger. I hope there are more Davenport adventures in the future.

A YA Bridgerton with a social conscience.

It's 1910 in Chicago, and the Davenports have built a fortune through a carriage business. This gives them entry into wealthy society, a place usually closed to Black families. Though some treat them like they still don't deserve their fortune, for the most part, the Davenport children live sheltered, privileged lives.

Olivia attends the society's balls, seeking an approved husband, until a chance meeting with activists leads to sparks flying between her and Washington DeWight, a lawyer and civil rights leader. Sister Helen is content to sneak out to the garage to work as a mechanic on the new-fangled automobiles, until a man catches her attention. Unfortunately, he's already courting someone else in her circle. Olivia's best friend Ruby longs for Olivia's brother John to notice her, but John spends more time staring at the maid, Amy-Rose.

The course of true love never runs smooth, and this book provides dishy entanglements and crossed wires as the young, wealthy Black children seek their love matches. Each couple sparkles and delights, but as in real life, some matches turn out better than others.

This book also shows its characters grappling with the real-life issues of the day. Olivia struggles with her parents' choice to give money to the cause, but not march themselves. Entranced by the young activist DeWight, she reads everything she can get her hands on about civil rights and attends protests, venturing out of her wealthy circle to learn what life is like for those who work for a living. Ruby struggles with her father's decision to run to try to become the first Black mayor, believing that he can make a difference, but feeling resentful as it almost bankrupts the family.

This book provides a unique perspective, as it was inspired by the true story of the C.R. Patterson dynasty. It made me want to find some nonfiction about the same topic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved, loved, loved,The Davenports! It was a whirlwind, exciting, and engaging YA romance and perfect for fans of the Bridgerton television series (like myself)! We follow two sisters and their best friends, as they navigate a racially changing world, shocking romances, and experiencing lavish parties, these four young ladies will learn about each other and even more about themselves.

Taking place in 1910's Chicago, the hustle and bustle of the city is front and center! I love the setting because although the time period is one I have no experience with, it still felt like a modern story with modern troubles and loves. The writing was flirtatious and fun, leaving room for laughter and intrigue, but constatly leading me in a direction to wanting more of the story (and for it to never end). I can't wait to see where the second book will take us, but I am ready!

So this was supposed to be a regency romance and I just didn’t feel like it was regency. Not with cars and the setting being in Chicago.

I was highly frustrated with Olivia and Ruby in the beginning. Both girls were self centered and trivial. But their arcs made them great characters.

Helen was by far the best. And Amy-Rose just kind of felt like she’d was there.

Calling all the matches was fairly easy. However I wasn’t expecting their endings at all. I was happy with Olivia and Ruby’s endings. Amy-Rose and Helen… just felt incomplete.

The ending itself also didn’t feel whole. Not with the way it was open ended almost.