I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much that I ended up buying a physical copy of the book so I could read it again!

It took me a while to find a steady pace with this story as it started out kind of slow. The first book took it's time in the beginning as well, which makes sense for character development, however, book 2's pace was much slower. After eventually getting into the story and connecting with the characters again, I really enjoyed reading this and found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading. I love reading about and imagining what "elite" Black life was like in the early 1900's. I enjoyed the romance, the lessons learned, and reading about each character's journey to finding their own paths. I certainly hope we get another Krystal Marquis novel soon!

Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it. Really loved it.

Krystal Marquis delivers a captivating continuation of The Davenports series with More Than This. Set against the vibrant backdrop of 1910 Chicago, this sequel masterfully intertwines romance, ambition, and societal pressures through the perspectives of four dynamic young women.

Ruby’s journey from blissful engagement to facing scandal is both heart-wrenching and empowering, while Olivia's struggles between her ideals and her parents’ expectations highlight the tension between duty and desire. Amy-Rose’s dream of salon ownership and her complicated history with John bring heartfelt moments of self-discovery, and Helen’s determination to modernize the family business introduces a thrilling and unexpected romantic spark.

Marquis excels in crafting characters whose dreams and dilemmas feel both period-authentic and universally relatable. The intricate depictions of social class and racial dynamics further enrich the narrative. Though the multiple storylines occasionally vie for dominance, they come together in a satisfying and emotional conclusion.

Perfect for fans of historical romance and stories of resilience, More Than This shines as a powerful tale of love, ambition, and self-determination.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

While I enjoyed this book, I would have prefered that the author focus on 1-2 heroines instead of 4. This choice let to more telling instead of showing, and thus some disconnections. But the vibe is soooo goooooood!

More Than This is the second book in the Davenports series. The Davenport girls are preparing for the summer of 1910 in Chicago. Ruby is engaged and preparing for her wedding. Olivia is a budding activist. Amy-Rose is making her dreams of becoming a salon owner come true. Helen is attempting to mend her broken heart by making updates to the family business.

This is a series that I really want to love more than I do. I really wish each book was limited to focus on one of the Davenport girls. As is the book feels overstuffed with plots and povs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t able to read this as I wasn’t able to read book 1 it didn’t grasp my attention the way I hoped. I will be sure to come back and try them again because I love the aspect of the book I do.

I got a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I waited until the book released and grabbed the audiobook. The first book left me hanging so I was anxious for this sequel.

I was happy to be back with Olivia, Helen, Ruby, and Amy-Rose. Olivia was following her dreams of being an activist and started writing. Helen was trying to follow her dream of working for the family business and helping to develop a car for them to sell. Ruby was preparing for her wedding and starting to design clothes. Amy-Rose was starting her salon and hair care line with the help of a generous benefactor.

I really enjoyed this book. Each girl got to follow their dreams and also find love. It wasn’t easy but they tackled every hurdle that was put in their path. The ending wasn’t exactly what I expected but I am confident that each woman found their happily ever after.

This was a five star read ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

This was everything I hoped it would be. The character arcs coming to fruition in all the ways I hoped they would. I definitely could have used something more definitive between Olivia and her choice. The win for Amy-Rose was so sweet. Helen was again the most entertaining character. But it was Ruby’s character growth that I enjoyed most of all, seeing her fully step in the shelf assured young women she had the potential to be and living for herself was incredibly satisfying. The pacing in this book was much better and even the slower moments were engaging and entertaining. I enjoyed this read from start to finish!

More Than This is the second book in The Davenports series, following a group of young Black society women in 1910 Chicago.

Olivia, Ruby, Amy-Rose, and Helen are back, each trying to live life on her own terms, pursue dreams, and find love.

Olivia continues her work in social justice by supporting local causes and writing anonymously for the newspaper. Her romance with Washington DeWight has been on hiatus since he left for Washington, D.C., to continue his civil rights work. His absence, however, has led to a new friendship with lawyer Everett Stone, opening new possibilities.

Ruby is planning her wedding to Harrison Barton, but the stress of her father’s mayoral campaign, along with the financial strain it’s placed on her family, is weighing on her. She also faces town gossip, but the loss of her family’s fortune propels her to chase her own ambitions.

Amy-Rose’s salon and beauty business is flourishing under her mentor Mrs. Davis, and her future is looking bright. However, her relationship with John Davenport remains complicated after his father made it clear that he doesn’t think the “daughter of a slave-owner” is suitable for his son.

Helen is reluctantly preparing for her debut, but her true passion lies in the family carriage business and her dream of creating an automobile. She hopes that the publicity from recruiting race car driver Ransom Swift to showcase their prototype will convince her father and his board to take her seriously.

More Than This is a historical young adult novel with drama, romance, and a vivid depiction of early 20th-century Chicago. My favorite character is Amy-Rose, who is hardworking, kind, and true to herself. While the stakes aren’t particularly high and the romances are sweet and chaste, it’s a comforting read for those who want to revisit characters they love.

Rating: 3.75 stars

An enjoyable second installment of the Davenport siblings. This time around they're all on their individual paths trying to build the next chapter of their lives while navigating friendships, love, and the prying eyes of family. A good story to dive into if you're ready to reconnect with the characters and continue the journey.

The first book in this series was one of my favorite books of 2023. I'm leaving this review with the assumption that this is a duology, because I have no idea where it would go from here. If it's going to be a trilogy, then I'm very confused.

The first 20% or so of this book is dedicated largely to reminding us what happened in book one. IMO, book 1 was so tightly plotted and so... not quite campy, but high drama for sure. Book 2 is much less focused, and things seem to happen with minimal agency on the part of the characters. Now, if that's because we're getting closure on book 1, I'm glad I stuck around. The end of this book felt very final. But compared to the previous installment, the stakes were much lower, and there were few real obstacles faced by any of the characters. A lot of the story seemed to take place off-page in between chapters. Admittedly, I read this book as an ARC (thank you, NetGalley, for the review copy) and I'm sure some things changed between my version and the final, but the changes would have had to be pretty significant to adjust what felt to me like pacing issues.

That said, I still liked the characters, and I was glad to see them find various versions of happiness. I'm just thinking about what happened in each character's storyline, and there wasn't much substance.

💜 The Davenports: More Than This Book #2

✍🏾 By: Krystal Marquis- read The Davenports and it gave 5⭐

📅 Publication: 11-12-24, Read 11-12-24

🌎 Setting: Chicago 1910

📄Page Count: 384

Genre/Tropes:
♡ Historical Romance
♡ African American/Women's Fic
♡ coming of age
♡ Young Adult
♡ wealthy
♡ based on real people- C.R. Patterson + family

In Book one, Olivia defied her parents by not entering into an arranged marriage. Helen told her father that she was serious about The Carriage Company and enjoyed being a mechanic. Ruby's plan with John backfired, but she ended falling for Harrison Barton instead. And Amy-Rose followed her dream of opening a hair care business moving to New York, leaving John Davenport.

This book was a great follow-up to see where everyone ended up after their decisions. Olivia became more active in the civil rights movement waiting for Mr. DeWight to return. She made a connection with her father's business lawyer Mr. Everett Stone-someone her parents actually approved of. Helen made her debut in society reluctantly, still working with her brother John at their family's company. She even recruited stock car driver Ransom Swift to be the face of their motorcar creation, but past suitor Jacob Lawrence returned and swept her off her feet. Ruby Tremaine was planning her wedding to Mr. Harrison Barton, but the arrival of gossip from people she thought were friends tried to ruin her. She discovered her passion for dress design and made it a reality regardless of her parents' disapproval. Amy-Rose thought a lot about her mother Clara and recently deceased mentor Mrs. Davis. She received letters from family she never knew and confronted her true feelings for John Davenport after a lot of pining. The patriarch Mr. Davenport transformed the most after his trip to London. He was more accepting of Helen joining the business, and he reconciled with Amy-Rose. I can't wait to see everyone's weddings and HEAs!

⚠️: racism/classism, slavery mentioned, misogyny

🌶️Steam level: 1/5 kissing only

⭐Rating: 4/5

Thanks for the e-ARC provided by NetGalley, Penguin Group/ Penguin Young Readers Group | Dial Books, and Krystal Marquis. I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own!

I enjoyed The Davenports: More Than This even though I found the beginning to be a bit shaky. I wasn't sure if I'd love it or not but I did. I loved stepping back into this world and watching these characters grow and come into their own. I loved the fact that they live in a conventional world but each heroine is unconventional in her own way. I enjoyed watching them navigate every obstacle that was placed in their path and watching them triumph. I'm truly loving their journeys and can't wait to see what happens. This was a cute and sweet read with not so fluffy undertones. I definitely recommend it.

Thanks Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the gifted DRC book.

Even though I read the first book of this series in January 2023, I had no problem jumping back into the Davenports’ world in MORE THAN THIS. Marquis once again delivers compelling characters in a great multi-POV story. Though a bit slower than the first book, I was still eagerly turning pages. Recommended for fans of YA historical romance that enjoy character-driven stories. I’m looking forward to the next book!

I enjoyed returning to the world and following our band of main female characters. At many times throughout the novel, I itched to get a bit more from the main point of view. There were pretty important plot devices that were resolved in the background that would have been very interesting to spend some time on instead of skipping forward. I do think the shining light of this sequel were the periods where we followed Amy Rose and Helen grow into their own. Amy Rose's luck at getting her business off the ground and determination at times to not get distracted were commendable however, I thought her love interest could have groveled a bit more...I understand that may have been a bit too modern. Helen never wavering on what she wants to do with her life and cars, was nice as well. I'm glad she wasn't pigeonholed into a role.

At times, because of my lack of interest in some of the other POVs due to their repetitive nature in comparison to the first book, the plot moved really slow.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ebook.

I was anxiously awaiting the sequel to The Davenports, and was thrilled to receive an ARC of "More Than This." I was so invested in Olivia, Ruby, and Helen (honestly, not so much for Ann-Marie). The novel did feel a bit lengthy at times, and I struggled to get through the middle. However, once I got closer to the 65-70% mark, I was able to fly through the remainder. It was bittersweet to read about Olivia's suffrage work to get black women the right to vote while reading this during the US Election, but also restored a sense of hope and optimism for the future. I do feel that Krystal Marquis's attempt to have Ruby, Olivia, Helen, and Ann-Marie "have it all" felt unrealistic -- I was honestly hoping that Helen would remain focused on the family business (or at least have a bit more fun with Mr. Swift!). But again, thinking about the time in which I read this book, I needed a happy ending! I'd give this a solid 3.75, I don't think it surpassed Book #1, but I can't wait to see where everyone goes in Book #3.

The Davenports: More Than This by Krystal Marquis is a fabulous addition to the first book.
Truly an enjoyable YA historical. Its exploration of Black history and success at the turn of the century is just amazing!
The characters are so entertaining. The writing is incredible and the story was engaging!
This was such a phenomenal story, and I loved all of the uniqueness that Marquis put in to this book.

Thank You NetGalley and Dial Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this sequel to the Davenports. I thought this was a fun and intriguing historical fiction read. I should note that I am probably a little older than the target audience for this book, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this read. This was a cute read. It proved more depth that was missing from the first book. It shows what they have been up to since the first book. It was a good read.