Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for a copy of this book!

For reference, I dabble in historical romances and inhaled Bridgerton. I've heard nothing but good things about this book, and all of it stands correct! I loved following the journeys of each of the four female characters and deeply appreciated how the author gave us a lens into the real life challenges each of them experienced. I really loved being able to understand more about the ways that Black community built Chicago too.

I would recommend this for sure!

This story has elements of Renaissance with a bit of Downton Abbey. Vey enjoyable read for anyone that enjoys those eras. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

"I think the hardest thing we can do is to decide what we want, and stride toward it.”

Four young women in similar times in their lives, but different circumstances, must find a way to live up to their families expectations but hope to find love and happiness. Two are sisters - each needing to find a husband for different reasons and needs of the family. I loved meeting and learning about each sister. I like that we also go the perspective of the friend who is now a maid and how her struggle and life has changed. And finally the girl who must marry well. It was a great perspective, each one providing a different view of life, struggle, and how other's views changed their world.

But this is definitely a romance. It was light and sweet and I enjoyed the drama and scandal of courting and what was allowed and not. I did appreciate the romance layered with awareness around racism and the fight for equality.

Book 2 just released November 12th, 2024 - I can't wait to read it!!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley. Then I purchased a copy of the audiobook.

This was not quite what I expected but I enjoyed it a lot.

Olivia is supposed to be working towards getting engaged but instead she is falling for an activist lawyer and a life of activism. Helen would rather fix cars than learn how to be a proper young lady. She finds herself falling for her sister’s suitor. Ruby is supposed to be working towards getting engaged with John. She uses the attention of another man to try and make him jealous and ends up falling for that young man. Amy-Rose wants to open her own shop. She also has feelings for John but her station in life makes a happily ever after almost impossible between them.

I really enjoyed this book. I was sad that only one couple had a happy resolution at the end. I know there is a second book and can’t wait to read it to find out what happened with everyone.

This book was well written and held my attention. Definitely a five star read.

I loved The Davenports. I may be a tiny bit obsessed with this world and its characters. It was lighthearted yet had an intensity to it. It had me wholly invested and emotionally engaged practically from the very beginning. This book was truly a joy to read packed with the ups and downs of relationships, cute, sweet and funny moments, heartache, coming into one's own, discovering self, carving your own path and so much more. It was awesome. I highly recommend and can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Giving me a little bit of Bridgerton meets Downton Abbey meets Pride and Prejudice. A lot of POVs makes following the story less smooth, but the concept was good and the writing was engaging. I love the idea that this is based on a real family and real history, and want to know more about that. I really liked all of the characters and have preordered the second in the series cuz the book really ended with so much unresolved (I’m not the biggest fan of that…I prefer standalones to series, or books that don’t end abruptly if there is a series). Anyway, definitely cute, interesting and worth a read.

I had high hopes for this, anticipating it to be something along the lines of a YA downton in 1910 (a la the gilded age) with some bridgerton-esque drama and a little American Royals with the multiple POV. The story follows Olivia, Helen, Ruby, and Amy-Rose as they come of age and shortly into the book they all find themselves involved in love triangles. I expected more to the friendship part of the plot rather than 4 seemingly individual plotlines, more depth overall, and instead found four storylines with voices that were so similar it was hard to disseminate who was who. With a slight cliffhanger ending, I'm looking forward to jumping immediately into book 2 and seeing what comes next for each of the four young ladies and if there's any resolution to the messiness that is their love lives!



Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Dial Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Love this book. It's a great romance book. This is my first book by this author, but I would read more from her.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Young Readers Group for the ARC.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I powered through it to see if the end would change my mind, but it didn’t. I felt that the storyline was repetitive and didn’t really see any true progress outside of Olivia’s story. There was age gap mentioned and for a YA book, I found that to be off putting. The ending was also super lackluster. Overall, I felt that this story was unnecessarily long and didn’t get across the point it was intending to make based on the synopsis.

3 ⭐️

The Davenports follows four young ladies as they navigate love and society. Olivia, Helen, Amy-Rose, and Ruby.

It was interesting to watch each of them realise that the lives set out for them are not what they dream of. I especially enjoyed Helen's storyline around trying to be included in the family business against her fathers wishes.

As far as the romances go, Ruby and Mr Barton are my favourite pairing. Their connection felt natural, and they had the best development of the four.

The issue with having so many relationships happening at once is that you sacrifice some development time trying to fit them all in. All the first kisses happen in rather quick succession, as do their arguments. It makes it feel a little like the relationships are all following the same script.

I am intrigued to see how our couples will fair in book 2 given how this one ended. Also, to see how the election went given how vital it was for the people.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

While this book painted a beautiful picture of black entrepreneurs and what life would have been like for them it also showed the struggles they face. More books should be written to highlight the struggles and triumphs of all people of color. I appreciate the authors research into the past in order to write a beautiful fiction story based on history. That being said, this story didn't pull me in as much as I had hoped and I fully believe that to be a me problem! I would still give this book a solid ⭐⭐⭐!

This was a bit slow for me... I was hoping it would be more fast paced and catch my attention more. The romance was good, and I liked the idea of this book!

Historical fiction isn’t a genre that I reach for a lot. But, I enjoyed this book a lot! It sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it! I highly recommend it!

i am so conflicted with this book. it had such a fun premise and i LOVE a historical fiction like this. the writing was engaging and i obviously flew threw it.

i think my conflict comes with each of the third-act conflicts. each of these women were perfectly set up and we could have finished the book. maybe that is all on me for being so hopeful for a happy ending. i just think those conflicts were thrown in there so the author could write another book with these characters. i think i would be more satisfied with even ONE of the girls getting a happier ending.

anyway, the characters were interesting and wonderful to follow. i will be reading the next one so my girls can have a good ending!!!

*thank you to NetGalley and Dial Books for the e-arc of this book for my review*

This novel introduces us to four amazing black women living in Chicago in the early 1910s. We follow their story of trying to find happiness and reaching their desires in their world against family expectations, misogyny, class, and racism. Through four separate POVs we get to meet each of the girls and explore their lives. I don't normally like multiple POVs, but this one, even with four POVs, was written so well, leaving me invested in each of their lives.

First we have Olivia, a woman who meets society's expectations for a woman of her status, looking for a husband, doing charity, etc. Until she stumbles into a civil rights meeting, and in addition to finding herself very attracted to the speaker at the meeting, discovers a desire to stand up for people like her across the country and fight against societal issues like Jim Crow. But, she has a match her parents like, and those same parents are scared for her safety, given their own experiences when they moved to Chicago.

Next, her younger sister Helen, a tomboy who wants nothing to do with the expectations put upon her, only wanting to fix automobiles with her brother in their family shop. She's foiled by her family hiring a manners coach for her, and falling in love with the man she things her sister loves. Her story centered around proving herself and fixing out her love life.

Next is Ruby, Olivia's best friend, whose father is running for mayor, and as such, her family is broke. Struggling to cope with this massive change in her life, she is also trying to win the love of her old crush, Olivia and Helen's brother, John, both to please her parents and, she thinks, herself. But, in her ploy to win his heart, she stumbles into love with another man, and has to decide what is more important to her: her parents approval or her own heart.

Finally, there's Amy Rose, a maid in the Davenport's home who wants to be a business owner (think Madam C. J. Walker). She's saved for a spot in town to sell her wares, and, to her dismay, finds herself falling for John. She faces both a combination of misogyny and racism as a black woman trying to start a business, and class issues both for her business and in getting approval for her and John's relationship.

Their worlds fall apart towards the end of the book, and I can't wait for the sequel in the hopes things improve. The characters are great and engaging and I love them. My only main grievance is I hate that it falls into the corset trap or treating them like terrible torture devices. They're just bras. They just hold parts where they need to be. If anything, with all the things Helen does, she would need the support most.

i like the idea of this book-- a diverse romance set in the early 1900s, but it felt the tiniest bit bland to me. however, i still enjoyed it enough and will be looking forward to the second book.

Starting off strong, I love the idea of this book. I love the time period this is set in, I love it being set in Chicago, I love that this is focused on a wealthy black family instead of a white family that is stereotypical of the genre. It sounded like it was going to be a fresh breath of air for someone who has been heavily in the historical romance genre lately. The writing style on this is wonderful and I look forward to giving this book a second try in the future, but as a mood reader I put this down and moved on and I haven't had the urge to go back and pick this up at all. It was easy enough to read and I was enjoying it as I read it, but all four perspectives seemed to have very similar issues in their romance plots. I felt like I was just going in circles with each shift in perspective, but I know this may be a "me" issue because once a book goes over three perspectives, I lose interest quickly. I truly only enjoyed Amy-Rose's perspective because of the dream of opening her own business; it was at least something that made her stand out.

I truly enjoyed this story about a wealthy black family back in the gilded age. This book gave a bit of the historical fiction, but was more centered around the romance component, which was fine! I did appreciate the deviation from the typical white family, getting to see this side of history though another set of eyes. I really enjoyed this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this. I liked reading about black characters during this period of history. I hope we get more like this.

What a fantastic debut. The stories in The Davenports are so strong.
While I had some trouble following 4 different points of view, I did adore each character and their unique struggles. This is the kind of book that has a character for everyone to relate to.
I'm particularly drawn to Ruby's story and am so interested in reading about her future.
One thing to note when going into this book is that because it's about 4 different characters, the book feels like a lot of set up. However, that just means that the next book will be even more jam-packed, and I can't wait for it!

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the digital ARC.