Los Davenport 2. Más allá de los sueños

The Davenports #2

by Krystal Marquis, Aida Candelario (translator)

Like the blazing Chicago sun, the drama is heating up for the Davenports and their social set. Before the summer of 1910 drops its last petal, the lives—and loves—of these four young women will change in ways they never could have imagined:

Newly engaged Ruby Tremaine is eagerly planning her wedding to the love of her life when a nasty rumor threatens her reputation and her marriage. Olivia Davenport has committed to the social justice cause and secretly hopes she’ll be reunited with dashing lawyer Washington DeWight—until her parents decide she’s to marry someone else. Amy-Rose Shepherd is making her lifelong wish of owning a salon come true, but when an incident forces her to return to Freeport Manor, she’s back in the path of John Davenport, who still holds her heart. Helen Davenport is determined to get over her own heartbreak and bring the Davenport Carriage Company into the new century, even if it means teaming up with a thrill-seeking racecar driver who just loves to get under her skin.

Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, More Than This is the second book in the critically adored Davenports series, following four empowered and passionate young Black women as they navigate a rapidly changing society and discover the courage to steer their own paths in life—and love.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, Audiobook, Historical Romance

504 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2024

About the author

Krystal Marquis happily spends most of her time in libraries and used bookstores. She studied biology at Boston College and University of Connecticut and now works as an environmental, health, and safety manager for an online retailer. A lifelong reader, Krystal began researching and writing on a dare to complete the NaNoWriMo Challenge, resulting in the first partial draft of The Davenports. When not writing or planning trips to the Book Barn to discover her next favorite romance, Krystal enjoys hiking, expanding her shoe collection, and plotting ways to create her own Jurassic Park.

Reviews

[Yusra ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭐︎ (4/5)


*⁀➷ review

(mild spoilers!)

Coming in from book one (one of my absolute favorite books), I was super excited. Book one ended in a terrible way and I couldn’t wait to see where all their stories go. Little did I know, my heart will get shattered. Let’s break it down.



The Writing: a disappointment. I’m genuinely shocked that it’s written by the same author. It just seemed so….lazy. As if a lot of effort wasn’t put into it. So many important things were being skipped, particularly for Helen and Olivia’s chapters. There was barely any depth to it all and it was really sad to read tbh, considering how great the first book was.



The Characters/Couples:

Amy Rose and John: Amy Rose and John were the only well and properly written couple in this book. Every other couple’s story was so terribly written but theirs? Ugh amazing. After complaining so much about this book, the reason I’m rating it as high as I am is because of these two gems. After their heartbreak at the end of book one, you see their growth. While they were cute in book one, they were kind of a basic “royalty x commoner” trope but this time, it was different. She worked hard and built her dream for herself. A salon for Black women to properly take care of their hair and embrace their curls without having to have the White people dictate how they do their hair. She didn’t do it for any man and didn’t need any mans help, she worked for herself and it paid off. John grew as a person and learned that in order to deserve her, he needs to prove it and he did just that without pressuring her and helping her do her own thing while helping on the sidelines whenever she needed him. Also, the family time that Amy Rose has been having with his family?? Omg it was so cute, she’s like the third daughter lol it was adorableeeee. John also grew SO MUCH and he really showed his true character and the real man he is underneath everything.


Ruby and Harrison: So I’m honestly shocked. I actually liked Ruby in this book! She grew SO MUCH as a person from book one. But the thing is….after she got a lot better towards the beginning, that was it. Her character stayed in the place she’s in and minus the tiny Carter and his sister Odette drama, her chapters were kinda boring. I still love Harrison as usual, he’s still so cute and sweet.

Olivia: Screw. Her. I tried my HARDEST not to hate her in this book but omgggg she’s such a brat. What happened to the passionate, strong willed Olivia in book 1? Now that Washington’s gone, she starts falling for Everett Stone, who by the way, isn’t a bad guy AT ALL but he’s not Washington! When Washington returns, she’s happy and reconnects with him, but just can’t pick between him and Stone because to her, she “has feelings for them both”. Idk why she changed from willing to travel the world with Washington to “noo I wanna stay comfortable”. What happened to all her growth?? I’m sorry to use this word, but I have to say it. Olivia is a ho€. And the ending GRRRR. This author freaking has Olivia break Washington's heart and not even show us how. It’s just from Olivia’s memory! After the epic love story in book two, don’t you think we deserve to at least witness her breaking our man's heart? Ughhh I was so mad.


Helen: okay so her story was….okay. I love Helen sm and nothing changed at all, she's still as amazing as ever, but they did her dirty. Like the way everything was rushed, but the ending was cute. I think since all the focus was put John and Amy Rose, they didn’t have any space left for Helen (or anyone for that matter). But I really love her and I lowk wanted her to end up with Ransom Swift bc I do NOT like Jacob Lawrence anymore, he’s just…no. Although I am glad she’s happy, it was way too rushed. I did like her relationship with Swift though, like siblings by the end.



To Conclude…

The ending really pissed me off and I still can’t get over it, but the four star rating is for Amy-Rose, John, Helen, Ruby, and Harrison. My love Washington has been let down and I do NOT stand for it. Olivia can freak off somewhere smh. Butttt I didn’t like this as much as book one and the ending broke my heart! The best part of this was buddy reading this with Sarah the Amazing, it was sm fun to discuss/rant/laugh all this with her and ilhsm. <33



*⁀➷ post read: I’m so angry. I’m so so so angry and I’m about to cry idk what to do with myself. I’m literally gonna break down crying. The review will most likely come in the morning but my stomach literally hurts from how mad I am.


*⁀➷ pre read: HKGHSDUGHIATOGOE;EIAG I'M SO EXCITEDDDD

buddy reading this w one of my absolute favorite people, @sarah! words can't even describe how excited i am for this you guys i feel like jumping up and down for joy (OLIVA AND WASHINGTON BETTER HAVE THE ENDING I'M HOPING FOR 😭😭)

[amarachireads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good and I thought it was a nice continuation with each character, what they wanted in life, and the romance they started with in the last book. It was wrapped up pretty nicely so I wonder if this is the end of the Davenports. Amy Rose is continuing with her dream of running a successful business and being with John Davenport despite her social status. Ruby is planning her wedding but her dad loses the mayoral election and a rumor threatens her marriage. Olivia is still involved in social justice but is waiting and hoping to be reunited with Washington. Helen gets into it with a race car driver while trying to be a woman working in her dad's carriage business.

There are a lot of povs and my biggest mini complaint is that I wanted each book to focus on either one or two of the fmc's just so that we could spend more time with the characters and there would be more development. That did not happen so the pacing was affected and there was a lot of miscommunication. I did enjoy seeing these black characters navigate wealth, romance, social justice, status, and race issues in this affluent world in the 1920's. I enjoyed some povs more than others but that's okay, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes diverse historical ya fiction and romance. Thanks to the publisher for this arc.

3.25/5

[McKenzie (taken&#x1f92d;)]

Pre read

I CANNOT WAITTTT I HAVE SUCH HIGH EXPECTATIONS!!! This is my second most anticipated read!!! Please let Amy-Rose have a good ending😩

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

ARC Review

Before I get into my thoughts about this book, I need to take a minute to obsess over its book cover. I mean, seriously. HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS PURPLE COVER?!?! Book #1 has the most GORGEOUS yellow cover alive. When I first got my hands on Book #1, I spent about 10 minutes just admiring its cover and every single time I went to pick up Book #1, I spent about 2 minutes starting at the cover all over again before it was time to jump back into the story. That is just how much I truly loved Book #1’s cover. And now, here we sit with Book #2 sporting a GORGEOUS pastel purple book cover. Ooohmgee!!! While purple isn’t my favorite color, I did spend about 4 minutes staring at this cover before I allowed myself to be swept away in what Book #2 had to offer. If there is another book in this series, I vote for its book cover to be either pastel pink or pastel blue .

And that I’ve gotten my obsession over these book covers out the way, it is time for me to make room for my thoughts.

Originally, I DNF’d this book earlier in the year for two reasons:

(1) I forgot majority of the events that took place in Book #1 causing me to spend the first 15-20% of this book feeling lost and disconnected.

(2) The parents of this series are driving me crazy. No. Seriously. The Davenport parents and The Tremaine parents treat their children like pawns in a chess game. They talk to them like they aren’t people and allow members of society to talk about their children like they are horrible human beings. And don’t get me started on the rumors. As soon as a rumor hits, the parents believe the rumor more than they believe their own children (The Tremaines especially). This is both sad and quite annoying.

It is because of these two reasons, I just couldn’t muster up the energy to give this book the opportunity and attention that it deserved the first time around. And while these two reasons are still relevant, it wasn’t that long, after the DNF, that I found myself thinking about this book and its entirety as well as and the four FMCs: (a) Olivia Davenport; (b) Helen Davenport; (C) Amy-Rose Shepherd; and (d) Ruby Tremaine. Add the fact that I spent this summer falling in love with the HBO Original Series: The Gilded Age, especially Peggie and her entire life, and I just knew that I had to return to this book and give it the correct headspace that it deserved from me.

As I previous mentioned, I spent the first 15-20% of this book a little lost and disconnected from all four FMC’s POVs. The one thing that sets this series apart from other book series is that: ONE CANNOT TRULY READ THIS BOOK WITHOUT REREADING BOOK #1, especially if there has been a long time gap between finishing Book #1 and starting Book #2. The Davenports Series, as whole, is not as memorable as it should be. And because I loved Book #1 until several of its final chapters, I wasn’t in the mood the reread the book. Which is the other downside of this series: ONE HAS TO BE IN THE MOOD TO READ THIS SERIES AS A WHOLE. As someone who just recently got into the mood (a year and several months later), I can be certain that Book #2, let alone this entire series, will only hold a reader’s attention if they are in the mood for: (a) Romance; (b) Historical Fiction; (c) Well Written Drama; (d) Parents Who Will Get On Your Nerves; and (e) A Happily Ever After. If none of these topics pique your interest then your desire to read this book as well as Book #1 will either be short lived or nonexistent. No. Honestly, this series will not grab and hold a lot of people’s attention and that sucks to say because THE BOOK COVERS ARE JUST SO AMAZING!!!

As I sit here and think about this series as a whole, Book #1 is more entertaining and well written than Book #2. See, Book #2 suffers from “Second Book Syndrome.” It contains 40 chapters that are (a) hard to follow at times and (b) only expand the storylines that took place in Book # 1 on a surface level. There is hardly any character growth among the Four FMCs. New characters were added but did nothing to spice things up. Add the fact that 2 (Helen Davenport & Ruby Tremaine) of the 4 POvs are really annoying. Truthfully, Book #2 appears to be nothing more than 40 chapters of MISCOMMUNICATION!!! And I was left feeling very unsatisfied by this book as a whole. Parts of me might be glad that I returned to this book just find out how it ended but there is a huge part that hopes Book #2 is the finale. If Book #3 somehow gets written and published, I am going to have to think long and hard about picking it up. More Than This: The Davenports was entertaining enough to get me out the my reading slump but, as of right now, I do not have the desire to ever reread this series or purchase it from any bookstore.

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Books for granting my request of an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!

[Laurenlovesstories · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Krystal Marquis for the advanced readers copy!

This took me back to how I felt while reading the first book, the beginning was slow but some parts were enjoyable. I always give a book the first 100 pages to reel me in. Once I hit chapter 14, I felt the story picked up from Helen's quest to roll out motorcades, Ruby's stalled nuptials, Amy-Rose's time in New York, and Olivia's connection with Mr. Stone. What I enjoyed was the introduction to new characters in this book, the girls need a shake-up that I wasn't expecting. Ruby and Helen needed their worlds to be shaken!

The Davenports: More Than This rings true. They are more than getting prepared for marriage. It shines the light on young black women having the opportunity to do the things they enjoy, I've always loved Helen’s and Amy-Rose's characters because they've always known the passion that fuels them. Having a man who allows you to be who you are to your core is a bonus for them. As for Olivia and Ruby, they know what it's like to be a woman in society, and the challenges that with it, and understand how to navigate society.
This is more than just romance, it’s becoming a woman, stepping into it, self-discovery, and breaking the mold. I truly enjoyed how each of them found their voice in the way that it was meant to be. I’m sad that it’s ending!

[Nia Phalange · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Amy Rose’s point of view was definitely my favorite. She deserved everything she received and then some.

I just don’t like Ruby’s pov. I found myself either bored or irritated during each of her chapters. How could she be so naive?! But I have to remind myself this was set in 1910.

Helen’s pov is always nice. I’m glad she got her happy ending

I HATED THE END OF OLIVIA’S POV!! 🤬🤬

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great conclusion to the first book with the Davenports! Although the author did seem to stretch this plot out a bit much, but that's alright. I really loved the ending to Helen and Amy-Rose's stories! I was rooting for Amy-Rose the most throughout the both books! If the author does decide to write another book in the series, I would read it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Lit_Vibrations · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special thanks to the author & @penguinteen for my gifted copy‼️

Picking up where book 1 left off The Davenports are back and standing on business. I know I’m not the only one who noticed how the tension with the parents eased up a lot in this one. The author also picked the perfect title for it “More Than This.” All of the characters wanted more than what their lives and parents were currently offering. They wanted more than what the standards set by their reputations and wealth would force them to become.

Olivia still on her journey for political power and pursing a secret relationship her parents weren’t aware of. Helen who is still my favorite character she’s fierce, determined, and rebellious all for the sake of independence and keeping her hands in the family business. If “You can’t tell me what to do” was a person it would be her. Ruby and her family are dealing with rumors that could ruin her father’s future as mayor. We see Amy-Rose boss up owning her own salon and John well he’s still being his swoony self like before.

There’s still a strong connection with the characters and we’re given multiple POVs same as before but I felt something was missing. Or maybe I wasn’t as engaged with it. But I did love how the author tied up all the loose ends providing closure with all the characters. We finally see everything they’ve worked towards become reality.

Overall, book 2 was decent we’re introduced to some new characters and see the return of a few old characters from book 1. We get some family drama and relationship drama that will leave both Helen and Olivia torn between the two. If you’re a fan of YA or historical fiction add this to your TBR.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really nice to see the Davenport women and her friends again, to watch their growth and how they found what they want from life. It was a bit slow at times for me, but if you're looking for a solid, character-driven story with strong and lovely heroines and sloooow-burn romance, you can't go wrong with this series!

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Darriona]

Something isn’t clicking for me right now. I may revisit

[⚭ Sarah (سارة) ⚭ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-review: This book was a ROLLERCOASTER.

Rtc when Yusra and I discuss these crazy events!!



4 Stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

-ˋˏ ༻❁A little review❁༺ ˎˊ-

“Around her was the support of true friends, before her the love of her life, and beyond this, the freedom to chase her own dreams.”

THIS BOOK HAD NO BUSINESS DOING WHAT IT DID.

Things I liked:

HELEN. She is literally me; I could spend hours putting things together mechanically and testing them. If Helen and I met, I'm sure we'd be best friends.

AMY-ROSE AND JOHN. They are undeniably one of the most adorable couples I've read about. They had a lot to get through but they got through it in the end, and the slow burn and cuteness was overflowing!

WASHINGTON DEWIGHT. @yusra I am completely positive that he is one of the best (or simply the best) book bfs. He's just perfect and deserves everything (OLIVIA I’M LOOKING AT YOU).

RUBY AND HARRISON. I could never hate them.

Things I wasn't sure about:

THE ENDING. The only romance that wasn't rushed seemed to be Amy-Rose and John’s. Maybe Ruby and Harrison’s was close behind, but Helen and Olivia had endings that were so rushed I almost didn't even realize they existed 😭😭. And Olivia’s ending wasn't even the ending I hoped for 😔

Jacob Lawrence?? For some weird reason, I don't like him anymore 😭😭. I don't even know why.

Olivia’s new love triangle. JUST PICK WASHINGTON. IT’S NOT THAT HARD.

There better be a book after this to sort everything out 😭😭😭 but this was such a fun buddy read with Yusra — I hope we do it again!!

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

This ebook was made available for me to read and review by Krystal Marquis, Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley.

I read and adored the first novel in this series. I've been eagerly awaiting this second novel.
This starts mere weeks after the action at the end of the first novel. So the engaged couple from book 1 is involved in engagement activities. Of course further complications arise. The other love interests are off on other quests. Adding to feeling of frustration is typical romance tropes of which the exact same trope impacts 2 of the remaining couples at the same time. This trope then lasts too long. The story seems to go in a different direction and then circle back around in truly frustrating ways. Instead of escalating tension, as a reader I was left with escalating frustration. The pacing of this novel feels slower than necessary.

I will definitely read another novel by this author but for me this was a bit of a stumble.

Thank you to Krystal Marquis, Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ebook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

[Lakisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 a few points 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... but 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.

[Camryn O'Conner]

Oh need this expeditiously

[amyvdgbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedankt Zomer & Keuning dat ik mag deelnemen aan de blogtour van De moedige miljonairszussen (Davenports 2) van Krystal Marquis.

Net als in het eerste deel vond ik de hoofdpersonages erg sterk neergezet. Door de verschillende tijdlijnen merk je dat elk van de vier vrouwen een eigen stem, karakter en verhaal heeft. Hun groei was prachtig om te volgen.

Daarnaast staat ook de band tussen de meisjes centraal: soms geven ze elkaar steun en raad, soms botsen hun dromen en keuzes. Wat hen verbindt, is dat ze allemaal op hun eigen manier een plaats proberen te vinden in een maatschappij die nog vol verwachtingen en ongelijkheid zit. Ik vond het erg leuk om te zien hoe hun onderlinge band hen door deze uitdagingen heen helpt.

De thema’s klasse, gender en huidskleur spelen een belangrijke rol, en ik vind het heel sterk hoe dit in het verhaal verweven is. Alleen daarvoor zou ik het boek al aanraden.

Het verhaal had voor mij wel een traag begin, maar eenmaal ik erin zat, kon ik het moeilijk wegleggen. Sommige gebeurtenissen vonden naar mijn gevoel wat te veel off screen plaats, waardoor ik niet altijd volledig mee was. Ook zaten er enkele herhalingen en misverstanden in die iets langer duurden dan nodig.

Toch raad ik dit boek zeker aan. Het is een mooie afsluiting van het verhaal, met overtuigende personages en een goede balans tussen romantiek, ambitie en historische context.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Davenports is an amazingly special series. We follow four Black female protagonists who are friends and live in Chicago in the 1910s. All four of the FMCs feel distinct from one another and their voices are really clear. I enjoyed reading from all four of their perspectives and the POV changes kept the story moving.

The plot progression from book 1 to book 2 was natural and I was very intrigued by what was going on with each character. I LOVED how each FMC had multiple love interests. Like yesssss figure out your options! But I also loved that the romance wasn't my focus because each character had an engaging plot on her own that I was very invested in.

This book tied up loose ends nicely, but I wouldn't be mad at a book 3!

For fans of Queen Bee by Amalie Howard, and the Bridgerton series-but make it YA!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

[Katia Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5- again a sequel I liked more than the first book. Very much a fluffy light read but so good (and bad) to distract from studying

[Laylah Marie, Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now playing » [I Choose- Alessia Cara] «
0:58 ─〇───── -2:39
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

Once again, Krystal Marquis has orchestrated a MASTERPIECE. We love you Ms. Krystal!

🧱🛠️THE BASICS🛠️🧱
This book picks up EXACTLY where The Davenports left off. I honestly can say more than that without spoiling🤷🏾‍♀️

🤔💭MY INITIAL THOUGHTS💭🤔
This book was beautiful! It showcased black love beautifully. And in ALL forms. Not only that, but it shows just how much power women can have. This book was everything and more

✍🏾❤️OLIVIA❤️✍🏾
Olivia was empowering as always. Even WITHOUT Washington she carried on and she proved she could do and be more without him and I LOVED it. She let him open the door but at the end if the day, SHE marched through then. I WILL say, Mr. Stone is my fave. Don’t get me wrong, Washington is great, but Mr. Stone just beat him.

♦️💍✒️RUBY✒️💍♦️
Ruby is always one of my favorites. She lives out loud with no apologies and I love bc that’s SOOO me. And I get that, for her, she was a bit ahead of her time so her personality wasn’t always considered “acceptable” but she never let that stopped her. She preferred to be happy rather than anyone elses expectations and there’s power in that. I LOVED how she never stood for disrespect even when it wasn’t totally considered acceptable to clap back. But that never stopped her and she’s a real one for that (she’d fit in with this century perfectly tho)

🌹🎀🪮AMY ROSE 🪮🎀🌹
Amy rose is always a real one. She determined and focused and even tho he heart was constantly in turmoil she never let it stop her from her dreams and that’s simply beautiful. What’s beautiful still is her dynamic with John(John’s my man every time, all the time. JOHN DAVENPORT IS 🔛🔝) Their love is so sweet and pure and even tho Helen was right and Amy Rose was standing in her own way half the time, they STILL were able to make it work. And anyone who dreams as big as her (aka me) should take notes on her willpower.

🔧🚗🥽HELEN🥽🏎️🔧
Listen. Helen’s theme song is Bad Reputation by Joan Jett bc she literally DIDNT. CARE. And that is SOOO real. When you get to a certain point your just beyond caring and now your forced to be your real self and I loved that. As a person who’s been to that point and lives there, it’s so freeing not caring what people think about you or how you move so I could connect to that on a pure level. I will ALSO say that the way she handled Mr. Lawrence is EXACTLY (and I mean, MOVE👏🏾FOR👏🏾MOVE👏🏾) how I would have handled that. And how I CONTINUE to handle Exs that ended on horrible terms.

All in all, this book REALLY felt like Krystal put all of my sides of myself on display and analyzed them and showed me how to go about them and I loved it. Krystal is a master story teller and we love her!

[Sha Sha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group, and Krystal Marquis for the eARC.
The Davenports More Than This(Uncorrected Proof), the sequel to The Davenports.

Initially it took me a very long time to really get into the book. Like the first book it was a slow start but maybe a little slower than I had liked. I enjoyed reading this book. A continuation from the previous book telling the story of each of the 4 different young women: Amy-Rose, Olivia, Helen and Ruby. My favorite of them all was Amy-Rose. Everyone had a win in the end. Whether small or big. I connected with these characters more in this book than the first. The romance. The drama(not a lot lol). The business ventures and aspirations. Definitely would recommend.

[Himali Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this one. I just felt like it dragged on and was kind of boring. It was nice seeing some of the characters again at times but k was very uninterested and could have skipped. Meh.

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in early 20th century Chicago, this continues the Davenports saga following four young Black women who are ambitious and determined to make change despite the limitations generally accorded to their sex and race. Great on audio narrated by Joniece Aboott-Pratt and perfect for fans of figures like Ida B. Wells. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

[Chyanne Diaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being that this was the second book from the series, it was familiar to me. It took a while to get back into the groove since I read the first one months ago, but once I did, I enjoyed every second of it. It was nice to see everyone get their happy endings.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. Nice to see how all the characters story concluded but at points in the book it felt like the story was dragging.

[Kate Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book about 10 minutes ago. I loved the entire thing!!! I was so nervous about how everything would turn out, but it was absolutely fantastic. The amount of times I would be reading this in math (sorry not sorry Mrs. Kirk) and would just have to suppress a squeal was insane. I loved this book just as much as the first one, and I'm so grateful to have read it! Please read this book!! But read the first one first of course haha. I'm so pleased with how this one worked out! If this is only a two book series, I think it might be my most favorite two book series I have ever read. Wonderful job!!!!!!!

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Period-typical racism, misogyny & classism
Slavery mentioned
Sexual harassment
Police brutality

[sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice closure from the first book. overall, the plot was much slower.

[Ashley]

The second in a duology, this story continues with four young women who are seeking love and their place in the world. I enjoyed all the main characters and was glad to see their happily ever afters, but there were about 50-100 pages that dragged on and felt unnecessary, a few too many twists. If one more character didn’t read a letter that would have clarified their problems I would have just put it down.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay!!! 🥰

I loved this finale of The Davenports. My review for it is “YAY!” because I was so happy with the conclusion of these amazing women’s stories.

[Naomi Merlain · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt dragged out and the plots of the romances were all over the place and underdeveloped. I saw the girls with their men less this book!

I didnt enjoy this as much as I would have hoped