What do you think?
Rate this book
The Jeweled Ladies #3
Her Ebony
Prickly and difficult, spinster schoolmarm Minerva Krenshaw hides behind her shabby dresses and sad bonnet. She’s used to being invisible—until Miss Ebony White catches her eye.
Abigail Whithall escaped an abusive apprenticeship and is saving all her money from working at the Jeweled Ladies for her own dress shop. But more than the latest styles, she needs respectability—and to learn how to read. She offers to sew new clothes for the most respectable Minerva in exchange for reading lessons. But their lessons go far beyond letters. Will Minerva give in to the passion Ebony promises—or will she go back on her word?
Abigail Whithall escaped an abusive apprenticeship and is saving all her money from working at the Jeweled Ladies for her own dress shop. But more than the latest styles, she needs respectability—and to learn how to read. She offers to sew new clothes for the most respectable Minerva in exchange for reading lessons. But their lessons go far beyond letters. Will Minerva give in to the passion Ebony promises—or will she go back on her word?
Unknown Binding
First published January 31, 2017
13 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Chase
13 books9 followersWho is Maggie Chase? Writer, reader, crafter—Maggie has told a lot of different stories a lot of different ways, but the Jeweled Ladies series marks her first foray into historical western erotica. Maggie passionately believe that every single person deserves their own happily-ever-after and her stories reflect that hope on the page.
When not writing as Maggie Chase, Sarah M. Anderson is an award-winning author who writes contemporary snarky and sensual romances featuring cowboys and bull riders as well as billionaires with and without babies. She won RT Reviewer's Choice 2012 Desire of the Year for A Man of Privilege. The Nanny Plan was a 2016 RITA® winner for Contemporary Romance: Short.
Sarah spends her days having conversations with imaginary cowboys and billionaires. Find out more at www.sarahmanderson.com and sign up for the new-release newsletter at http://bit.ly/sarahalerts.
When not writing as Maggie Chase, Sarah M. Anderson is an award-winning author who writes contemporary snarky and sensual romances featuring cowboys and bull riders as well as billionaires with and without babies. She won RT Reviewer's Choice 2012 Desire of the Year for A Man of Privilege. The Nanny Plan was a 2016 RITA® winner for Contemporary Romance: Short.
Sarah spends her days having conversations with imaginary cowboys and billionaires. Find out more at www.sarahmanderson.com and sign up for the new-release newsletter at http://bit.ly/sarahalerts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 22, 2017
Pleasantly surprised
I really loved this story. so sweet. i dont know what made me sceptical about it but i am so lad i read it. my only note is that minerva s refered to as miranda
I really loved this story. so sweet. i dont know what made me sceptical about it but i am so lad i read it. my only note is that minerva s refered to as miranda
May 23, 2017
I loved the premise of this book as it was an interesting story to tell. Two women who are attracted to the same sex in Texas in the 1860's is surely worth a scandal for one and the noose for the other especially being of different racial backgrounds.
Minerva is the prickly schoolteacher who is used to being in the background unnoticed by any of the townspeople and that is the way she liked it. If she had been discovered, would people be able to see her true desires? That is what she thought so she hid herself behind shapeless clothes and a bad attitude. Abigail is a Ebony treat at the infamous Jeweled Ladies (aka-whorehouse) where she goes to make a lot of money in a short amount of time so that she can open her dress shop. The only problem is, she can't read. The Madame sets up Abigail's and Minerva's fated meeting and the two hit it off. The only problem is that Minerva won't risk her reputation while Abigail doesn't live under any person's expectations besides her own. she lived the way others thought she should and ended up paying a price that she never should have had to pay.
The premise of the story was a good one, the story itself wasn't bad, but it was missing that "something" until the end when things were almost too late. There was some confusion of who was speaking when and there were a couple of times where the characters where switched around which made the story a bit difficult to read but I did like that the story was different. I am intrigued enough to continue to the series and I hope the writing continues to improve. :)
Minerva is the prickly schoolteacher who is used to being in the background unnoticed by any of the townspeople and that is the way she liked it. If she had been discovered, would people be able to see her true desires? That is what she thought so she hid herself behind shapeless clothes and a bad attitude. Abigail is a Ebony treat at the infamous Jeweled Ladies (aka-whorehouse) where she goes to make a lot of money in a short amount of time so that she can open her dress shop. The only problem is, she can't read. The Madame sets up Abigail's and Minerva's fated meeting and the two hit it off. The only problem is that Minerva won't risk her reputation while Abigail doesn't live under any person's expectations besides her own. she lived the way others thought she should and ended up paying a price that she never should have had to pay.
The premise of the story was a good one, the story itself wasn't bad, but it was missing that "something" until the end when things were almost too late. There was some confusion of who was speaking when and there were a couple of times where the characters where switched around which made the story a bit difficult to read but I did like that the story was different. I am intrigued enough to continue to the series and I hope the writing continues to improve. :)
August 24, 2021
"Her Ebony" (2017) by Maggie Chase is a unique historical western novel about the unlikely romance during the late 1800s between Ebony, a former Black slave-turn-prostitute with a gift for sewing, and Minerva, a sexually-repressed Caucasian teacher who teaches her to read. The story of how their relationship starts off tenuously then blossoms into something more is well-paced. There were times I became a little unsure which character was being described, but generally an enjoyable read. Solidly recommended.
May 15, 2017
Another great story
This is the second book in the Jeweled Ladies series that I have read and I can't wait to read the rest of the books.
This is the story of friendship, acceptance and love between the ex slave seamstress jewel and the prickly spinster schoolmistress. This is a relationship that has difficulties on both sides and as you read you find the warmth of the characters shining through.
Bring on the next book
This is the second book in the Jeweled Ladies series that I have read and I can't wait to read the rest of the books.
This is the story of friendship, acceptance and love between the ex slave seamstress jewel and the prickly spinster schoolmistress. This is a relationship that has difficulties on both sides and as you read you find the warmth of the characters shining through.
Bring on the next book
May 26, 2018
👍🏾
I really only read this because I needed an “easy” read and I’m surprised that I actually enjoyed it. I’m not going to read the series but I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a short intense romance.
I really only read this because I needed an “easy” read and I’m surprised that I actually enjoyed it. I’m not going to read the series but I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a short intense romance.
April 27, 2022
4.5
This is great!!!
This is great!!!
May 13, 2021
A lovely stand-alone book in The Jeweled Ladies series. I came to this book as a new reader and didn't feel at all lost, and there was just enough about some of the other characters that I was intrigued about the rest of the series. The character voices are distinct, and their personalities arise believable from what we know of their past. The chemistry between the two is obvious and the dressmaking sessions give a great buildup to physical intimacy between them. Physical and sexual abuse are referenced. It isn't given a ton of detail but it is clear what it entailed and Ebony still carries some of the physical scars and likely will all her life.
Abigail Whithall (Jewel name: Ebony White) is one of the famed Jeweled Ladies, prostitutes at the town brothel. Abigail/Ebony became a Jewel after leaving an apprenticeship with an abusive tailor. As a Jewel, Abigail is saving up her money to open up her own dressmaking shop further out west. A talented bilingual dressmaker, Abigail knows that she's lacking one important skill she'll need to open her own business and avoid being taken advantage of, reading. Under the tutelage of the local schoolmistress, Abigail starts dreaming of a future that includes love and romance as well as independence and respect.
Minerva is a school teacher who has resigned herself to being a spinster after fleeing New York for the Texas town of Brimstone. Minerva takes solace in her ability to go unnoticed, hoping no one picks up on the desires for other women she carries in her heart. That hope is dashed when Mistress, owner of the Jeweled Ladies brothel, asks her to teach Ebony White to read. Despite fearing what being caught teaching a prostitute might do to her reputation, Minerva takes the opportunity and soon finds herself falling for the talented, intelligent, and caring Abigail/Ebony.
Minerva's fear of attracting notice and being seeing as anything less than an exemplar of propriety provides much of the conflict.
Abigail Whithall (Jewel name: Ebony White) is one of the famed Jeweled Ladies, prostitutes at the town brothel. Abigail/Ebony became a Jewel after leaving an apprenticeship with an abusive tailor. As a Jewel, Abigail is saving up her money to open up her own dressmaking shop further out west. A talented bilingual dressmaker, Abigail knows that she's lacking one important skill she'll need to open her own business and avoid being taken advantage of, reading. Under the tutelage of the local schoolmistress, Abigail starts dreaming of a future that includes love and romance as well as independence and respect.
Minerva is a school teacher who has resigned herself to being a spinster after fleeing New York for the Texas town of Brimstone. Minerva takes solace in her ability to go unnoticed, hoping no one picks up on the desires for other women she carries in her heart. That hope is dashed when Mistress, owner of the Jeweled Ladies brothel, asks her to teach Ebony White to read. Despite fearing what being caught teaching a prostitute might do to her reputation, Minerva takes the opportunity and soon finds herself falling for the talented, intelligent, and caring Abigail/Ebony.
Minerva's fear of attracting notice and being seeing as anything less than an exemplar of propriety provides much of the conflict.
February 9, 2017
I like that this book tackled some unusual issues for a story set in the old west. An interracial, lesbian relationship is definitely something you don't see everyday in a typical western romance. But in the Jeweled Ladies series, everybody gets a happy ending, no matter what their circumstances. Just because the ladies are whores in the finest brothel in the west doesn't mean that the owner Mistress doesn't care about them and try to help them get what they want out of life. Sometimes that means training them to be the best whore in the business, and other times that means helping them move on from this life to get married or establish a business of their own.
Abigail Whithall wants to use her sewing skills to open up her own shop, but she needs to learn how to read to succeed. As a former slave, she's always wanted to be able to read so no one could take advantage of her again. Now known as Ebony and working at the Jeweled Ladies, she hopes Mistress will find someone to teach her to read. The only option seems to be the town's prim and proper schoolteacher Minerva Crenshaw. But she's so afraid of scandal, there's no way she would agree to teach a soiled dove like Abigail openly.
Minerva just wants to blend into the background and stay unnoticed. That way she can keep her job, live her life as a spinster, and never cause any scandal. She wears the plainest, ugliest dresses because she doesn't want to draw attention, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't love to be able to wear one of the lovely dresses Miss Ebony creates. When Mistress proposes a bargain—a new dress in exchange for secret reading lessons for Ebony—Minerva is tempted. And that's just the problem. She had vowed never to give in to temptation again!
Abigail Whithall wants to use her sewing skills to open up her own shop, but she needs to learn how to read to succeed. As a former slave, she's always wanted to be able to read so no one could take advantage of her again. Now known as Ebony and working at the Jeweled Ladies, she hopes Mistress will find someone to teach her to read. The only option seems to be the town's prim and proper schoolteacher Minerva Crenshaw. But she's so afraid of scandal, there's no way she would agree to teach a soiled dove like Abigail openly.
Minerva just wants to blend into the background and stay unnoticed. That way she can keep her job, live her life as a spinster, and never cause any scandal. She wears the plainest, ugliest dresses because she doesn't want to draw attention, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't love to be able to wear one of the lovely dresses Miss Ebony creates. When Mistress proposes a bargain—a new dress in exchange for secret reading lessons for Ebony—Minerva is tempted. And that's just the problem. She had vowed never to give in to temptation again!
May 19, 2017
There was nothing specifically *wrong* with this book, or its writing, or the editing. There was just nothing right about it either. Nothing new.
It was a historical romance set in the same fictional town as Their Emerald, in Brimstone just after slave trade had become illegal. That's particularly relevant in this addition to the series as one of its main characters, Abigail Whithall, is an ex-slave.
The second main character, and love interest, Miss Minerva Krenshaw, appears first in Their Emerald while sniffing down her nose at Emmy. I thought this was a really interesting idea, having a character like that fall for someone like Abigail but, sadly, the character progression just wasn't good enough to be believable.
While I loved Abigail, Minerva's personal plotline went too much from stern, disapproving school marm to person in love with another woman and back to the appearance of disapproving school marm before finishing at regret and apology. The problem with this, for me, was that not enough of the character's thoughts and self-warring was explored. We only saw most of this on the surface. Each time her character and actions changed, it was jarring.
Added to that, there was a section of the story in the middle of the book that was quite slow, despite the really sweet sex scenes between the ladies.
It was a historical romance set in the same fictional town as Their Emerald, in Brimstone just after slave trade had become illegal. That's particularly relevant in this addition to the series as one of its main characters, Abigail Whithall, is an ex-slave.
The second main character, and love interest, Miss Minerva Krenshaw, appears first in Their Emerald while sniffing down her nose at Emmy. I thought this was a really interesting idea, having a character like that fall for someone like Abigail but, sadly, the character progression just wasn't good enough to be believable.
While I loved Abigail, Minerva's personal plotline went too much from stern, disapproving school marm to person in love with another woman and back to the appearance of disapproving school marm before finishing at regret and apology. The problem with this, for me, was that not enough of the character's thoughts and self-warring was explored. We only saw most of this on the surface. Each time her character and actions changed, it was jarring.
Added to that, there was a section of the story in the middle of the book that was quite slow, despite the really sweet sex scenes between the ladies.
May 2, 2021
This book featured an unexpected romance that blossomed between the prickly schoolmarm and a soiled dove.
It was a fun, fluff-filled read. The mandatory romance book conflict was kinda odd, but I suppose, all romance books require some sort of a conflict that pulls lovers apart, and then by the final chapter, all is well again.
All right... on to book #4 in this series... :)
It was a fun, fluff-filled read. The mandatory romance book conflict was kinda odd, but I suppose, all romance books require some sort of a conflict that pulls lovers apart, and then by the final chapter, all is well again.
All right... on to book #4 in this series... :)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews