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nerdybookqueen's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Death and Death of parent
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
readingwithtrey's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
WOW!! I saw this book being raved about all over bookstagram when it was first released last year, and I immediately added it to my TBR shelf. I put off reading it for the longest time, but when I had the chance to sign up for a tour stop with Hear Our Voices, I had to take it. I'm so glad I finally read it, and I could kick myself for waiting so long. It was amazing!
The Davenports is inspired by the real life story of C.R. Patterson and his family and follows the wealthy and prestigious Davenport family in 1910 Chicago. The story is told from 4 point of views: Olivia, Helen, Amy-Rose, and Ruby. Each of the women are coming of age with their own struggles, desires, and goals while navigating familial and societal expectations. When we're first introduced to Olivia, we see that she is preparing to be married out of duty to her family. When she meets Washington DeWight, a civil rights leader, she begins to think that maybe her own desires for her life are different than what is expected of her. Helen, Olivia's sister, has never had much interest in marriage. Instead, she'd rather spend her time working on carriages and automobiles in her brother's shop. Amy-Rose works as a maid for the Davenport family but dreams of opening her own hair shop to showcase her natural hair products. And then we have Ruby whose father is running for mayor and has turned her life upside down.
I enjoyed every story line, but I have to say my favorites were Olivia and Amy-Rose. I loved how once Olivia was made away of the civil rights movement, she felt led to do more to help. And Amy-Rose's story was incredibly inspiring. I was rooting for her the entire time. I won't say who it involved to not spoil anything, but the budding romance between Amy-Rose and her love interest was also so sweet.
I will say, I had no idea this ended on a major cliffhanger. I will definitely be counting down the days until November when the next book is released. This time I won't wait a year to read it!
The Davenports is inspired by the real life story of C.R. Patterson and his family and follows the wealthy and prestigious Davenport family in 1910 Chicago. The story is told from 4 point of views: Olivia, Helen, Amy-Rose, and Ruby. Each of the women are coming of age with their own struggles, desires, and goals while navigating familial and societal expectations. When we're first introduced to Olivia, we see that she is preparing to be married out of duty to her family. When she meets Washington DeWight, a civil rights leader, she begins to think that maybe her own desires for her life are different than what is expected of her. Helen, Olivia's sister, has never had much interest in marriage. Instead, she'd rather spend her time working on carriages and automobiles in her brother's shop. Amy-Rose works as a maid for the Davenport family but dreams of opening her own hair shop to showcase her natural hair products. And then we have Ruby whose father is running for mayor and has turned her life upside down.
I enjoyed every story line, but I have to say my favorites were Olivia and Amy-Rose. I loved how once Olivia was made away of the civil rights movement, she felt led to do more to help. And Amy-Rose's story was incredibly inspiring. I was rooting for her the entire time. I won't say who it involved to not spoil anything, but the budding romance between Amy-Rose and her love interest was also so sweet.
I will say, I had no idea this ended on a major cliffhanger. I will definitely be counting down the days until November when the next book is released. This time I won't wait a year to read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Police brutality
brebooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Such a cool way to tap into lost black history.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Police brutality
juvball3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Slow to start and took a while to get into but once I did it was a breeze
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Violence and Police brutality
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
medini_l's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Classism
filmnoirz's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
loved this so so so much. i love stories of Black resilience and success, especially when it goes beyond (albeit not as much as i would’ve liked) the capitalist view of what that is. the romance was so compelling and I loved almost all of the characters. there was no one I rooted for more than olivia and amy-rose (my girls!!!). I didn’t love the ending but I respect it, and like how the author left it kind of open ended.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, and Death of parent
cathannahs's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The first half was super compelling, and then it fell off for me around halfway. There were sections when I felt like I had missed a chapter because things would be brought up like “a letter” that hadn’t been referenced before. The ending was abrupt. It kind of feels like a second draft, not a final one. This is this authors first book though, and this is supposed to be a trilogy, so I hope it improves from here!
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery and Police brutality
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Discovering that this is the first in a duology instantly made me 82% more satisfied with the parts of the story we're given here. I definitely would've liked the last scene so much better if I had known — having all of the Davenport siblings together at one table is something I was hoping for throughout the entire book and when it finally happened I couldn't properly enjoy it because I kept thinking "wait, there's not nearly enough book left to resolve any of this!" So... keep in mind that this is only the first half of the story and you'll be much more likely to enjoy this fascinating historical about a wealthy Black family in Chicago in the early 1900s and the lives, moments, and movements that intersect with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery