Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Indigo

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

angelicav95's review

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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overflowingshelf's review against another edition

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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? No

5.0

CW: Slavery; racial slurs; racism; kidnapping; physical assualt; physical abuse; cheating (not the main couple); slut shaming; death; hate crimes; violence; verbal abuse; pregnancy; death of animal/killing of animal; gun violence

Wow. I 100% understand why so many people recommend Indigo as an excellent introduction to Beverly Jenkins. This book is utterly fantastic. I’m obsessed with everything about it, from the characters to the romance and history. It’s the perfect historical romance.

Now, I read this back in December 2023, but I’m only now getting around to reviewing it in June 2024. But even six months later, this book continues to stand out in my mind.

First off, the romance! Oh my god, I am OBSESSED with the romance. It has some of the BEST teasing banter I’ve read in a long while. And the chemistry between Hester and Galen – it could set the pages aflame! But I also love how Jenkins teases out their romance, as it takes months for them to actually get together! Galen is so freaking SMITTEN – we love a man who falls first and gets turned inside out by a woman. He works so hard to woo Hester, who is determined not to fall in love, especially not with him. It’s the perfect push and pull between them. I also love how sweet and playful parts of their relationship were. I was utterly mush during the mud pies scene and had the biggest grin on my face watching these two just have fun and relish being with each other. And there is also so much passion and love between them. Truly, no one celebrates Black love with the most swoon-worthy stories quite like Beverly Jenkins.

This book also has so many tropes that I adore. Hester and Galen’s relationship starts out with her nursing him back to health while he’s going by his secret identity of Black Daniel. That sets up their relationship so well, and it highlights both their personalities to a tee. He’s such an enigma with so many layers to him, and she’s so practical, independent, and selfless. If you’re a fan of romances with class differences, this book will also be your jam! Galen is like wealthy wealthy and comes from a well-respected family in New Orleans. Meanwhile, Hester is the daughter of slaves who gained freedom when she was a child, though she is fairly well-off thanks to her family owning land in Michigan. The class difference definitely presents an obstacle (mainly for Hester) in their relationship but also leads to fun scenarios like him gifting her a gorgeous gown to wear at a ball he’s holding.

There are so many things to love about Beverly Jenkins’ writing, and her characters always stand out. I adore that she includes such a diverse and wide range of Black characters to show that, yes, there were successful Black men and women in the United States in the 1800s and that not everyone was a slave.

I adored Hester as soon as we met her. She’s incredibly independent and practical, almost to a fault, as she doesn’t want to lean on others for support and doesn’t like that others want to help. This makes her stubborn but in the best way. Hester’s also got the biggest heart. She’s incredibly selfless and brave, playing an incredibly important role on the Underground Railroad that puts her own safety and freedom at risk. As a former slave, she’s dedicated to the cause of abolition and helping others gain their freedom. Unfortunately, she also has a warped perception of love as her father sold himself into slavery to be with her mother because he loved her so much. To her, love causes misery and pain. That really shapes her as a person and causes her to keep others at arm’s length.

Enter Galen. This man is arrogant, wealthy, charismatic, cocky, protective and mustached. I. Love. Him. Galen, aka the Black Daniel, is so nuanced and not what I expected. There is truly so much more to him than meets the eye. Despite his privilege (did I mention he was WEALTHY), he’s just as devoted to the cause of abolition and helping others reach freedom as Hester is. As Black Daniel, he puts his own freedom and life on the line so that those he helps ferry from the South can escape. But when you see him as Galen Vachon, you would never expect that. As I mentioned earlier, Galen is also absolutely, head over heels, smitten with Hester. It’s adorable. The way he nicknames her Indigo and then literally finds every opportunity to incorporate that color into his clothing, carriage, and home – it’s too cute! He also has a protective streak and feels a bit like an alpha main male character but in the best way. It’s not too overbearing, but just right. Being charismatic and saying the most swoon-worthy things also helps a lot. I was genuinely obsessed with him!

Another stand-out in this book is how Beverly Jenkins seamlessly weaves in historical details and builds her stories around what they conveniently forget to teach you in U.S. history class. The way she incorporates those details feels so natural to the story, and you always walk away from a Beverly Jenkins book learning something new.

Now, I did go into the book pretty blind regarding the plot, and wow, this didn’t go where I thought it would go, but it was still so enjoyable! There was a little mystery woven in related to who was working with the heinous slave catchers that I enjoyed. It led to some high drama and high stress in the last few chapters. I was on the edge of my seat and on an emotional rollercoaster, wondering how everything was going to be wrapped up with a happily ever after. But Jenkins wraps it up beautifully, and I may have shed a few happy tears by the end.

I went into Indigo worried that there was no way it could live up to the hype, but by golly, it did. This book was everything. It’s truly a masterful historical romance that I have been and will continue to recommend to everyone. This is the second book I’ve read by Beverly Jenkins, but I know it won’t be the last. I have a list of so many other titles I want to explore by her, as she’s quickly become a new favorite author!

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toffishay's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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

3.75

I really loved this romance, I mean I read it all in a day! Hester, or as Galen calls her Indigo, is an amazing main character. She is strong and funny and kind! I love the relationship that she develops with Galen. Even though Galen is arrogant, I found him very lovable. It is certainly a romance of its time, and Galen can be a little hard to connect to at times because he can steamroll others at times. But overall, I really enjoyed this story. As a Black woman from Michigan, I also really appreciate the real history about Black life in the mid-late 1800s, the role that Michigan played in the Underground Railroad, and a slice of the political and social landscape at that time. I believe that fiction can be a great way to learn and Beverly Jenkins always does an awesome job balancing education with romance. It was all a piece of life at that time and books like this are an important part of telling that history and keeping it alive.

Content Warnings