The Davenports

Books | Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Historical

4.3

(102)

Krystal Marquis

*Instant New York Times Bestseller*The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked."The perfect read for fans of escapist historical fiction.” —NBC’s TODAYThe Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now it's 1910, and the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love—even where they’re not supposed to.There is Olivia, the beautiful elder Davenport daughter, ready to do her duty by getting married . . . until she meets the charismatic civil rights leader Washington DeWight and sparks fly. The younger daughter, Helen, is more interested in fixing cars than falling in love—unless it’s with her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose, the childhood friend turned maid to the Davenport sisters, dreams of opening her own business—and marrying the one man she could never be with, Olivia and Helen’s brother, John. But Olivia’s best friend, Ruby, also has her sights set on John Davenport, though she can’t seem to keep his interest . . . until family pressure has her scheming to win his heart, just as someone else wins hers.Inspired by the real-life story of the Patterson family, The Davenports is the tale of four determined and passionate young Black women discovering the courage to steer their own path in life—and love."The Davenports has it all: romance, heartbreak, courage." —Ebony"A fresh, utterly enchanting read.” —Ayana Gray, New York Times bestselling author of the Beasts of Prey trilogy"Deftly written . . . A dazzling debut." —Kirkus (starred review)"Stunningly wrought . . . Presents a cast of take-charge women." —PW (starred review)"It has the compulsive readability of Gossip Girl." —Booklist (starred review)"Compelling . . . distinct and satisfying." —BCCB "Skilled . . . Well-written . . . Sure to please." —SLJ"If this whole series existed right now, I’d tear through it to the exclusion of everything else in my life." —Teen Librarian Toolbox

Romance

Historical Fiction

Teen Romance

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More Details:

Author

Krystal Marquis

Pages

384

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

2023-01-31

ISBN

0593463358 9780593463352

Community ReviewsSee all

"Full review on YT @bookdnbrewd"

Z G

Zariah Grant

"The ya version of bridgerton. Loved "

Brittney McCord

"This felt like the kind of book that I would love- it had high society, romantic drama, historical fiction, with a diverse cast. But this wasn’t my favorite. There was too much going on- I had trouble keeping track of what was happening after the first three or so chapters. Plus, it just felt like every 10 or so chapters just led up to another ball or party scene. And I find that this is best to read with some historical context. I did find that the story’s ending wrapped up everything nicely for the characters, and the cover is lovely. This was a novel that fell short, but fans of prestigious settings and romantic drama and those looking for highly diverse YA might want to still check this one out."

Isabella Quinn

"For the most part I liked it, however, there was too much going on for most of the novel. It made what happened to the characters less emotionally impactful. "

Laura R

"dnf 76% boring. didn’t care enough about anything to finish it."

Mia Jean

"a wonderful story, based on true events, about the black upper-class in chicago in the early 20th century!! the story revolves around two sisters, olivia and helen davenport, their brother john, their maid/childhood best friend amy-rose, and ruby tremaine, who's father is campaigning to become chicago's first black mayor. i loved how each character had their individual dreams and fears, and the author switched perfectly between 4 different points of view! the only thing that bothered me about this book was the sometimes clunky writing style, but this is a debut novel, so i didn't expect the writing to be amazing. this is the perfect spring read, with grand ballrooms, beautiful gowns, and picnics by the lake! and there isn't just a love triangle in this one, it's more like a love hexagon! i thought i'd predicted how this love hexagon would turn out halfway through the book, but the ending offered some great plot twists, and now i can't wait to see what will happen to the davenport family in the next book!"

Joanna Highfill

"this was cute. reminded me alot of American Royals with the whole switching between pov of 4 characters. I was most interested in Helen's storyline but I will say everyone was essentially going through the exact same problem. "I love this person but society/my parents dont want me to be with them". I just liked Helen more. I also liked how the sisters had pretty open communication towards the end but it was still strange how technically all the girls knew each other very well but they didn't really talk to each other about their problems. I would think if they're very close they would want to vent or get advice from each other but that really didn't happen."

Brianna Jones

"LOVED this, such a great book! I cannot wait for the next!!"

Samantha Bunn

"This was an enjoyable read, not only was it super easy to read but the characters were quite interesting. This book has 4 povs that follows Helen and Olivia Davenport who are the daughters of wealthy black parents, their “maid”/friend Amy-Rose and Olivia’s friend Ruby. Each of these characters have different problems that they are going through, societal problems, not meeting expectations and also navigating romance and love. This book takes place in Chicago in 1910’s so we have the backdrop of what was going on in the United States at that time. I really liked the different issues that some characters went through and how they fit in to the world. I liked the history and I just loved seeing these black characters thriving (for the most part) in this world. For a YA book I wasn’t really annoyed with any of the characters, when I first started the book I didn’t like the 4 povs because I thought it was much but by the end I definitely didn’t mind it but I felt like some of the plots weren’t in depth because of the povs. Overall a really good debut I hope there is another book because this one ended so abruptly!"