#krystal marquis

[traeumenvonbuechern]

Historical Romances by Black Authors

Aphrodite wishes to escape the marriage mart but will a second chance with the elusive Duke of Everely change her mind? Aphrodite Du Bell is a diamond of the first water and a favourite of the queen. But her renowned loveliness didn't stop the love of her life, Evander Eagleman, from jilting her and marrying another woman four years ago. Aphrodite has been in self-imposed exile ever since. However, when her formidable mother summons her back to London Aphrodite has no choice but to acquiesce. Upon her return, Aphrodite learns that the newly widowed Evander is in town and, despite her best efforts, the grand society events of the season repeatedly push them together. With each encounter, Aphrodite's traitorous feelings make it perfectly clear that the Duke still holds court over her heart. Why did Evander cast Aphrodite aside all those years ago, and now that they have a second chance, can the couple make strides to mend past hurts?

Ailsa Connery has waited three long years to finally escape her enslavement at Stirling Castle and reunite with her clan. But her carefully laid plans are completely destroyed by the arrival of the infamous Highland warrior known as Dubh Mahoun, the Black Devil…who has plans of his own. Kallum MacNeill's fearsome reputation has long allowed him to keep hidden his secret double life of freeing enslaved captives across the land. It's only when he kidnaps a servant lass—quite by accident—that he finds himself facing a wee predicament. He must accompany the lass home or risk her exposing his true identity. It'd be easy enough…if the feisty hellion didn't fight him at every turn. As they make their way to the Highlands, the perils the two must face are surpassed only by their constant sparring. Soon, their heated sniping sparks heat of a totally different kind. The kind that ignites a hunger that could consume them both. Yet the difficult journey is no match for the dangerous secrets they're about to uncover.

The first novel in USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins’s compelling new series follows a Northern woman south in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War . . . Valinda Lacy’s mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean danger. When thugs destroy the school she has set up and then target her, Valinda runs for her life—and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq. As an architect from an old New Orleans family, Drake has a deeply personal interest in rebuilding the city. Raised by strong women, he recognizes Valinda’s determination. And he can’t stop admiring—or wanting—her. But when Valinda’s father demands she return home to marry a man she doesn’t love, her daring rebellion draws Drake into an irresistible intrigue.

A fun and feminist Regency romp from a master of the genre hailed as "a delight" by Bridgerton author Julia Quinn. Nothing happens in London without Graham Wynchester knowing. His massive collection of intelligence is invaluable to his family’s mission of aiding those most in need. So when he deciphers a series of coded messages in the scandal sheets, Graham’s convinced he must come to a royal’s rescue. But his quarry turns out not to be a princess at all… The captivating Kunigunde de Heusch is anything but a damsel in distress, and the last thing she wants is Graham’s help. All her life, Kuni trained alongside the fiercest Royal Guardsmen in her family, secretly planning to become her country’s first Royal Guardswoman. This mission in London is a chance to prove herself worthy without help from a man, not even one as devilishly handsome as Graham. To her surprise, Graham believes in her dream as much as she does, which makes it harder to resist kissing him…and falling in love. But how can she risk her heart if her future lies an ocean away? 

Jane Austen meets The Princess and the Frog For as long as Prairie can remember, living in paradise has been boring. Her days are filled with helping at her family's resort, sewing, daydreaming, and observing fashionable guests from the sidelines. But when a fairytale-Esque opportunity arises, she does something out of character and agrees to marry a man she's never met. Suddenly, she's navigating a new life that is a world and an ocean away from everything she's ever known. Her new husband, Wright, is decidedly Mr. Wrong. If there's a schedule, he'll ignore it. If there is a rule, he'll break it. If there's a risk, he'll take it. Has the girl who has always had a plan finally met her match? If you're a fan of TV shows like 'Vanity Fair', 'Bridgerton' and 'The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' or enjoy reading comedies of manners, you'll love 'That, My Dear, Is Love.' This is a full-length, standalone novel featuring a diverse ensemble cast, whimsical magic, and hilarious misadventures. This is a clean romance with a HEA. Featuring some of your favorite tropes: Marriage of Convenience Opposites Attract Reformed Rake

The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked. The 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.

[blackinperiodfilms]

Prime Video is developing The Davenports, a series based on Krystal Marquis’ bestselling YA novel of the same name, from Alloy Entertainment. The project is a co-production of Warner Bros. Television and Amazon MGM Studios.

The series, set in 1910 America, revolves around the Davenports, who are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status thanks to the entrepreneurship of former enslaved patriarch William Davenport. Surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, his daughters Olivia and Helen, and their friends, are finding their way and finding love—even where they’re not supposed to.

Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo executive produce for Alloy Entertainment. Warner Bros. Television and Amazon MGM Studios are the studios. A search is underway for a writer.

The Davenports was released in 2023 and Marquis is currently working on book two in the series.

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (November 12th, 2024)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Releases:

A Queen's Game by Katharine McGee

Rani Choudhury Must Die by Adiba Jaigirdar

In Want of a Suspect by Tirzah Price

Dead Girls Don't Dream by Nino Cipri

Midnights with You by Clare Osongco

Flopping in a Winter Wonderland by Jason June

Leap by Simina Popescu

Greater Secrets by Ananth Hirsh & Tess Stone

Fortune's Kiss by Ambert Clement

The Seven by Joya Goffney

Teleportation & Other Luxuries by Archie Bongiovanni, Mary Verhoeven, & Lucas Gattoni

New Sequels:

Skyshade (Lightlark #3) by Alex Aster

I Am the Dark that Answers When You Call (I Feed Her to the Beast #2) by Jamison Shea

A Wild & Ruined Song (The Hollow Star Saga #4) by Ashley Shuttleworth

Heist Royale (Thieves' Gambit #2) by Kayvion Lewis

Games Untold (The Inheritance Games #4.5) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

More Than This (The Davenports #2) by Krystal Marquis

The Shadows Rule All (Dominions #3) by Abigail Owen

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Happy reading!

[bohemian-nights]

If you want to know my mood it’s that I’m impatiently waiting for this to air:

[curlyhairedbibliophile]

Cover Art | The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

The Davenports delivers a totally escapist, swoon-worthy romance while offering a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked. The 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.

Artwork by Deanna Halsall

Release date | Jan 31, 2023 Goodreads

[mediamatinees]

How "The Davenports" Creates Delicious Conflict While Daring Women to Dream Big

Content Warning: The Davenports describes racial injustice, sexism and brief instances of racialized violence. Also, lots of infidelity (because courting is basically society-speak for dating). Reader discretion is advised. Spoilers for The Davenports ahead! “He doesn’t want us to be special. He wants us, Black people with wealth, education, and opportunities, to be common. In the best sense of…

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Davenports | Author: Krystal Marquis | Publisher: Dial Books (2023)

[desdasiwrites]

– Krystal Marquis, The Davenports

[scentedsstuff]

The Davenports

By Krystal Marquis

Rating: 2/5⭐️

Historical fiction is a genre that I have recently been obsessed over so naturally I was excited at the premise of The Davenports. A bit of a heads-up, though this book is categorized as historical fiction with some romance, I'd argue it's more the other way around. It's a lot heavier on the romance, so keep that in mind to see whether or not this may be the book for you.

Quick Plot Summary:

Now, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a black fmc as a lead in a book set in the Gilded Age. In this book's case, make that 4 with the inclusion of a biracial narrator.

The book follows these 4 young women as they navigate the many challenges of life, questioning their positions in their current lives and the foreseeable future. Ofcourse, sprinkle in some romance within each young lady's life and things get a little complicated.

Thoughts:

Unfortunately when it comes to the plot this book did little beyond present me with the same character narrative/problems over and over again. I was tempted to give this book 1.5 stars but the drama was entertaining at times, enough to keep me engaged for most of the book, pushing it to 2 stars.

To put it simply there was nothing that stood out about the book other than the fact that it was an all black cast of characters in 1900s Chicago. Yes they're upper class society and at this point it's giving Bridgerton but not much else from there. That was it really, the characters lacked personality and about halfway through I only really cared for one girl's story out of the 4, whose perspectives alternated throughout the book.

The pacing was decent, but even this couldn't keep me from skimming through the pages towards the ending.

Overall, I'm disappointed because I had high hopes for this book.

[angelamariaxo]

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Weekend reads

[tanyasreading]

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

Book Stats  Stars: 3.0 Stars Start Date : 01/30/24 Ending Date: 02/26/24 Genre: YA Historical Romance Form: Hardback Book/ Audiobook Page Count: 384  Publishing Date: 01/31/23 Point of View: 3rd Person, Dual POV’s Setting: Chicago 1910 GoodReads: StoryGraph: How the hell a book with Four Black Women, where the younger sister who wants to help build cars is going to fall for the older…

[magnificentmonet]

Historical Romance books

The Davenports Duology

[amaramiyu]

[Review] The Davenports

Author: Krystal Marquis

In 1910, the 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 the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love—even where they're not supposed to.

Spoilers ahead!

For me, this book started off well but then at a certain point it kind of started to teeter off and became very much like a soap opera. Also, in this novel the romance is primary and the historical elements are secondary.

What I Liked:

The multiple points of view of the different ladies that we follow throughout the story. Here are my favorites in order from most to least: Olivia, Amy-Rose, Ruby, and then Helen.

I liked the setting of the novel which is the early 20th century in Chicago.

I liked a majority of the romantic pairs and I think that the characters complement each other well.

I enjoyed the dilemma of pursuing what you personally want to do versus what society expects of you.

What I Disliked:

I think the novel is a little bit too long and definitely should have been shorter.

No matter what I could not get behind Jacob's and Helen's romance it was icky to me. I think it was underdeveloped and too much of a coincidence. Not to mention he was courting Olivia and the novel already had another Davenport sibling John who was in a love triangle situation. I just think the author could have done something much more interesting narratively when it came to Helen's love interest.

Recommend: Overall, if you're looking for a historical romance book that prioritizes romance over the historical aspects then I think you'll enjoy this book despite its shortcomings.

[bookaddict24-7]

NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES! (MAY 7TH, 2024)

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HAVE I MISSED ANY NEW YOUNG ADULT RELEASES? HAVE YOU ADDED ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TBR? LET ME KNOW!

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NEW STANDALONES/FIRST IN A SERIES:

Bite Me, Royce Taslim by Lauren Ho

The Summer Love Strategy by Ray Stoeve

Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R.X. He

Better Must Come by Desmond Hall

Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

Spin of Fate by A.A. Vora

The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed

The Dare by Natasha Preston

Lie Until It's True by Jessie Weaver

Hot Boy Summer by Joe Jiménez

Dispatches from Parts Unknown by Bryan Bliss

Sunhead by Alex Assan

Eyes Open by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding by Maia Kobabe & Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier

Malicia by Steven dos Santos

The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson

Queerceañera by Alex Crespo

Death's Country by R.M. Romero

Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly

Sweet Nightmare by Tracy Wolff

NEW SEQUELS:

More Than This (The Davenports #2) by Krystal Marquis

Pulled Under (Sixteenth Summer #2) by Michelle Dalton

Swept Away (Sixteenth Summer #3) by Michelle Dalton

Burning Crowns (Twin Crowns #3) by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber

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Happy reading!

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The Davenports by Krystal Marquis The Davenports (Fiction, Hardcover) by Krystal Marquis (Dial Books, Jan 31, 2023) LINK #rmaalbc

[study-with-aura]

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Since once again I did not update the last half of the week or over the weekend, here is a recap:

Friday, I volunteered at the mission for 3 hours. Saturday, I volunteered at the mission for 4 hours after 3 hours of dance, and I also gamed for a bit with friends. Sunday, I had church and the Bible study after, then I had a Girl Scout meeting where we completed the Outdoor Art Expert badge, and then I gamed some solo. Monday, I volunteered at the library for 2 hours.

Now you are all caught up! Studies have been taking up a lot of time. If I'm unable to finish everything before my afternoon extracurriculars start, I do a little work at night which means I have no time to post since I try to be in bed by 10pm (22:00), which is my bedtime, but sometimes my parents are okay with me staying up until 11pm if there's a good reason. Personally, I prefer the 10pm, and stick to it as closely as possible.

I have a new Fuzz-a-mallow as you can see above. Her name is Amina. Apparently she's ultra rare, which I did not realize, but that is neat. She has a gold tag and everything. It means there are only 50,000 like her. She's a cute pink squirrel, so she's a perfect companion for Erin who is my autumn-themed squirrel.

Tasks Completed:

Algebra 2 - Reviewed function notation + practice + learned to write equations in function form + practice

American Literature - Read about Emily Dickinson + read "Tips for Reading Dickinson's Poetry" + read "Major Characteristics of Dickinson's Poetry" + read "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died" + completed worksheet assignment

Spanish 3 - Read about adverbs + completed exercise + reviewed unit vocabulary

Bible 2 - Read 1 Kings 22

Early American History - Read over new study guide questions + read about the political philosophy of the American Revolution + read about Lexington and Concord + answered study guide questions

Earth Science with Lab - Read about glaciers + answered questions utilizing research

Music Appreciation - Learned about the bass trombone + learned about the xylophone + copied major necessary terms from the V section of the music dictionary + identified instrument family sections by sound

Khan Academy - Completed US History Unit 3: Lesson 1.12

Duolingo - Studied for approximately 30 minutes (Spanish + French + Chinese) + completed daily quests

Piano - 60-minute piano lesson + practice for two hours

Reading - Read pages 132-161 of The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

Chores - Laundry + took trash and recycling out

Activities of the Day:

Personal Bible Study (Exodus 35)

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness