Rebel (Women Who Dare, #1)

by Beverly Jenkins

[mayavswords]

As someone who primarily writes romance in my spare time (despite pretty much never reading romance novels), I think Rebel was a very good choice for my entrance into romance, particularly by Beverly Jenkins who I have heard is considered a master of the genre!

That tiny blab aside, this book was so sweet, that I gobbled it up in a day, which is a record for me! The historical elements to the story is very informative, and definitely satisfied the history lover within me.

Valinda is a strong character, which I really liked, and the dialogue between Drake and her really made me chuckle.

Towards the latter half of the book, things did begin to become a little rushed, especially with the fact that Cole (Valinda's intended before Drake came into the picture) is actually gay and Valinda was his beard the whole time! I guess there had been some subtle hints, but that sorta threw me for a loop, and I felt it was an easy resolution to a conflict that could've been really spicy. Generally speaking, the major conflicts in this book are quickly solvable (maybe that's just a norm in romance, I'm a romance newbie, and I'm probably being too critical), so this is a very happy read despite the period the book is set in. Black women MCs deserve happy endings, and this book rightfully does that.

Anyways, great story, I'm looking forward to reading her other books and the sequel.