Tempest

Tempest (Old West #3) by Beverly Jenkins (2018), narrated by Kim Staunton

In this third and final book in the Old West series, Regan Carmichael leaves Arizona Territory for Wyoming to be a mail-order bride. During her first encounter with her husband-to-be she shoots him, so they're off to a pretty rocky start. (It was a misunderstanding, but still.) Dr. Colton Lee has been clear from the start that he's not looking for a love match, but only a mother for his daughter Anna. When he meets Regan he starts to have second thoughts, but remembers how difficult it was to find a woman willing to move to this wild land for him. So they carry on with their plan to get married and, of course, their marriage of convenience becomes something more.

Like in the last book, Breathless, there was very little angst between our hero and heroine, just a slow realization that they meant more to each other than they expected. When they first met, Colton was taken aback by Regan's outspokenness, her ability to use a gun, and the fact that she sometimes put on jeans and got dirty. His first wife, Adele, was traditional and ladylike, and it took him a while to get used to Regan. Oh, and Regan wasn't a virgin either, and she was honest about that. She and Colton had a great conversation in which it became clear that he thought sex is basically something that men desire but that women just provide. Regan schooled him on this topic pretty quickly.

But most of the tension in the story came from others in their town who made it difficult for Regan to settle in and feel at home. First and foremost was Colton's aunt Minnie who, up until now, had been a very big part of Anna's life. She was a strict, unkind woman who ruled by fear and discouraged Anna from having any sort of fun. Consequently, Anna was rather meek and afraid. Now that Regan was there, encouraging Anna to come out of her shell and be more confident (and get dirty!) Colton didn't want her around Minnie as much, especially when they learned that Minnie told Anna it was her fault that her mother died. Meanwhile, someone was threatening Regan's life, although it was unclear who or why. This family had some major hurdles to get over before they could really settle down.

As I know I've mentioned before, one of my favorite setups is a woman moving to a new place and setting up a life there. This had all of the elements that make that kind of story work for me. Regan is getting to know people in the town and trying to figure out who will be her friends. One of the first people she met and liked was Spring, Colton's sister, who was somewhat of an outcast in the town. But she was friendly and down-to-earth and the two became fast friends. Regan was also invited to a gathering of ladies in the town where the reception was a bit cooler. Some of the women were nice, and some were more stand-offish. It was a mixed-race group and it was clear that some of the white ladies weren't especially pleased with that. And of course there was a woman in town who had hoped that she would be the new Mrs. Lee.

I loved watching Regan settle into this town, develop a relationship with her new husband, and with his daughter. Colton was a country doctor who would treat anyone who needed it whether they could pay or not, so he was a bit financially strapped. Regan, however, came with her own financial independence which caused some heads to turn in the town when she began upgrading their kitchen so she could do some decent cooking and baking. The owner of the general store doubted her ability to pay for the items, and I loved watching her stand up for herself and buying the things she needed - and wanted - despite the judgement cast upon her from the townspeople. I also loved her relationship with Anna, who needed a mother like Regan and thrived in her company.

As with the other books in this series, I listened to the audiobook version which I pre-ordered so I could begin listening as soon as it was released. This one had the same narrator, Kim Staunton, who always has a pleasant easy voice that is enjoyable to listen to. I wish she hadn't tried to do the Chinese accents (and I think I had the same complaint about the last book) but those were just a few short parts and didn't really detract from the overall experience.

I've really enjoyed this series and I'm a little sad that it's over, but I know that Beverly Jenkins is a prolific author so there's lots more out there from her to read. One of her older books, Indigo, seems to be recommended everywhere, and I'm also interested in her Destiny series, one of which I think is about a lady pirate which, yes please. She also has a popular multi-book contemporary Christian series called Blessings, which isn't my jam but might be yours. I do encourage any romance reader who hasn't yet tried Beverly Jenkins to check her out.

Breathless

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins (2017), narrated by Kim Staunton

At the end of the Beverly Jenkins novel Forbidden, Eddy's little nieces came to live with her and Rhine. Now the girls are grown up and the older one, Portia, is the heroine of this new installment of the Old West series.

The family now lives in Arizona Territory and Portia manages the hotel they own. Although some local men try to romance her, Portia's experience as the daughter of a whore makes her shy away from involvement with men. As much as her little sister Regan hopes for a fairytale romance, Portia is completely uninterested. But then an old family friend returns after a stint in a Mexican prison, and signs on to manage a local ranch, and the two can't deny their attraction.

As far as romances go, there was little keeping these two apart. Portia was resistant at first, of course, but she is happy to befriend Kent, who she hasn't seen since she was quite young. He's obviously trustworthy and kind and cares about her, so it doesn't take much to kindle the sparks between them. This is unusual for a romance, but honestly I'm happy to do without the self-generated angst that the characters need to overcome. Theirs was just a nice story about two people who really deserve each other getting together.

So what is there to keep interest in this story, if not the tension between potential romantic partners? A lot, as it turns out. This is the old west, and there are threats from every direction. When the elderly neighbor died, Rhine bought his ranch and put Kent in charge of it. One of the guys who had been working there was very unhappy about this and did some very bad things. Everyone wanted to form a posse to go after him, but these plans were complicated because Geronimo was on the loose and all the local law enforcement was being used in his search. Meanwhile, some city folk came to stay and witnessed the very bad things that happened, and there was a bit of a brouhaha about that (plus these people were just extremely difficult.) And, Kent's dad decided to try and fix him up with someone who is not Portia. So there's a whole lot going on here that kept me going!

What I like most about these books, I think, are just experiencing this particular time and place. I don't read westerns, but stick in some strong women having romances and I'm more than happy to read about this unfamiliar setting. (See also: Texas Destiny) I'm also learning a lot about the lives of African-Americans in American history, which we just don't get nearly enough of. We learn about slavery, but not what it's like for former slaves and their families just trying to live afterward. In fact, the next story we usually get in black history is the civil rights movement in the 60s. It's nice to get some insight into the lives of black people outside of these two specific eras.

I listened to the audiobook version, which was read by Kim Staunton, also the narrator of Forbidden. Again she did a nice job. During this book, she unfortunately did a couple of non-American accents and that did not go well, but those were short passages that only happened a couple of times. I like her narration enough to listen to her read the next one in the series as well.

Just after finishing this I listened to an episode of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books in which Jenkins was interviewed about her next book. Portia's little sister Regan will star and I am so excited because she is going to Wyoming as a mail-order bride and that is exactly the sort of setup that I love. Can't wait!

Forbidden

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins (2016), narrated by Kim Staunton

Whoops! I thought I posted about this book last week, but I just found this post in my drafts. I finished listening to it just before reading Salt to the Sea.

On an episode of the DBSA podcast the host interviewed author Beverly Jenkins who writes romances with African-American characters. She writes in a variety of sub-genres, including her very popular contemporary inspirational series, but it is the historical novels that really interests me. In her newest book, Forbidden, a mixed race man who passes for white falls for a young black woman and has to make some very difficult choices. The post-Civil War setting intrigued me because of the implications for the black characters, plus most of the romances I've read so far were about white people.

Eddy Carmichael (which is pronounced Edie, not Eddie, as it appears) longs to leave Denver and go to California to start her own restaurant, but when she finally tries to go she is foiled at every turn until being left in the desert to die. Along comes Rhine Fontaine, who brings her home to Virginia City, Nevada to recover. She does so quickly, and soon has a job cooking at the boarding house where is to live until she is ready to move on to California. The locals are drawn in not only by her excellent cooking, but by her beauty, none more than Rhine himself. Wealthy owner of the local saloon - the only one that doesn't discriminate based on race - nobody but his business partner knows that he was born a slave. But if he is to pursue Eddy, the truth will have to come out.

Rhine is involved with the local Republican party, which at the time was the party that supported non-whites. One of the interesting bits in this story was that it took place as that was changing. The party was fracturing, the town was considering segregating its schools, and even whites who claimed not to be racist wouldn't patronize Rhine's saloon because of all the "colored" folks who went there. Although Rhine did what he could to help out black-owned businesses in town, he felt conflicted about passing as white.

There is so much interesting stuff going on in this book and I haven't even gotten to the romance part yet. Race wasn't the only barrier to these two getting together, because Rhine was engaged to a stuck-up, entitled, racist young woman named Natalie Greer. It was a marriage of convenience, based on some business and political interests and Rhine's relationship with her father. It was obvious from the start of the book that she and Rhine would not be together but, boy, she caused some trouble. The romance between Eddy and Rhine was both sweet and steamy, but I was never really as into it as I was into the other parts of the story. I liked them both and wanted them to be together, but for me the other parts of the story were just as important, if not more so.

The narrator, Kim Staunton, did a good job and I found her voice warm and pleasant, though I thought she sounded a bit matronly for a story about young people and their sexytimes. (Oh, and Eddy was super naive about sex, which is maybe appropriate for this time period? But probably not for someone whose sister is a prostitute.)

Probably the most interesting part of the interview with Beverly Jenkins that I mentioned early on, was when she told a story about a young author trying to sell her book, and an editor said something like "Well, we already have Beverly Jenkins," as though it is not possible to have more than one black author at any given publishing house. This must be incredibly frustrating when you're trying to get published, and also ridiculous. The attitude seems to assume that most readers are white, and that white people only want to read about white characters. I'm about as white as they come but I certainly liked reading this book and would be happy to read more by Beverly Jenkins in the future. If you like historical romances set in the American West, be sure to check this one out.

Have you read anything by Beverly Jenkins? What others books of hers would you recommend?