TBR Challenge Day - February Edition

 It's been a few years now since I signed up for Wendy's TBR Challenge.  I did complete it in January but didn't get it up in time.  I was determined not to be late this month  So without Further ado, my February New-to-Me author

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

Hard to believe but this is the first Beverly Jenkins book I’ve read even though I’m a devoted fan of Westerns.  One of the main reasons is the price.  Here in Canada with Harper Collins, ebooks cost more than print books.  I only read ebooks now and I refuse to pay more for an eBook than I would for a print book.  It makes absolutely no sense to charge more.  Sometimes I see on Twitter a fellow romance reader will tweet there is a sale on her books on Kindle and I will rush over, quick as a bunny to get as many as are on sale, only to see nope, her ebooks are still $12 when print ones are $8 and then I’m in a bad and bitter mood.  However I did have Forbidden and it was the perfect time, though very late, to read my first book by Ms. Jenkins.  This review will take a few days to write and probably be quite lengthy as I have many thoughts running through my brain.

 

At the opening of the story, Rhine Fontaine, our hero, is about to make a new life for himself.  He’s a recently freed slave and because his father was the plantation owner, he can pass for white and that is what he is planning on doing.

The book now switches to Eddy Carmichael, our heroine.  She is the daughter of freed slaves so has never experienced slavery herself though she certainly experiences the racism. With her parents both passed away and her sister lost to her, she decides to make a new life for herself in California.  Through a series of very unpleasant events, she finds herself abandoned in the dessert, left with nothing but her carpetbag and a small, portable cooking device.  She is in desperate circumstances and near death’s door when she is found and rescued by Rhine and his business partner and taken back to the saloon they jointly own to recover.

 

In the intervening years, Rhine has become very successful.  He is passing as white and as such has many opportunities otherwise probably denied him.  Though he lives his life as a white man, his life’s focus is in tirelessly devoted to helping the ‘colored’ community.  The saloon he owns caters almost exclusively to that cliental.  He has joined political parties with the goal of helping his community even though he is undercover so to speak.  But things get very complicated when he meets Eddy.  He is very attracted to her and she to him even though she fights it with everything she has.  At present, she is in stuck in a growing town in Nevada but still plans on continuing on to California.  Once she is feeling better, she moves into a boarding house and earns her keep by cooking.  She is an amazing cook and that is what her plans in California are. To open her own restaurant.  In addition, if that isn’t enough of a barrier, she is black and Rhine is white and for them to have any kind of honest relationship is impossible and she refuses to be his mistress.

 

This conflict is so much more than the usual conflict in romance and it almost mad my job drop with the repercussions.  In order for them to have the kind of relationship Rhine wants, he will have to reveal he’s not white but that risks everything he is working towards.  However, the more he gets to know Addy, the more he comes to realize he needs her in his life.  It’s such a difficult choice for him to make.

I adore Addy.  She is one of the strongest heroines I’ve ever read. She is incredibly, amazing brave.  She sets out, by herself, in a time when racism is rampant, to move across the country, by herself, to make a new life for herself.  She overcomes obstacle after obstacle to forge ahead when most people would give up in despair.  She truly knows her own self-worth.  Though she is coming to love Rhine deeper and deeper, she refuses to compromise her morals and give in to what part of her wants.  Her strength and resiliency make her one of my favourite all time heroines ever.  She’s a bit on the prickly side but I love a prickly heroine.

 

And Rhine is such a wonderful hero.  At first, I was a bit on the fence about him.  He’s a very good looking guy and thus a hit with the ladies.  I wasn’t entirely sure about the depth of his character even though he’s very charming.  But the more we get to know him, the deeper and more honourable we see that he is.  His choice is heartbreaking and we see how torn he is.  He truly does care about his people and the way he has chosen to live his life is in order to be the best help he can to them.

 

I found this book to be so much deeper and painful than a normal Western romance.  Because of some of the issues involved, it was an almost painful read.  I think it’s a book very true to the times and one can certainly tell that Beverly Jenkins wrote a romance that is both loving and brutal.  There is such an incredible depth to this story and I’m in awe.   On rare occasions books change me – hopefully for the better – and this one did.

 

As I said at the beginning, because of the cost, I have few of her books but after reading Forbidden, that changes.  Her books seem to be a combination of a romance and a cruel time in history that is still being felt today, tragic as that is.  It goes without saying that Forbidden gets an A+ from me for being a romance book and so much more.

A bit of a personal note.  Before RWA fell apart and Covid hit, I would attend the RWA conferences and a one of the first ones I attended, I happened to sit and talk with Ms. Jenkins.  I knew who she was but as I’m not an author, she didn’t really know me.  But it was a wonderful conversation and while I can’t remember many of the details of it now, I do remember the impression of a warm and friendly and down to earth author who took the time to make me feel at ease and comfortable.  I’ve been such an admirer of her ever since, first as a person and now much later than I feel good about, as an author.  Sometimes seeds dropped in me take a long time to sprout, but sprout this one has and once so, it’s growing fast.  She has numerous books I need to pick up and read.

With the success of romance books being turned into series, I see her mentioned on Twitter as an author who writes books that would make great series and I concur 100%