Black Coffee discussion
2019 Group Reads
>
August 2019: Rebel by Beverly Jenkins
Yes, I will participate. I have it on hold and I'm number one on the hold list. I'm excited because I haven't read Beverly Jenkins in a long time.
This is clearly a case of never judge a book by its cover. I’m 3/4 of the way through this and I’m enjoying it immensely. I will be reading more from this author for sure. Romance? Me? Who knew!
Mod
Shomeret, she is in steady rotation on my list now. LOL!
I am going to pass on this one. Hopefully, I can jump back in September I can jump back in.
I met Beverly Jenkins and have been reading her for years. This discussion will be fantastic! See you August 1!
Oooh, I LOVE Beverly Jenkins and've been eyeing this one since May. I'm looking forward to the discussion with you all!
Yes! I finished reading this book and can’t wait to join the discussion.
Mod
**Chapters 1-5: August 10th -- message 25
**Chapters 6-11: August 17th -- message 36
**Chapters 12-17: August 24th
If you are discussing part of the story that is not within the time frame please put spoiler alerts. If you don't know how to do the spoiler alerts message me and I can walk you through it. If it is a section that is open for discussion for the week or previous weeks please assume that there will be spoilers without alerts.
I’m new to Black Coffee and am excited about joining in!
Dedria wrote: "I met Beverly Jenkins and have been reading her for years. This discussion will be fantastic! See you August 1!"I love her too. I think I have read every historical series up to date. I really enjoy reading her historical books, but the contemporary reads are great too.
This is actually my first time reading her.
I love her books. This is my first historical romance. I usually stay away from this genre, but so far I am enjoying it. I just finished reading “Nowhere is a place”. If you have not read it already, then I strongly suggest that you do.
I have started this already, as soon as I finished Passing actually. I’m 20% into it and it promises to sizzle. I started 3 days ago ‘cause I have a lot of work to do both days and nights so I want to make sure I can keep up with you all. So far so good. I have a feeling I have read of the LeVeq family before from another series.
I started it today during my lunch break. I'll definitely be reading more tonight.
Mod
I just found out that the author was in my state just two months ago for an author event. And I'm an author! I want to cry. I'm in love with this book!
I see that Drake LeVeq is back from l, The Winds of the Storm.
Lee, I'm adding that book to my list. I'm loving this pirate!
I stayed up last night because I just had to finish the book. Let's just say I've added the other stories with the LeVeq men to my list because my chances on finding a handsome Black pirate that's also a gentleman and philanthropist on my upcoming girls trip to NOLA are slim to none!
Mod
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The one thing that I absolutely love about Beverly Jenkins is her ability to (in my opinion) perfectly blend history and romance while giving us heroines who are strong and courageous without losing their feminity.
So here we are in New Orleans at the end of the Civil War with a young woman from New York, hoping to do her part in this "new world" by teaching the former enslaved to read and write.
1. On a scale from 1 -5, (5 being the most realistic) how do you view the story so far? Do you feel it was realistic for a father to allow his daughter to venture off into the South, alone, right after the civil war?
2. I was a bit put off by the 3 Union soldiers (2 being men of color) who destroyed Val's school books and the barn that she had been teaching classes in and then the attempted rape. Why do you feel Union soldiers, especially men of color would act this way towards the things that represented the people they had just helped to free?
3. Madeline and Georgine Dumas were as different as night and day when it came to Val. Do you think it was Val's inability to pay for her room and board that caused Georgine to put her out so quickly after Madeline's death, or was it something else....like her skin color?
4. Drake La Veq, (*swoons*) how do you feel about his honesty with Val and his ability to (what seems like constantly) save her from the troubles she finds her self in?
5. What are your thoughts so far? Any questions or things that stand out?
I started today and read the first five chapters, so I can respond to the discussion questions.S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
1) I get the impression that Val's grandmother who supported Val's going to NOLA is a formidable woman and no one is willing to challenge her.
2)I think that the Union soldiers might not have been paid recently and are taking their resentment out on anyone they think can't fight back.
3)Oh, Georgine is a racist for sure.
4)Drake's wonderful, but it seems to me that Val isn't necessarily a helpless damsel in distress. She stabbed a man in the throat with a burning branch. If there hadn't been three of them, she wouldn't have needed to be rescued.
5)The first book I read by Beverly Jenkins is Indigo and it's still my favorite. I'm enjoying this one so far, but do I like it better than Indigo? The jury's still out.
1. I think the only reason her father let her go to the South on her own was in hopes that she'd fail so badly at her cause that she'd see she needs a man to tell her what to do and what a woman's "true place" is.2. I was out off by those three Union soldiers, too, but it doesn't surprise me. Joining the Union was probably the "easiest" job to get at that time as a free Black man, regardless of one's moral compass or lack their of. Just because they fought in the cause doesn't mean they weren't selfish and vile.
3. I think Georgine explained it properly to Val in the book. Madeline was bitter. She and Georgine lost quite a bit of fortune due to the freedom of slaves. Madeline was used to giving orders and having Blacks serve her. That wasn't the case anymore. Madeline clearly doesn't like change. If slaves being freed meant a change in her living and status (which it did), she wanted no parts of it.
4. I mean really. How can you not fall in love with Drake? Val puts up a good fight on her own in all her trials but Drake saved her from having to endure some pretty horrific moments (rape, homelessness).
5. This is my first time reading anything by this author. I've added the other books with the LeVeq men to my wishlist. I can only hope the two younger brothers are the leading men in the remaining books in this series, simply to see more of Drake!
I love all of Jenkins books. The LeVeq name rings a bell for some reason. Anyway, I agree that pops wants Val to fail and come running home to her dad and new hubby for safety. Union or confederate soldiers are soldiers plain and simple and are used to creating their own discipline. What they are made of inside does not always reflect how they appear on the outside. I was taken aback by their actions also, especially by the “colored” one.
Racist is an understatement. She is cruel and racist to the bone. Even if Cal could have paid her room and board, she’d have still thrown her out on her ear.
I think is attracted to Cal because she is no damsel in distress. She is tough and that is what he enjoys about her.
Ms Jenkins usually give each member of a family their own story so the other brother most likely will be in the upcoming books as main characters.
I’m loving completely into this book so far. I love Drakes mom. She is going to make sure she knows what this woman is made of before she lets nature take it course.
Sorry to be late joining the discussion. For some reason I have not been getting notifications about postings.
I agree that Madeline would have put Val out anyway. She would have taken the money because green knows no race and put Val out. She's nasty and racist for the bone, as Dosha said.And yes, Drake's mother is something else. I would love to see a story on Val's grandmother.
That is a good point, I would like to read a story about Val’s grandmother too. I have not been getting email alerts about any discussions either. Has something changed?
I finished Rebel, but I will try to color within the lines of the questions. 1. Was it realistic for Val to have traveled alone right after the Civil War into the south? With her father’s permission?
During that era trains were relatively safe. Women got off the train at night and stayed in hotels. But we don’t get that part of the story (Val in transit). Would her father have let her do that? Her father didn’t want to let her do anything. He only allowed it because his boss’s son, Val’s betrothed, allowed her to do that. What’s important was Val got to New Orleans. Wait, she went with the church/convent right?
2. Soldiers are barbarians. And New Orleans was a rough and tumble town. It still has a whole lot of free styling, and spirit. In a town where the army is the law the soldiers are God’s. It takes a strong commander to keep their troops in line. I think that this scene shows how destroyed the south was after the war. How nobody was safe,it the freedmen freedwomen, not do-Goode’s like Val.
As for education, I.e. destroying the schoolhouse and the books, it’s amazing that Val could get a school going. She was operating pretty much alone. She wasn’t getting paid. The nuns were intimidated by The Creoles about about keeping the freedmen out of school. School was a luxury for most people. It shows the determination of those who did go to school.
3. Those sisters were a trip. They would have made a good sub-plot if this had been another genre. What they represented was the real attitudes that existed in the country after the War. Niet All black people wanted black people to be Free. ( See Edward P.Jones, The Known World) and after the war, the South was in survival mode. The one Sister’s issue was money. Val did not have it.
Dosha. I am glad you mentioned that. I have not been getting notifications lately either.
For those of you that mentioned you are not getting email notifications, be sure to check your settings on here. It's possible something changed (I have mine set to no emails - notifications only, so I wouldn't know for sure). A change could have been made with your email provider as well. I've been noticing more and more things that appeared in my inbox on GMail that is now going to Social or Promotion folders, when they aren't that.
Has anyone else finished this book? I did in the wee hours of the morning. I appreciated the Author's note at the end. I knew there was something familiar about this book, now I'm going to do a re-read once I figure out which one it is, lol.I don't want to give anything away so I'll wait for the next set of questions. I went to my settings just to know what may have changed and just chose all notifications for black coffee.
Mod
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1. In my opinion, there has been more history than romance so far. Do you feel the history is outweighing the romance? Could it be that this is such a painful part of history that it just feels extra heavy?
2. Do you feel the Atwater situation is over now that he's gone swimming with the alligators? It was heartbreaking to see Daniel Downs die because he refused to return back to slavery. I wonder how many people not realizing there were more options actually signed contracts like those presented to Daniel Downs.
3. Where you surprised at all by the revelation of Cole and Lenny's relationship? Val was willing to give up love for the sake of friendship, but maybe that's because she'd never really experienced love before she met the La Veq's.
4. What is your favorite scene from this section? I think the unpaid bill meets the sledgehammer is mine.
5. What are your thoughts so far? Any questions or things that stand out?
1. I think there's more history and less romance in this part of the story because Val is still pretty much fighting what she feels and Drake tries, in his own way. to be somewhat respectful of that. Val doesn't understand what's happening in it her emotionally or physically so that makes sense to me.2. It most definitely not done. I'm sure a lot of freedmen signed contracts like that because they did t feel they had any other choice. When you consider that most couldn't read, they did t know what they were signing and the slave masters counted on that. It offended the. when a Black man or woman showed their smarts.
3. I absolutely did not see this coming but it made so much sense.
4. I laughed all through the unpaid bill meets sledgehammer scene! My favorite part was Val's discovery the night before Cole showed up.
5. I finished the book just a couple of days into the month. I quite enjoyed it What stands out to me the most up to the point of this discussion is how strongly an felt that a woman could not possibly get on without a man. It blew me away everytime Val speaks of her father or the strength of her grandmother. What also stands out to me is Drake's willingness to give the woman he loves whatever would most make her happy, even if that means only having a piece of her and letting her go.
Porsha wrote: "1. I think there's more history and less romance in this part of the story because Val is still pretty much fighting what she feels and Drake tries, in his own way. to be somewhat respectful of tha..."#1 I am familiar with Jenkins writing style, she gives lots of Black/Brown/Red historical facts along with the romantic fiction in all her books. It is one of the main reasons I love her writing - you will learn about the incredible and complicated history of people of color and it is always mixed in with some steamy pages of romance, some books more than others. This one has less romance that she has put into other stories.
#2. I don't know what to think about the Atwater situation. Since this is book 1 of a series, I'll say no it is not over. If this were a standalone, then I would think he is swimming with the fish.
#3. I did not see that one coming either. Blew me away. She obviously had no idea what love meant so....why not? It was a way to escape from her dad.
#4. I like the whole book. The sledgehammer was fun and bickering back and forth with the brothers was fun because I got a sense of their different personalities.
#5. I can't wait for book 2 so I am re-reading Through the Storm when we first meet Archer
Dosha - isn't Through the Storm a part of a series too, feature other LeVeq men? I added a few books to my reading list that features the tempting Black pirates.
Yes it is, I believe it is book 2 in a series but I'm not sure of the name of the series. I'll look for it when I'm not at work.
I think what I love most about this book, and ALL Beverly Jenkins books is that she give us historical FACTS along with the steamy romance. If you want to learn history to make you proud she will bring it home.
This is my first time reading her and I'm already getting the sense of that.
I didn’t expect that I would like Drake as much as I do. He’s such a complicated man and I think Val is way I’m over her head. But once his mother, Juliana, opens the door for Val to be part of the family, all bets are off! My first Beverly Jenkins book and I cannot stop recommending it to others! ❤️
I finished the book weeks ago and I'm still swooning for Drake. I've always understood the concept of a book boyfriend but never really had one until reading this!
All of the Beverly Jenkins men are hot! I love her books. I really enjoy the true historical facts that are woven into each story. They give me knowledge of my legacy, pride about my heritage and insight into my possibilities for the future. I’m friends with her on Twitter. She is a very down to earth sista. With an edge.
Mod
*
*
*
*
*
*
1. What was your reaction to Val’s father showing up with a husband in tow for her?!
2. Had the situation not played out like it did, how long do you think Val and Drake would have kept playing around and not truly admitting their feelings for one another to each other?
3. For those who had read Beverly Jenkins in the past, do you think Val stood up to normal BJ Heroine standards?
4. Was there anything (person or scene) that you could have done without in the book?
5. Would you care to see this adapted for the big screen? If so, who would you cast as characters?
6. Were there any loose ends for you? Anything that you still have unanswered questions about?
7. Overall thoughts and opinions?
Mod
I thought the same too, but Val’s naiveness and honesty sees to be a perfect match for Drake!
Mod
1. I wanted to slap her father. The audacity to show up with a husband for her and using that marriage to pay off his gambling debt! It makes me think he owed something to Val's sister's newly deceased husband. Just sickening. But I know this was more of a common practice back then than what we like to admit. I started clapping when Drake hemmed him up at the gazebo!2. Val would have kept skirting around it, because she didn't understand what she was experiencing. Drake would have eventually made a move to make her his.
3. First time reading her, so I can't answer that one!
4. I could have done without the shop owner that didn't want the freedwoman working in his store to be educated and hated that his son ran off with her.
5. When I imagine Val, I see Kerry Washington. A French speaking Idris Elba as Drake...lawd have mercy! Felicia Rashad as Drake's mother. The queen that plays Okaye/Mischon in Black Panther / Walking Dead playing Drake's sister-in-law. Vin Diseal playing Drake's white Union buddy. Benedict Cumberbatch as the guy in the office that Drake worked with. Chadwick Boseman as one of the younger LeVeq brothers. Letia Wright as Rebe. Lizzo could make her acting debut as Drake's mistress. Harrison Ford or Michael Keeton as the former slave owner that shot the black man down in front of his family.
6. I want to see the Union soldier that kept coming after Val finally get put behind bars. I wouldn't mind knowing exactly what was done to the former slaveowner.
7. I loved this book!
Mod
Girl! When Val said her father was selling them off like a form of slavery it broke my heart.
Your cast for the movie is a good one!!!
Black Coffee
Books mentioned in this topic
Indigo (other topics)Rebel (other topics)
Please let me know below if you will be joining this discussion.