Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Rebel
By Beverly Jenkins
🎧 Narrated by: Kim Staunton
Book 18 of 2024

**random ramblings**
I signed up for too many ARCs in January & February and I am so overwhelmed currently that I have found myself reading nothing but backlist books. This was my third book in a row that was published in 2021 or earlier. Please tell me I’m not the only one who occasionally goes full head in the sand about their book commitments. Hopefully next week I’ll start to get back to it! 

**review** 
This was my first book by Beverly Jenkins, but definitely won’t be my last! Captain LeVeq is now one of my top tier boyfriends. 

I like my romances, especially historical romances, to be fairly cozy. Bad things can happen and villains can exist as long as I don’t ever feel like the characters are ACTUALLY in danger or truly isolated. Jenkins brilliantly toed this line. The LeVeq family is the absolute best and I would like them to adopt me please. But the historical setting also felt accurate to the time – New Orleans after the Civil War – and showed the worst of humanity alongside the best. You may want to check the content warnings on this one. 

My favorite female main characters are strong, independent, and intelligent and Valinda was all of these things. She came to New Orleans to help teach the newly emancipated community, and seemed like the absolute best kind of teacher. 

🎧 I loved all of the voices Kim Staunton created for the story, but found some of the narration to be a little monotone. It might be that I had it turned up too fast and I wasn’t hearing all of the nuances though. 

[ book synopsis ]

The first novel in USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins’ compelling new series follows a Northern woman south in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War…

Valinda Lacey’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.