Indigo
Ratings3
Average rating4
15
Ratings3
Average rating4
As a child Hester Wyatt escaped slavery, but now the dark skinned beauty is a dedicated member of Michigan's Underground railroad, offering other runaways a chance at the freedom she has learned to love. When one of her fellow conductors brings her an injured man to hide, Hester doesn't hesitate even after she is told about the price on his head. The man in question is the great conductor known as the "Black Daniel" a vital member of the north's Underground railroad network, but Hester finds him so rude and arrogant, she begins to question her vow to hide him.
When the injured and beaten Galen Vachon, aka, the Black Daniel awakens in Hester's cellar, he is unprepared for the feisty young conductor providing his care. As a member of one of the wealthiest free Black families in New Orleans, Galen has turned his back on the lavish living he is accustomed to in order to provide freedom to those enslaved in the south. However, as he heals he cannot turn his back on Hester Wyatt. Her innocence fills him like a breath of fresh air and he is determined to make her his, but traitors have to be found, slave catchers have to be routed and Hester's refusal to trust her own heart have to be overcome before she and Galen can find the freedom only love can bring.
(back cover)
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is very different from what I usually read, so I don't know that my opinion should hold a lot of weight, since m/f romance isn't a genre I know a lot about. But I enjoyed this book.
Both main characters are involved in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad, and a lot of historical details are woven into the story. Slavery and racism have shaped the lives of all the major characters, and the book brings those topics to the forefront in a myriad of ways. For example, one of the villainous characters, Jeanine, is written with a lot of sensitivity, and Hester muses that if her own life had been different and she had not been freed from slavery at an early age, with a family to rely on, she might have done the same things Jeanine does.
Hester is easy to like and sympathize with, without ever feeling too perfect. She's not a modern woman and isn't written like one, but she's very determined and firm in her convictions. This is a fairly minor detail but I really like the portrayal of Jeanette, Galen's former fiancee who has lived a life of privilege. Hester sees that Jeanette's priorities in life are very different from hers, but she sees Jeanette's lack of interest in political issues as a difference in their backgrounds, not as a flaw in Jeanette's character, and they become friends.
The romance really was not my kind of thing, but that's my own personal taste and not a comment on the book's quality. Galen decides what's best for Hester and spends most of the book showing her. Of course he wants to make her happy, and when we first meet her, she's clearly lonely. So, it is appealing to read about her falling in love, but I wasn't totally on board with everything that happened in their relationship. I do really like that it was completely Hester's choice to officially (in the view of this book and of society at that time) have sex with Galen, but some of the sex scenes before that one are more along the lines of Galen convincing Hester into surrendering to him. But mainly, I dislike that he basically shamed her into marriage, even though I don't think Hester ever has a good reason not to marry him. He took away her choice. .
I love the ending - it's one of the happiest endings I've ever read in a romance novel. Overall, I recommend this book highly, if immersing yourself in an important era of American history through the eyes of interesting characters sounds like something you would enjoy.
Early Beverly Jenkins - pre-Civil War, main characters meet because of their work on the Underground Railroad in Michigan. I love the story and Hester, the female lead, is so great. I always learn something from a Beverly Jenkins book, but this one is a little bit clunkier at integrating the actual history into the story than her later books. Still excellent and one I enjoyed a lot!
