Topaz by Beverly Jenkins

 

I keep making the joke that it's a shame that TOPAZ was never published by Topaz publishing. Imagine having a copy of TOPAZ with the Topaz Man on the spine! #goals This is Beverly Jenkins's second novel, and while it does show in the sense that it isn't as streamlined as some of her later books, I think it's an incredibly polished sophomore effort.

The book is about Kate, who works for a newspaper and has been courting a man who has been scamming Black people with fraudulent train certificates for a railroad that never came to fruition (think of that Monorail episode from The Simpsons-- that's Rupert). However, it all goes pear-shaped and Rupert doesn't take kindly to being heartbroken or cheated. He has sinister plans for Kate. Very sinister indeed.

Dix Wildhorse is a Black Seminole marshal from the Indian Territories in Oklahoma. In tracking down Kate's father, the con artist Bart Love, he ends up "promised" to Kate, and also acts as her rescuer. The two of them roadtrip it to Oklahoma via wagon, where Kate receives a rather cold reception from the women who see her as competition for Bart.

There are some things I LOVED about Topaz. The beginning was great, high stakes and full of danger. I also liked how they both had topaz jewelry that had been handed down through their families, which kind of made them feel like soulmates. There's also a moment in the book that's an homage to Lysistrata, although it put me off a bit that on the next page, the characters are like, "Hey this is just like Lysistrata." Like, I KNOW. LET ME FIGURE THAT OUT FOR MYSELF. Also, I stan a tall heroine. There are so many petite heroines in the romance genre; it's great to have a tall Amazon of a heroine.

Here's what I didn't like as much. Dix is one of Jenkins's pushier heroes. He reminded me a lot of Raimond, one of the author's other early heroes. There's also a lot of OW drama and for a while, the hero keeps the OW on working as his housekeeper, while the heroine is there. He also said he wouldn't have married her if she wasn't a virgin, and even though that's period-appropriate, it didn't make me love him at all. The sex scenes, as a result, sometimes lacked chemistry, and they were definitely a little cheesily written. I love how they were solely focused on female pleasure, however, and Jenkins is not at all shy about writing from the female gaze, which I liked, but I could do without the honey-filled gates.

Despite the uneven pacing and a few issues I had with the writing style, I enjoyed this book. Beverly Jenkins's books center Black history first and foremost, and it's so fun learning about all of these various historical events from that perspective. Not only are her books fun; they're educational, too. I don't always recommend reading the author's notes after a book, but you should definitely read hers.

2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars