Book review: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins

If I resided in the US I would hunt down author Leslie Wright and give her a high five and a hug for introducing me to Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. I asked her a few months ago for a book recommendation and without hesitation she mentioned Indigo.

I have no idea how I could have missed such a tremendous African American writer for so many years of my life. 

Indigo was a touching romance novel. Ms. Jenkins blends history, action, and true love. I learned so many things about slavery that I never knew before, and it was all captivating. Ms. Jenkins has a way of dispersing the information within the story that gives the novel a greater depth.

The romance between Galen and Hester was classic. The story was told in such a way that I really wanted them to get together, but because of the circumstances I wasn’t sure if they would end up together (even though I knew that they would be). Their love was beautiful to read about. Ms Jenkins can weave a romantic scene (translate as sex) with such fluid sensuality  that it almost reads like poetry.

I will shout it out to the world (in the privacy of my home of course) that I am in love with Beverly Jenkins’ writing and will definitely be ordering and reading more from her.

I give Indigo five chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy at Amazon.com

The Blurb

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 has to be overcome before she and Galen can find the freedom only love can bring.