NAACP nominee andย USA Todayย bestselling author Beverly Jenkins celebrates her beloved Blessings series with a heartwarming novel set in Henry Adams, Kansas.
โIf you havenโt yet gotten your hands on [this] authorโs work, you should do so immediately.โโShondaland
Tamar July, town matriarch of Henry Adams, KS, is being haunted by dreams of her humiliating wedding day, sixty years ago, when she discovered her intended, Joel Newton, was already married. The truth left her furious, heartbroken, and carrying a child, her son Malachi โMalโ July. Why are these dreams coming to her now? And is the great horned owl perched on her backyard shed somehow connected? When Joelโs legitimate son comes to Henry Adams wanting to meet his half-brother, Mal, Tamar must deal with her past, her anger, and explore what it means to truly forgive.
Tamar isnโt the only one being tested.ย Teenager Devon July wants to be anyone but himself. When he first arrived in Henry Adams, as an eight-year-old foster child, he wanted to be a preacher. Then, to be like his adopted brother, Amari. Now, heโs decided to be a variant of James Brownโwig includedโrather than who he really is, a boy who lost his beloved grandmother and is the son of a mentally challenged woman. Will Tamar be able to guide his spirit quest and place him on the road to finally being at peace within himself?
As the big August 1st celebration nears, town owner Bernadine Brown has a lot on her plate, chief among them, what to do with former mayor Riley Curryโs monstrous tribute to his hog Cletus. There are no secrets in Henry Adams, but thereโs never a dull moment either.ย
Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2018 Michigan Author Award by the Michigan Library Association, the 2017 Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewersโ Choice Award for historical romance. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature and was featured in both the documentary Love Between the Covers and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for inclusive romance and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People magazine, and NPR.