"strong historical romance"
In 1884, Loreli Winters travels as part of a contingent of
Black mail order brides. However, unlike the rest of the
females, Loreli has no intention of marrying anyone nor
live in the small Black community of Hanks, Kansas. She
signed on for the adventure of going west and plans to
continue on to California. Two little girls, Bebe and Dede learn that Loreli is not
intending to be anyone's mother, and decide she will be
their new mama. Loreli worries about the twins being by
themselves so she insists on escorting them home. She
meets their Uncle Jake Reed and both mutually agree that
matrimony is not in either of their plans. However,
neither one realizes yet how far two desperate matchmaking
preadolescents will go to make Loreli their new mama. As
they protest a little bit louder then necessary, inside
their hearts Jake and Loreli are falling in love. When one reads a Beverly Jenkins , the flavor of the era
from a different perspective freely flows through a
wonderful tale. A CHANCE AT LOVE is a chance for the
audience to learn about American Blacks in the 1880s yet
while doing so inside a strong engaging novel. The story
line is vividly descriptive, but also provides fully
developed characters. Fans of the author's previous books
will relish Loreli finally as the lead and know she met her
soul mate. The twins with their actions somewhat steal the
show, but the real strength of this story remains the
period piece that displays the immense talent of Ms.
Jenkins. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 27, 2002
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