WILD RAIN by Beverly Jenkins
I’m always ready to read a historical romance with a heroine who has a strong sense of self and a healthy disregard for gender norms, but make her a maverick rancher and put her in the hands of a storyteller like Beverly Jenkins (who has an unrivaled skill for blending difficult, much erased aspects of American history with triumphant, joyful stories of Black love), and you’ve got a book I’ll come back to again & again.
Spring Rain, the fierce, beating heart of the book, is a sharp edged, strong willed horse rancher living alone in the mountains of 1880s Wyoming. Her grit and competence are on display from the moment we meet her, denim clad and bone tired, battling a blizzard to rescue the lost and injured hero. It’s a fitting introduction for a character who has fought her way through chilling adversity to build a home and business she loves. A marvel of self-determination, she moves through the world her own terms. Whether boldly occupying spaces and performing labor typically reserved for men, eviscerating those who attempt to slut shame her, or eschewing expectations that she marry or have children, Spring is gloriously and defiantly herself.
Garrett McCray is a departure from Jenkins’ usual alpha heroes. An East Coast reporter (carpenter, former lawyer & Union Navy man) who’s come west to profile her brother, he’s a true nurturer with a strength that’s grounded in his patient, empathetic nature. Though surprised by Spring and her unconventional behavior, he’s never judgemental or defensive. He finds ways to support her from the moment she brings him home, cooking and doing dishes at his own initiative. Where others are are eager to condemn Spring’s past, Garrett gives her the benefit of the doubt and strives to earn the right to be trusted with her truth.
His calm, direct approach compliments Spring’s not to be trifled with attitude. Content to stand behind her, Garrett is never diminished by Spring’s strength. He’s willing and able to defend her, but always aware of her ability to take care of herself. With him Spring feels both respected and worthy of tenderness; it changes how she thinks about passion and vulnerability, just as her defiance of societal expectations shapes Garrett’s notions of how he can live in the world true to his own desires not the expectations of his family or former self.
Wild Rain is another Jenkins classic!
Rating: Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/A
“I don’t want to cage her —just be with her on whatever terms she chooses.”
“I’m all for any woman snatching happiness wherever she finds it . . . and if it’s lust—so what?”
“Being enslaved, who he wanted to be had been beyond his grasp. Now free, his life, ambitions, and dreams were his own.”
CWs: past sexual abuse, violence, racism, use of racial epithets by villain
Disclosure: Review copy provided by the publisher.
