Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Davenports | 2023 | Krystal Marquis | Buy |
| 2 | More Than This | 2024 | Krystal Marquis | Buy |
The Davenports series opens in 1910 Chicago with the Davenport family at the center of Black high society, a world of wealth, ambition, and strict social expectations that coexists with the larger racism of the era. The first book follows Olivia Davenport, who dreams of something more than an arranged marriage, and her brother Henry, who is drawn to a woman his family would not approve of. Marquis handles the romantic plots with skill while keeping the historical setting present and specific.
More Than This, the second book, continues with the same family and expands the social and romantic stakes, bringing in new characters and complications. The series works best read in order, since the second book builds on relationships and events established in the first. Together, the two novels offer a portrait of a particular moment in Black American history that feels both meticulously researched and genuinely entertaining.