Beautifully done.' - Library Journal (starred review) 'Both Val and Drake are fierce characters, determined to fight for the things they love and value. This is a grand tale of finding happiness in hard times.' - Publishers Weekly 'A satisfying start to a new historical series from one of romance's finest writers.' - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 'Post-Civil War New Orleans comes to violent life in the hands of a veteran writer and delivers a vibrant, instructive, totally romantic historical tale that will resonate with many readers today. This is a grand tale of finding happiness in hard times., 'Jenkins addresses sensitive, serious issues in a tactful, realistic manner, and she brilliantly balances the real sorrows of history with a shimmering romance. If you feel a similar way, I’ve got some books for you! In these romances, you can enjoy the passion (and problems) of education and being an educator without having to decide if you’re going to ignore your moral compass for a bit.Jenkins addresses sensitive, serious issues in a tactful, realistic manner, and she brilliantly balances the real sorrows of history with a shimmering romance. In other words: the educator is not in charge of the student’s grades or ability to graduate they’re in a private or group lessons kind of situation, like dance or martial arts or maybe they met before they realized their predicament or waited until after…but even in that kind of situation, the way they approach it will make or break my ability to continue. While I never want to yuck yums, as someone who has worked in a high school and done instruction at other levels, those are usually hard limits for me, with some exceptions - they’re both consenting adults and there are no power dynamic issues. One romantic pairing that has been a point of conflict and contention for romance readers and people who engage with media across the board is the idea of the student/teacher relationship.

Either way, there is something about teachers and other educators falling in love that sets these stories apart from ones that don’t center weird, passionate people who have very specific interests in the future of education, their topics of study, and the people they get to work with every day. Their role as a teacher could take center stage in the story, or it might be that it’s more of a central element of their personality, but the classroom isn’t as important in the romance. They could be grade school teachers or college professors or instructors of another nature. There are a lot of educators in romance novels.

Rebel by Beverly Jenkins