The Davenports by Krystal Marquis (2023)

I really wanted to like this one. The description sounded interesting:

In 1910, the Davenports are one of the few Black families of immense wealth and status in a changing United States, their fortune made through the entrepreneurship of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who founded the Davenport Carriage Company years ago. Now the Davenports live surrounded by servants, crystal chandeliers, and endless parties, finding their way and finding love—even where they're not supposed to...  The first book in a breathless new series, The Davenports offers a glimpse into a period of African American history often overlooked, while delivering a totally escapist, swoon-worthy read. Inspired by the real-life story of C.R. Patterson and his family, it's the tale of four determined and passionate young Black women discovering the courage to steer their own path in life—and love.

All the elements were there. Good world building, 3D characters, interesting premise. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect. I made it about 40% through, decided I didn't care what happened. Marquis and her story could be really fun and interesting. I think it's all me and my mood. 

I'll probably pick it up later, but for now it's a DNF.

Longing by Mary Balogh (1994)

This is a standalone book by Mary Balogh. And boy, was it a saga! The audiobook was 14 hours long and it was really crammed full of events. It was chock-full of action and drama -- if you can use those words to describe a historical romance. While it was set in the 19th century, it wasn't the standard life-in-the-ton romance. Our hero is a Marquis, but it's mainly a story about the effect of the industrial revolution on regular people's lives. The ton is pretty abstract in this book because instead of Regency London or house parties in the countryside, our story takes place in Wales.

This book takes place 50 years after the French revolution during a time when the Industrial Revolution was changing society. This is a time in English history when workers were rioting because of terrible working conditions. For instance, because the price of steel drops, threatening their profits, the local mine owners cut their pay by 10%. (Not that the miners weren't living on the poverty line or anything.) And because only the gentry have voting rights, they can do this with impunity. A big specter that hangs over everything throughout the book was the Charter, a list of demands that the working man are going to present Parliament, asking for things like the vote and fair, safe working conditions and pay. 

Heartless (Georgian #1) by Mary Balogh (1995)

Synopsis: 

Life has taught Lucas Kendrick, Duke of Harndon, that a heart is a decided liability. Betrayed by his elder brother, rejected by his fiancée, banished by his father, and shunned by his mother, Luke fled to Paris, where he became the most sought-after bachelor in fashionable society.

Ten years later, fate has brought him back home to England as head of the family who rejected him. Unwilling as he is to be involved with them, he must assume responsibility for his younger siblings, the family estate he once loved—and the succession. He faces the prospect of marrying with the greatest reluctance—until he sees beguiling Lady Anna Marlowe across a ballroom one night.

Anna, far from being the bright-eyed innocent Luke takes her for, is no more a stranger to the shadows of a painful past than he is. But for her, marriage cannot so easily solve what is wrong in her life—not when a tormentor stalks her to the very doors of Bowden Abbey, where Luke and Anna must learn to trust in each other or risk any chance they may have for a happy future.

Review:

Lucas Kendrick has no wish to be back in the country of his birth, much less have anything to do with the family which rejected him ten years before. He certainly has no wish to marry. And yet, within the space of a week he does all this: returns to London, reacquaints himself with his mother and remaining siblings, and marries Anna, god-daughter of his uncle's long-term lover.