For Your Love (Blessings #6) by Beverly Jenkins
ISBN: 9780062207999 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780062208002 (ebook)
ASIN: B00QQMNINM (Kindle edition)
Publication date: April 28, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Return to Henry Adams, Kansas–an unforgettable place anyone would want to call home. . . .
Mayor Trent July and his wife, Lily, are enjoying life as newlyweds and embracing the challenges and joys that come with being adoptive parents to two wonderful boys. But fatherhood has inevitably forced Trent to think about his own birth mother.
Raised by his grandmother Tamar–and, in many ways, the good people of Henry Adams–Trent was blessed with a childhood full of love. But he can’t help wondering what happened to the scared teenage girl who gave birth to him. And questions that he’s never voiced are now begging to be answered: Who was she? Is she still alive? Why didn’t she want him?
Trent has always believed that no good comes from dwelling on the past, especially when you have a loving family, a strong community, and folks who depend on you. But when the past comes to Henry Adams, Trent has no choice but to face it–and the woman who left him behind. The truth will shake his very being and everything he thought he knew about life, love, and the bonds that hold families together . . . but can also tear them apart.
Imagine a contemporary small, rural town filled with loving, caring people. Imagine a town with little, if any, unemployment. Imagine a town where everyone works together for the betterment of that town and its inhabitants. Now imagine this town was founded by Black Americans in the mid-1800s and that multiple generations of descendants of the founding families have continued to reside there and raise their families. This mythic town is the town of Henry Adams, Kansas and is the setting for the Blessings series of stories by Beverly Jenkins. For Your Love isn’t just the story of this town or one family, but multiple families and their search for more.
The first person we’re introduced to is Rita Lynn Babcock in California and the only thing we know is that she’s received a letter from her deceased mother revealing a shocking secret from her past. Next we’re introduced to Trent July. His family is one of the founding families of Henry Adams. Trent is on his third marriage and has two adopted sons, Amari, and Devon. Trent’s father, Malachi July, is a trained veterinarian and owner/operator of the Dog and Cow restaurant in town. Trent is a trained architectural engineer and is currently working as the mayor of Henry Adams. Trent’s only regret in life is that he doesn’t know his birth mother. Just when you think you know where this story is going, the reader is whisked to Dallas, Texas and introduced to nineteen-year-old Bobby Douglas, his nineteen-year-old girlfriend Kelly “Kiki” Page, and their eleven-month-old twins, Tiara and Bobby Jr. Bobby and Kelley are struggling to provide for their young family when they are asked to relocate to Henry Adams, Kansas. What follows is a story of a town offering a foundation to a young family, affording them respite from abject poverty and the chance to be a part of something bigger.
Over the course of this story, Trent reconnects with his birth-mother, Rita. And Bobby and Kelly realize that there are good people willing to offer a helping hand to those in need. Needless to say, there is a lot more going on than just the story of Trent, Rita, Bobby, and Kelly. The reader is introduced to the older generation of Henry Adams, as well as the youngsters (trust me when I say you’ll want to read about Devon and his swagalicious wardrobe). Are there problems to be faced in Henry Adams? Of course there are, and one of the bigger problems is dealing with a loss of support services from a neighboring town. Throughout all the ups-and-downs, this tiny community bands together to ensure that no one is fighting a battle alone.
For Your Love is actually the first story I’ve read by Ms. Jenkins. At first I was a little lost since there was obviously quite a bit of backstory to this town and its residents that I didn’t know. However, once I got into the story it didn’t really seem to matter about what came before (although I’m adding all of the previous titles in this series to my TBR list just so I can catch up). Ms. Jenkins has crafted a wonderful story about a town and community anyone would want to live in. Not all of the people in this town are wealthy financially, but they have a wealth of friendship, love, and support that can’t be measured. There’s family drama, old jealousies and hurts, greed and avarice, and more. If you enjoy stories featuring families and communities dealing with realistic problems, then you’ll want to add this HEA (happy/hopeful-ever-after) story to your TBR list. I look forward to catching up on the Blessings series and reading more from Ms. Jenkins in the future.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free for review purposes via TLC Book Tours. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
About the Author
Beverly Jenkins is the author of thirty historical and contemporary novels, including five previous books in her beloved Blessings series. She has been featured in many national publications, including the Wall Street Journal, People, the Dallas Morning News, Vibe, and many other publications.
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The Book Diva's Reads 
Glad you enjoyed your first trip to Henry Adams. Thanks! B
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All the reviews I've read rave about these books, so I'm happy to hear you loved it too! I really do love books with a hopeful-ever-after ending (I'd never heard that term before you used it, but I love it!)…Thanks for being on the tour!
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I want to go back and read the other books too – this one was so good!
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Hallo, Hallo!I'm visiting you via the TLC blog tour for FOR YOUR LOVE! It was my first experience settling into Henry Adams, and I must confess after I finished reading the story I was itching to find out if any of the other readers on the tour felt the way I had — that I simply couldn't wait to go back and read the ENTIRE series start to finish! :)Love how you took a different tact than I did to introduce your readers to Henry Adams! Felt like I was soaking inside the opening bits of the novel where the characters were all new to me and the towne was charming it's grace over my heart! That is what endeared me to Henry Adams, how the community at large came together to work through the trials of life and the upsets of individual lives! I was quite touched by how Jenkins not only embedded contemporary life realism into her novel but how wicked real FOR YOUR LOVE read!Awesomesauce! You were a 'first time visitor' to Henry Adams, too! How wicked lovely! I actually blogged my intentions about how I want to go back through Henry Adams! Nice to know you were left with the same strong impression!Nice to 'meet you!' on this blog tour! Many happy reads, to you! Drop by: Jorie's Review
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