Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
On Bernadine Brown’s fifty-second birthday she received an unexpected gift—she caught her husband, Leo, cheating with his secretary. She was hurt—angry, too—but she didn’t cry woe is me. Nope, she hired herself a top-notch lawyer and ended up with a cool $275 million. Having been raised in the church, she knew that when much is given much is expected, so she asked God to send her a purpose.
The purpose turned out to be a town: Henry Adams, Kansas, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. The failing town had put itself up for sale on the Internet, so Bernadine bought it.
Trent July is the mayor, and watching the town of his birth slide into debt and foreclosure is about the hardest thing he’s ever done. When the buyer comes to town, he’s impressed by her vision, strength, and the hope she wants to offer not only to the town and its few remaining residents, but to a handful of kids in desperate need of a second chance.
Not everyone in town wants to get on board though; they don’t want change. But Bernadine and Trent, along with his first love, Lily Fontaine, are determined to preserve the town’s legacy while ushering in a new era with ties to its unique past and its promising future.
About The Blessings Series
In this 12-book series, The Blessings—with Calling All Blessings arriving Fall 2025—NAACP Image Award nominee and bestselling author Beverly Jenkins welcomes readers to the unforgettable town of Henry Adams, Kansas. Rich in community spirit, family ties, unexpected surprises, and the kind of second chances that change lives, Henry Adams is a place where the past has a powerful way of shaping the future.
Bernadine Brown is a woman with means and a mission. When she sets her sights on revitalizing the struggling town of Henry Adams, she brings not just money, but bold ideas. The townspeople may not be ready for her vision, but they’ll have to decide: Are they willing to change their ways to share their good fortune with those in need?
Originally founded as one of the few all-Black towns after Reconstruction, Henry Adams was on the brink of collapse more than a century later. That’s when Mayor Trent July took a leap of faith and put the town up for sale online. Now, with new ownership, old wounds, and a town full of strong personalities, the future of Henry Adams hangs in the balance. Will it mark the end of an era—or the beginning of something even greater?
About the Author
Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance.
She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature and was featured both in the documentary “Love Between the Covers” and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she’s been leading the charge for inclusive romance, and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, Salon, Shondaland, The New York Times, and NPR.
She was also named 2018 Author of the Year by the Michigan Library Association. She has 60 works in print. This is her 30th year as a published author.
Photo credit on headshot Andrea King-Collier.
Find all of Beverly Jenkins’ audiobooks here: www.beverlyjenkins.net/audiobooks
Explore printed books by Beverly Jenkins here: www.beverlyjenkins.net/books
Calling All Blessings: A Heartwarming Novel of Buried Family Trauma, Self-Discovery, and Forgiveness in the Small Fictional Town of Henry Adams, Kansas (Blessings Series, Book 12) by Beverly Jenkins. Coming October 28, 2025. Order Now – https://a.co/d/4eNAERe
NAACP nominee and USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins celebrates her beloved Blessings series with a heartwarming novel set in Henry Adams, Kansas.
“If you haven’t yet gotten your hands on [this] author’s work, you should do so immediately.” —Shondaland
Tamar July, the town matriarch of Henry Adams, KS, is being haunted by dreams of her humiliating wedding day, sixty years ago, when she discovered her intended, Joel Newton, was already married. The truth left her furious, heartbroken, and carrying a child, her son Malachi “Mal” July. Why are these dreams coming to her now? And is the great horned owl perched on her backyard shed somehow connected? When Joel’s legitimate son comes to Henry Adams wanting to meet his half-brother, Mal, Tamar must deal with her past, her anger, and explore what it means to truly forgive.
Tamar isn’t the only one being tested. Teenager Devon July wants to be anyone but himself. When he first arrived in Henry Adams, as an eight-year-old foster child, he wanted to be a preacher. Then, to be like his adopted brother, Amari. Now, he’s decided to be a variant of James Brown—wig included—rather than who he really is, a boy who lost his beloved grandmother and is the son of a mentally challenged woman. Will Tamar be able to guide his spirit quest and place him on the road to finally being at peace within himself?
As the big August 1st celebration nears, town owner Bernadine Brown has a lot on her plate, chief among them, what to do with former mayor Riley Curry’s monstrous tribute to his hog Cletus. There are no secrets in Henry Adams, but there’s never a dull moment either.