My enormous thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue of Books and the City for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Token by Beverley Kendall. I’m delighted to share my review of Token today.

Published by Simon and Schuster tomorrow, 15th February 2024, Token is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Token

Kennedy Mitchell is brilliant, beautiful and tired of being the only Black woman in the room.

Two years ago, she was plucked from reception for a seat at the boardroom table in the name of “representation”. Rather than play along, she and her best friend founded Token, a boutique PR agency that helps diversity-challenged companies and celebrities. With famous people getting into reputation-damaging controversies, Token is in high demand and business is booming, but when her ex shows up needing help repairing his reputation, things get even more complicated and soon Kennedy finds herself drawn into a PR scandal of her own.

My Review of Token

Kennedy’s job is about to change.

What a fresh, engaging and brilliant read. I loved Token. I sometimes think that US based stories are not to my British taste, but in Token Beverley Kendall has absolutely proved me wrong. This is a narrative with sharp wit, incisive social comment and an underlying sexiness that makes it a fabulous read.

The plot is so clever because anyone wanting a romance finds it here. Anyone wanting affecting and enhanced sexual tension will find it in spades between Kennedy and Nate. Anyone wanting a strong and appealing female protagonist able to take care of herself need look no further than Kennedy and on top of all this are modern themes that hit right to the heart of who we are in today’s world. Combine all these aspects and Token is intelligent, entertaining and, for me, quite brilliant. 

I loved Kennedy. Indeed I’m ever so slightly in love with Kennedy. She’s beautiful, quick witted and hard working but there’s also a vulnerability that comes through in her relationship with Nate that adds depth to her character. Throughout Token she develops in a highly credible and engaging manner, making her a heroine for the modern era. 

There’s a wide enough cast of minor characters to add texture to the story, but at the heart is Kennedy, Nate and to a lesser extent Sahara and Aurora. This provides intimacy and ensures the reader is completely invested in the outcomes for them all. I wanted them all to have a positive outcome but I’m not saying whether that happens! You’ll need to read Token for yourself.

Aside from the brilliantly depicted, glamorous world of the rich and famous, Token has a riveting uncovering of the murky world of big business, with both unintentional – and completely overt – bias, including sexism and racism so that Token packs a punch even as it entertains. There’s jealousy and corruption right at the heart of Kennedy’s life that is utterly fascinating. What works so well is that Beverley Kendall makes readers consider the impact of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, and the wrong thing for the right reasons, and she shows how morality can become blurred and obfuscated. She puts all of society under the microscope but without preaching so that Token feels considered and thought-provoking. 

I thought Token was excellent. Beverley Kendall held my attention completely because she gave me a vivid and compelling insight into a world I know little about, entertaining me thoroughly along the way and making me believe in, and care about, her characters too. I loved this book and if you think you don’t need Kennedy Mitchell and Token in your life, you’re wrong. You really, really do. Don’t miss this one! 

About Beverley Kendall

Beverley discovered her love of books while growing up in, the then, small city of Barrie, Ontario Canada. With her love of books and romance, she always wished that everyone would find their happily ever after. She currently writes sexy historical, new adult and contemporary romances.  As the mother of one too bright and mischievous young boy, she pulls full-time duty on all fronts. When she’s not writing full-time, running The Season review website or mothering, she’s probably reading or sleeping and dreaming of a time when she’ll have time for her favorite hobbies: knitting, crocheting and sewing.  Beverley has lived on two continents, in three countries, two provinces, and four states. She stopped her nomadic existence and settled in the southeast. All things artistic feed her creative passion, but none more than writing.

For further information, visit Beverley’s website, or find her on Facebook and Instagram.

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