The Heart's Charge

(Hanger's Horsemen #2)

For years they've been nomads for justice, but a final mission may just lead their hearts home.

Members of the legendary Hanger's Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they'd help deliver a baby as well. Left with an infant to care for, they head to a nearby foundling home, where Mark encounters the woman he nearly married a decade ago.

After failing at love, Katherine Palmer has dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society's mold, being illegitimate and of mixed ancestry. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her by defying all her stereotypes of men, but there are secrets behind his eyes—ghosts from wars past and others still being waged.

When the Horsemen hear rumors of missing children, they stay to investigate, sticking close to Harmony House and its beautiful owners. As they work together to uncover the truth, love and danger grow hand in hand until a final sinister scheme threatens to destroy them all.

My Review: 8.5/10

Two of the four Horsemen are back in this dual love story. I liked the change-up; having four main characters, two female/two male and yet also two black and two white was a refreshing change of pace. Ms. Witemeyer didn't shy away from hard topics like legitimacy or racism, and more so the interactions, both good and bad, were believable.

Those deeper, real life currents aside, the elements of faith in this story were well applied and the story itself was interesting.

Jonah's perspective, with his maturity, intelligence, and frank nature, was my favorite to read from. His conversation with Abner was one of my favorite parts of the book.

The only criticisms I have are that I thought Katherine was a little foolish at the end, which is a particular pebble in my shoe. I like to see smart, strong female leads and it frustrates me when they're not consistent or they make reckless decisions on emotion. And at the very end, the villains were too over the top for me.

All in all, a great read.

Monday, August 2, 2021

Meet Me Under the Kissing Bough by Josi S. Kilpack , Anneka R. Walker , Sarah L. McConkie book review

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Meet Me Under the Kissing Bough

Josi S. Kilpack ,

Anneka R. Walker ,

Sarah L. McConkie

A CHRISTMAS ROMANCE COLLECTION

We wish you a merry Christmas and a happily ever after! This special holiday historical romance anthology featuring three heartwarming novellas proves that no matter the obstacles, ’tis the season for love.

Meet Me under the Kissing Bough
by Josi S. Kilpack
Deborah Winfrey hasn’t had the heart to host a holiday party since her husband’s death. But this Christmas, it’s time to move forward. The festivities bring renewed life to her home, and the attentions of two very different men promise a chance at new love.

Healing Hearts for the Holidays
by Anneka R. Walker
Julia Hunt is strictly forbidden from associating with the family in the nearby manor—including the handsome younger son, Esmond, who quickly steals her heart. With Christmas around the corner, an old bundle of hidden love letters may be the key to her own happily ever after.

A Christmas Correspondence
by Sarah L. McConkie
In this novella inspired by the timeless tale A Christmas Carol, John Charleston finds himself on an unexpected journey in the company of the insufferable Lady Caroline Morleigh. But the magic of the season has a way of softening even the hardest of hearts.

2.5

-Meet Me Under the Kissing Bough
Deborah's situation is less common as she is an older woman with children that are nearly grown. I appreciated that as a mother, it was not as simple as choosing for herself; she had to consider the effects on her children and their futures. Her relationship with her mother was complicated as well. Phillip... bugged me. He was not patient with her, but it was like he expected an immediate public commitment. What was worse, he accused her of using him, not trusting him, being fickle. He tried to beg off instead of working through the problems. I didn't think Deborah did anything wrong. This was brand new, of course she was still taking it slow, exploring her feelings and weighing them against her responsibilities. They did not have an agreement in place, and again it was BRAND NEW - she didn't owe him an explanation regarding someone else's action. And while I wouldn't have handled it publicly as she did, I didn't think he could possibly find fault with her for that. I really wanted to give him a piece of my mind.

-Healing Hearts for the Holidays
It was really sad to see things had regressed since we had last seen these characters. There was some awkwardness, a fair amount of tension and a lot of rehashing things I thought had already been dealt with.

-A Christmas Correspondence
I could not stomach Caroline. She was not just rude, but relentless malicious. I have read my fair share of unlikeable characters, which are actually some of my favorite stories, but this was something else entirely. It wasn't misguided, or sticking your foot in your mouth, or like the veiled barbs of the arrogant, usually wrapped up in deceptively sweet demeanor. It wasn't absurd and humorously done. It didn't even really make sense based on the prologue. Caroline seems to tolerate her father words, not invite them into her very being. She is hurting and silently obeys to escape. He dies not long after that opening scene, so how in the world did she become such a harpy?! I also did not understand the whole letter situation. It seems like her father expected them to be delivered to her fairly soon. Why would a child need to be threatened with their inheritance? I don't know. The changes of heart for both Caroline and her father were too abrupt to be believed.

These are usually some of my favorite authors. Unfortunately I just did not connect with these stories.