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.