Books for Christian Girls: "Heart on the Line" by Karen Witemeyer

About this book:

“Grace Mallory is tired of running, of hiding. But when an old friend sends an after-hours telegraph transmission warning Grace that the man who has hunted her for nearly a year has discovered her location, she fears she has no choice. She can't let the villain she believes responsible for her father's death release his wrath in Harper's Station, the town that has sheltered her and blessed her with the dearest friends she's ever known.
Amos Bledsoe prefers bicycles to horses and private conversations over the telegraph wire to social gatherings with young ladies who see him as nothing more than an oddity. His telegraph companion, the mysterious Miss G, listens eagerly to his ramblings every night and delights him with tales all her own. For months, their friendship--dare he believe, courtship?--has fed his hope that he has finally found the woman God intended for him. Yet when he takes the next step to meet her in person, he discovers her life is in peril, and Amos must decide if he can shed the cocoon of his quiet nature to become the hero Grace requires.”

Series: Book #2 in the “Ladies of Harper’s Station” series. Review of Book #1 here!

Spiritual Content- 1 Samuel 16:7 at the beginning; Many Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, remembered, & talked about; Many Prayers, thanking & praising the Lord; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Both Amos & Grace have faiths, but Helen has a hard time because of her past, she starts to become open to the idea; Many mentions of God; Many mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking the Lord; Mentions of Bibles; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, & hymns; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A mention of a man acting like a saint;

*Note: A little boy is called a devil; A mention of a devil’s bargain; A mention of Satan having broken someone’s mind; A mention of Adonis; A mention of the world of Fey.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘doggone it’, a ‘sissy’, two ‘drat’s, two ‘idiot’s, two ‘shut up’s, three ‘shoot’s, and five forms of ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Pain, being kidnapped/held hostage and tied up, nearly being drowned, threats, blood/bleeding, knifes, gunfire, & shooting/killing a man (up to semi-detailed); Seeing blood/someone bleeding, gunshot wounds, injuries, & doctoring someone up (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of seeing a murder, gunfire, shooting people, wounds/injuries, blood/bleeding, fevers, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of men hitting & abusing their women, daughters, & sons (because of her childhood of such, Helen loathes men at the sight); Mentions of killers; Mentions of deaths, dying, shooting/killing someone, & corpses; Mentions of a woman drowning her own child (not true) & hangings; Mentions of fighting, kicking, hitting, & a kidnapping (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of the life threatening attacks in Book #1; Mentions of criminals, crimes, & a jail; Mentions of stealing, a thief, & a knife being pulled; Mentions of threats, harm, & bribes; Mentions of a saloon, alcohol, drinking, & drunks; Mentions of tobacco; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of wounded & bleeding animals (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of having to use a chamber pot; Mentions of manure; A few mentions of a puppy that was drowned (no true details); A few mentions of hunting; A mention of a stalker that killed a saloon singer; A mention of a dead drunk; A mention of throwing up.

Sexual Content- a hand kiss, two forehead kisses, two semi-detailed kisses, two detailed kisses, and a very-detailed kiss (in length, not so much the actual act); Remembering a kiss (semi-detailed); Talks about a kiss & kissing; Wanting to kiss & touch (semi-detailed); Touches & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Tingles, Butterflies, & Blushes; Mentions of kisses & kissing (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of couples kissing, touching, & embracing each other (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of noticing, staring, blushes, touches, & wanting to touch (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of flirting, winks & blushes; Mentions of love letters; Mentions of jealousy & men sizing each other up; A mention of a smile that says “I-could-kiss-your-garters-off-if-you-let-me”; A mention of a woman in bed with a man (not in a sexual sense, but hinted at the thought); A mention of hanky-panky; Love, Attraction, falling in love & the emotions (x2);

*Note: Mentions of a woman & baby who supposedly died in childbirth; Mentions of unmentionables, garters, & shapely legs; A few mentions of a man just wearing his drawers; A couple mentions of a corset & a woman’s breasts; A mention of making kissing sounds to get a mule to move.

-Grace Mallory

-Amos Bledsoe, age 28
P.O.V. switches between them & Helen

Set in 1894-1895
328 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve been looking forward to reading this novel featuring telegraphing—the texting of the 1800s.

Haha, I’m only *slightly* kidding.

I was also to the fact that the hero of this story isn’t your typical western hero. He’s not a tough, manly-man toting a gun around, causing all the females to swoon. Amos is kind of nerdy in a sweet kind of way. Meanwhile, Grace was a sweet heart who I loved seeing her strength and sass come out near the end.

I will admit that I wasn’t thrilled with all the kisses near the end, the whole all romance had its sweet moments. I could have done with less kissing, though. ;)

Overall, I did mostly enjoy this novel and seeing the characters from the first book of this series again was a nice bonus. :)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!