About
this book:
“Journey now to Castle Gate, Utah of 1910 where...
Forbidden Love Tries to Survive Old World Expectations
Schoolteacher Leanna McKee plans on leaving the coal mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, and never looking back. Good riddance to coal dust, rugged men, and the fatal mine that took her husband’s life.
Until the widow meets a widower who awakens her heart...and she finds herself inexplicably falling for miner Alex Pappas which stirs up a whole heap of trouble.
Alex’s Greek parents have arranged a more traditional match for him. When the schoolteacher’s association with the Greek family begins to anger the American miners, they threaten Alex and his family. Leanna has received an offer to teach elsewhere and feels she has no choice but to leave Castle Rock. . .though she will be leaving her heart behind.”
Series: Part of the “My Heart Belongs” series, but not connected to any other book.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned & quoted; Prayers; Church going; Talks about God, praying, forgiving, & believing; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Alex doesn’t believe that praying or believing in God helps and is vocal in his disbelief (but tries praying “to Someone he’d never wanted to speak to again” about half-way; *Spoiler* He asks God to take him back towards the end *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of God & His forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches/temples, church going, worship, services, & sermons; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of Christmas & Easter; Mentions of faiths (Mormons, the Church of Latter Day Saints, Catholics, Methodists, Greek Orthodoxes, & Protestants); Mentions of priests & crossing; A few mentions of thanking God; A couple mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of The Virgin Mary;
“Journey now to Castle Gate, Utah of 1910 where...
Forbidden Love Tries to Survive Old World Expectations
Schoolteacher Leanna McKee plans on leaving the coal mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, and never looking back. Good riddance to coal dust, rugged men, and the fatal mine that took her husband’s life.
Until the widow meets a widower who awakens her heart...and she finds herself inexplicably falling for miner Alex Pappas which stirs up a whole heap of trouble.
Alex’s Greek parents have arranged a more traditional match for him. When the schoolteacher’s association with the Greek family begins to anger the American miners, they threaten Alex and his family. Leanna has received an offer to teach elsewhere and feels she has no choice but to leave Castle Rock. . .though she will be leaving her heart behind.”
Series: Part of the “My Heart Belongs” series, but not connected to any other book.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned & quoted; Prayers; Church going; Talks about God, praying, forgiving, & believing; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Alex doesn’t believe that praying or believing in God helps and is vocal in his disbelief (but tries praying “to Someone he’d never wanted to speak to again” about half-way; *Spoiler* He asks God to take him back towards the end *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of God & His forgiveness; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches/temples, church going, worship, services, & sermons; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of Christmas & Easter; Mentions of faiths (Mormons, the Church of Latter Day Saints, Catholics, Methodists, Greek Orthodoxes, & Protestants); Mentions of priests & crossing; A few mentions of thanking God; A couple mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of The Virgin Mary;
*Note: Mentions of superstitions
& curses.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘shut up’, two ‘stupid’, and three ‘blasted’s; A few mentions of cursing someone; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; A fire & smoke caused by someone with malicious intent (up to semi-detailed); Being trapped in a mine & pain (up to semi-detailed); A bit of drinking; Many mentions of prejudice, hatred, & bullies/enemies; Many mentions of gambling, gamblers, & debts; Mentions of lynchings, riots, fires, smoke, & screams; Mentions of an accident & Leanna’s husband’s death; Mentions of a fire & deaths of men, women, & children (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of men trapped in a mine, pain, & injuries; Mentions of injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & screams (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & bars/saloons; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & busybodies; A few mentions of smoking; A few mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of a married couple separating; A couple mentions of stealing; A couple mentions of fighting & hitting.
Sexual
Content- a lips-to-fingers touch, two hand/palm kisses, a nose kiss, two
forehead kiss, an almost semi-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kisses, and two
detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, & Dancing (up to semi-detailed); Nearness
& Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed);
Blushes & Butterflies; Mentions of seeing a married man having an affair
(barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions
of jealousy; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Mentions of labor pains
& helping a woman in labor (barely-above-not-detailed).
-Leanna
McKee, age 22
-Alex
Pappas, almost 30
P.O.V. switches between them
P.O.V. switches between them
Set
in 1910-1911
253 pages
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253 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Hmmm.
While I
enjoyed all the prayers and faith content, I had a very hard time getting into
this one. The opens up in a way that makes you feel thrown into the plot. I
really wasn’t a fan of Leanna or Alex, to be honest. Their love felt similar to
an insta-love story and had lots of kisses. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t feel
like these two characters were in love like so many other couples I’ve read
about in Christian Fiction. Like any book that deals with prejudice, it’s a hard
topic to read about and though it ends better, it still felt very rushed to me.
See y’all
on Wednesday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free
from the Publisher (Barbour Publishing) for this honest review.
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