Books for Christian Girls: "To Steal a Heart" by Jen Turano

About this book:

“After a childhood as a street thief, Gabriella Goodhue thought she'd put her past behind her until a fellow resident at her boardinghouse is unjustly accused of theft. In the middle of breaking into a safe that holds the proof to prove her friend's innocence, Gabriella is interrupted by Nicholas Quinn, the man she once considered her best friend—until he abandoned her.

After being taken under the wing of a professor who introduced him into society and named him as heir, Nicholas is living far removed from his childhood life of crime. As a favor to a friend, Nicholas agreed to help clear the name of an innocent woman, never imagining he'd be reunited with the girl he thought lost to him forever.

As Gabriella and Nicholas are thrown together into one intrigue after another, their childhood affection grows into more, but their newfound feelings are tested when truths about their past are revealed and danger follows their every step.”

Series: Book #1 in “The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency”.

Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned; Some witnessing & discussions; Talks about God, faiths, & paths; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Gabriella doesn’t believe God has taken an interest in her life *Spoiler* but realizes at the very end that He was watching over her *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God & faiths; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, ministers, sermons, & services; A couple mentions of Christian duty;

*Note: A couple mentions of a ghost.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘dumb’s and a ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Eye rolling; Being held at gunpoint & being threatened; Injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; All about many mentions of thieves, stealing, burglaries, heists, pick-pocketing, crimes, criminals, gangs, bandits, arrests, & jail; Mentions of guns being aimed & shooting/killing; Mentions of fevers & deaths; Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of an abduction; Mentions of children’s fights, punishments, & children being beaten; Mentions of taverns & brawls; Mentions of a fire; Mentions of alcohol & social drinking; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of divorces; A few mentions of threats, threatening to kill someone, & murder; A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A mention of a parent trying to sell their child; A mention of a dog fight;

*Note: Mentions of authors & books.

Sexual Content- Hand kisses (barely-above-not-detailed), four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, & a semi-detailed kiss; Some noticing, touches, & dancing; A few unwanted touches; Mentions of prostitutes, prostitution, brothels, & a madame that has been looking at young girls to come work for her; Mentions of married men having affairs, mistresses, assuming someone is a mistress, infidelity, betrayal, men taking advantage of women, illegitimate children, & out-of-wedlock pregnancies (*Spoiler* Gabriella’s birth father was a married man *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & intimate relationships; Mentions of reputations & being ruined; Mentions of feeling tingly; Mentions of figures/curves, bosoms, feminine charms, & blushes; A few mentions of a boy trying to peek at a young girl bathing; A few mentions of men paying too much attention to a young girl & men (sometimes married men) gawking at women; A few mentions of scandals; A couple mentions of hand kisses; A mention of a young man “trying to force his attention on a girl”; Some love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Gabriella Goodhue

-Nicholas Quinn

P.O.V. switches between them

Set in 1886

361 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve been anticipating the start to this series since I first learned about it over a year ago. I absolutely adored Jen Turano’s prior book—which was the end to another great trilogy—so my excitement for this one was very high. I’ve always loved finding new historical mysteries or even just stories featuring Pinkerton agents. “To Steal a Heart” is the start of a series of an inquiry agency made up of women from the same boarding house.

It took me a little longer than normal to get into this book than most Jen Turano books, but I think that was because it’s the start to a new series and there is a lot of characters to be introduced to. Secret identities are a favorite book trope of mine and this book was filled with them. I cannot wait for the rest of the series—but especially Eunice’s story.

Gabriella and Nicholas were both great characters. While you know they may end up as more than friends by the end of the book due to the “romance” genre, I loved how clean their thoughts and actions towards each other were and just their friendship in general. I do wish there had been more faith content, personally, but there was some sprinkled throughout the story.

In my personal rating, I give it a four-star rating (and not a 4.5 star) because of the mentions of affairs, men taking advantage of women, a brothel owner looking at taking young girls, and a vile human’s comments at the end. None of these topics were heavy or detailed in sexual nature, but still unpleasant at times. This is why I have marked the younger two age group ratings as a one-star rating. For those (who are slightly older), it depends on the girl to whether this content would be okay for her. None of that it taken as even a bit acceptable, though, so the morals are high in the story from our main characters.

Like I previously said, I am definitely looking forward to continue this series and seeing what our characters get into next. :)

See y’all on Friday with a new review!