{Trigger/Content
Warning for those sensitive to prejudice, blood/major injuries,
dead
horses, & possible rape.}
“With
her stammering tongue and quiet ways, Cadence Piper has always struggled to be
accepted. After the death of her mother, Cadence sets her heart on becoming a
nurse, both to erase the stain her brother has left on the family’s honor and
to find long-sought approval in the eyes of her father. When Dorothea Dix turns
her away due to her young age and pretty face, Cadence finds another way to
serve . . . singing to the soldiers in Judiciary Square Hospital. Only one
stubborn doctor stands in her way.
Joshua Ivy is an intense man with a
compassionate heart for the hurting and downtrodden. The one thing he can’t
have is an idealistic woman destroying the plans he’s so carefully laid. When
the chaos of war thrusts Cadence into the middle of his clandestine activities,
he must decide if the lives at stake, and his own heart, are worth the risk of
letting Cadence inside.
Everything changes when Joshua and Cadence
unearth the workings of a secret society so vile, the course of their lives,
and the war, could be altered forever. If they fight an enemy they cannot see,
will the One who sees all show them the way in the darkest night?”
Series: No.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, & discussed; Prayers;
Church going (once); Hymns are written out & sung by Cadence; Talks about
God, gifts; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God
(called often by the name “Providence” or the “Almighty”); Mentions of prayers
& praying; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, services, revivals,
& hymns; Mentions of those in the Bible, Bibles, & Bible reading; A few
mentions of suggestions to Heaven (it’s alluded to, but the word ‘Heaven’ is never
mentioned); A couple mentions of Christian circles & a Christian’s duty; A couple
mentions of blessings;
*Note: Cadence is called an angel
on earth and Joshua calls himself a sinner; Seeing a cult-like group chanting
in a “demonic rhythm” and doing blood oaths (along with killing someone); Mentions
of the devil, demons, ghosts, & Hell; A few mentions of sins & sinners.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’ and two forms of ‘blast’; A
few mentions of curses (said, not written); All about slavery, wars,
battle grounds, hospitals, dying soldiers, deaths, major injuries, amputated limbs,
blood/bleeding, & gore from all of those topics (up to detailed); Being set
during the Civil War, there are those who hate are willing to beat/kill slaves
and those against their twisted thoughts (including seeing them kill someone
and beat others, also how they will deal with their enemies (brutally detailed),
overall detailed); Facing prejudice & awful names (one is cut off); Holding
men as they die (semi-detailed); Removing a bullet (detailed); Watching a limb
being amputated & blood (semi-detailed); Seeing a child beaten (semi-detailed);
Remembering being beaten as a child (semi-detailed); Seeing slaves being sold
as cattle (semi-detailed); Being attacked and choked, & kidnapped and held
hostage (semi-detailed); Nightmares (up to semi-detailed); Cadence wears a
fake wedding ring to work at the hospital (“She pushes the guilt of the
deception aside. The good she was doing justified the means, didn’t it?”); Many
mentions of slaves being killed, beaten, or sold (semi-detailed); Mentions of murders
(up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fights, being beaten, injuries, gunshots,
& explosions (semi-detailed); Mentions of threats & warnings; Mentions
of pickpockets, thieves, & stealing; Mentions of taverns, alcohol,
drinking, & drunks; Mentions of urine & waste from chamber pots; Mentions
of throwing up; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception; Mentions of gambling
& carousing; A few mentions of jails; A few mentions of dead horses in
battles; A couple mentions of cheating; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple
mentions of hunting; A mention of a child seeing their father shot & killed
(barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of jealousy; A mention of cigarettes.
Sexual Content- Many fingers-to-lips
touches (up to semi-detailed), two hand kisses, a cheek kiss, a head kiss, an
almost kiss, three not-detailed kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a
forced semi-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and three detailed kisses; Remembering
kisses (both of them refer to it as “tasting” or “tasting the other’s passion” the
other a few times, up to detailed); Lots of touches & embraces (semi-detailed);
Winks & Blushes; Noticing & Nearness (up to detailed); Two fade-to-black
scenes for a married couple on their honeymoon & waking up at least partially
unclothed (“fade-to-black scenes” are when a couple is obviously longing for the
other physically, kissing starts, suggestive comments begins, and then the
chapter ends. Border-line semi-detailed // detailed); A man tries to force
himself upon (with the intent of raping) Cadence, kisses and gropes her (he is
pulled off of her before anything else happens, semi-detailed); Cadence is
ordered to unbutton a male patient’s shirt (both are very embarrassed, barely-above-not-detailed);
Mentions of a female slave being sold while being completely naked & a man
wanting to buy another slave girl to warm his bed (he buys a young girl no
older than ten, but the child is saved); Mentions of a honeymoon & a couple
being alone at night; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of reputations
& chaperones; A few mentions of men making suggestive comments about/towards
Cadence; A few mentions of thinking something caused a couple to get married
in a hurry; A few mentions of houses of ill repute & soiled doves/loose
women; A few mentions of men being tempted by a pretty nurse; A few mentions of
winks & blushes; A couple mentions of a man taking (or not) liberties; A couple
mentions of a man slinking away to meet a woman; Love, falling in love, &
the emotions;
*Note: A couple mentions of a
mother dying in childbirth; A couple mentions of a woman’s monthly; A mention
of a buxom woman.
-Cadence Piper, age 17-19
-Joshua Ivy, around 25
P.O.V.
switches between them
Set in 1861-1863
400 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre
Teens- 
New
Teens- 
Early
High School Teens- 
Older
High School Teens- 
My
personal Rating- 
dead horses, & possible rape.}
The character of Cadence makes
me want to give this book two stars, but due to some extreme content this book
is receiving a one-star rating.
Let’s go into my pros and cons:
Con #1: I’m not one for moody
heroes. And Joshua is a textbook example of a moody hero. I understand he has a
lot on his plate, but he was so mean to Cadence at so many parts then longing for
her or noticing her appearance the next. It was annoying and an example of an unhealthy
relationship. Not only at their first meeting, but their second, and later—when
he is supposed to like her—and is a complete bully (Cadence’s words) then hugs
hers and his desire for her is evident.
Con #2: The battle grounds
(including describing human bodies and dead horses), hospital details, and the
blood/amputations were all very descriptive. So much so that it made me nauseous
at times. I have read many Civil War books before, but none of them turned my
stomach so like this one. It was very gruesome in this way and in this next
con.
Con #3: In lines with the Civil
War topic, the hatred and evil from people was so much. That time
period already hurts my heart, but this book took it up another level with the
Knights (a prior to KKK-like group) and their evil actions and killings.
Con #4: Is a spoiler, but a
particularly important factor in my rating. For those not wanting to be
spoiled, it is about marital scenes. *spoiler* Joshua and Cadence have to get
married due to a lie/stretch of Joshua’s. I can honestly say I do not like
marriage of convenience stories and would not have picked up this book had I
known (or the back-cover said) there would be one in this story. Because of
this element and the main character’s desire for each other already, there are
two fade-to-black scenes. Two scenes where the main couple is obviously longing
for the other physically, kissing starts, suggestive comments begins, and then
the chapter ends. After seeing this in so many Christian Fiction books a
handful of years ago, I was hoping that this style would have gone away. Why in
the world does a reader need to know that they consummated their marriage? I do
not understand this and I never will. I’m not going to go up to a newly married
friend and ask if they’ve done it, so why in the world should I know about two
fiction characters’ physical marital status. This has annoyed me since I
started reviewing Christian Fiction almost eight years ago and it still does.
It’s not romantic, it’s too much information. *End of Spoiler*
Indifferent #1: This is neither a
pro nor a con, I don’t frankly care either way at this point. In this first
third of the book, nearly each chapter skips another month or more. It was weird
for me at first and I think it messed with the pacing at the beginning, but I
think the author did that so the reader wouldn’t feel like the characters had
only know each other for a bit before falling head over heels in love. Which in
reality, they basically fell for each other in an almost insta-love way anyway and
it started based on the other’ appearance.
And now my only pro:
I liked Cadence. when she
wasn’t around Joshua. I liked the faith content in this book, that’s why I’m
not happy to give this book a low rating. But the other content just ruined the
book for me—especially con #4. This was very disappointing and I will not be
trying any other book by this author.
See y’all on Monday 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 (Tyndale) for this honest review.
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