Books for Christian Girls: "Stealing the Preacher" by Karen Witemeyer

About this book:

“A cowboy who wants to be a preacher. An outlaw’s daughter who wants to change his mind.

On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can scarcely believe it when he's forced off the train by a retired outlaw and presented to the man's daughter as the minister she requested for her birthday. Worried this unfortunate detour will ruin his chances of finally serving a congregation of his own, Crockett is determined to escape. But when he finally gets away, he's haunted by the memory of the young woman he left behind--a woman whose dreams now hinge on him.

For months, Joanna Robbins prayed for a preacher. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. A man to help her discover answers to the questions that have been on her heart for so long. But just when it seems God has answered her prayers, it turns out the person is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett to stay in her little backwoods community? And does the attraction between them have any chance of blossoming when Joanna's outlaw father is dead set against his daughter courting a preacher?”

Series: Book #2 in the “Archer Brothers” series. (The first book has not been officially reviewed.)

Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are mentioned, read, remembered, & quoted; Many Prayers, Thanking God, & Blessings over food; Going to church, singing hymns, & listening to sermons; Seeing a baptism; Crockett is a pastor & we definitely see many elements of his ministry in this book; Silas believes pastors to be hypocrites & has no patience for religion (he believes that those at church can be just as vile as any drunkard or thief—or worse even; *Spoiler* When something tragic happens, he prays and asks God to help him *End of Spoiler*); Joanna has tried hard to get her father to soften towards God; Witnessing & discussions; Many, many talks about God, His plans, missions, & witnessing; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God or Jesus; All about many mentions of preachers/ministers, churches, church going, congregations, services, worship, hymns, & sermons; All about many mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of faiths & passions; Mentions of Bibles & devotions; Mentions of those, places, & events in the Bible; Mentions of eternity, Heaven, & angels; Mentions of forgiveness & justice (& a couple discussion about both); Mentions of church elders; Mentions of missionaries & missions; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; Mentions of sins, sinful people, & evil; A few mentions of Books of the Bible; A few mentions of believers, godly people, & Christians; A couple mentions of miracles; A couple mentions of religious books; A mention of a godsend;

*Note: A couple mentions of someone being compared to Satan; A mention of someone being called a demon.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘botheration’, a ‘consarn it!’, a ‘dad-burn it’, a ‘what in tarnation’, two ‘bah!’s, two ‘idiot’s, two ‘shoot’s, and five forms of ‘stupid’; Silas bites back an oath (curses, not written); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; Accidentally shooting someone, helping them, getting the bullet out, blood, & their pain (up to semi-detailed); Fighting, Being hit/attacked, Being shot at, Being held at gunpoint, Blood, & Pain (up to semi-detailed); Being on a train that being held up by bandits, being threatened, & abducted; Many mentions of bandits/thieves, criminals/outlaws, gangs, crimes, robbing/stealing, guns being aimed at people in a threatening manner, & shooting; Mentions of a child being beaten to death (by a man who claimed to be god-fearing, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone being beaten & almost hanged/lynched (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of the possibility of having to kill someone (who means you harm); Mentions of bullets, those who were shot, injuries, blood/bleeding & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of prisons/jails & arrests; Mentions of threats; Mentions of fighting & injuries; Mentions of drinking, drunks, & saloons; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hunting & shooting animals for food; A few mentions of fights, fighting, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of dead creatures (varmints) & the smell (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of cheating; A couple mentions of rumors; A couple mentions of the possibility of injured animals & deaths of farm animals;

*Note: A couple mentions of a mother leaving her drunk husband & young son.

Sexual Content- A blown kiss, two hand kisses, a hair kiss, four semi-detailed kisses, a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss someone & Wanting to be kissed (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Nearness, & Flutters (and enjoying them, up to semi-detailed); Recalling touches & embraces (barely-above-not-detailed); Winks & Blushes; Noticing & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); A flirty young woman bothers Crockett & tries to touch/embrace him often (she thinks she tempts him & brings up the passion found in Song of Solomon; *Spoiler* he later tells her that her forward behavior attracts the attention from the wrong kind of man and does not belong in a Christian woman’s life; she then goes into his home and when he tells her to leave, she rips her dress and tells her father that he harmed her *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of flirting & flirtatious women; Mentions of reputations; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a man not taking advantage of a woman; A mention of a woman’s attacker (not true); Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: A mention of a mother dying in childbirth; A mention of Crockett enjoying being around women after only being around his brothers (their manners, their gentle ways, and their lovely figures); A mention of a young woman’s dress showing off every one of her feminine curves (mentioned from Joanna); A mention of someone’s butt in a saddle.

-Joanna Robbins, age 21

-Crockett Archer, age 28

P.O.V. switches between them & Silas

Set in 1885

347 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Somehow, I’ve never reviewed this book on here.

And that’s just a crime. Because this book is so fun, so wonderful, and so faith-filled to the brim. I was smiling like a ninny at so many parts (so many parts!) and yet also teared up at others.

I love it when I read a book where both main characters are strong in their faiths, where the spiritually help and uplift the other. That’s the definition to me of a healthy, God-centered relationship. And that’s completely how Crockett and Joanna are, they’re truly so well balanced.

If you removed the faith content from this story, I think it would be under a hundred pages—that’s how much the character’s faiths were shown and I love it.

This is definitely my favorite book by this author and makes me feel so giddy because of the plot-line. I still think it would be best for older teens because of the kisses and a part at the end, but the faiths make the book for me.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!