Books for Christian Girls: "Wedding Belles" by Janice Hanna

About this book:

“Against the backdrop of scenic Estes Park, Colorado, comes a story filled with mayhem, romance, and plenty of drama most of it on the stage. The year is 1912, and tomboy Lottie Sanders would do just about anything to help the fella she secretly loves. When Gilbert Parker s family lodge faces financial ruin, he suggests putting on a melodrama to draw in a crowd. He appeals to Lottie to direct the show. Her plan to bring in actresses from across the country is sabotaged when the local single men turn it into a hunt for brides, and soon Lottie finds the drama shifting from the stage to real life.”

Series: Part of the “Belles and Whistles” series, but is not connected to any of the other books.

Spiritual Content- A hymn/poem at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, & thought over; Prayers; Church going; Singing a hymn; Witnessing; Talks about God, His plans, trusting Him, His creation, & those and events in the Bible; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Some of the women at church are rude & spread rumors about the actresses (the actresses go to church and some enjoy it, but some do not want to go back because of the treatment they received from the women; two if the actresses whisper and say inappropriate things during the service, nothing is written); Many mentions of God, His plans, & trusting Him; Many mentions of prayers, praying, prayer warriors, blessings over food, & praising God; Mentions of feeling God’s presence in His creation; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, hymns, & a reverend; Mentions of a women not being religious but noticing God’s creation in a new way and thinking that there is a God now; Mentions of sins, sinners, & heathens (a couple of the women call the actresses this and Lottie tries to explain that some of them weren’t raised in church or God is drawing them back to Him); A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of a God-given gift; A mention of a woman saying that if she went to church, it might be too much for the Lord to handle (Lottie says He can handle it and that He would meet her there);

*Note: A couple mentions of idle hands being the devil’s workshop (& a woman saying she must work for the devil then because her perfect day is waking up late and then having a nap); A mention of being glared at like you’re a sinner headed straight for the pit of hell; A mention of beating the devil around the stump (a phrase).

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘biddy’, a ‘stupid’, a ‘why the devil’, and three ‘shoot’s; Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Mentions of a man threatening to jump off a peak & “end it all” if a woman doesn’t pay him attention (melodramatic, not serious); Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of saloons, alcohol, & drinking (both Lottie and Gil are against drinking/alcohol, and she says they would have to be careful not to romanticize that way of living if it was in the play); A few mentions of natural disasters, deaths, & victims; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of a casino, poker, & free alcohol to winners; A few mentions of slaughtering & branding cows (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of wars; A couple mentions of a mother taking her own life; A couple mentions of deaths from the flu; A couple mentions of convicts & running from the law; A mention of a man looking like he would rather drown himself in a river than do something;

*Note: Some of the men, at first, make comments on some of the actresses’ appearance (not sexual at all, but borders on mean).

Sexual Content- A handful of not-detailed kisses, an almost kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Remembering a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss someone; Touches & Hand Holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Nearness, Noticing, & Staring (including muscles & figures, barely-above-not-detailed); Some of the men I town tell Gil that he should use his manly charms to get Lottie onboard with the play (which he doesn’t feel comfortable doing); Mentions of women from town saying & believing that the actresses are prostitutes & the hotel is becoming a brothel (not true, mentions of prostitution, brothels, and men paying for women, but it’s all kept very clean and not detailed at all); Mentions of loose women & houses of ill repute; Mentions of saloon girls & girls with questionable reputations; Mentions of those same women from town saying that the actresses are trying to seduce & tempt the men of the town; Mentions of kisses, kissing, & seeing couples kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of touches; Mentions of flirting & flirts; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of reputations & chaperones; Mentions of blushes & winks; A mention of someone growing up in a brothel; A mention of a woman squirming in her seat during a sermon that mentioned a woman caught in the act of adultery; A mention of a broken heart; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: Mentions of Lottie’s figure (by her, other women, and nonchalantly by a couple men; She is embarrassed by her curves and chest, to which one of the actresses says it’s not a sin to accentuate what the Lord gave her by wearing a dress instead of overalls); Mentions of low-cut gowns, revealing gowns, & gowns that leave little to the imagination (including a couple of them leaning over often, which Gilbert keeps his eyes away when this happens); A couple mentions of a man being called a “handsome hunka beef”; A mention of “hot dames”.

-Lottie Sanders

-Gilbert “Gil” Parker

P.O.V. switches between them

Set in 1912

313 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This is such a fun, lighthearted story. It’s enjoyable, funny (with puns!), but is also incredibly faith-filled. I loved all the discussions and Lottie witnessing in her words and actions to those who weren’t familiar with God’s love. It was all really sweet.

This novel’s romance elements were different from the typical Christian Historical Fiction book in the way that Lottie has loved Gil for a long time, but he only looks at her as a little sister. They did both slightly frustrate me a couple of times because of this (mainly him), but it was still really nice to see a book without the instant love trope for the main characters.

While it’s kept squeaky-clean on the mentions of prostitutes & a possible (but not) brothel, because of those topic being mentioned, I would say this would be best for ages 16 and up.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!