About this book:
“After being kidnapped as a child, heiress Emma Grace McMurray has seen firsthand the devastation that greed causes in the world, and she wants nothing to do with it--including her father's offering her hand in a business deal. She sneaks away to be a Harvey Girl at the El Tovar Grand Canyon Hotel, planning to stay hidden even if it means always looking over her shoulder.
Ray Watkins arrives at the hotel wanting to impress his father by finding success on his own. Then maybe he can take on more of the family business and do something good with the profits.
Ray immediately admires Emma Grace, and though a friendship forms, she's afraid he's just like every other wealthy man she's known. Then art and jewels go missing from El Tovar and the nearby Hopi House, a mystery that pulls them in and stirs up their worst fears. When shocking revelations come to light, they'll have to question all they thought to be true.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Secrets of the Canyon” series.
Spiritual Content- James 1:2-4 is referenced in the ‘Dear Reader’ section at the beginning; Many Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, remembered, thought over, & feeling peace from them; Many Prayers & Thanking God; Bible reading & reading some sections of a book by C. H. Spurgeon; A hymn & a children’s song are sung (& written out); Witnessing & Being witnessed to; Many Talks & Discussions about God, Jesus, believing in Him, trusting Him, having peace, faith, forgiveness, fear, & His love; Talks about those & events in the Bible; 'H's are capital when referring to God (in conversations, but not in Scriptures due to the version(s) used); Emma Grace thinks that God abandoned her because of past events that didn’t go the way she wanted and while doesn’t not believe in God, she thinks that He doesn’t care; Emma Grace grew up in a church that “touted the rath of God” where the reverend yelled from the pulpit (where doing good was the main focus, so Emma Grace is confused when someone tells her differently); Ray says God changed him and gave him a second chance; *Spoiler* Emma Grace is given a Scripture that brings peace to her and repeats it often; Towards the middle, she starts praying that if God is really there, to please hear her; Later, she asks to borrow Ray’s Bible and reads it (some cynical and ugly thoughts come into her head when trying to read at first, but they stop; Towards the end, she says she believes *End of Spoiler*; Ray prays about pursuing Emma Grace; Many mentions of God, His plan, Jesus, sins being covered on the cross, forgiveness, fear, & faith; Many mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, studying the Bible, books of the Bible, & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, services, hymns, reverends, & Sunday school; Mentions of missions & missionaries; A few mentions of God’s beautiful creations & Him being the Creator; A few mentions of Heaven & being okay to be in their Savior’s arms (if they die soon); A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A couple mentions of miracles; A mention of divine intervention;
*Note: Emma Grace’s mother told her that “God made her stubborn for a reason” and at church, Emma Grace was told that the wrath of God was for those who were “willful and stubborn”, which were two words that her mother called her often.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sucker’, two ‘dumb’s, and three ‘stupid’s; A tiny bit of eye rolling; Being kidnapped (x2, including one as a child, *Spoiler* Emma Grace for eighteen days as a child due to her father planning it because of business dealings *End of Spoiler*), Being attacked, Being tied-up, Trying to fight and not pass out, passing out, pain, & throwing up (up to semi-detailed); Slapping someone (barely-above-not-detailed); Nightmares (including ones of being chased, up to semi-detailed); Emma Grace says a couple lies (about not remembering a nightmare when asked so she won’t have to tell about it, which she hates to do, and when she got a job as a Harvey girl, which she has felt guilt for); Ray is ashamed of his past self being a “spoiled rich boy”, but plans to do good with the second chance God gave him; Because of past events, Emma doesn’t trust men or her father, which causes her to think all the wealthy class (especially the men) are hoity-toity (she can come across as prejudice towards men because of past men making promises to her and never keeping them, there’s a few thoughts from her on this, *Spoiler* but realizes by the end, thanks to some of the good men around her, that not all men are liars or hypocrites *End of Spoiler*); Emma Grace wonders why she and her father couldn’t have had a sweet father-daughter relationship; Ray’s father likes to make sure everyone knows who he is & flaunts his money, which disgusts Ray; Many mentions of kidnappings, kidnappers, & ransoms; Mentions of murders (including an accidental murder), murderers, & the possibility of being killed (a concern of Emma Grace’s); Mentions of a child being hit by a car, injuries, parents blaming other parents, & guilt over it (the child lives, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fights, injuries, & a death; Mentions of kicking someone, injuries, passing out, & pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of criminals, thieves, thefts, robberies, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of eavesdropping, bribing, blackmail, & guilt from it; Mentions of bars/saloons; Mentions of cigarettes, tobacco, & pipes; Mentions of grief/grieving (mothers, a brother, the happiness of a family, & what-ifs); Mentions of fathers changing (becoming harsher) after the death of their wife; Mentions of nightmares (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of prejudice to the working class/staff (by the wealthy); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of throwing up & vomit; A few mentions of embezzlement & swindling others; A few mentions of poker & cheating; A few mentions of wild animals & the possibility of someone being harmed or killed by them; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of hoping a bad guy gets shot or beaten up (said by a child); A mention of the possibility of a suicide (not actually said, but implied); A mention of Emma Grace saying that her family didn’t protect her;
*Note: Mentions of baby brother’s death; Mentions of pre-senile dementia (a side character has it, *Spoiler* Ray’s father *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of books (classics).
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss and a semi-detailed kiss; A handful of Touches, Embraces, & Hand holding; Wanting to hold someone (once); Noticing; A few mentions of inappropriate comments made by wealthy men about women (nothing overly suggestive written); A few mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of blushes & butterflies; A couple mentions of smelling; A mention of “no funny business” happening between a couple; A mention of someone whistling at a couple kissing; A mention of reputations; A mention of a young boy’s crush on his teacher; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Emma’s father sold contracts to different wealthy men for the chance to marry her (including a much older man) that could force her into a marriage; A mention of a woman’s curves.
-Emma Grace McMurray
-Ray Watkins
P.O.V. switches between them & another (x5)
Set in 1905 (Prologue in 1891 & 1900)
332 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
It was completely predictable, but that’s not necessary a bad thing. Especially when you want an interesting read that won’t tax your brain. It was a simpler plotline, but it was clean and something I would have probably really liked as a young teen. Set during my favorite time period, the romance was innocent, there was great faith content, and there was a bit of mystery/suspense at times.
Speaking of the faith content: it was really good. Even if I thought the change happened a bit fast in Emma Grace, I loved seeing that change and all the discussions and prayers. This was definitely one of the books that has the most faith content that I’ve read in the last few months. Another thing that makes this book stands out to me was how Ray prays about pursuing Emma Grace, I really liked seeing that and it was so sweet.
While the ending was very rushed, in my opinion, I’m actually okay with it. This was a simple read, but very enjoyable and just what I wanted right now. An easy four stars and I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
No comments:
Post a Comment