“Emily Leland sheds no tears when her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight, but what awaits her back home in Sweetwater Crossing is far from the welcome and comfort she expected. First she discovers her father has died under mysterious circumstances. Then the house where the new schoolteacher and his son are supposed to board burns, leaving them homeless. When Emily proposes turning the family home into a boardinghouse, her sister is so incensed that she leaves town.
Alone and broke, her family name sullied by controversy, Emily is determined to solve the mystery of her father's death--and to aid Craig Ferguson, despite her fears of men. The widowed schoolmaster proves to be a devoted father, an innovative teacher, and an unexpected ally. Together they must work to unmask a killer and escape the shadows of their own pasts in order to forge a brighter future.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing” series. Mentions the town from the author’s previous series, “Cimarron Creek”.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, read, quoted, thought over, & preached on; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God & trusting Him; 'H's are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; *Major Spoiler* The murderer says that God put him on the earth to stop pain & gives too much morphine to elderly people to stop their pain as God told him that they lived long enough since the Bible says a man is only meant to live seventy lives, and so God gave him the power to do His will *End of Major Spoiler*; Many mentions of God, Jesus, God’s children, His plans, trusting Him, forgiveness, & having peace; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; Mentions of miracles & miracle workers; Mentions of sins (and some churchgoers not liking to hear about their own sins); A few mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A few mentions of Christians & some not acting like Jesus would; A few mentions of public denunciation & how Emily’s father (a pastor) didn’t believe in doing that; A couple mentions of Christmas & Easter services; A mention of the nativity story being read at Christmas time; A mention of Heaven; A mention of a fire and brimstone preacher;
*Note: There is a pastor’s wife who is snooty & greedy; Mentions of a book about children and a witch in the forest (and when this causes a discussion, Craig says that’s it’s never too early to learn the difference about good vs evil, which causes a minister to agree but suggest reading “more appropriate books”); A few mentions of evil & an evil man; A mention of damning evidence; A mention of not being superstitious.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’, three ‘idiot’s, and four ‘dummy’s (most said by children referring to Beulah); A bit of sarcasm; Seeing someone who looks to have committed suicide (a family member, *Spoiler* Emily with her father, but she believes he was murdered, though no one will listen to her *End of Spoiler*, up to semi-detailed); Grieving (a mother, a father); Finding a body (barely-above-not-detailed); Craig goes into a saloon for answers and is offered a drink, but declines; *Major Spoiler* The murderer says that God put him on the earth to stop pain & gives too much morphine to elderly people to stop their pain as God told him that they lived long enough (he truly believes he’s acting on God’s command) *End of Major Spoiler*; Many mentions of murders, a murderer, suicides, their pain and unhappiness, & how it happened (hanging, gunshot, & overdose; including mention of those who commit suicide not being allowed to be buried in consecrated ground and the family being shunned by those in town, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of deaths, bodies, fevers, & grieving (a mother, a father, a wife x2, a husband, a son, dear friends, & a close relationship with family members, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of an accidental death (from falling, Craig’s wife, which he saw happen, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a bar fight & death; Mentions of wars/revolutions (mainly the Civil War), battles, a plantation, injuries, & deaths (both physical and mental injuries, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of Emily’s late husband’s abuse & her injuries (physical and verbal abuse & keeping things from her to keep her totally dependent on him and keeping her away from anyone else, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fires, smoke, & a home being burned to the ground (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of saloons, alcohol, drinking, hangovers, minors getting into a stash of alcohol, & an adult drinking too much (after his wife goes on a trip); Mentions of vandalism by two school-aged boys who were drunk; Mentions of violence; Mentions of jail & arrests; Mentions of nightmares & screaming; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of bullies & teasing (including towards Beulah, a girl who looks and acts different); Mentions of Craig not having the dunce stool in his classroom or using a cane and/or ruler on his pupils (he doesn’t believe in public humiliation or punishments like beatings, which cause some families to question his discipline methods); A few mentions of stealing & stolen items; A few mentions of smoking & a pipe; A couple mentions of a fever & bleeding someone (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of a man trimming a horse’s hoof so much that it bled as a lesson to his wife to listen to him or else (barely-above-not-detailed);
*Note: *Slight Spoiler but Mental Illness note* The villain/murderer is revealed at the end to have a mental illness that was possible inherited from a family member *End of Spoiler*; Many, many mentions of prejudice towards a young girl who is called “simpleminded” (the parents don’t like her near their children (some acting like she has a disease or that children like her should be hidden away), and while some of the children ignore her, other children include her; Emily & Craig become her advocate and stand-up for her against those who are unkind and unchristian towards her; This is a major part of the book); Mentions of classic books & authors; A few mentions of Emily’s father not being her “real” father by others (he was her step-father and the only father she remembers); A couple mentions of some men believing that it isn’t ladylike for a woman to become a doctor; A couple mentions of some people in town believing that females are less valuable than men (which Craig disagrees with).
Sexual Content- A fingers kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and a borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss & touch (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Shivers, & Smelling (borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Noticing; Because of her late husband’s actions and words, Emily fears men & flinches when they get close to her; Mentions of a man beating his wife for not giving him a son & her feeling like a failure because of his words and actions (barely-above-not-detailed, *Spoiler* Emily, who says he treated her like a broodmare *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of barren wives feeling guilt & that “no man could overlook” it (Emily especially feels this way as she thinks she’s not fertile); Mentions of a woman having many gentlemen callers at all hours of the night; Mentions of kisses & touches; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of chaperones; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A few mentions of “women’s work” & work that men believe is suited for a woman to do; A couple mentions of some people in a town believing that a husband is “justified in disciplining his wife any way he chose” but the wife’s family protected her and wouldn’t let him in their house; A couple mentions of babies that died at birth or didn’t make it past infancy; A couple mentions of being childless breaking a couple’s hearts; A mention of a woman bitterly saying that she’s not meant to be a mother (because of her age); A mention of a woman’s curves; A mention of breeding horses to look a certain way.
-Emily Leland, age 24
-Craig Ferguson
P.O.V. switches between them
Set in 1882-1883
345 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I’m glad I did.
This is my first book by this author, despite having some of her other books on my TBR for much longer than I’d like to admit. After reading this novel, I definitely plan to continue this series and while waiting for the next book to be released, see about reading some of her other books in the meantime.
I think this cover is perfect for this story. The dark blue and overall ambience of the cover implies a deeper story within the pages. There’s a lot of heartbreak our main characters have gone through and continue to go through just in the first handful of pages. It was really hard to read at first, honestly.
I would definitely put a trigger warning for this book as it deals heavily with suicide and grief.
I liked both Emily and Craig, but it was hard to see the damage that has been done to Emily from her late husband’s actions and words. I wanted to give her a hug so bad.
Time passed pretty quick in this book (over half a year in total), which is nice. It actually didn’t make their relationship or feelings for the other feel fast, which was interesting. It worked well and I think I was wanting to see happiness and would take any morsel I could get from these characters. (Side note: It was nice to see a widow man’s perspective and it not having him longing for female nearness/companion like most others I’ve read in a similar situations do. Points to Craig for that!)
I absolutely loved how Emily & Craig became Beulah’s advocates. Emily was so passionate and while kind, firm about the matter that Beulah should be treated like any other children as she’s God’s child, just like them.
There’s a bit of a murder mystery, but it’s someone dear to a main character, so it’s more than just a sense of justice, but a determination.
As the book continued, I was easily able to predict early on what would happen and was right on the dot, but that didn’t bother me so much, because I just wanted answers and justice. I will say that the ending wasn’t my favorite murderer/killer reveal I’ve ever read, as it felt similar to many other suspense books I’ve read. I did knock off a .5 star on my personal rating for it.
I wasn’t sure what to expect this is new-to-me author, but I was pleasantly surprised. Despite being about a woman who was abused by her husband, murders/suicides, and a few other topics, it was all kept lightly mentioned on the details that could have bogged the book down more. I appreciate that and that all of those parts were more of a hint, than giving actual details, most of the time.
See y’all on Friday 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 (Revell) for this honest review.
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