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!
*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.
