The Heart’s Charge started with a bang and drew me into the story. From the opening pages, you could see the kind of men Jonah and Mark were: they helped even when the person they chose to assist didn’t understand how much they needed assistance.
Things really got interesting once the two men got to the Harmony House foundling home. There, Mark came face-to-face with the woman he’d almost married 10 years earlier and Jonah met a woman who made him consider settling down.
What I loved about the Horsemen was that they truly wanted to help people. When they saw a need, they met it and they did so without making the person feel inferior or helpless. They didn’t discriminate about whom they would offer their help to and considered the needs of everyone–adult and children alike.
Mark and Kate had a rich history but it had been ten years since they had seen each other. As they rekindled their romance, you get a glimpse of what they may have had before. The reader is also left with the feeling that though their younger selves may have been good together, it was this more mature version that was destined to be.
Jonah and Eliza’s relationship was more complex as none of them had known each other before and they each had complicated histories. I liked how well they complemented each other. Eliza thought any man who wanted to marry her would try to dominate her. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jonah wanted to work beside her rather than pushing her behind him.
Woven throughout The Heart’s Charge is the mystery of what happened to the missing children and where they had disappeared to. I have to admit: when the mystery unfolded, some bits of it surprised me.
The Heart’s Charge had several themes weaving through it but one of the most prevalent is that God is with us through every moment of our lives. He has a plan for us and He’s weaving our pasts into a beautiful tapestry that may be used for His glory.
The Heart’s Charge is the second Hanger’s Horsemen book but can be read as a standalone (I did). I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publishers through NetGalley ; a positive review was not required.
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About The Heart’s Charge (Hanger’s Horsemen #2)
Members of Hanger’s Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they’d deliver a baby as well. Left with an infant to care for, they head to a nearby foundling home, where Mark encounters the woman he’d nearly married a decade ago.
After failing at love, Katherine Palmer dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. From mixed ancestry, illegitimate, and female, Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society’s mold. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her with his courage and kindness, but there are secrets behind his eyes–ghosts from wars past and others still being waged.
However, when a handful of urchin children from the area go missing, a pair of Horsemen are exactly what the women need. Working together to find the children, will these two couples find love as well?
About Karen Witemeyer
For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warm-hearted historical romances with a flair of humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. A transplant from California, Karen came to Texas for college, met a cowboy disguised as a computer nerd, married him, and never left the state that had become home.
Winner of the HOLT Medallion, ACFW Carol Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, and a finalist for both the RITA and Christy Awards, Karen is a firm believer in the power of happy endings. . . and ice cream. She also loves to reward her readers. Every month she gives away two inspirational historical novels to someone from her newsletter list and offers substantial bonus content on her website. To learn more about Karen and her books, or to join her subscriber list, please visit www.karenwitemeyer.com.