The Heart's Charge By Karen Witemeyer

The Heart's Charge

by Karen Witemeyer

Publisher: Bethany House

Series: Hanger's Horsemen

ISBN: 9780764232084

As an avid Karen Witemeyer fan, I was thrilled to be chosen to join her launch team for book 2 in her Hanger's Horsemen series. Just over a year ago I was able to read At Love's Command, the first story in the series. I was sent the book for review.

Summary:

For Years They've Been Nomads for Justice, but a Final Mission May Just Lead Their Hearts Home.

Members of the legendary Hanger's Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they'd help 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 nearly married a decade ago.

After failing at love, Katherine Palmer has dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society's mold, being illegitimate and of mixed ancestry. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her by defying all her stereotypes of men, but there are secrets behind his eyes--ghosts from wars past and others still being waged.

When the Horsemen hear rumors of missing children, they stay to investigate, sticking close to Harmony House and its beautiful owners. As they work together to uncover the truth, love and danger grow hand in hand until a final sinister scheme threatens to destroy them all.

My Review:

Ok, first of all, the cover to The Heart's Charge is amazing! Nothing like a man on horseback! Jonah and Mark start off this story ready to charge in and save the day, but little do they know they're putting their lives in danger to help a woman in labor...who's wielding a gun!

The whole situation of Mark helping to deliver the baby left me laughing as do several other scenes throughout the story. I liked how this baby's birth knocked the rest of the story into place. It's a great way of showing how God can move in the lives of His people.

It was fun to have 2 main characters in this book! I enjoyed how the author gave them a blended storyline while also having individual ones as well. While Jonah and Mark are similar men, their lives have been very different. I liked them getting to know the ladies running Harmony House. Is it sad that I wish they would've been on the cover too? lol

Watching how their lives converged throughout this story made my heart full! Mark and Katherine having left their well bread lives behind as well as their history, but now they come face to face with each other again. Jonah not even considering a future that would include a woman and Eliza whose life is set to run Harmony House with Katherine, have time to get to know each other as the men try to figure out what's happening to boxcar children who might be going missing.

While there's a lot going on in this story, it all flows smoothly and pulls us along throughout. As with all of Karen's books, I appreciated the faith element scattered throughout the story. It was good to see God moving in the story and the character's lives.

I'm thoroughly looking forward to the last although I'm not ready for the series to be over yet!

About the Author:

Voted #1 Reader's Favorite Christian Romance Author of 2019 by Family Fiction Magazine, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer(www.karenwitemeyer.com) offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. She makes her home in Abilene, Texas, with her husband and three children.