Review: ‘The Heart’s Charge’ (Hanger’s Horsemen Book # 2) by Karen Witemeyer

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 http://www.karenwitemeyer.com.

‘The Almighty had his hands on this. He assigned the Horsemen this duty, and I ain’t about to argue with him. Are you?’

Karen Witemeyer kicked off this series last year with ‘At Love’s Command’ and I was blown away by how wonderful it was! It made my top reads of the year for 2020. I absolutely loved it so much and was on pins and needles until the second book in the series came out. Now it’s here and I am once again just amazed at her talent.

This is Mark and Jonah’s story. As they are headed home after a horse sale, they travel by a cabin where a lone woman is in the throes of childbirth. From there, they must head to a foundling home where Mark is shocked to see the woman who once turned down a marriage proposal. She and another woman run the home. Soon after, they discover some serious crimes are being committed, and being two members of Hanger’s Horsemen, cannot turn aside without trying to catch the culprits.

‘He’d battled raiding Indians, survived being shot by rustlers, and outsmarted deadly outlaws as part of an elite military squad. He could lay siege to a woman’s heart and wear down her resistance.’

Jonah also finds himself faced with a wonderful woman who truly acts as if she can’t stand the sight of him. Eliza knows better than to trust a man and has determined she will remain on her own the rest of her life. But she hasn’t figured on the absolute integrity of this man. Jonah’s character was just done so incredibly well. And let me tell you, his horse, Augustus, was one of the true heroes of this story! I loved that horse so much! Well done!

Karen Witemeyer has always been a favorite of mine, but this series is my total favorite of her work! I am proud to have her books on my shelves. There is so much to love about this book. It was captivating! Highly recommended.

My thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a copy of this book via Net Galley. I was not required to leave a positive review. The opinion here is expressly my own.