Heart on the Line by Karen Witemeyer

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Series: Book 2 of Ladies of Harper's Station series
Genre: Christian historical romance
Format: Free digital ARC obtained via Netgalley in exchange for honest review
Heat level: Sweet -- kisses only

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Five-star ratings are a rarity, coming from me, but I felt this book deserved one. Even after a night to sleep on it, I still can't find anything I disliked about this book. What more can a reader ask for? Anyway . . .

Heart on the Line by Karen Witemeyer takes place in America in 1894. It tells the story of Grace Mallory, a telegraph operator who has gone into hiding after her father's murder. One night she receives word that her father's killer has found her and is on his way. This message is also heard by Amos Bledsoe, another telegraph operator that Grace has struck up a friendship with under the name of Miss G. After months of correspondence, Amos finally summons up the courage to go meet Miss G just as her life is in danger. He must figure out if he has what it takes to be her hero.

This story had everything I could ask for in a historical romance. The hero and heroine have a fun, light banter with each other in a more formal style than is found in contemporary language. The side characters are interesting and populate a town that I want to revisit. The plot was suspenseful but not so fraught with tension that I wanted to put the book down (that has happened a lot with me; I don't read to be stressed out).

As is customary in inspirational fiction, the physical contact is kept at the kisses-only level. I think it conveyed the passion between the hero and heroine in a way that wouldn't make Grandma blush.  The faith-based content is more upfront that in other inspirational romances I've read recently, but there are no conversion moments. It consists mainly of characters who are already believers calling on God to give them strength.

I missed out on the first book of the series and the novella that came after, but you don't need to read either one to understand what is going on in this book. Of course, now that I've been reminded of how much I like Witemeyer's writing, I will go back and read the other books.

Heart on the Line on Book Depository
Heart on the Line on Amazon