To Wager Her Heart
Belle Mead Plantation #3
Tamera Alexander

Zondervan | August 8th, 2017
Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance

{GoodReads}
With fates bound by a shared tragedy, a reformed gambler from the Colorado Territory and a Southern Belle bent on breaking free from society's expectations must work together to achieve their dreams—provided that the truth doesn't tear them apart first. 

Sylas Rutledge, the new owner of the Northeast Line Railroad, invests everything he has into this venture, partly for the sake of the challenge. But mostly to clear his father's name. One man holds the key to Sy's success—General William Giles Harding of Nashville's Belle Meade Plantation. But Harding is champagne and thoroughbreds, and Sy Rutledge is beer and bullocks. 

Sy needs someone to help him maneuver his way through Nashville's society, and when he meets Alexandra Jamison, he quickly decides he's found his tutor. But he soon discovers that the very train accident his father is blamed for causing is what killed Alexandra's fiancé and shattered her world. 

Spurning an arranged marriage by her father, Alexandra instead pursues her passion for teaching at Fisk University, the first freedmen's university in the United States. But family—and Nashville society—do not approve, and she soon finds herself cast out from both. 

Through connections with the Harding family, Alexandra and Sy become unlikely allies. And despite her first impressions, Alexandra gradually finds herself coming to respect, and even care for this man. But how can she, when her heart is still spoken for?

Sylas Rutledge will risk everything to win over the woman he loves. What he doesn't count on is having to wager her heart to do it.

{The Basics}
This was such a sweet novel, and definitely chock-full of history!  Set in Nashville, TN (my home state!) in 1871, we get a small taste of what life was like in the growing city.  As the daughter of a wealthy family--one of the founding families of Nashville, Alexandra has never lacked for luxury, food, or education.  She has had a gorgeous home, society's finest in gossip and clothing (of which she cares little), a decent education, and a loving, servant-hearted fiance.  But one fateful day on Dutchman's Curve, her beloved David is taken from her when two trains collide at full speed, and Alexandra is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and her empty life.  Without David, she feels lost.  His vision to help the freedmen and teach at a university seems to vanish like the smoke from the crash, where she too had been a passenger.  And in one year's time, she has yet to set foot on a train.

Sylas Rutledge is a self-made man.  He has built his life from the ground up, literally.  From the cracks of a broken family, he emerges a good man and, thanks to the stepfather who called him Son, he was raised to appreciate a good work ethic and the equality and value of another's life, no matter the darkness of his skin.  He, too, lost a loved one in that tragic wreck, and it's to Tennessee from the mountains of Colorado to which he sets his sights, aiming to build his business and clear his father's name.

{Positives}
I loved Alexandra's character.  She is sweet and kindhearted.  When she

{Negatives}
Due to the era, there is quite a bit of racism.  Especially when the Fisk University singers set out on their traveling tour to raise funds for their school.  Many "whites" jeer and shout insults at them because of their skin.  Many hotels turn down their business, not willing to accept them.

{Spiritual Content}
Alexandra's faith in God is what sees her through the grief of David's death.  She prays often, eventually serving as a light (along with another fellow believer) to Sy through their growing friendship.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers were an a cappella ensemble who sang and toured for the benefit of their college.  They performed theater and sang many hymns, as well as old "slave songs" (for many were either slaves themselves, or they had family members who were and their freedom had been bought).

Mr Philip Paul Bliss, an American composer and writer of many hymns (you may recognize the hymn Hallelujah, What a Saviour!, as well as the tune to Horatio Spafford's It Is Well With My Soul), was even a character!  He and Sy (fictional liberty taken by the author) became good friends, and it was him who helped Sy see that God is good, even when we don't have all the answers.

At the aftermath of the collision, an old man describes seeing angels, "fearsome beings," standing over the bodies.

{Violence}
This story takes place exactly one year after the terrible accident of Dutchman's Curve.  Many are still affected by the aftermath, Alexandra included.  There are rather vivid descriptions of her memories as well as others who experienced the wreck: bodies and blood everywhere, those of children lying motionless on the ground, wailing, screams, body parts, etc.  The injuries of those who survived the accident are brutal: loss of limb, visible burns, health issues, etc.

News of a female school teach is attacked by nightriders: "badly beaten--and worse."

{Language, Alcohol, Drugs}
A sign mentions the word "nigger." (Forgive me!  I felt it needed mentioning.)  A man uses the slang, "lawd."  No other offensive words that I recall.

{Lovey Content}
A woman approaches a man with specific intent, but he simply brushes her off.

Sy notices just how attractive Alexandra is.  They build a tentative friendship (it's so sweet!).

{Conclusion}
To conclude this lengthy review. . . I totally enjoyed this novel.  The little bit of history was so very interesting, and I loved that it was set in my home state!  A definite plus, in my opinion.  :]  The characters were beautifully flawed, but they learn to push past the mistakes, take up their courage, and step out in faith.  For some, it is giving up everything for eternal reward of furthering our Lord's kingdom.  And for others, it is finding the peace they've searched their whole life for.

This story doesn't end with a cliff-hanger of any kind, but it does leave some questions unresolved, simply to say that not everything in this earthly life can be answered.  Only God knows, and we can take comfort in knowing that is sufficient enough.