No Other Will Do

As his legs worked, so did his mind. There had to be a way to save the woman he loved. No other option was tenable. His angel would not be dying at that devil’s hands.

Book: No Other Will Do by Karen Witemeyer, Bethany House Publishers, 2016

Genre: Historical Fiction

Target Audience: Adult Women

Subjects: Trust in God, Love, Women’s Rights, Abuse

Summary: “If the sheriff is unavailable to assist us, what’s to stop us from hiring a man of our own to see to our protection?” “You can’t! Men like that can’t be trusted.” But what if we know of one who could be trusted? A man who would rather sacrifice himself than bring harm to someone under his care?” “Such a man doesn’t exist,” Flora snapped. “Yes… he does. His name is Malachi Shaw.”

When trouble comes to the women’s colony of Harper’s Station that Emma has established she has to decide whether to give up and shut it down or fight an unknown enemy who is clearly willing to kill for whatever it is he wants with their community. Most of the women agree: there’s no choice. They have to shut it down and move away. It’s not like they can trust any man to come to their aid. After all, the reason most are here in the first place is to avoid that particular gender. Emma and her two aunts know what the other women don’t though: there is one man out there in the world who can be trusted, one man who will drop everything to come to their rescue, one man who will care more about them than himself: the man they took in as an orphan so many years ago – Malachi Shaw, explosives expert for the railroad.

Their faith in him is proved right as the instant Malachi receives the telegram, he drops everything and rushes to their aid. However, there are two things neither he nor Emma counted on: the enemy being very sly due to an unknown betrayer amongst the women and their own hearts betraying them as they seem to take all leave of their senses around one another! It’s going to take Someone even bigger and stronger than Malachi Shaw to rescue them both from the dangers they face!

Notes: No Other Will Do appears to be the first in a new series titled Ladies of Harper Station. Harper’s Station is a community formed by one independent woman and her aunts. It’s a safe place for women who have been hurt or betrayed and need a haven. The spiritual element focus of this story is on trust in God. Malachi and Emma are both believers, but like all humans, sometimes forget to place their trust in the only One who truly has the power to change things. Malachi also struggles with feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness – he doesn’t believe he is good enough for Emma, the woman who loves him deeply and wants desperately to be his.

Personal Opinion: I appreciated the way the characters were developed and the way the romance was portrayed. There was definite attraction and wonderful kisses. However, it was between two people who had known each other for years and were attracted to the character of each other. The story was entertaining and enjoyable. It was also pleasant to see characters fighting to help those who had been hurt or abused. I can definitely recommend this book.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

James 1:27 – True religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.