In Honor's Defense - Review

In Honor's Defense (Hanger's Horsemen, # 3)

By: Karen Witemeyer

Publication: June 7th 2022 by Bethany House Publishers

384 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Luke Davenport has been fighting all his life--for respect, for country, and most recently, for those unable to fight for themselves. But now that his Horsemen brothers are domesticated, he's left alone to battle the wildness within. When an opportunity arises to take a job on his own, he jumps at the chance.

Damaris Baxter has mastered the art of invisibility. Plain and quiet, she hides in books and needlework, content to be overlooked. Until her brother dies suddenly, leaving her custody of her nephew. She moves to Texas to care for Nate, determined to create the family for herself that she never thought she'd have.

When Nate stumbles into the path of the rustlers Luke is tracking, Luke acts to protect him and winds up gravely injured. Feeling indebted, Damaris nurses Luke back to health. But suspicions grow regarding the death of her brother. And the more questions they ask, the more danger appears, threatening the family Luke may be unable to live without.

I can't say why I put these books off. I enjoyed book 1 and was excited about continuing the series. If I'd had book 2 immediately, I probably would have read it immediately. But time dimmed my excitement to return to the series, so I put off reading book 2. And even though I enjoyed it as well, I only finished reading it right before book 3 released. I knew I would want to read the third book eventually, but I didn't want to jump into it immediately. So I put it off. Now that I try to analyze it, I wonder if the mystery is what puts me off. I know the entire book isn't dedicated to the love story but also to some mystery or bad guy that has to be addressed. And something about the book description for this particular book just had me putting on the breaks.

I guess, ultimately, I'm glad that I waited to read this book when I did because it spurred me out of a reading slump. I went from not reading at all, and not even having much desire to do so, to devouring this book within a couple of days. Considering how busy real life is right now, that was a feat.

Luke is the Horseman the group calls Preach. That's because he's always reciting Bible verses. But Luke doesn't have a cheery past. His mother left when he was ten, and his father was an abusive drunk. The faith Luke found when he was in the army, as well as the brothers that adopted him as their own, gave him purpose. But now his fellow horsemen are settling down, and Luke feels adrift. He takes a solo job that brings him to Maris and Nate.

Demaris is used to being overlooked. She has been deemed a spinster and sent to be the companion to her aunt. Her older brother was the only one who could pull her out of her shell. And when he dies, leaving his fourteen year old son an orphan, Demaris steps in to raise him so he can stay on the property his father and mother are buried on. But Nate is an angry teen and blames their neighbor for his father's death. As a result, Nate has been pulling nightly pranks. Things like hacking up a garden, leaving snakes in various places, etc. He doesn't realize that he's about to stumble into real danger.

Luke has been hired by the Baxter's neighbor to find the rustlers and missing cattle they've been stealing. And Mr. Grimes is set on blaming Nate Baxter for his missing beeves since Nate has been a nuisance. One night when Luke is keeping watch, the rustlers appear attempting to steal another cow when Nate accidentally stumbles upon them in an attempted prank on Mr. Grimes. Luke saves Nate from the rustlers but ends up with multiple stab wounds. And Nate gets Demaris to transport Luke to their home and nurse him back to health.

Of course, Luke and Demaris begin to form a relationship, and Luke even sees himself in Nate, and he takes him under his wing. I won't give any more details than that about the plot or twists. But even though I wasn't sure I would like this storyline, I actually did. Mary Whitmeyer does a great job of establishing characters you can't help but root for. Even Nate, with all his anger and teenage acting out, was easy to feel sorry for and hope he could overcome his grief.

Favorite quotes:

-Invisible people rarely received correspondence.

-To be chosen for herself--it was the secret desire of her heart. To be important to someone. More than a glorified servant who fetched and carried and entertained at her aunt's whim. To be wanted truly for herself. Seen instead of invisible. Valued instead of tolerated.

--...one who'd rather rail at the world for dealing him a raw hand than actually do anything to make it better.

-"Your aunt's not the kind of woman to choose what's easy over what's right," Luke said.

-"Contentment isn't chained to a certain set of circumstances, Luke. It's portable. You can take it with you wherever you go."

I'm so glad that I picked In Honor's Defense up when I did. This book was exactly what I needed to spur me out of a deep reading slup--one of the worst I've been in for years. Luke and Demaris had a sweeter journey than I expected. And I don't know why I felt a little dread before starting this book. In the end, In Honor's Defense gets 4 Stars. Have you read In Honor's Defense? What did you think? Let me know!