Review of To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander, Zondervan, 2017

I am happy I was chosen to be a part of Tamera's To Wager Her Heart Street Team. It surprised me when I have received a package and there was not a book I had ordered on Amazon (it should be also from Tamera, the older one Within my heart)  but a brand new novel  from her. Moreover, I am from Slovakia and it surprised me that this review giveaway is worldwide (Sooo happy for it). I have registered in this giveaway but did not believe it would be sucessful but it was ....

I have read the first novel of the Belle Meade Plantation series in Slovak and cannot wait for the translation of the second so I have bought it on Amazon (I do it very often! Buying books  😃).

 So I have read To Win Her Favour in English and was amazed. I must write that Tamera Alexander is the author whose writing style is absolutely to my taste. Therefore I did not expect I would be dissapointed by this third novel from this series. But I was really astonished how Tamera implemented the history of railway and freedmen in one masterpiece and did not forget for romantic aspects of the story. Historical details are very well interwoven and do not disturb the storyline of Alexandra Jamison who wants to be a teacher  and Sylas Rutledge, the owner of Northeast Line Railroad. At the first sight it is not very probable they could be a couple. 

Especially from Alexandra' s point of view but there is the reason why you MUST read this romantic historical novel. Situations and circumstances forced them to unite and gradually, step by step, they fall in love with each other. I recommend to everyone who loves stories rich in historical details and with a gentle touch of romance. It´' s enchanting and full of love – to people and especially to our creator - God.

Official annotation:

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. Only, he soon discovers that the very train accident his father is blamed for causing is what killed Alexandra Jamison's fiancee—and what has broken her heart.

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? And when Sy's roguish qualities and adventuresome spirit smack more of recklessness than responsibility and honor?

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. 

Set against the real history of Nashville's Belle Meade Plantation and the original Fisk University Jubilee Singers ensemble, To Wager Her Heart is a stirring love story about seeking justice and restoring honor at a time in history when both were tenuous and hard-won.

My rating: 5/5

 I WOULD LIKE TO THANK TAMERA ALEXANDER FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE THE PART OF 

  TO WAGER HER HEART STREET TEAM! :)