By Naomi Stephens

Your life changes the day your child is born. For Rebekah, it was a change for the worse. As an unwed mother, giving up her baby and slinking off in shame was her only option. But even while she works as a prostitute at the Pendergrass House, she still holds onto the faint dream that her fiancé, a British officer, will return and marry her, making her a respectable wife and mother.

But then everything changes again the night a wounded patriot spy takes refuge in her room. Suddenly, Rebekah is entangled in a high stakes espionage game with Benjamin Renshaw, a patriot grappling with his own troubled past. But when her fiancé is stationed at the nearby British garrison, Rebekah’s dreams and reality come to a breaking point. Will she choose the man she loved and the dream she holds, or will she risk it all on Benjamin Renshaw and the patriot cause?

Cons: Yes, the main character is a prostitute, but everything is handled in a sensitive and clean manner. You know what’s happening, but it is glossed over with no explicit content.

That said, my one quibble with the book is I think it was a bit too glossed over. I have done some research on prostitution (albeit in the 1800s), and disease, abuse, suicide rate, and low life expectancy among prostitutes was high. For what the main character would have endured, I would have expected a lot more emotional trauma and psychological issues – which could have made the story and character arc even more powerful. 

Pros: That said, the redemption arc was great, and I loved the characters! The backstories were complex and really set up the characters and their struggles well. Like I said earlier, the subject matter was gritty, but handled tastefully. I appreciate the unique viewpoints of all the characters. Fantastic high stakes with some nail-biting espionage.This is the second Revolutionary War book I’ve read recently that was set in New York, so it was great to revisit the New York campaign. All in all, a great book if you’re looking for a unique heroine or some excellent Revolutionary War Christian fiction!

The Bottom Line: Rahab and the Jericho spies meets Fantine from Les Mis, all set in New York during the Revolutionary War.