Project Save Second Street Souls: The Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of the Angel of Second Street

About the Book

Book: The Angel of Second Street

Author: Barbara Tifft Blakey

Genre: Christian Fiction/Romance/Historical Fiction

Release date: May 1, 2025

How Can Compassion be Considered Wrong?

When life is weighed down by challenges, pillars of enduring hope and love are always waiting to be discovered.

Ida Dempsey has grown up in a privileged life of luxury thanks to her aunt and uncle. Although Second Street—where women of ill repute ply their wares—is off limits to respectable citizens, her heart of compassion compels her to frequent the area, hoping to make a difference in their lives. Ida has also befriended Qui Shau, a Chinese woman who keeps house for her family, but friendships between the whites and Chinese are taboo in Eureka. Ida tries to keep secret her forbidden compassion, but someone is watching and will use it against her.

When Blaine Prescott meets Ida at a church picnic, his parents warn him away from any relationship with the young lady who has been seen on Second Street in the company of a Chinese woman. But how could such a kindhearted, lovely young woman be anything but good? But when riots break out in Chinatown and Ida disappears, Blaine will do anything to find out where and why she has gone.

Click here to get your copy!

Book Review

There was much about this book that I enjoyed. Ida is an incredibly sweet character and her heart to serve the Lord is admirable. She just wants others to know about Jesus–what’s wrong with that? And the fact that Blaine prayed for a woman just like her, supports her in her endeavors, and deeply cares about her–well, that’s just swoon-worthy.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the historical background. My knowledge of the history of Chinese immigrants is extremely limited, if not nonexistent, so I really loved the incorporation of that in the novel. It broke my heart to read about how they were treated and how people looked down on them and wanted to get rid of them.

That being said, there were aspects of this book that I struggled with. Ida, while incredibly sweet, was also naive. Perhaps that could be accredited to her young age, however, it was something that I could not get past. She constantly defied her aunt and uncle, ignored warnings from others, and jumped into her plan headfirst without considering the consequences or heeding any sort of advice. I, of course, encourage those to listen to God’s calling for them, however, I do also believe in constant prayer and Godly advice and leadership–the latter of which Ida did not pursue.

There was also an incredible lack of communication in the book which just ended up frustrating me. The ending was also abrupt with lots of loose ends still needing to be tied up.

Overall, even though it was not my cup of tea, if you like Christian historical fiction, I would recommend this book.

I had received a copy of the book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.

About the Author

Barbara Tifft Blakey lives in the Pacific Northwest on five wooded acres with Terry, her husband of forty-plus years. She is best known for her award-winning, literature-inspired, language arts program, Total Language Plus, which she created over twenty years ago, and is used by thousands of homeschoolers. Barbara teaches Sunday school and enjoys speaking on various topics to Christian women’s groups. She and her husband have four grown children and five grandchildren. She enjoys camping at the ocean and is an avid soccer fan. During the day-light challenged winter months, she reads, crochets, bakes, and plots her next novel.

More from Barbara

As the birthplace of my mother, Eureka, California holds a special charm for me intensified by my grandmother’s stories of the area. Every visit I’ve made has encouraged me to dig deeper, to learn more, to experience this small, coastal town’s magnetism.

Its history includes the Wiyot’s massacre on Indian Island which can be viewed from the harbor and the expulsion of the Chinese population from Humboldt County. Carson’s Mansion is the most photographed Victorian dwelling in California, and possibly the United States, built to keep the lumber baron’s loggers employed during a downturn in the timber industry. Because of the numerous brothels, an entire section of Second Street located in the heart of the community was deemed out of bounds for children.

Both hero and heroine in Angel of Second Street are fictional, but my cast of characters includes real-life people such as Reverend Huntington, David Kendall, and Wei Lum and real historical businesses such as Wells Drug Store and Kitty Farris’s Joy Emporium.

I first wrote a version of this story more than a decade ago, but who can argue with God’s timing? Events that happened over 150 years ago feel current in today’s political climate where fear tactics dominate debates and spur regrettable actions. I didn’t set out to make a political statement, only to tell an engaging, thought-provoking love story, but in the midst of relating historical events, a deeper truth emerged as relevant today as it was in the mid 1800s.

I pray you’ll journey with Ida and Blaine through the turmoil of their times and be enriched to face the trials of today with renewed hope.