Celebrate Lit / June 6, 2025

The Angel of Second Street

About the Book The Angel of Second Street

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.

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My Thoughts on The Angel of Second Street

The Angel of Second Street is a wonderful historical fiction novel with some mystery and some romance thrown in as well. You’re going to love this book. Good news, the second book in the series, as well as the third, are on their way! Book two comes out in August, so don’t miss it.

In this book, we meet Ida. Ida has a heart for people. She doesn’t really care about social status or what class someone is or even what they do for a living. She just cares about them as people. It’s admirable, but not acceptable for her time. And it could get her into a lot of trouble.

When people of standing start to notice that Ida is frequenting areas of the city that they deem unacceptable, life begins to be difficult. When Blaine meets Ida at a church picnic, he wants to know more. But his parents are telling him she’s not an acceptable choice for a match. Will he listen to them? Or will he pursue her?

And what happens when Ida disappears in the wake of riots in the Chinese area? Can Blaine find her?

I highly enjoyed this book and will be for sure reading the rest of the series!

Some things of note. I would not let my younger teens read this book. While it is not bad, there are things chatted about and mentioned that I personally would not be comfortable with them reading. That said, I would label this an adult book. There is talk of prostitutes and babies born out of wedlock. There are mentions of the clothing and what would be revealed. But to counter that, there are scriptures and a strong Bible and God presence in the book.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of The Angel of Second Street

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 daylight-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.