The Angel of Second Street

Click here to get your copy!

About the Book

Book: The Angel of Second Street

Series: Brothers of Saphire Ranch, Book 8
Author: Barbara Tifft Blakey

Genre: Christian Historical Romance, Christian 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.

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.

Devoted to Hope's Review of The Angel of Second Street

What does it mean to walk step-by-step following God’s call, even when it leads you down streets the world calls off-limits?

In Angel of Second Street, I felt as if Barbara Tifft Blakey had an inside scoop on my own heart and soul. This is so much more than a Christian historical fiction novel—it’s a story of obedience to God’s Word, even when it’s costly. Ida’s compassion shines bright against the harsh prejudice of her world, and every choice she makes felt like Scripture brought to life. “I want to serve God… I want to talk about Jesus, share His love.” That heartbeat of faith ran through every page.

I was moved by how God opened Ida’s eyes to see the hurting around her—how she saw souls, not social status or skin color. Ida’s courage to step into places deemed off-limits, to befriend those shunned by society, reminded me that real faith always crosses the lines of comfort and convention.

Blaine’s journey—his wrestling with what others think, his search for the truth about the woman he’s come to care for—added a tender echo to this story of standing firm in faith. Together, Ida and Blaine’s choices made me ask: Am I living out God’s call in the face of fear? Am I loving with compassion that doesn’t flinch?

Barbara Tifft Blakey’s storytelling is a beautiful reminder that God’s Word isn’t meant to be read and set aside—it’s meant to be lived out loud with joy and determination. In Ida’s passion to obey, I found a challenge and a quiet reassurance: that grace shines brightest when it’s lived in the streets, not just in the pews.

In my heart, this is a five-star story—a reminder of what God continually puts on my own heart and a living testimony to the quiet, bold faith He calls me to each day.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Celebrate Lit and the publisher Barbour Fiction via NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review nor paid to do so. This is my honest and unbiased review. My thoughts and opinions expressed in this book review are my own. My review focuses on writing and story’s content, ensuring transparency and reliability.