Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer is a fun and engaging Christian Western. I’ve been a fan of Witemeyer’s novels for a long time now, so when I heard she was going to do a series around classic fairytales I knew it would be fantastic. This first book does not disappoint. I love the way Witemeyer takes the classic Snow White story and makes it wholly her own. Hands down, I loved the seven grandpas the best. They make this story. I love how each grandpa resembles a famous seven dwarf, but is also unique and endearing in his own right. I love how they take Penelope in and love, nurture, and protect her as if she really was their grandchild. As far as the other characters go, Penelope and Titus are a fun couple. They each play their Snow White role well. Penelope is the perfect fairytale princess, and Titus is an excellent prince-in-Ranger clothing. There is instant attraction between the two, but there is no acting on those feelings until much later in the story. I would definitely call their relationship a slow burn. On their way to love, however, Penny and Titus have quite an adventure. Madam LaBelle is a nasty villain. She actually makes the evil queen in Snow White seem tame. I appreciate that we get to see her point of view, but, man, is she a villainous and vain and vile person. The way she sees the world — that it owes her something — is really hard to handle. I wanted to slap her a few times. As with every Witmeyer novel, there are many themes discussed. My favorite topic is about blame and where we focus it. Humans have an odd tendency to forget where blame lies, and, instead, take blame away from the villain and put it upon themselves. We are not responsible for the evil actions of others. That’s it. Period! Bad guys do bad things and the icky, ugly fallout of their choices is their fault.

Fairest of Heart is an enjoyable read that I highly recommend. If you are a fan of Westerns, if you love a highly engaging story, and if you like a well-done fairytale variant then I recommend you purchase a copy of this story ASAP. You will not be disappointed you did.

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Bethany House Publishers, via NetGalley in order to read and review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.