My Rating: 4.5 of 5 bookmarks
“If he was a spy, he was a master of it. And if he wasn’t...what in blazes was he?"
This book was a delightful throwback to an age of fiction that most would consider long past. With its quaint verbiage and flowery descriptions, one can detect an echo of literature from the time of the classics. White obviously appreciates the literature from a bygone age and by setting her book in London in the early 1900’s, she captured that time period quite well within her writing style as well as the story.
The descriptions and world-building were worked in such a way to give the reader the entire satisfaction of seeing nearly everything with clarity, without muddying the rest of the story. This did make the book to seem a bit long by today’s standards, but because I was enjoying it so much, I didn’t mind in the least.
The characters were delightful, quirky, and flawed, as they should be. Rosemary was headstrong, and had quite a bit of wit about her that kept me, and the other characters, on their toes. Peter was wonderfully kind and chivalrous, but with enough flaws to make him not only realistic but loveable. I was happy to find that Peter wasn’t the stereotypical male love interest in the respect that he was perfect and therefore desired her respect. And Rosemary’s frustration with him was often so relatable, that I felt torn between the characters.
“Don’t wait around for life to happen to you, Peter. Give it a good chase.”
The mystery/suspense side of the story was a bit tricky to comprehend and a certain plot twist really threw me for a loop and made me have to rethink the entire plot to get it right. I love it when a book can do that. Catch me by surprise.
The Authoress obviously did a fantastic job with her research. The amount of history within this volume was so interesting that I not only learned quite a bit, but was also enjoying my history lesson. Thank you, Miss White. There were many details about the early rumblings of WW1 that I never knew. This mixed with the mystery, intrigue and the slight flavor of a spy story was enough to keep me turning page after page.
Messages of loyalty, morality, family, friendship, trust, and conviction abound throughout this book and the way that Roseanna M. White portrayed Rosemary’s struggle with the salvation message was delightful. Nothing felt forced, and it flowed naturally with the story.
“Look, Mr. Holstein. We’ll all stand with you - but in order to do so, you got to stand too. For yourself.”
One of the reasons I had to dock half a star was because, while the writing was stellar in many respects, there were a few hiccups to the research that pulled me out of the story. One reason was just a few pieces of dialogue that sounded too modern for the time, but hardly anything to complain about considering the rest of the book. The only other reason for the half star off was the plot seemed to move a bit slow for me. The beginning didn’t grab my attention right away, but I am glad that I kept reading it! The treasure trove of story that followed more than made up for any slow start.
All of that being said, White’s attention to detail, historical setting, loveable characters and the intriguing plot has me beyond excited for book 2 in the Shadows Over England series! Thank you, Miss White, for bringing us some lovely, classy stories to read!
Content: Nothing graphic took place in this novel. A kiss is described in a pure way and there is a bit of fighting that goes on at several points. A punch or two are thrown and someone is threatened with a gun.
She lives in the glorious state of many lakes, Michigan, with her parents and eight siblings. She devours books and likes to say that if she could get paid for every book she has read, she would be a millionaire. Some of her favorite things to do include writing fiction, learning new things, acting, creating something with her hands and playing the piano or singing. She also is one of the founders of Ichthus Family Productions and seeks to honor the Lord in all that she does.
