Book review -- 'An Honorable Deception'

  I never hesitate to recommend Roseanna's books, even if I haven't read them yet.  Here again, we have no exception.  But every now and then, an author writes something extra special that just hits perfectly for you...and that's what happened with An Honorable Deception for me!

  I've greatly enjoyed reading through each of her books over the years, and love the variation in the different series, the different types of characters, sometimes living in extremely significant moments in history.  For me, mystery and espionage mixed with history are at the top of my list of favorite subjects in novels, and Roseanna's nearly always supply exactly that in spades.

  I first began reading her work with 'The Lost Heiress' not long after it released (in 2015?! Gosh time moves fast!), and immediately just loved the way she wove the mystery, slowly unfurling and layering things, ever making the characters walk a tighter rope as the tension built until the fulfilling (though not always happy) conclusions clicked together, one piece at a time.  Usually racing some very cunning villains until the last second!  And all the time, I actually liked the characters as people, with their own thoughts, problems, joys, and honest humor sprinkled so well throughout even the most serious stories.

  As if that weren't enough, her well-worded prose, the unique real-ness of each character, the comfortability with which the stories sat in their historical context, the different perspectives, the plots, and the true-to-life-ness of the subjects and moments, were all enormous bonuses as well.  But it was the mystery and the really loveable characters that pulled me in hardest.

  All that to say, 'An Honorable Deception' has felt like the most enjoyable and beloved returning to that first-reading experience I loved from 'The Lost Heiress', so many years ago.  I've been enchanted with 'An Honorable Deception', and since Yates and Lavinia were already side characters I loved most from the rest of the series, I especially enjoyed a tale they got to really shine in!

  I do try to steer as far from spoilers as possible...but I really would love to go on and GUSH about how much I enjoyed this finale to The Imposters. (not to mention the gorgeous colors in its cover!)  If you've not read Roseanna before, this series would be an excellent start.  But honestly, I'd recommend ANY of her series; just join me in all the adventures she takes us all on!

Get your own copy of 'An Honorable Deception' HERE --------------------->  purchase An Honorable Deception 

  Disclaimer:

  I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publishers, and was not required to leave a positive review.  All views expressed are mine and mine alone.

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About the Book

As the leader of elite private investigative firm the Imposters, Lord Yates Fairfax has made an art of concealing his identity. But when his newest client, the beautiful Lady Alethia Barremore, is shot while leaving their meeting, he throws caution to the wind and rushes to her aid. Though Lady Alethia thought she was only looking for her missing former nanny, she has clearly stumbled upon dangerous secrets. Lady Lavinia Hemming suspects there's more to her oldest friends than they're willing to admit, and when she stumbles upon the truth that they're the Imposters, she recruits herself into the firm. Happy as she is for the distraction of an investigation, Lavinia's own family secrets continue to haunt her. And the one thing to bring laughter back into her life--her friendship with Yates--lands her squarely on the bad side of her best friend, his sister. Tormented by a past that she doesn't dare to voice aloud, Lady Alethia does what she can to help her handsome host, her new friends, and the investigators. But as clues lead them deeper into the darkest of society's secrets, Alethia, Yates, and Lavinia soon learn anew that the gentry isn't always noble . . . and truth isn't always honorable.

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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An Honorable Deception (The Imposters, book 3) available HERE 

Book review -- 'A Beautiful Disguise'

 

  Another grand adventure has arrived, from the pen of the talented Roseanna M. White!

  At this point it's become a tradition for me, so I'll just say right off...  It's dang hard, especially with Roseanna's books, to write a review that doesn't give anything, even something small, away (NO spoilers here!).  So I just try instead to highlight a few things I liked briefly, and tell you just to GET THE BOOK and join me on the adventure! 

  Set in Edwardian London, this book takes a turn back towards Roseanna's past location settings.  And I am all the way here for it!

  While I've very much enjoyed the wartime novels Roseanna has focused on for a while -- the intrigue, the atmosphere of the eras, the complications of relationships of all types in wartime, the heightened threat of foreign enemies sneaking in to sabotage from outside -- it has been equally as fascinating to get back to a more society-drama setting for this new series (The Impostors).

  I was already predisposed to like the heroine of this story, Marigold Fairfax, as she's quite a costume-builder, and half of my own life is as a costumer by trade for both stage and film.  It's such fun to see bits of actual considerations I make in my job as a costumer, coming to light on the page.  Though I'm not in a type of espionage myself (fortunately...?), I too take into consideration things like what the trimmings on this gown or that hat will say to onlookers about who this person is, and so on.

  In addition, the aspect of Marigold and her brother Yates having past acrobatic and circus-related training is really interesting and a riot to watch unfold, combining with their fairly new work as private investigators.  What a fun angle this has proven to be! 

  Now, just like his rather secretive initial persona, I don't think I can say very much about the story's hero, Sir Merritt Livingstone, without his secrets leaking out...  So, suffice to say, I like him.  I actually really liked his suspicions about Marigold, for some reason; how she comes across much of the time vs. who she actually is and why.  Maybe it's just remarkably refreshing to see a character with good questions, not silly ones and suspicion for suspicion's sake that many an author often throw in to try to add drama to relationships.  (insert an eyeroll here...)  It's good to see a hero have a solid head on his shoulders, especially when it comes to the girl they're interested in, without taking it to the extreme of fake concerns for tension's sake.  (more eyerolls)

  But then, that's never Roseanna's style, and I appreciate it.  She takes the time and effort required to create plausible people, not caricatures or archetypes or silhouettes.  She creates worlds to put them in with life and dust and dirt and jokes and joy and complications.  And she creates scenarios and people I'm more than happy to climb aboard with and follow on any sort of adventure.  Just like this one, full of beautiful disguises.

  I'll wrap this up with a couple of quotes I love from this book:

'The truth isn't always pretty.  But I like to think it's always beautiful.'

'Maybe we'd all be wiser, maybe fewer people would be hurt, if we questioned 

more.  If we didn't think that closing our eyes to darkness meant 

it didn't exist.

As if by closing them, we didn't just create more darkness.'

Get your own copy HERE ---------->  purchase A Beautiful Disguise 

  Disclaimer: 

  I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publishers, and was not required to leave a positive review.  All views expressed are mine and mine alone. 

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About the Book ­

1909 Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm marketed to the elite . . . to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society when they want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.   Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the most elite guard, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects a man of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries but needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.   Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.

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   About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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A Beautiful Disguise (The Impostors, book 1) available HERE 

‘On Wings of Devotion’ — book review

(...No spoilers here!)

  I’m thoroughly pleased with every book from @RosannaMWhite I read.  This second installment in The Codebreakers series, ‘On Wings of Devotion’, is no different!

  I love all the mystery/code breaking/espionage aspects that strongly tie these books together, and the clear, distinct settings and situations and characters that populate them against the backdrop of wartime England.

  Ara and Camden, “Blinker” Hall, many interesting side characters, and a slew of cameo characters we’ve met before are delightful and intriguing to read about in all their quirky, honest, complex, page-turning glory.  I loved that Margot and Drake made solid appearances, and always enjoy seeing Brooke and Stafford pop up all over the place!

  The way Roseanna thoughtfully peppers very real, but neither hype nor stained-glass faith through the pages and her characters’ lives is another aspect I’m particularly thankful for in her books.  She doesn’t force writing in the sky to impress the reader when a still, small Voice and an honest reply is all that’s really needed, or avoid difficult questions or moments, as if God might not be able to handle them.  Many Christian authors seem to swing one way or the other, and miss some powerful opportunities for real impact — but Roseanna and authors like her capture those beautifully. 

  One other aspect I particularly love from The Codebreakers, and the Ladies of The Manor series, is Roseanna’s commitment to and consistency with the era and the setting.  I don’t need or even expect historical /fiction/ to be perfectly accurate or read like a history book, but I do love getting a better feel for what life was possibly like for people at the time and place a book is set in.

  It’s the most frustrating thing to read a novel in which you could easily change the cover, the date given before that first chapter, and a few descriptions and have it fit whatever random setting you throw at it.  People did actually live and think in /different/ ways than we do now throughout history, and I appreciate when authors respect the setting of their novels enough to do their research, to credit those who came before us, and to stick to the time, place, and mindset of the era, and not impose contemporary attitudes or mannerisms or whatever in these places they do not belong.

  Roseanna is particularly skilled at this commitment to her setting; and combined with always keeping her novels clean in content, and her knack for unexpected delightful moments of tasteful comedy, plus all her other qualities mentioned previously, I don’t hesitate to pick up anything she publishes. (Or even just puts out on her blog!)

  Get ahold of ‘On Wings of Devotion’, then go back and read ‘The Number of Love’ to catch up on the fascinating glimpse they give into world of WWII codebreaking.  And make sure your library orders them if they don’t have them already!

——I received a complimentary copy of On Wings of Devotion from the publishers.  I was not required to provide a positive review.  All opinions expressed are mine alone.——

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  About the Book

Against Every Warning, She’s Drawn Ever Closer to the Man Known as “Black Heart”.

  All of England thinks Major Phillip Camden a monster – a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But he would have preferred to die that day with his men rather than be recruited to the Admiralty’s codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved.

  As nurse Arabelle Denler observes the so-dubbed “Black Heart,” she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their families and paths twist together unexpectedly, she realizes she has a role to play in his healing – and some of her own to do as well.

  With Camden’s court-martial looming, an old acquaintance shows up, intent on using him in a plot that sends the codebreakers of Room 40 into a frenzy. With their fragile hopes for the future in the cross hairs, Arabelle and Camden must hold on to hope – and to each other–if they want to survive.

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#OnWingsofDevotion  #TheCodebreakers 

'Number of Love' -- book review

The Number of Love

The Toughest Puzzle She’ll Have to Solve
May Be the Wishes of Her Own Heart

Three years into the Great War, England’s greatest asset is their intelligence network–field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack German telegrams for hints of the enemy’s plans. Margot De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages. But when her world is turned upside down by an unexpected loss, she discovers for the first time in her life that numbers aren’t enough.

Drake Elton returns wounded from the field, followed by an enemy who just won’t give up. He’s smitten quickly by the quick and brainy Margot, but soon the dangers of the war draw ever closer. Margot and Drake will have to team up to save themselves from the very secrets that brought them together.

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  Don’t worry; I'm not putting any spoilers here!  :) 

  I don’t remember how I first came across author Roseanna M. White’s fiction...

  But I definitely remember reading the summary and ‘about’ sections for her ‘Lost Heiress’ book years ago, and two things jumped out at me;  first, the plot sounded really interesting (turns out ‘interesting’ was a massive understatement!), and I’d read basically nothing set in the early Edwardian era, and second, this was a story Roseanna  first wrote when she was very young and revised and published years later, which caught my attention since I began creating a boatload of my own stories when I was very young, and it was enormously encouraging to see an author who had done the same thing and absolutely spun a fantastic story from those early scratchings.

  (Roseanna also manages to be a homeschooling mom at the same time as writing and such — really inspiring!)

  I read that first chunk of Roseanna’s work, and I was hooked.  I finished the Ladies of the Manor series, and started on her Culpher Ring series.  But I had to pause reading her other work when ‘Number of Love’ was slated to come out. 

  Really, other than the 1940’s Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone and a couple other old movies, I’ve not really had the pleasure of embarking on any other stories set in WWI...  (...do the Chronicles of Narnia count?)  I’ve definitely never read books set distinctly in The Great War.  Most everything this set in WWII.

  So I was immensely excited by the setting of ‘Number of Love’, and even more by the code-breaking and spy occupations of all the main characters.  

  I’m not quite finished with the book yet, as it’s turned out to be a book I’ve wanted to enjoy in chunks, savoring the last bit I read for a day or two or four.  I’m generally a pretty speedy reader, so pretty interesting that I want to chew on this one in between.  (and also some of the impending scenarios building up or being hinted at will make me nervous, like Wilson’s Outlaws of Time series — yikes! (in the best possible way!) )

  But it’s absolutely proving a fantastic read.  I love the use of numbers, floating throughout the paragraphs.  The use of the unknown, both for the reader and the characters.  I love enjoying more of Roseanna’s organic, natural prose, and how she introduces places and people in a clean and vibrant way — and then unwraps layers and layers a little at a time that you didn’t realize were there in the beginning.  Really nicely done.

  I don’t want to give anything away...  So I’ll keep it simple.  I like the twists, and the number 18 popping up everywhere, I love Margot’s ease as she figures out some complex things, and her struggle with other very human things.  I love the mysterious antagonist and how his thought process and actions become increasingly more unnerving.  I love hearing about the secondary characters, especially those who were actual historical figures with major influences in the Great War.  And all the fascinating code-breaking tidbits are my favorite!

  If any of this has even remotely stirred your interest, or you haven’t read/seen much from the WWI era like I hadn’t, or you’re just looking for a new book for summer, definitely grab ‘Number of Love’.  Then let’s talk about it after you’ve read it!

  You can get the book HERE, and check out Roseanna’s other titles as well!

  NOTE:  I received a complimentary copy of The Number of Love from the publishers. I was certainly not required to provide a positive review. All the opinions expressed  here are mine alone.

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Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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Get your own copy of 'The Number of Love' here:

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