A PORTRAIT OF LOYALTY by ROSEANNE M WHITE

A Portrait of Loyalty available Sept 2020

A Portrait of Loyalty - The Codebreakers - Book 3 - Roseanna M. White

***EXCELLENT END TO THE WWI SERIES***

Zivon Marin / Evgeni Marin - Two Russian brothers battle for what they believe is right and just for the future of the world, each shrouded in covert operations during the war. "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder: he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

 Lilian Blackwell deals in her own clandestine maneuvers; extremely talented behind her Kodak No.1 Autographic Special, model A camera and in the darkroom. "Something about him struck her as photographic, as if he were already a still life captured on film. What would he look like when actually put to paper? Would the camera see the same thing her eyes did, or would it not translate into a photograph, where everything was caught in a moment devoid of motion? No. She'd learned to capture motion - or its story, anyway - with her camera. She would just have to see if she could capture its opposite too. A challenge she'd never taken up before, but one she was determined to meet.

Tea Quote: Perhaps she would see if Ara would like to have tea or something. They rarely had the chance to socialize outside of Charing Cross (hospital).   

CLICK for a great link on this camera

This story is chock full of information & wonderful detail.  I loved how it was woven through the tense war years, the 1918 flu epidemic, and the faith of believers vs the righteousness of non-believers.  I also found it precious that people brought together during those difficult days could still find love, clinging to one another for support.  I was NOT prepared for the part of the story that brought me to sobbing tears.  It was very emotional and definitely required pause and tissues.  Very well written and highly recommended.

"His promises have not changed just because my circumstances have. He is still the giver of all. The lover of our souls. No matter how bad our situation, He is still good. All we have to do is look for Him."

I received a complimentary eBook from the author via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own without compensation or further expectation.

Bethany House Publishing, 384 Pages, (c) 09-08-2020

((4 Stars=I Really Liked It))

((MY STARS)) 1= Did not like it, 2= It was ok, 3=Liked It, 4= Really liked it, 5=It was amazing

CODEBREAKERS SERIES:

1 - The Number of Love, 2 - On Wings of Devotion, 3 - A Portrait of Loyalty

PLACES TO BUY:

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

CHRISTIANBOOK

AUTOGRAPHED COPY - AUTHOR'S WEBSITE

PUBLISHERS SYNOPSIS:  Zivon Marin was one of Russia's top cryptographers, until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee after speaking out against Lenin and separated from his brother along the way, he arrives in England driven by a growing anger and determined to offer his services to the Brits.

Lily Blackwell sees the world best through the lens of a camera--and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and recreating photographs. With her father's connections in propaganda, she's recruited to the intelligence division, even though her mother would disapprove.

After Captain Blackwell invites Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily. He sees patterns in what she deems chaos; she sees beauty in a world he thought destroyed. But both have secrets they're unwilling to share. When her photographs reveal that someone has been following Zivon, his loyalties are called into question--and his enemies are discovered to be far closer than he'd feared.

@roseannamwhite #TheCodebreakers #OnWingsofDevotion

Author, Roseanna M. White

Author Bio: 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.

LINE BY LINE BOOK ONE LOVE ALONG THE WIRES

Line by Line- Love Along The Wires book 1 by Jennifer Delamere

Decent Story.  It seemed like God and faith were late to the party, however, I do enjoy the topic of the telegraph and I will most likely read future publishings in this series.

"The telegraph service was a government entity, overseen by the postmaster general."

It may be noteworthy to some that the hero of the story is a smoker, which it is only referenced a couple of times and would have been common back then. "There was a vague smoky scent coming from him, as though he'd spent his recent train ride in the smoking car."

Andrew Carnegie added a good amount of wisdom later in the story.

"Over the years, I have found that it's one thing to hear a sermon where Scripture is quoted, but it's quite another to read for yourself what is written. It can have quite an impact on people" -Mr. Johnstone

Tea Moment: "Why, that's terrible!" Emma said. She filled a teacup and set it in front of Alice. "This will help." Emma's way of dealing with trauma always involved a hot cup of tea.

I received a complimentary eBook from the NetGalley & the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own without compensation or further expectation.

Click --> **AMAZON HAS THE FIRST 4 CHAPTERS OR SO OF THIS BOOK YOU CAN PREVIEW** 

Bethany House Publishing, 384 Pages, (c) June 30, 2020

((MY STARS)) 1= Did not like it, 2= It was ok, 3=Liked It, 4= Really liked it, 5=It was amazing

Until next time, Hugs and a cup of ICED tea!

LOVES PURE LIGHT - 4 XMAS NOVELLAS

Love's Pure Light - 4 Stories follow and Heirloom Nativity Set through 4 Generations

 Raney, McNear, Dietze, Rosche  Available Sept 1, 2020

***RECOMMENDED - CHRISTMAS EASY READING ***

WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCH ARE KEEPING BY SUSAN DIETZE

Massachusetts, 1899

"...when one is facing hardship, it often helps to focus on helping somone else."

"Never had a friend, male or female, challenged or encouraged him in his relationship with God or his work the way she had.  He'd never met a woman who could make him feel this confused yet at the same time this peaceful- "

This was a decent story with plenty of moments of redemption. However, I never care for characters who profess their love after a mere 3 weeks. It takes away from the story.

((3 Stars=I like it.))

THE WISE GUY AND THE STAR BY SHANNON McNEAR

Charleston, SC to Kansas City, Mo, 1919

"Good noon, ladies! Might I start you off with a cup of coffee or tea?" "Tea please," Aunt Lila said.

"God feels very far away. Like I've seen too much, done too much, somehow. Ordinary church is fine for ordinary people but..." [Stella shifted from one to the other. "Lord, help me grasp just what it is he's trying to say - and give me words that might offer comfort and strength."]

I really enjoyed the writing style, rich with detail but not so much as to get in the way. Nat and Stella are very sweet in their interactions. Realizing that Seth and Jesse from the previous story are her parents was unexpected and nice.

((4 Stars=I Really Liked It)

ON ANGEL WINGS BY JANICE ROSCHE

Kansas City, MO, 1945

"since Elodie Wise was a little girl, she'd been told she carried a light inside her soul that even the darkest night could not snuff out. The only problem? When she wanted - or rather needed - to hide, she never could. That didn't stop her from trying of course."

Decent story.  I liked Elodie and Benjamin's lifelong friendship.

((3 Stars=I liked it))

MAKING ROOM AT THE INN BY DEBORAH RANEY

Cape Girardeau, MO, Present Day

"An old hutch leaned agains the brick. Painted her favorite robin's-egg blue, the hutch held an exquisite mismatch of old dishes. No doubt the same cups and saucers she and Mimi had taken tea from that long ago Christmas. Oh how she wished they'd taken a photo..."

Very good story.  Although I generally do not enjoy modern tales, this one held my interest. The easy banter between Benjie and Trevor, yet moments of trepidations as they grew in affection for one another worked really well for me.

I love how the nativity found its way into the story and even grew with more pieces. It sure would be fun to see it!

((4 Stars=I Really Liked It))

I received a complimentary eBook from the NetGalley & the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own without compensation or further expectation.

Barbour Publishing, 448 Pages, (c) Sept 1, 2020

((STARS)) 1= Did not like it, 2= It was ok, 3=Liked It, 4= Really liked it, 5=It was amazing

Until next time - hugs and a cup of tea!

CONFUSED BY STAR RATINGS

Have you wondered about star ratings for products like I have? I finally did a little research for my favorite book sites to get a better understanding.

In my opinion, AMAZON gives a completely vague definition of its star ratings. Hovering over the stars does not help as there are no pop-ups.

“Amazon calculates a product’s star ratings based on a machine-learned model instead of a raw data average. The model takes into account factors including the age of a rating, whether the ratings are from verified purchasers, and factors that establish reviewer trustworthiness.”

GOODREADS STAR RATINGS: 1= Did not like it, 2= It was ok, 3=Liked It, 4= Really liked it, 5=It was amazing

B&N: 1= Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Average, 4= Good, 5=Excellent

GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS: 1= Hated it, 2=Didn’t like it, 3=Just Ok, 4= Liked it, 5=Loved it

KOBO: 1= I Hated it, 2=I didn’t like it, 3=It was ok, 4= I liked it, 5=I loved it

NetGalley (Would you recommend?): 1= No, 2=Not Really, 3=Maybe, 4= Yes, 5=Strongly

CBD: 1= Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Average, 4= Good, 5=Excellent (they also ask for a separate 5 bubble review of; Product Quality, Value, Meets Expectation)
Additionally, CBD now requires reviews to be done via Word Pad or Notepad stating in an email to me when I questioned why copy/pasting from MsWord was no longer working for me: “this process was changed recently for security reasons on our site.”

Side note from Christianbook: “Since 1978, Christianbook has been your go-to for Everything Christian for Less.

When we started as Christian Book Distributors, the acronym CBD became common reference for our many devoted customers. In recent years however, it’s become important for us to distinguish ourselves from other CBD-branded businesses.  Since launching on the web in the 1990s we have always been Christianbook.com. We also had the CBD.com site that has always automatically redirected to our official Christianbook.com site. With the potential for brand confusion mentioned above, we’ve decided to stop using the long-standing CBD.com address.

Our online home will now only be at Christianbook.com. We are not moving physical locations or modifying our award-winning services otherwise.  For our customers who reach us by CBD.com, we kindly request that you update your browser bookmarks or favorites to the Christianbook.com address.”

I think it's important to note what a rating on each site means, whether you are shopping or leaving a review.  I have decided if it fits on the site, I will include the site definition for my rating at the bottom trying to stick with each site's system.  So while I may give a 4 on one site, it may only equal a 3 on another site.

Until next time,
Hugs and a cup of tea!