Today is National Hot Tea Day and naturally, I want to
celebrate that! In fact, January is Hot
Tea Month. Yippie!! Here’s a 30-second
video I made in the garden to mark the occasion.
Today I'm sharing this lovely wee floral pot, handmade birthday card
& Piper and Leaf Artisan Tea Co.
Old Fashioned
Birthday Cake tea (caffeinated black tea blend featuring Ceylon tea,
lavender flowers, bergamot which, luckily I don’t notice since I usually do not
like it, vanilla, & cornflowers) gifted to me by my sweet & generous
friend Cindy. The tea is not too strong and the vanilla is the star I
believe. It is a mild day here in sunny So Cal with gentle breezes and blue skies
in the mid-60s. I hope you take the time to celebrate too! You are worth it!
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| Good books, like good friends are few and chosen; The more select, the more enjoyable. -Louisa May Alcott |
In 2019 I exceeded my goal and read 63 books according to GoodReads!
***RIVETING – AN EXCELLENT 1ST READ
FOR 2020 ***
Roseanna White weaves a wonderful tale and starting one of
her novels is always dangerous for me as all other responsibilities fly out the
window! I absolutely loved this story (naturally!). The characters are relatable while the story
is exciting. I loved revisiting Room 40
where the codebreakers work hard to transcribe enemy messages. The romance between the main characters is
one neither had expected and I enjoyed the way it grew, almost out of necessity,
but with the Lord’s hand clearly upon it.
London 1918, WWI
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| CLICK for more info on this pin |
Major Phillip Camden returns from book 1 brooding as ever,
as he awaits his fate. Currently, he has
joined Room 40 and the codebreakers as his friend Drake Elton has put in a good
word for him. But he knows justice will
catch up to him and it’s only a matter of time until he faces a firing squad.
He carries his wing-pin always in his pocket as a reminder of who he’d once
been and his lost brothers.
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| Charing Cross Hospital 1925 Photo by George Davison Reid |
Arabelle Denler is a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital. She joins the other nurses on break to stare out
the window daily at the handsome, mysterious man the papers have dubbed “Black
Heart”; the man responsible for the deaths of his entire squadron of RFC pilots. She has no business mooning at
strangers when she has a fiancé, but the Lord was calling her to pray for him
again like she had been for months now.
Besides, no man like him would never be interested in a plain-Jane like
her.
Diellza is a harsh reminder of Phillip’s past and not all
that she seems. She adds a twisting
layer to the story as the war rages on.
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| Oh for the day when the consequences of skipping classes or putting pepper in the headmaster's tea were all he had to worry about. No threats of court-martial or firing squad. |
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[She] hadn’t imagined praying for this girl at all.
But
helping those who were hurting was what the Lord
had called her to years ago.
If you want to be healed,
He’d whispered into her heart… then heal others.
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| For the first time in years, he considered breaking his silence with God & saying a prayer for her sake. |
Again, I would add,
that we are not dragged through the gruesomeness of war which I very much
appreciate. I am looking forward to Zivon Marin & Lily Blackwell’s future
story.
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.
-Bethany House Publishers
Click / Places to buy:
SERIES: The
Codebreakers -
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| Click for Amazon Link |
*The Number of Love – Book 1 June 4, 2019 (click for my review)
*On Wings of Devotion – Book 2 Jan 7, 2020
*A Portrait of Loyalty – tbd
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.
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| @roseannamwhite #TheCodebreakers #OnWingsofDevotion |
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| Until Next Time, Hugs & A Cuppa Tea! Heather Elizabeth |
