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.
On Wings of Devotion has certainly earned my devotion! White pens a thrilling story of love and intrigue stirred up with secret agents and spies. It’s such a great backdrop for a love story – for several of them, really – that you won’t be able to put it down.
I love the elements of the series: that codes and codebreaking played a pivotal role in World War I. While On Wings of Devotion mentions the main characters from first story, it introduces new main characters for this one, and they, too, play fascinating roles in the war. Black Heart himself is a pilot at a time when that was still a fairly new thing to be, and Arabelle Denler is a nurse. While for a time nursing was considered a woman’s field, that was a pretty new belief during this period, and the social constraints for one trained in that way were very strict. Put those two professions together, throw in a huge fortune, some unusual extended family members, and a few personal hang-ups, and you’ve got a formula for a really exciting story.
Black Heart wasn’t the kind of main character I expected at first, and it took me a bit to get a feel for him. I felt as if his description was a bit contradictory, but I soon understood why that was, and those very contradictions helped make him a more exciting character – and one I’d like to know.
Arabelle was interesting for her very sweetness – at least, the sweetness that she let people see. The fact that she struggles so hard to do what she’s called to do makes her come alive on the page, and that’s one element of her character that I enjoyed. Another is her appearance, for White describes her as plain, not beautiful, and it’s just plain nice to read about a main character with whom someone falls madly in love who has a normal face. Not everyone’s a supermodel, and all those books who describe everyone that way feel unrealistic.
The further I got into the story, the faster I found myself turning pages. The pace definitely picks up as you get further in, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen! White even set her hooks well for the next book in the series by introducing the main characters there and giving you just enough of a teaser to intrigue you. The next one might sound even better!
Reading about the real people upon whom White based characters is really cool, too. If you think about it superficially, it might sound as if the events of this story could never happen; except her research proves that it does, and that makes the whole thing that much better. I love reading about fascinating people in history, and now I need to go find out more about these people.
I read this book in a single day, and days later, I’m still thinking about it. The characters are still floating about in my mind, while I consider the events of the story and what it must have been like to be there. The real history part adds a really exciting element – I’m getting a lot of mileage out of this book, and I’m sure you will, too.
If you like historical fiction or romantic suspense, head for your nearest bookstore now – because you won’t want to wait any longer to dig into Arabelle and Black Heart’s story.
I received a complimentary copy of The Number of Love from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Want to know more about the first book in the Codebreakers series, The Number of Love? Read my review here!
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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