Category Archives: Books

Two Christmas Books

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The Everyday Gospel Christmas Devotional was taken from Paul David Tripp’s larger book, Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Christmas to All of Life. The 25 selections are only two pages, easy to incorporate in one’s devotional time. Each day’s reading begins with Scripture,and they cover a wide variety of topics related to Christmas. Excellent resource.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

The beginning of Matthew presents us with a majestic one-time moment in history that you shouldn’t run past in your desire to complete your daily Bible reading. God has recorded and preserved it for you because he wants it to leave you in gratitude and awe. And that awe is meant to capture your heart with such force that it changes the way you think about who you are and how you live your life.

The one who designed us to sing recorded and preserved songs for us. These songs are meant to focus our hearts, instruct us in the ways of the Lord, motivate our joy, and put words to our worship.

The entire biblical story is about a God who gives his creatures what they do not know they need, what they often do not want, and what they could never earn or do for themselves—but which they cannot live without.

The end of the reign of evil on earth began with the birth of Jesus. Later Satan would be defeated at Christ’s temptation, he would be defeated on the cross, and he would be defeated by the empty tomb. Jesus was victorious on our behalf and now reigns in glory. His reign guarantees the end of sin and death and an eternity of peace and righteousness for all who believe. The dragon is defeated. The Son reigns. Hallelujah!

The Christmas Hummingbird by Davis Bunn is perhaps the most unusual Christmas novella I have ever read (or listened to).

Ethan Lange lives in Miramar Bay, CA, and is awakened by banging on his front door. He finds a female police officer telling him an out-of-control fire is heading their way and he must vacate immediately.

A few weeks later, Ethan is in a rental property, having lost everything in the fire. When he runs into the police officer who saved his life, Ryan Eames, she asks if he would be willing to be deputized to help with a problem: people are robbing some of the vacation houses belonging to out-of-towners just before fire reaches them. In fact, police suspect the fires were started on purpose as a cover for the robberies.

As Ethan helps Ryan, he rescues a number of homeless animals, including a hummingbird overcome by smoke. Later we learn why hummingbirds mean so much to Ethan. Ryan’s mostly silent son takes an interest in helping the hummingbird, which he names Trevor.

Ethan contacts homeowners in the affected area offering to transfer their valuables to a vault in his bank.

Ethan has a side interest in art and often makes miniatures used in films to depict cities or neighborhoods. His contact in Hollywood calls to say a company is making a film series of his favorite childhood fantasy series, and does Ethan want in? Yes, of course.

Both Ethan and Ryan have been hurt before, so they are slow to consider another relationship. As Ethan gets to know Ryan and her son, Liam, he forges a special relationship with Liam. He finds that Liam is a gifted artist, though he rarely lets anyone see his work.

I love that there are so many layers to this book: the mystery of the fires and robberies, Ethan’s relationship with both Ryan and Liam individually and together, the hummingbird, the fantasy story Ethan’s latest project is based on.

Most of what I have read from Bunn has been Christian fiction. I don’t recall anything of a spiritual nature mentioned in this book, but I listened to the audiobook read by Graham Winton, and it’s impossible to flip back through pages. Nevertheless, this is a lovely story. I just discovered it’s also part of a Mirarmar Bay series by Bunn.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Favorite Books of 2024

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I posted all 74 books I read this year here, doubling up on my posts today since they overlap. I felt I had a good variety and enjoyed probably 98% of what I read.

But there are always a few standouts, and this year is no different. Most of these were not published this year, but I am glad I read them in 2024.

My top ten books read in 2024 are:

Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson. Immediately upon finishing this book, I read it again. I wanted to soak up as much of I as I could. I’m sure I’ll read it again. From my review: “He writes about battling self-doubt, creating as an act of worship, the fact that creating is work, not magic, that writing what we know doesn’t mean the polished end, but the struggle. He writes about humility, self-consciousness, and the fact that we don’t create to draw attention to ourselves even though ‘art is necessarily created by a Self’ (p. 28). He references Lewis and Tolkien and others and talks about imagination, serving the work, and serving the audience.”

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know For Sure You Are Saved by J. D. Greear. As one who wrestled with assurance of salvation for decades, and knowing several others in the same boat, I found this book very helpful. From my review: “Satan can trip people up over assurance because if we’re insecure about our salvation, we come to a standstill in our Christian growth. We don’t have the confidence to serve the Lord in any way. Instead of going forward in our Christian lives, we’re spinning our wheels over the same issues. On the other hand, there is such a thing as false assurance. Jesus said there would be people who stand before Him some day, fully assured that they are all right spiritually. They’ll be shocked to hear Him say, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”

Help for the Hungry Soul: Eight Encouragements to Grow Your Appetite for God’s Word by Kristen Wetherell “is not about how to read or study the Bible. She goes further back than that to our appetite for God’s Word. We’re made to hunger for God. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to hunger for the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. Our spiritual appetites have been skewed ever since.”

Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic. It would be hard to function without limbs. But Nick shares how his parents and others along the way helped him to thrive. I didn’t agree with every little point of theology, but I was inspired by Nick’s story.

Isaiah for You: Enlarging Your Vision of Who God Is by Tim Chester. Our ladies’ Bible study went through this, along with reading Isaiah, last spring. Isaiah has some beautiful, familiar, relatable passages, but others that are a little harder to work through. Chester did a great job explaining the passages with the overarching purpose of the book in mind.

Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes, my favorite fiction book this year. I had never read Amanda before, but I loved this book and am seeking out others of hers. Set in a coastal Maine village, the story goes back and forth between two brothers during WWII and the granddaughter of one in modern times. I loved the story, the writing, the strong sense of place.

Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham. Pepper is another new-to-me author. This book is set in the Asheville, NC, area and also goes back and forth between current times and 1915. Modern-day Clara Blackwell owns a bookstore in Biltmore village but is about to lose the store unless she can find the lease. In searching, she discovers her grandmother was the librarian at the Biltmore House in the early 1900s. Books, Biltmore, Asheville–what’s not to love? 🙂 I enjoyed the story in both timelines.

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox. Amanda is yet another new favorite author to me. In this story, a homeless man discovers an abandoned baby. He plans to find a home for her, but grows too attached. But he can’t raise her alone. In the current day, Ivy receives a mysterious letter from her grandmother after her death, sending her on a search for how her family, all unrelated to each other, came together.

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron goes back and forth between WWI and the forgotten “Coventry Blitz” of WWII. Amos is the son of a tenant farmer and good friends with the daughter of the manor house. He goes off to fight in WWII and comes back scarred and morose. Charlotte is widowed, and now they own competing bookstores on the same street. But to survive WWII, they’ll all have to learn to work together.

Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True Story) by Daniel Nayeri has the distinction of being the most “different” book I have ever read in its style. Daniel’s mother became a Christian in Iran and then had to flee the country with her two children. The family deals with many losses and new adjustments. It took a while to get into this book, but I was glad I persevered. I loved it.

Honorable Mention:

What were some of your favorite books read this year?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Books Read in 2024

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Books read in 2024

I read 74 books this year, including audiobooks–75 if you count reading one twice in a row. That’s down a little from the last few years, but that’s fine. I don’t want to race through books just to get to a certain number. I want to give each its due.

I felt like I had a good blend of older and newer books, some having been on my shelf for a while; others were hot off the press. I enjoyed some by old favorite authors and discovered some new-to-me authors that have become new favorites. I read 29 fiction books, four classics, 35 Christian fiction, and five other fiction.

(MTBR behind a book title refers to the Mount TBR [To Be Read] reading challenge, an encouragement to read books already on hand. I decided to acknowledge those here rather than making a separate post. I aimed for 24 books [Mt. Blanc] and read 31.)

Titles link to my reviews:

Classics:

Nonfiction:

Christian fiction:

Tin Can Serenade by Amanda Dykes was a delightful short story.

Other fiction:

How was your reading year?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Two Reading Challenge Wrap-Ups

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Though I’ll finish a couple more books by the end of the year, I thought this would be a good time to report on a couple of reading challenges I participate in.

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. Shelly has twelve different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goals. I chose the latter course, because I was only interested in a handful of the categories listed.

My own goals for this challenge and the results were (linked to my reviews):

Memoirs/Biographies:

Books About Writing:

Bible Study Books:

Christian Living Books:

Letters/Journals:

The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume III. I’m maybe halway through this one.

A Book by C. S. Lewis I Have Not Read:

Same as above.

Organization/Productivity:

Related to a Holiday:

The only category I missed was aging/midlife.

By my count, that’s 28 nonfiction book (or 29 if I count reading Adorning the Dark twice. I’m satisfied–all these were informative and some were profound.

The Intrepid Reader hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I like a variety of fiction categories, but historical fiction is probably what I read most. I aimed to read fifteen for the Medieval category. I completed twenty-four.

Linked to my reviews:

I love that there are classics here as well as some hot off the press, old favorites as well as newly-discovered authors.

Next week I’ll share my completed list of books read this year and my top favorites.

Review: Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor

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Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor

Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor by Roseanna M. White is a sweet (pun intended) Edwardian-era novella with shades of Jane Austen and The Nutcracker.

Lady Mariah Lyons’ step-father, the Earl of Castleton, has to leave his estate to a distant cousin due to an entail on the property. His heir, Cyril Lightbourne, had visited the manor as a child, where he and Mariah became fast friends. They were both imaginative and fun-loving, renaming Plumford Manor as Sugar Plum Manor and writing tales set in the woods.

But due to a misunderstanding, Cyril thought the Earl didn’t really want him as an heir, so he’s been absent for twelve years. Now he’s been invited to Plumford Manor for Christmas and is not quite sure what to expect.

Mariah isn’t sure, either, whether Cyril will be the same friend he was, or whether he will be distant and aloof. She’s heard he is courting Lady Pearl, and she doesn’t know why the men who flock to Pearl can’t see the cruelty behind the beauty.

Another guest arriving at the manor for Christmas is a Danish Greve (Count) who specifically wants to seek Mariah’s hand in marriage because his prince wants to strengthen ties with England by having a member of the royal court marry into a leading English family. He doesn’t love her: he thinks she is pleasant enough, though a bit silly, but he attributes that to her youth. Though handsome, he comes across as almost emotionless, cold, and calculating.

The two men had an altercation in the past, which sets the tone for their meeting at Plumford. Their pursuit of Mariah adds to their animosity and desire for revenge.

Mariah is a sweet girl, though not as beautiful as her widowed older sister. Her siblings and mother think she’s a bit immature, even ridiculous. Now the Greve feels the same way. Is what she always thought of as joyfulness truly childishness? Does she need to tone herself down to marry the Greve, or will Cyril ever see her as more than a childhood friend?

Embedded in the story are themes of faith, forgiveness, redemption, and being who God created you to be. I listened to the audiobook nicely read by Liz Pearce. This was a nice Christmas read.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Review: Christmas with the Queen

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Christmas with the Queen

I’ll say up front that I have mixed emotions about this novel.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb opens in 1952 with Elizabeth II in the first year of her reign, planning to continue the Christmas radio broadcast her father and grandfather had begun. She’s finding her footing as a young monarch, as well as juggling royal and family duties. Plus the nation is undergoing changes following WWII.

Olive Carter is a reporter trainee with the BBC. She lives with her parents and young daughter, Lucy. She wears a wedding ring and tells people her husband died in the war, but she was never married. Lucy’s father is revealed about a third of the way through the book, but it’s no surprise.

Olive can’t seem to get any serious stories to cover. She’d love the royal news, but an older man, Charlie, has been covering the royal family for decades. However, when he gets sick over Christmas, Olive asks to take his place at Sandringham for the Queen’s first radio address. Her boss agrees.

Jack Devereux is an American from New Orleans who stayed in England after his time in the Navy was over in WWII. A group of friends found each other on VE Day and kept in touch afterward. Jack is attracted to Olive Carter, but once he gets to know Andrea, he develops a serious relationship with her. Jack and Andrea marry, and he works in a restaurant with the hopes of starting his own someday.

But then Andrea is killed in an accident. At loose ends, Jack doesn’t know what to do with himself in his grief. Finally a friend urges him to spend Christmas with him and his family, where Jack meets his brother, Mason, who works as an assistant chef with the royal family. There’s an opening, so Mason invites Jack to apply, which Jack does. In Sandringham, Jack is surprised to run into Olive Carter again.

Jack and Olive run into each other at intervals through the years, usually at Christmastime in Sandringham. At first Jack is too lost in grief to consider Olive any more than an old friend. But over time, he wonders if he can love again.

Olive, meanwhile, has an important secret to share with Jack, but never seems to find the right opportunity to do so.

They both have interactions with Elizabeth and Philip.

I enjoyed the story about the queen quite a lot. From the title, you’d think her story would have been the main one. But it’s not. I got frustrated with Jack and Olive going around the same circles so many times.

I also liked Jack’s journey from his grandfather’s restaurant in New Orleans to a chef in the royal kitchen, trying to balance his love for experimentation and spices with the more traditional fare he’s expected to serve.

It was fun to see Elizabeth’s and Philip’s interactions with each other and with Jack and Olive. I was surprised, but shouldn’t have been, that girls kept scrapbooks with news and pictures of Elizabeth just like they did for Diana years later.

However, I am sorry to say I didn’t like Olive much. She’s kind of a party girl at first and has no problem with lying to get ahead at work.

But what bothered me most was the attitude about Olive’s one-night stand when she got pregnant. Nothing explicit is shown, but neither she nor her best friend feel she’s done anything wrong, and that night is referred too often through the book as “delicious.” Then later, tired of being alone, Olive decides to go out with an old flame just for fun. Her friend says, “Sex, you mean,” and encourages her to go.

Yes, this is a secular book, so I don’t expect it to have Christian values. And, yes, non-Christian characters are going to act like non-believers. Secular authors have the right to write what they want, but I have the right to express when I don’t like something. Plus, there was none of this kind of thing in the previous book I had read from these authors, so I wasn’t expecting it here–nor the amount of bad words and taking the Lord’s name in vain.

I loved The Last Christmas in Paris by these authors and I am sad this book was not the same caliber.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Three Short Christmas Reads

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I finished a few very short Christmas stories or novellas, so I thought I’d mention them in one post.

Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale by Amanda Dykes

Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale is a novella by Amanda Dykes which takes place on the Isle of Espoir, halfway between France and England. A famed composer lived there, Giovanni St. John. Superstition in his day said “a composer must never write beyond his ninth symphony. To do so was to face certain death.”

He disappeared after conducting his eight symphony, then suddenly reappeared nine years later with his tenth. He said the ninth was there, but they would never see or hear it.

Many years later, an aged St. John returns to the Isle of Espoir, to the old house villagers had taken to calling the Silent House because of his long absence. His grown daughter, Aria, is with him, gloved hands concealing injuries which had silenced her promising music career.

Aria has one last thing to do before her father dies. But she’ll need the help of her long-ago childhood friend, James. Yet Her father has forbidden James to see her, blaming James for the accident that injured Aria–as James does, himself.

This was a sweet and poignant story, packing a lot in for a novella.

Amanda shares at the end that this book was part of a campaign to get a bicycle to Gospel for Asia missionaries. When all was said and done, enough was raised for fifteen bicycles!

Tin Can Serenade by Amanda Dykes

Tin Can Serenade is a short story by Amanda Dykes, made up entirely of notes sent back and forth in a tin can on a pulley rope between two houses separated by a river. Two children are the writers and exchange notes first about a lost toy boat, then include biscuits, peppermint sticks, and such. She writes with flowery words, having read a lot. He’s very plainspoken. She lives with her widowed mother; he lives with his widower father.

As their correspondence reveals details about their families, they have no idea what they are about to stir up.

This was one of the sweetest things I have read in a long while, and wonderfully, beautifully written. It was originally written as a free story for Amanda’s readers and is free for now as a Kindle book.

Christmas at the Circus by Joanne Bischof is listed as a “short story from the Greatest Season on Earth.” The characters are the same as those in The Lady and the Lionheart by the author (linked to my review) about a want-to-be nurse who helps a circus performer in need and (spoiler alert) ends up marrying him. I think Christmas at the Circus may have been a bonus or Christmas story around the time Lionheart was published.

At any rate, Charlie and Ella are married, raising his niece. The circus is at their off-season location, with all the performers preparing for at big Christmas celebration under the big top. But Ella has no idea a special surprise awaits her.

There wasn’t much else to this story, but it would have been a fun addendum for fans of the original book.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Review: The Painted Castle

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The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

The Painted Castle is the third in Kristy Cambron’s Lost Castle series, the first two being The Lost Castle and Castle on the Rise.

In modern-day Dublin, Keira Foley is the sister of the two main characters in the previous books. She is an art historian but lost her job, and her fiance broke up with her. She’s working in her brother’s pub for now, until she’s asked to authenticate a portrait of Queen Victoria painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. It was discovered in an old manor home whose owner just wants to sort through and sell everything. But Keira doesn’t know if she can trust the man asking: a rumored American art thief. She decides to go with him, and uncovers more questions than answers.

In 1833 England, Elizabeth Meade is shattered when her beloved father is killed. He left her and her mother in dire financial straits, which her mother tries to hide from society. Elizabeth’s only goal in life to to find the man who killed her father and take revenge. Her favorite pastime, painting, is not approved by her mother, but brings Elizabeth joy. When Elizabeth is grown, her mother arranges her marriage to a Viscount Huxley, and Elizabeth is startled to learn he is the very man she thinks murdered her father.

During WWII, Amelia Woods turned the estate into a haven for refugee children after her beloved Arthur died. But now she’s ordered by the English military to house a group of American pilots. Amelia does her best in a difficult situation, trying to shelter the children from the war as much as she can and manage amidst rationing. She and the American captain bond over the books in her husband’s library.

A main character in each timeline is recovering from some kind of loss. Many of the characters learn that though our path isn’t always what we’d planned, we can trust God through it.

Partway through the book, I began to wonder if Winterhalter was a real artist. He was! And the portrait of Victoria was real as well, commissioned by her for her husband’s birthday. It was unconventional for the time, showing Victoria with her hair down and a bit more shoulder uncovered than usual. Albert loved it, but felt it was too intimate for public display, and hung it in his study.

Much historical fiction these days is written with two timelines. Kristy is the only writer I’ve known to weave together three, and though she does it well, I hope this does not become a trend. 🙂 She does a good job keeping us from getting confused by naming the date and location at the beginning of each chapter and orienting us quickly with pertinent details.

I enjoyed the settings and stories as well as the way details were unfolded throughout the book. Each of the characters seemed relatable.

A couple of favorite quotes:

Books are a completely personal kind of journey. On the first page, they ask us not only to be willing but to be moved, changed, persuaded, even made new by the time we reach the end. Everyone’s walk-through is different (p. 104).

Parham Hill seemed to own the strange combination of both peace and pain. Beauty and bitterness. A lavishness surrounded by a coldness . . . They were strange bedfellows to find hidden in the shadow of Framlingham Castle and its quaint little country hamlet (p. 131).

In her author’s notes, Kristy shares that her father was an American pilot in WWII who flew in the very area she wrote about here. And she shares other bits and pieces that inspired her plots.

There are also some interesting bits in the book about H. A. Rey and his wife, Margret. He was born in Germany, and he and his wife were Jews living in France. They escaped on bicycles not long before Paris fell, taking their manuscript of Curious George with them, which became an instant success when they got it published.

Though it’s been a while since I read the previous two books, I felt the last chapter pulled everything together very well and was a fitting conclusion.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Review: Waking Up in the Wilderness

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Waking Up in the Wilderness by Natalie Ogbourne

Natalie Ogbourne has been to Yellowstone National Park over 30 times. And not because she lives close to it: she lives 1,000 miles away in Iowa.

Natalie’s parents first took her and her brother to Yellowstone when she was twelve and he was eight, to show them “there was more to life that malls and movies” (p. 30, Kindle version). Natalie wasn’t impressed at first. But eventually she grew to love the place, working there when she was a little older and taking her own family back several times in all seasons.

Natalie shares her experiences and observations in a memoir titled Waking Up in the Wilderness: A Yellowstone Journey. She writes in her prologue, “Waking Up in the Wilderness is more than a story of me and my family doing what we love, in a place we love, with people we love. It’s a sign saying ‘Look at this!’ so readers can experience the park and see what there is to see for themselves” (p. 10).

When I think of wilderness, I think of a barren place. But Natalie helped me realize wilderness is wildness: it can be teeming with life. Though there are touristy areas of Yellowstone, paved roads, shops, and cabins, there is also an abundance of wild flora, fauna, and geological wonders.

Natalie often says, “What’s true on the trail is true in life.” “Creation speaks–more often in a whisper than a shout” (p. 69). Yellowstone taught her many lessons applicable to all of life, but she shares them naturally, not in a “moral of the story” way. Lessons like trusting that your guide knows more than you do when he’s taking you somewhere you don’t want to go, or the conflict between wanting to “take the road less traveled” while also wanting to “feel comfortable and safe.” She notes,”Rarely is this the same road” (p. 96).

I thought one of the most profound experiences came near the end of the book, when Natalie and her father found new signs in Yellowstone, after a couple of people had died there the previous year. In all caps, the sign read: “THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF YOUR SAFETY WHILE CAMPING OR HIKING IN BEAR COUNTRY.” Natalie didn’t want a tame Yellowstone, with everything behind barriers. But how can one navigate in areas where a bear might be around the next bend? “If safety isn’t the point, and fear isn’t the answer, I don’t know what is” (p. 192). I don’t want to spoil the book, but the conclusion she came to had me thinking all afternoon after I read it.

There are funny moments in the book, like when a visitor asks where the animals are kept at night. There are tense moments, when surrounded by a herd of bison or coming uncomfortably close to a bear. And there are poignant moments of insight.

Natalie and I are in the same critique group, so I got a sneak peek at a couple of her chapters. It’s been such a joy to see the book come into being and go out into the world.

The only thing that would have made the book even better is photos. But I imagine that adds another whole layer to the publishing process. She has plenty of pictures at her blog, along with other resources. I also looked up YouTube videos for some of the specific places she mentions.

Though Natalie’s book isn’t overtly Christian, her faith in God’s hand and care is evident throughout, especially the last half of the memoir.

I’m not a hiker, a traveler, or an adventurer, and I prefer indoors to out, but I still enjoyed Natalie’s treks into Yellowstone. I am happy to recommend her book to you.*

*There’s one little word I wish wasn’t there, but I suppose it was understandable in the context.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)

Review: An Honorable Deception

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An Honorable Deception

An Honorable Deception is the third in Roseanna M. White’s Imposters series about an aristocratic English pair of siblings in the early 1900s whose father left them nearly penniless. One of the father’s extravagant expenditures was a circus, whose residents now make their home at the Fairfax tower and whose staff taught the siblings, Yates and Marigold, skills to help them in their venture as private investigators

Yates heads to the church of a friend, James, who allows him to conduct interviews with potential clients in the confessional booth. Yates poses as “Mr. A” with an accent, Scottish this time. A “Miss B” on the other side of the booth asks him to help find her ayah, Samira. Miss B had been raised in India when her father was a viceroy there. Samira was with the family until they moved back to England, and since then she has traveled back and forth in several similar situations. Miss B. and Samira have remained close and meet whenever Samira is in town. But Samira missed their scheduled meeting, and so did a friend who was supposed to give Miss B. some news.

As Mr. A. and Miss B talk, they hear banging doors and hurried footsteps. Before Yates can stop her, Miss B leaves the confessional, says, “You!” and is shot three times.

Yates is in danger of blowing his cover, but he has to help Miss. B. As he leaves the confessional, the men have gone, and he discovers Miss B. is none other than Alethia Barremore, daughter of one of London’s leading families.

James and Yates bring Alethia to the Fairfax’s London home for her safety, fearing her attackers would find her in a hospital. As she slowly recovers, they learn more of her story and start looking into her case.

Also with the Fairfax siblings is a longtime friend, Lavinia Hemming.Yates had loved Lavinia when they were teenagers, but she developed scarlet fever which damaged her heart, leaving her ill for several years. Then when Yates discovered he had no money, he knew her parents would never consent to him asking for her hand. And Lavinia herself seemed totally uninterested in him.

In one of the previous books, Lavinia discovered her mother was a traitor who threatened her life, her father’s and Yates’. Her mother was killed, leaving Lavinia to recover from the disillusionment of her deception. With her father away, Lavinia accompanies the Fairfax siblings to their Northumberland tower, where she accidentally learns that they are the Imposters. She recruits herself into the group to help.

Their investigation turns out to be involve more than a missing ayah as they uncover some of society’s seedier secrets.

I don’t want to spoil the story, but some readers would want to know the last half of the book shares details of child abuse and sex trafficking. However, nothing explicit is shown.

As almost always, I loved Roseanna’s story. Though dealing with a serious subject, there are moments of lively banter. And Lavinia and Alethia wrestle with several emotional issues in the wake of their parents’ sins.

A fun surprise in this book was the appearance of Barclay Pearce from Roseanna’s Shadows Over England series about a group of street kids who form their own family.

There’s an interview with Roseanna about this new book here. I assume this is the last of the Imposters books–Roseanna’s series all seem to form groups of three. If so, I’ll miss these characters.

(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)