On Wings of Devotion (The Codebreakers #2) by Roseanna M. White

 

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Content: Clean

 

All of England thinks Phillip Camden a monster—a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But as nurse Arabelle Denler watches the so-dubbed "Black Heart" every day, she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their paths twist together and he declares himself her new protector, she realizes she has her own role to play in his healing.

Phillip Camden would have preferred to die that day with his squadron 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. What comes as a shock is the reborn desire to live that Arabelle inspires in him.

But when an old acquaintance shows up and seems set on using him in a plot that has the codebreakers of Room 40 in a frenzy, new affections are put to the test.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this second book in the Codebreakers series, more so than the first one. Phillip was an interesting addition to the last book, although not very likable, so I was apprehensive about him being a main character in this book. I ended up being really glad his story was told here, and I got to see a different side of him. I also loved how his romance with Arabelle began and progressed in this story. 

This is a story of love and redemption, and the characters were all very well drawn. There are characters from the two previous series that are tied to this one, Shadows Over England, and Ladies of the Manor that make brief appearances. It would have been nice to know who Brook, Rowena, and Ella were from Ladies of the Manor, but I haven't read that series yet. Needless to say I'm looking forward to reading that series when I'm done with this one.

This is Christian historical fiction with romance, and I love the mix of romance, espionage, and history. As usual for this author, there was lots of great historic detail, that included real events and real historic characters. This time there is a character who is a spy and assassin for the German's who was heavily inspired by both Mata Hari and Beatrice Von Brunner. If you don't know much about them I suggest looking them up. That's one thing I've come to love about this series. It inspires me to find out more about people and events I don't know a lot about.