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A review by english_lady03
The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White
4.0
Roseanna M. White has become one of my go-to authors since her Ladies of the Manor series debuted 4 years ago. It turned out to the first of 3 series set in Edwardian England.
The Number of Love, the first novel in her new Codebreakers series has been one of my favourite yet. There’s Romance, intrigue, unlikely heroes, witty banter, a train escape scene, and espionage galore.. Yeah, it’s about people breaking German codes so there's gonna be espionage.
It’s absolutely fascinating to learn that there were people doing this for the British Admiralty in the Great War: everyone has heard of the work of the women and men at Bletchley Park in WW2, but I had no idea that kind of thing was happening over 20 years before.
That's one of the other things I RMW's work, is how she works interesting and unusual historical details into the story.
The book is meticulously researched, and the characters brilliant. Margot de Wilde first appeared in the second novel of the last series as a Mathematical child genius who deserved her own story. Margot also happened to be autistic, so whilst she can do calculations and crack codes in minutes, she has problems with emotions, feelings and interacting with others. I appreciated having a woman with learning differences as a heroine as too many protagonists in fiction are perfect and good looking.
Drake Elton was a marvellously chivalrous and heroic leading man: but he also had a strong conscience, and even during war, did not seek to kill unnecessarily. He respects Margot's intelligence and choices, but also wants to help her understand that feelings and love are not something to be feared: nor will they necessarily spoil her dreams.
It was also great to see characters from earlier novels playing a role in the novel: including Brook and her father from the first series.
My only real complaint is I felt bad guy became obvious and a little sloppy in his schemes towards the end. After all that build up, it was a bit disappointing and felt rushed.
Other than that, however, this story was an almost perfect read for me. I look forward to the next one in the series.
I requested this from the Publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
The Number of Love, the first novel in her new Codebreakers series has been one of my favourite yet. There’s Romance, intrigue, unlikely heroes, witty banter, a train escape scene, and espionage galore.. Yeah, it’s about people breaking German codes so there's gonna be espionage.
It’s absolutely fascinating to learn that there were people doing this for the British Admiralty in the Great War: everyone has heard of the work of the women and men at Bletchley Park in WW2, but I had no idea that kind of thing was happening over 20 years before.
That's one of the other things I RMW's work, is how she works interesting and unusual historical details into the story.
The book is meticulously researched, and the characters brilliant. Margot de Wilde first appeared in the second novel of the last series as a Mathematical child genius who deserved her own story. Margot also happened to be autistic, so whilst she can do calculations and crack codes in minutes, she has problems with emotions, feelings and interacting with others. I appreciated having a woman with learning differences as a heroine as too many protagonists in fiction are perfect and good looking.
Drake Elton was a marvellously chivalrous and heroic leading man: but he also had a strong conscience, and even during war, did not seek to kill unnecessarily. He respects Margot's intelligence and choices, but also wants to help her understand that feelings and love are not something to be feared: nor will they necessarily spoil her dreams.
It was also great to see characters from earlier novels playing a role in the novel: including Brook and her father from the first series.
My only real complaint is I felt bad guy became obvious and a little sloppy in his schemes towards the end. After all that build up, it was a bit disappointing and felt rushed.
Other than that, however, this story was an almost perfect read for me. I look forward to the next one in the series.
I requested this from the Publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.