An Hour Unspent (Roseanna M. White) – Review

Posted 2 November 2018 by Katie in Christian Fiction, Historical, Mystery, New Releases, Review, Romance / 0 Comments

~ About the Book ~

Once London’s top thief, Barclay Pearce has turned his back on his life of crime and now uses his skills for a nation at war. But not until he rescues a clockmaker’s daughter from a mugging does he begin to wonder what his future might hold.

Evelina Manning has constantly fought for independence, but she certainly never meant for it to inspire her fiancé to end the engagement and enlist in the army. When the intriguing man who saved her returns to the Manning residence to study clockwork repair with her father, she can’t help being interested. But she soon learns that nothing with Barclay Pearce is as simple as it seems.

As 1915 England plunges ever deeper into war, the work of an ingenious clockmaker may give England an unbeatable military edge–and Germany realizes it as well. Evelina’s father soon finds his whole family in danger–and it may just take a reformed thief to steal the time they need to escape.

Genre: Historical Romance
Series:  #3 Shadows Over England
Release date:  4 September 2018
Pages: 416
Publisher:  Bethany House Publishers

Amazon US // Amazon AU // iTunes // Goodreads // Koorong

~ Excerpt ~

Barclay glanced behind him, making sure none of the other patrons were paying them any heed. Then leaned across the table so he could pitch his voice low. “I suspect it’s because of the job he just gave me. There’s a clockmaker I’m to get to know—the one who maintains the clock of Big Ben, it seems. He lives just a few streets over from Peter. He must want us to stick close.”
“The Great Clock?” Lucy’s brows shot up. “What’s he up to? Nothing suspicious, I hope.”
“No. No, some new invention V thinks could help our boys, that’s all.” He shifted against the niggle inside that said, If that’s all, why would you steal from him? Why repay innovation with deceit?
“Well.” On the other side of him Elinor grinned and bumped her shoulder into his. She was getting far too pretty, and it was a guarantee of headaches. It was just too much to hope that all his sisters would find blokes as good as Rosemary and Willa had.
Why did God have to send him so many sisters? Responsibility for them kept him up nights.
But Elinor’s grin was oblivious to the trouble she caused just by having a dimpled smile. “That gives me a fabulous idea for my challenge to you. I challenge you to steal . . . ”
He narrowed his eyes while the others all hooted and drummed their fingers on the edge of the table. “No things, El—”
“Oh, I know.” Laughing, Ellie silenced the drumming with a dramatic flourish of her hand. “I challenge you to steal an hour, Barclay Pearce. From Big Ben’s Clock.”
“A . . . ” He chuckled and shook his head. Their challenges had been getting more absurd lately, it was true—in part because he’d made them all swear off actual stealing. Aside from their increasing morality, they couldn’t risk getting caught. Not now, working for V. Who paid far better than any fence ever did. “How the devil am I supposed to steal an hour?”
Elinor grinned. “You’re not, I believe the saying goes. You’re supposed to fail to steal an hour, thereby proving once and for all that you’re not half the thief you think yourself.”
He let a grin curve his lips, let his fingers close around one of the keys. Surveyed each of the faces of the children he’d claimed as siblings—the ones who’d let him, who’d claimed him back. The ones who had grown up with him, the ones who’d come along later, the little ones who remembered nothing but being theirs.
“The Great Westminster Clock, huh?” He flipped the key into the air like a coin, caught it, and stood to help when he noted Pauly coming their way with a tray loaded down with bowls. “Nothing to it. That hour’s as good as mine.”

~ Review ~

Some characters make you want to know them from the minute they walk onto the page, and so it was with Barclay Pearce in A Name Unknown. And A Song Unheard. And now, FINALLY, he gets the spotlight! He’s the father-figure-slash-big-brother for a rag-tag bunch of orphans, he’s a reformed thief, and he’s a gentleman by nature if not by status. What’s not to love?

Nothing, as it turns out. He lived up to every expectation I had and then some. I loved the tension his new-found faith brought to his life, particularly as he walked the sometimes-blurry line drawn by his job working for V and the Admiralty. And I loved the many ways this story explored what it means to be a family. This guy has such a big heart, but it’s not without its wounds.

Evelina was a great character, too. She and Barclay were the perfect mix of contrast and complement, their stories shining a light on each other’s shadows, which was particularly eye-opening for Evelina. And she was a little bit sassy, too! I’ll give you two words: first kiss. You’ll know what I mean once you read it! But that aunt of hers! Whew! If you’re the kind of person who gets the irrepressible impulse to purse-whomp, you might want to make sure you leave your handbag at home. Either that or make sure you pack your biggest tome to give it some extra weight . . .

There were some fascinating historical tidbits sprinkled through this story, particularly the beginnings of the Rolex wristwatch, along with many other smaller historical details that brought the setting to life. Even more intriguing was the way in which the analogy of clockmaking was used by Barclay to better understand why God would be interested in one seemingly insignificant person: that is, himself: “Every cog, every gear, every spring was important. If one was out of line, no matter how small and insignificant, the entire device would fail. Why shouldn’t the Lord love each member of humanity with the same level of care Cecil Manning had given that watch Barclay had found in a gutter?”

Roseanna M. White’s books are always a treat for historical fiction lovers, but they’re a well-rounded, satisfying read even if historical fiction isn’t your go-to genre. You get history, romance, and suspense all mixed in together, characters you’ll be loath to say goodbye to, and a story that will spirit you away to another time and place. Who could ask for anything more?

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

~ Guest Post from Roseanna ~

Last year, as I finished up the writing of An Hour Unspent, my great-grandmother passed away at the age of 103. As I sat at her funeral service and listened to the heartfelt memorial raised up to her by her kids and grandkids, I realized anew that this woman had been a matriarch in the truest sense of the word. She’d taught my family for generations how to love the Lord and each other, how to serve the Lord and each other, and how to trust the Lord and each other. Grandma Seward was, in so many ways, the one who instilled in me my idea of what family really is.

That idea—that it’s those knit together by love more than blood, and that faith is the strongest foundation—is what I built my unusual family of thieves upon in the Shadows Over England series. And strange as it is to liken my twenty-something reformed-thief hero to my 103-year-old-grandmother, Barclay Pearce is very much to his family what Maxine Seward was to mine.

The founder. The caregiver. The leader.

I knew as I began the series that I would write about Barclay in book three, and as I got to know him better throughout the series, I grew so excited to share his story! This is a man who led his family first into and then out of a life a crime, always for the right reasons—so he could provide for the children under his care. All he ever wanted to do was give them what he himself had lost. To show them love. To prove to them that they were worth any sacrifice.

It was truly a blessing for me to get to write the story in which Barclay found someone to come alongside him, to appreciate and learn to understand him. To finally share what started him down this path. I loved the idea that only a reformed thief could steal the time another family needed to overcome their own trials.

There are many historical items in the book that were such fun to explore—watchmaking of the era, the suffrage movement in England, technological advancements of the war—but at the heart, this isn’t a story about any of those.

It’s a story about how far people should go for love. I hope you enjoy Barclay’s story as much as I did!

~ Previous Books in the Series ~

Read my review for A Name Unknown or A Song Unheard

~ About the Author ~

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.

Connect with Roseanna: Blog // Facebook // Pinterest // Instagram // Twitter // Website

~ Giveaway ~

To celebrate her tour, Roseanna is giving away a grand prize of a signed book, a London mug, and a 48-pack Twinings tea sampler!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d570/an-hour-unspent-celebration-tour-giveaway