An Hour Unspent - Release Day! Review! Giveaway!

Happy Release Day to Roseanna White for the final book in her Shadows Over England series, An Hour Unspent! Roseanna has a bunch of giveaways posted on her website, and an upcoming coloring contest that sounds pretty exciting! Make sure you head over there for some fantastic goodies! The books are on sale at the author's website where you can signed copies, and the first two books are currently 20% off! They are also available on Kindle and paperback at Amazon.

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 it.

My Review:

I have so loved this series and this family, it is sad to see their story ending, but this heart-warming conclusion to the series did not disappoint! I experienced all the feels as I finally got to learn more about Barclay, the self-designated big brother of the noble family of thieves. Central to the core of his character is the desire to protect and care for others. Once someone touches his heart he is committed to them no matter what, often sacrificing what little he has to make sure they are provided for.

Evelina was quite a feisty character! Battling and surviving a childhood illness, as well as her domineering mother and aunt, has given her a fierce desire for independence and a passion for justice. She fights for the rights of the working class, even though it's not quite the fashionable cause her mother and suffragette friends would have her involved in.

Though Barclay and Evelina come from such different worlds, they see each other's profound strengths as well as their biggest hurts and fears.  My favorite part of reading is watching the characters come to grips with their most defining traits and come to a better awareness of themselves. Roseanna White does this very well in all her books.

One nice surprise in this book is that we (finally!) get to learn a bit more about the mysterious Mr. V!!! Alice's small role in the story was also a real treat.

This is a beautiful story of love and family, and the importance of spending your time well, woven into the historical backdrop of World War 1. I have loved these characters and their story. I am sad to see them go, but this was such a sweet conclusion for Barclay and his family. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have.

I received a copy of this book for promotional purposes. The opinions expressed are my own.

Favorite Quotes:

"The Lord uses even our broken pieces in the most remarkable ways."

"Something had to be done. And the certainty of what settled on him with that same solid weight that he knew so well. The one that always said, Give the little one your food and You don't need a coat. Not like he does. That certainty he was only now beginning to realize was God, showing him the way to love those put in his care."

"God saw him anyway, in complete clarity. So why try to hide?"

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