My Review of Whispers from the Shadows

Here's a description of the book from Harvest House:

"This exciting and adventurous romantic spy novel is the second book in a new series from Roseanna M. White. Whispers from the Shadows combines fascinating cloak-and-dagger secrets with a tale of love and intrigue during the War of 1812.

Treachery causes Gwyneth Fairchild’s world to crumble. The daughter of a British general, she barely saves her life by fleeing London aboard a ship to America. Her goal is to find refuge with the Lane family in Maryland, having been told by her father she could implicitly trust Winter and Bennet Lane, even though their nations are once again at war. After meeting their son, Thad, she wonders how safe she truly is when she discovers that the Lanes trade in a dangerous commodity—espionage.

Not long after Gwyneth finds refuge in his city, Thad Lane experiences the tug of love, though he fears it may blur lines of loyalty. With family playing the part of enemies and enemies proving themselves friends, a future with Gwyn is uncertain. But at this moment, with the British advancing on Washington and Baltimore, they have only their shared faith in God as a shield about them."

My Rating

Spring/Summer

My Review

With mystery wrapped in letters and works of art, a tender romance, and historical suspense, Whispers from the Shadows is a great continuation of "The Culper Ring" series. [You can read my review of the first book, Ring of Secrets, HERE.] White has a knack for writing compelling historical romance with interesting details and a smooth style.

This story starts out with a lot of conflict, which takes a bit to get into but fairly quickly engaged me. While Gwyneth's character might be considered too much of a "damsel in distress" initially, I found myself caught up in her struggles and intrigued by the glimpses into her ways of coping and healing. And the handsome, occasionally brooding, often deeply thoughtful Thad certainly shines in his interactions with the heroine. There are definitely some "swoon-worthy" scenes in this book!

With such a great beginning that drew me into the healing and falling-in-love processes of the two main characters, I confess that I was hoping for a little more from the latter scenes. Not that there isn't action and romance towards the end! I think I was just hoping for some different twists - or outcomes - than the ones that occurred.

The themes of whispers and shadows are well-executed and creatively incorporated, and I appreciated the message of paying attention to the right Voice. I wished for a little more - more kindness toward a certain spurned/confused character, more of the initial romance that melted my heart, and more of a focus on the characters than on the strict conveying of historical events in the latter portion of the book. However, Whispers from the Shadows is still a very enjoyable read for those who love historical romance and stories set during the War of 1812.

*With thanks to Harvest House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Note: This book will be released August 2013.