A Melodious Sonnet

A Song Unheard Review and Blog Tour

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Who was the girl laying on her bed reading this afternoon instead of doing the cleaning and sorting she really should have been working on in preparation for moving in a couple weeks?

Me. Unashamedly, me. Because, “I only had eight chapters left…” and please don’t mention the fact that I wasn’t even to the three-quarter mark yet!

Ahem. Yup. I didn’t even take time to move my planner from my nightstand to my desk, like I always do every morning. Turns out, I spent most of my day thinking about the story and wishing I could get back to it instead of reading—which, of necessity, meant I didn’t get much else done either.

But that’s okay, in this case, because I needed to get it read and reviewed and the review scheduled so I didn’t have to think about it later. It was one of my goals for this week. Promise.

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Oh, this book. I expected to enjoy it, but also to get annoyed with it (both of which were true about the previous book in this series, A Name Unknown). While A Song Unheard didn’t quite hit the five-star mark for me—I’m trying to only use that for the books that completely blow me away!—I still loved it immensely. And one day, I hope I can sit down and re-read the entire series. Just because they’re lovely books, with sweet stories set in an intriguing historical time period.

About the book:

Willa Forsythe is both a violin prodigy and top-notch thief, which makes her the perfect choice for a crucial task at the outset of World War I—to steal a cypher from a famous violinist currently in Wales.

Lukas De Wilde has enjoyed the life of fame he’s won—until now, when being recognized nearly gets him killed. Everyone wants the key to his father’s work as a cryptologist. And Lukas fears that his mother and sister, who have vanished in the wake of the German invasion of Belgium, will pay the price. The only light he finds is meeting the intriguing Willa Forsythe.

But danger presses in from every side, and Willa knows what Lukas doesn’t—that she must betray him and find that cypher, or her own family will pay the price as surely as his has.

My thoughts:

A Song Unheard by Roseanna M. WhiteHistorically speaking, A Song Unheard dragged me in and wouldn’t let go. White did an incredible job building her story in such a way that you almost feel like you’re there, and I didn’t find anything that took me out of the setting, once in it, either. I loved getting to see another side of World War I through this story, too—as the author pointed out near the end of the book, there are few stories set in this time period, so that made it more intriguing. And definitely lovable.

I loved all the characters—even the villains!—each was very well developed. Margot probably won the most laughs from me, though. Her almost too-smart attitude, combined with her knowledge and the fact that she had a hard time controlling her tongue were all endearing and humorous to observe. My most favorite quote probably came from her, too:

“How old are you, anyway? Thirteen? Fourteen?” [he asked.]

“Two hundred and thirty. I look young for my age.” (She was fourteen!)

The romance ended up quite sweet and loveable, and I didn’t gag like I thought I might. That, too, was nice.

In the end, I really enjoyed the chance to read A Song Unheard. The writing style was poetic, and the suspense and mystery were just perfect—not too much to be too concerning, but enough to make me keep turning pages in the hope that maybe I’d get it figured out in the next chapter! The Christian element, too, was there, and very well done. One statement one character made (or implied) confused me a little—that of the Methodists and Catholics being on similar ground. From a historical standpoint, that did make me question the opinion a little (although my idea of what Methodism looked like in the early 1900s may be skewed as well). Otherwise, this seems to be a well-researched book, so if you’re looking for a cozy historical fiction with a splash of romance, this might just be down your alley!

I received this book for free from the publishers, and chose to share my opinions of the book.

Buy your copy here.

Author Roseanna M. WhiteAbout 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.

A Song Unheard GiveawayGiveaway!

To celebrate her tour, Roseanna is giving away a Grand Prize Package of a signed copy of the book as well as a lovely album of soothing songs based on the Scriptures called Hidden in My Heart (winner’s choice of CD or digital download)!

Click here to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!

Other blog stops:

Fiction Aficionado, January 11
History, Mystery & Faith, January 11
Genesis 5020, January 11
Bookworm Mama, January 11
A Simply Enchanted Life, January 11
Avid Reader Book Reviews, January 12
Reflections From My Bookshelves, January 12
Blogging With Carol, January 12
Multifarious, January 12
proud to be an autism mom, January 12
Faithfully Bookish, January 13
Christian Bookaholic, January 13
Karen Sue Hadley, January 13
Mary Hake, January 13
A Greater Yes, January 13
Remembrancy, January 14
Blossoms and Blessings, January 14
Just the Write Escape, January 14
Connie’s History Classroom, January 14
Texas Book-aholic, January 14
A Reader’s Brain, January 15
Rachel’s Back Talk, January 15
Smiling Book Reviews, January 15
Cordially Barbara, January 15
Pursuing Stacie, January 15
The Fizzy Pop Collection, January 16
Kat’s Corner Books, January 16
The Artist Librarian, January 16
D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, January 16
Bigreadersite, January 16
Mommynificent, January 17
Seasons of Opportunities, January 17
Moments Dipped in Ink, January 17
Baker Kella, January 17
Black ‘n’ Gold Girl’s Book Spot, January 17
God’s Little Bookworm, January 18
allofakindmom, January 18
The Important Things in Life: God, Books, & Chocolate, January 18
Inklings and notions, January 18
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 18
Pause for Tales, January 19
Have A Wonderful Day, January 19
Just Commonly, January 19
Bibliophile Reviews , January 19
Janices book reviews, January 19
Radiant Light, January 20
The Power of Words , January 20
Book by Book, January 20
CAC Devourer, January 20
Jeanette’s Thoughts, January 20
Splashes of Joy, January 21
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, January 21
Neverending Stories, January 21
Faery Tales Are Real, January 21
A Baker’s Perspective, January 21
margaret kazmierczak, January 22
The PhD Mamma, January 22
Cafinated Reads, January 22
Daysong Reflections, January 22
Romances of the Cross, January 23
Purposeful Learning, January 23
Rachel Scott McDaniel, January 23
Carpe Diem, January 23
Simple Harvest Reads, January 23
Kaylee’s Kind Of Writes, January 24
Henry Happens, January 24
Joy of Reading, January 24
Tell Tale Book Reviews, January 24
Raining Butterfly Kisses, January 24

Let’s discuss: What’s one historical fiction that you’ve really enjoyed recently? What is the most unusual historical setting you’ve read about before (as in a time period there aren’t many books about, etc.)?

Micah and Mary

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Currently, I’m doing a reading plan that involves reading ten different chapters in ten different books of the Bible per day. For me, it’s a fairly flexible one—some days, I only end up reading one chapter, other days it’s just five, but I always aim for all ten. The way this particular plan is set up is that once you finish reading a certain “section” of the Bible, you just start it over—and that can cause some interesting mashups at times!

A few days ago, several chapters really stood out to me, and I thought I’d share my notes from them today, as I’m still thinking about them this morning.

Key texts: Mark 14:3–9, Judges 17–18

Mark 14: The gift Mary gave Jesus (“ointment on his feet”) was to be talked about wherever the gospel was preached, forever (see vs. 9).

In Judges 18, something else has happened that will also be spoken of for a very, very long time: Micah, an Ephraimite, “did that which was right in his own eyes” (see 17:6), and made himself both graven and molten images. He then created a priest in a weird mix-up of calling these images “the LORD”, thinking he was worshiping the God of Israel.

It was an evil combination of true and pagan worship, and it happened while the house of God was at Shiloh…he still had access to the truth, but he decided to do what he thought was right.

And by that one perversion in one man, one family, everyone in Dan (well, at least the ones who came to live in a nearby city) ended up being drawn away too. This lasted “all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh,” “…until the day of the captivity of the land.” (See vs. 30-31.)

Of course, we don’t really know which captivity this was (or at least, I haven’t taken time to study that part out!)—it may have been as far out as the Babylonian captivity, or perhaps a closer, smaller one. It’s hard to tell.

What we DO know is that this perversion, confusion, and sin, lasted a long, long time.

Morning Devotions: Micah and Mary

One sacrificed everything for her LORD.

One didn’t even bother to figure out or ask what his LORD required.

One did perfectly, and caused great blessing.

One did perversely, caused great confusion, and drew many away from the truth.

Which one am I?

Both may have considered their decisions inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. It’s easy for us, me, to fall into that trap, too. Thinking that our little actions don’t really matter.

But they do.

We may never see the long-term results. Mary probably didn’t, although Micah may have, at least to a certain extent. Both thought they were in the right. But what each one did affected many, many following generations.

How am I living my life?

Am I living it right in my eyes, after the pattern of Micah, or right in God’s estimation?

How are my actions now—however inconsequential, thoughtless, or otherwise—going to affect those around me…and the generations following me?

What a sobering thought!

As we start this next week, let us never forget that each action, each decision, does matter. Yes, God gives grace. But we’re still responsible to continue living for Him in everything we think and do.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” —Ephesians 5:8

“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” —1 Timothy 4:16

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” —1 Peter 2:9-10

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” —1 John 1:7

What have you been learning in your personal devotional time lately?

Moving Preparation

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Happy Thursday, everyone! The day is brilliantly sunny outside right now, with a few clouds in the blue sky. It’s also pretty warm out there, so I’m sitting inside with a fan on.

Lord willing, we’ll be moving in two and a half weeks. And although that isn’t very far off, I’m also looking forward to having it done. Mom’s done an excellent job of getting packed up as much as possible ahead of time in places like the library, bathroom, and kitchen—getting rid of the stuff we don’t use on a day-to-day basis.

(Which is wonderful, except for times like last night when I was making rhubarb crisp, and some of the ingredients I wanted to use were packed! 🙂 Thankfully, we had substitutes that worked well!)

Moving Preparation 01

I was originally planning on moving a week and a half ahead of the rest of the family, but at this point that doesn’t look like it’s as needed as it was before. I could still go, but we’ll see what ends up happening. I’m praying for direction.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a list of things I need to get done—including get some reviews scheduled for over the time we move. This morning, I got all the pre-uploading stuff done, so as soon as I’m finished writing this, I’ll tackle that again.

For the most part, I feel like I’m pretty-much on track to get everything done that I must get done before we move. That’s a good feeling! After I’m done uploading reviews, I’ll be able to work on other things like making sure I’ve written reviews of all the books I’ve read (fell off the bandwagon for that one these last few months!), or maybe getting some sewing done. We’ll see!

What are you working on today? What’s the weather like where you are?

Book Club Beginnings

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Somewhere near the beginning of the year, I came across Tim Challies’ reading challenge. I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen it before, but when I saw the list—and imagined how much it would stretch my current reading habits!—I thought it might be worth a try. Just once.

After all, if I do finish even one portion of the list, I’ll have read some books I wouldn’t have normally read before, so that’s worthwhile in itself!

Some of the books in the challenge will be pretty easy to do, like biographies, or books published in 2018 (for the last few years, I’ve often had the chance to read to-be-released books, or recently released ones, so this shouldn’t be a problem!).

Book Club Beginnings 01

However, other books, such as one about current events, might be a bit trickier. I’m thinking of looking up one by Eric Metaxas, John Stonestreet, or maybe even Ravi Zacharias (you can tell by the first two that I listen to Breakpoint every once in a while!). Not sure yet about any of these, but we’ll see what I can find. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

The first one I’m working on is one that is a bit more challenging for me: A book about theology. Although I really enjoy studying theology to a certain extent, I also can tend to get a little annoyed with it after a while, as many (at least seem to) end up being “better than you” kinds of thinking. Or else I’m just ready to move on to something more applicable to real life!

I ended up deciding on a book that is somewhat theological, although it actually deals more in apologetics, which is another fascinating subject. It’s Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace, and some of the facts and observations he brings out are extremely fascinating!

My second-oldest brother has joined me in reading Cold Case Christianity, as we happen to have both the adult and children’s versions. So in a sense, we’ve created a book club. Each day, we compare notes on what we’ve read, as the subject matter in each chapter coincides well. So far, it’s gone really well, and we’re both learning a lot!

What have you been reading lately? Have you ever participated in a reading challenge?

2018 Blogging Goals

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As I was working on finalizing my goals last Sunday on the way home from church, I remembered a footnote that was added somewhere in the planning process: Blog Mon/Wed/Fri. While I am not planning on setting three blog posts as my goal every week this next year, it did reinforce a point to me as I was planning—I needed, wanted, to schedule in time every week to blog.

I’ve been writing online since I was twelve, and in the years since then, I’ve often discovered I love the process of composing my thoughts into something half-legible, and sharing it with the world. I’ve also loved following other bloggers who do the same thing, sharing their thoughts, opinions, and encouragements as the muse struck them.

This Year's Blogging Goals 01

Over the past two years, I’ve sort-of lost out on my desire to blog. But now, in 2018, I want to get back into that. My goal is to post at least one time a week, ending up with fifty-two posts by the end of year. My prayer is that I can encourage the body of Christ over this year.

As I’ve believed for years (and many, many other people have believed before me!), words have power. To some small degree, I feel like I’ve been entrusted that power. And I don’t want to waste it.

So this year, while my goal is to write more regularly (and I’m trying to set aside time on Thursdays to do that), I hope I’ll end up writing more. I hope, no matter how much or how little I do end up writing, it will be an encouragement to someone.

This year, I’m hoping to go back to one of the basics, in some ways. 1 Thess. 5:11 says we need to “edify one another”, or, in other words, “build each other up.” I feel like I don’t know how to do that very well. But I want to try again.

What are you planning to work on throughout this next year?