Ahead Of Her Times
The Number Of Love by Roseanna M White is a marvellous, thrilling historical Christian novel set in London in 1917. It is the first book in The Codebreakers series and what a fabulous series this promises to be.
The world is at war. The novel concerns Room 40 where the codebreakers work. The novel is grounded in fact. The reader enters the world of espionage and agents. It takes skill and cunning. Codes are sought by both sides as they may hasten the end of the war. There are no victors in war. On both sides mothers lose sons and all nations mourn loved ones.
Grief consumes and may drag us down and cause us to lose sight of God – where was He? Why did He not stop our loved ones from dying? “He’s [God] still there, unchanged, even when we can’t feel Him. When grief’s too loud to let us hear His voice.” Grief may pause us in time but we need to learn to live again. “It [death] doesn’t heal… We learn to go on with the pieces missing.”
Prayer is important. “Never neglect your prayers. They are what root you to the Lord.” Prayer is our lifeline. We must remember not just to talk but to listen. “She waited for God to speak… and she listened, because God was smarter than she was.” Sometimes God interrupts our lives to get us to pray now. We must be obedient as the lives of others may just depend on our prayers.
Within the story we meet a grandfather. “There was a place inside always prepared for those he loved.” This reminds the reader of God who has a place prepared for each and every one of us.
The reader is reunited with some of the characters from the series Shadows Over England. It was good to meet up with familiar faces.
All the characters created by Roseanna White are unique, well drawn, likable and easy to empathise with. We see the able bodied and those disabled by war but still with a part to play in society. After World War I many injured veterans were ignored and ended up on the streets. They had done their part for king and country but now were invisible. There was no welfare state. Roseanna White addresses this and the invisible become visible once more.
The heroine in the novel is a modern woman ahead of her times. She works in a man’s world and has dreams that are greater than just marriage and children. She thinks in terms of mathematics and has a huge heart.
I absolutely loved The Number Of Love. I always love Roseanna White’s novels. I am very much looking forward to book two.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
JULIA WILSON